Take this job and query it.

November 3, 2006 12:47 PM

Is it too passive-aggressive to search for a new job in full view of my boss?

He's chafing me today (and most days), he's kind of a micro-manager, kind of a control freak, and kind of asks me if I'm working on the next thing on his list for me yet. My sense is that in other words, he's paying me for my time so there will be no downtime, no looking at Amazon or reading the news. I'm a system administrator so searching out alternate sources of information and general distractions is a natural part of my job. I don't think I take too long, and I think he thinks "ASAP" is a default priority for everything, regardless of my own projects.

He sits in back of me, my 6mo review (first at this job) is this month, and I'm not exactly committed to my future here. I'm 38.

posted by anonymous to work & money (20 comments total)

Yes.
posted by FlamingBore at 12:53 PM on November 3, 2006

I had a girl do this to ME this week. I had to cut her hours, she whipped up her resume on her computer that afternoon. Her exit interview was rather short.
posted by disclaimer at 12:57 PM on November 3, 2006

My sense is that in other words, he's paying me for my time so there will be no downtime, no looking at Amazon or reading the news.

Yeah, that pretty much sums up the concept of work. You aren't paid for downtime. If there are still items on the todo list he's set out for you, then you don't have downtime. Downtime happens when there is NOTHING else to do.


searching out alternate sources of information and general distractions is a natural part of my job. I don't think I take too long, and I think he thinks "ASAP" is a default priority for everything, regardless of my own projects.

I don't think it is too much for your employer to expect that you do your own projects on your own time. You are there to work . . . on work projects, on the timeline your manager sets.

Is it too passive-aggressive to search for a new job in full view of my boss?

Yes. It is also stupid. Quit or look for jobs at home. At the same time, considering your work ethic, possibly your boss won't mind too much if he sees you searching for a new job.
posted by necessitas at 1:00 PM on November 3, 2006

Yes if you want to continue working for him, no if you're bored with life and want to provoke something interesting to happen such as a firing event.
posted by scheptech at 1:02 PM on November 3, 2006

Time for someone to speak up and reprazent those of us who have a Bad Attitude.

Fuck your boss, he sounds like a controlling jerk. Controlling micro-managers treat everyone like they're lazy and untrustworthy; therefore I wouldn't call it passive-aggressive to job-hunt as he sits ten feet behind you, I'd call it asking to be fired. And since you don't want to work there anyway, maybe it's all for the good. Why not take advantage, since he clearly expects you to?
posted by scratch at 1:05 PM on November 3, 2006 [1 favorite]

Nothing passive about that. I wouldn't worry about, however, as you're unlikely to be at this job for much longer. Your expectations and those of your employer are clearly mismatched. You need to find a more relaxed working environment or adjust your style.
posted by mzurer at 1:22 PM on November 3, 2006

Is it too passive-aggressive to search for a new job in full view of my boss?

Possibly. Let me think about this and get back to you.
posted by rocketman at 1:42 PM on November 3, 2006

I was caught looking at jobs at work the other day. My boss laughed. We both know my job sucks and I'll be doing something better in the near future. They can't fire me for something like that (union) and wouldn't anyways because I'm punctual and hardworking and people do not last very long in my position, so they're keeping me as long as I can stand it.

So to answer your question, I suppose it hinges on your relationship with your boss and how expendable you are.
posted by look busy at 1:58 PM on November 3, 2006

Is it too overtly aggressive for your boss to fire you on the spot?
posted by caddis at 2:04 PM on November 3, 2006

Fuck your boss

Don't do that.
posted by Saucy Intruder at 2:20 PM on November 3, 2006

Micromanagers are the worst, but the fact is that it isn't unreasonable to expect you to be doing that which you are being paid to do. Unless your job description includes surfing, shopping and generally slacking, then ya know...you're probably not supposed to be doing them.

When I worked at 3 Initial Corp as a project manager, I was really pretty laid back about what my team did, as long as they met the goals...but...and this is a big but...if they weren't meeting goals consistently, I became a lot more hands on to try and determine if the goals were unreasonable or if the employee was one of those people who felt entitled to slack.

If you're meeting goals, and still feel like you're being micromanaged, then I might consider asking the boss to lunch and see if you can get an answer as to why he's on your ass all the time. Is he just one of those pointy haired people, or is it that he has unrealistic expectations, or is it that you are not performing to the spec of the last sysadmin?

All that said, good sysadmins are always in demand, and if you are a good sysadmin, then you should be able to write your own ticket somewhere else.
posted by dejah420 at 2:22 PM on November 3, 2006

I don't think it is too much for your employer to expect that you do your own projects on your own time. You are there to work . . . on work projects, on the timeline your manager sets.

Wow, anonymous, sounds like your boss has followed you right into this thread! What a controlling prick!!

Those of us whose brains haven't been cloned off of a management tool's spinal cord will have taken note from your question that you feel not only unhappy in your position, but downright persecuted. The most unfortunate kind of person to work for is the kind who feels their unreasonable expectations are doing you a favor in some way, tending your abilities and guiding your workflow. The truth is that no one is able to work at peak capacity all the time without sacrificing a great deal of quality in their work. Anyone who doesn't understand this is obnoxious to work with, but dangerous to work FOR.

The further you move up the career ladder, the more this kind of "down time" is understood and allowed for. You should not have to scrape for permission to regather your energy or tend to a small personal matter or refresh yourself in some way, as long as your work gets done when it's supposed to. A healthy workplace trusts you enough to let you do these things, and you perpetuate that trust by conducting yourself responsibly and getting shit done.

Apply for jobs however, wherever you must. If it gives you an advantage in job-hunting to use some time on the job to do this, you are more than entitled. You are not "stealing" time from your boss by doing this. The guilt you may feel about this is the kind that bad managers prey on, treating their employees like powerless children that must be supervised like children. Asserting your adult ability to know when you are being taken advantage of and to exit as swiftly and cleanly as possible are your prerogative as an adult and as a worker.
posted by hermitosis at 3:10 PM on November 3, 2006 [3 favorites]

what kind of job position is this we are talking about? are you unique and tough to replace or just another cog in the wheel?

personally, I'd fire your ass if you pissed me off. but I'd also laugh with you if this came across as a clever joke.

being fired=severance.
being fired=no recommendation.

your call.
posted by krautland at 3:45 PM on November 3, 2006

Wow, anonymous, sounds like your boss has followed you right into this thread! What a controlling prick!! . . . Those of us whose brains haven't been cloned off of a management tool's spinal cord will have taken note from your question that you feel not only unhappy in your position, but downright persecuted.

Wow, herm, get over yourself.

You don't have to have brains cloned off a mangement tool's spinal cord to wonder if anon might be the type of employee who isn't motivated or effective in time management and doesn't just want a bit of time to take care of personal matters.

In his post, anon makes himself out to be the sort of employee who thinks he is entitled to shop, surf the internet, etc. and take care of his own projects (that implies more than just tending to personal matters here and there). I am not a management clone or anything of the sort. I just hate lazy people, people who think that they are doing the company a favor for being there, that they are owed a check simply because they showed up.

Notice Anon says "kind of asks me if I'm working on the next thing on his list for me yet". If there are additional things on his list, he doesn't have downtime, he wants a BREAK to work on his own stuff. There is nothing wrong with wanting a break, but call a spade a spade. Maybe for the majority of the past six months, Anon's department has been busy, allowing for little downtime and only the usual breaks (not an hour to kill on wired.com around 3, just because he is bored of his project). Maybe work flow will slow, and he'll end up having the better part of the day to kill doing whatever he wants. But not slacking when there are additional projects to get through and expected to actually work while at work isn't a prickish expectation.

If Anon was taking reasonable breaks to refresh his mind or tend to a small personal matter, I doubt his boss would constantly feel the need to keep him on task. If Anon is good at time managment and doesn't need to be prompted, then there is no reason why his reply to his boss couldn't be "I just finished XYZ project, and I am taking a 15 minute break just to reboot my brain, I plan to start 123 project this afternoon and it will be complete on time." If his boss had a problem with that, then the boss IS the problem, not Anon. From the way his post reads, it doesn't seem like anon is looking for the 15 minute break here and there thoughout the day, but a generally slower-paced job.

Herm, someone can be a slack, lazy employee, and thus deserve to be micro-managed. I don't think that makes the boss obnoxious or dangerous to work for. It makes the employee a lousy asset for the company. If the emloyee is effective and not a lazy procrastinator with a bad attitude, and the boss is still riding him, then yes, the boos is a controlling prick. Isn't it possible that anon falls into the former category? Isn't it possible that the boss isn't a controlling prick but just generally fed up with anon's work ethic?
posted by necessitas at 3:59 PM on November 3, 2006

I can agree that any of those things may be possible. Having received only the (anonymous) poster's perspective, we'll just have to agree to disagree. Unless something sounds really off to me, I tend to give the poster the benefit of the doubt.
posted by hermitosis at 4:23 PM on November 3, 2006

I can empathize with your situation. I'd recommend you not do what you want to do, though: you're only going to make him trust you less, and he's going to micro-manage you even more, thinking that you clearly need his help staying on task. It's only going to make things worse for you. I suggest that you just try to put up with it, while actively looking for a better job on your own time.
posted by fogster at 8:09 PM on November 3, 2006

It really depends on what you want to get out of the situation. If you're hoping to send a message that you're not happy and that you're threatening to leave, this will be effective. If you're going to leave anyway, or if you're not going to leave, then this is a foolish exercise that's only going to make things worse.
posted by bingo at 6:32 AM on November 4, 2006

I've been on both sides of the coin. I've had micro-managing bosses who made my life hell for no reason (other than their own perverse pleasure) and I've had to micro-manage lazy worthless employees to get even the minimum amount of work done. Anon didn't really give us enough info to figure out which of these situations fits him.

As a systems admin, I can agree that downtime at work is extremely important to keep your sanity. I work an average of 60 hours a week so my boss could care less if I refill my Netflix queue while I have my morning coffee or chat up a cute secretary for 15 minutes. However, if I was walking out the door the second the clock struck 5 o'clock it would be a completely different story.

I would strongly advise against looking for a job in front of your boss. I'm pretty laid back but I'd at least write you up to make the point that it's unacceptable. Many bosses would fire you immediately. It feels good to quit a crappy job and tell your boss to fuck off (and I've done it when I was younger) but it's almost always a horrible idea. Not many of us have a resume that's strong enough to make up for a bad reference (at our most recent job!).
posted by bda1972 at 9:45 AM on November 4, 2006

necessitas: Notice Anon says "kind of asks me if I'm working on the next thing on his list for me yet". If there are additional things on his list, he doesn't have downtime, he wants a BREAK to work on his own stuff.

Funny, I got the impression he meant job-related projects. Of course, my boss micromanages when his personal life is not happy. He has no idea what projects I'm doing because I'm helping co-workers, or I'm doing because it needs to be done and no one else will do it. I assumed he meant ~those~ kinds of "my own projects".

As for him being a slacker, we just don't have enough objective data to make a call on that.
posted by Meep! Eek! at 5:03 PM on November 4, 2006

You're not happy where you are. You know it, I know it, your boss probably knows it. The question is - do you have enough savings to live on if he gets pissed enough to fire you since you're job hunting on company time ? At 38 I would assume you have some idea of the potential consequences to your action. (My boss wouldn't, he'd keep me on to make my life even more of a living hell.)

A woman at work did the job hunting in plain site thing for a number of weeks before finding a job, some years back, and people in the company are still talking about it. Even now that the woman has come back to work for the firm again. You can assume that it will be noted not only by your boss, but by any coworkers that may see what you're doing. The man who was her boss is still kind of sneered at by some for not firing her ass the first time he saw it. Your boss may feel as though he needs to fire you to save face.

For myself, I'd either job hunt, call a headhunter, or both, but on my own time. If you need the paycheck, go for discretion as the better part of valor. If you're on a "break" or lunch, thing about putting up a sign announcing such. That way he will see it as he's walking up and recognize that you're not on the clock.
posted by Meep! Eek! at 5:08 PM on November 4, 2006