How to deal with a boss who's making mistakes more often, until I exit?
March 28, 2019 6:07 PM Subscribe
My current boss is causing issues at work more and more - mostly for me to clean up - and there doesn't seem to be much oversight over him, from his superiors. I'm fed up with it, and don't feel like I can even talk to him without going off. Any tips until I can find work elsewhere?
As I type this, the boss man is sleeping on the couch in his office.
First off - I am already actively looking for a new job, which I decided to do sometime in the last ~month. *I am already working on this nearly every day*
I've been here 10 years and besides being over it in general, I can't relate to 90% the folks here and what we do as a business anymore. I've read hearsay on the internet that if you take your salary and multiply it by some number, you'll get a general figure on how many months it may take you to find a new job. If that's true (meh) then I'm looking at at least a year until that happens.
This boss has been a good manager overall, but over the last 6, or 9 months, maybe a year, I've noticed more and more general fuck-ups on his part. We are in a technical field, so I have to rename files, or rebuild data, or do general cleanup of simple, easily avoidable mistakes that break things in the pipeline...he also forgets to deliver assets to me that I need to do my job, and other things fall through the cracks because he forgets to tell me about it. It seems to be getting worse, to the point where I feel like I have to chase him down more and more. I feel like I'm nagging my old man to remember to take his heart medicine. He only 'manages' a handful of people (we are all pretty much self-managing at this point) but it seems like he can't handle his own day to day duties.
Sometime during this last period of time, he was giving me a ride to pick up my car at the shop, and I noticed his car reeking of weed. I suspect that he's been hitting it pretty hard, as here in California it's basically legal and ubiquitous (that law curiously passed a little bit before this behavior started). He's in his mid-50's, beset by some medical problems, and rarely seems to take care of himself. Last year he was on a health kick and lost a lot of weight and was pretty on-the-ball. I don't know what the hell happened, he's let it all slide for sure.
Personality wise, he drones a lot about himself, or his current problems, and sometimes just plain talks right over you while you're in the middle of speaking. I'm just tired of him, and it's going to be a tough time until the next job can be secured, so how can I deal with this guy without making the workplace more of a shit show?
As I type this, the boss man is sleeping on the couch in his office.
First off - I am already actively looking for a new job, which I decided to do sometime in the last ~month. *I am already working on this nearly every day*
I've been here 10 years and besides being over it in general, I can't relate to 90% the folks here and what we do as a business anymore. I've read hearsay on the internet that if you take your salary and multiply it by some number, you'll get a general figure on how many months it may take you to find a new job. If that's true (meh) then I'm looking at at least a year until that happens.
This boss has been a good manager overall, but over the last 6, or 9 months, maybe a year, I've noticed more and more general fuck-ups on his part. We are in a technical field, so I have to rename files, or rebuild data, or do general cleanup of simple, easily avoidable mistakes that break things in the pipeline...he also forgets to deliver assets to me that I need to do my job, and other things fall through the cracks because he forgets to tell me about it. It seems to be getting worse, to the point where I feel like I have to chase him down more and more. I feel like I'm nagging my old man to remember to take his heart medicine. He only 'manages' a handful of people (we are all pretty much self-managing at this point) but it seems like he can't handle his own day to day duties.
Sometime during this last period of time, he was giving me a ride to pick up my car at the shop, and I noticed his car reeking of weed. I suspect that he's been hitting it pretty hard, as here in California it's basically legal and ubiquitous (that law curiously passed a little bit before this behavior started). He's in his mid-50's, beset by some medical problems, and rarely seems to take care of himself. Last year he was on a health kick and lost a lot of weight and was pretty on-the-ball. I don't know what the hell happened, he's let it all slide for sure.
Personality wise, he drones a lot about himself, or his current problems, and sometimes just plain talks right over you while you're in the middle of speaking. I'm just tired of him, and it's going to be a tough time until the next job can be secured, so how can I deal with this guy without making the workplace more of a shit show?
I keep reading for where all this is a problem for you. Exactly how does this interfere with your work? It's hard to offer tips unless you're looking to make some kind of improvement or find a solution somewhere.
It sounds like he might have substance problems, and I wonder if alcohol addiction is a possibility because all the signs are consistent. But are you asking about whether you should intervene somehow? Because it sounds like the only tip that makes sense for you is to keep your head down and get your work done and get out of there. Unless I'm missing something.
I've read hearsay on the internet that if you take your salary and multiply it by some number, you'll get a general figure on how many months it may take you to find a new job.
That is made up and pretend and you can forget about it. Just get cracking on that job hunt.
posted by Miko at 8:21 PM on March 28, 2019 [8 favorites]
It sounds like he might have substance problems, and I wonder if alcohol addiction is a possibility because all the signs are consistent. But are you asking about whether you should intervene somehow? Because it sounds like the only tip that makes sense for you is to keep your head down and get your work done and get out of there. Unless I'm missing something.
I've read hearsay on the internet that if you take your salary and multiply it by some number, you'll get a general figure on how many months it may take you to find a new job.
That is made up and pretend and you can forget about it. Just get cracking on that job hunt.
posted by Miko at 8:21 PM on March 28, 2019 [8 favorites]
Try to make sure that when something goes wrong you have something in writing showing how/why it's not your fault. CYA.
posted by bleep at 10:39 PM on March 28, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by bleep at 10:39 PM on March 28, 2019 [2 favorites]
It sounds like you're already decided on leaving, so in the meantime, you'll need to make sure you are documenting the fixes you make for him, even just casually. He might not notice when you send him a quick email that says, "Here, I fixed this for you." He might even thank you when you note, "I noticed that you did X, which isn't going to work because of Y. I went ahead and changed it to Z so we can ABCD effectively." Document more extensively on your own, or in a changelog if there's version control or something.
Your question has an undertone of sympathy, which is admirable. He sounds like he is having a rough time and there's no way to know what is truly going on personally for him. In terms of interpersonal coping with the job you don't like and the boss who is making it harder, cultivate that sympathy daily. When you go into work, think to yourself, It is sad that Bossman is having a hard time. Or, It is certain that my day will be better than Bossman's today. That compassion keeps you human.
posted by juniperesque at 8:03 AM on March 29, 2019 [3 favorites]
Your question has an undertone of sympathy, which is admirable. He sounds like he is having a rough time and there's no way to know what is truly going on personally for him. In terms of interpersonal coping with the job you don't like and the boss who is making it harder, cultivate that sympathy daily. When you go into work, think to yourself, It is sad that Bossman is having a hard time. Or, It is certain that my day will be better than Bossman's today. That compassion keeps you human.
posted by juniperesque at 8:03 AM on March 29, 2019 [3 favorites]
Is there someone above your boss that you can raise concerns with? "Hey, I really don't want to be in this position, but boss seems to be having some substantial issues and it's gotten to the point where it's having a lot of impact on quality of work..."
Alternatively, any way to just make your boss's mistakes his problem rather than yours?
posted by bile and syntax at 9:45 AM on March 29, 2019
Alternatively, any way to just make your boss's mistakes his problem rather than yours?
posted by bile and syntax at 9:45 AM on March 29, 2019
This started happening to a friend of mine, with whom I worked as a freelancer, and it turned out that she had a brain tumor. I’m sure that is unlikely in this case but the point is that we can never truly know what is up with other people. If you are unwilling to bring the pattern of ongoing errors to the attention of your boss, there’s not much to do apart from documenting each incident and continuing to look for a new job. Good luck!
posted by Bella Donna at 10:19 AM on March 29, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by Bella Donna at 10:19 AM on March 29, 2019 [2 favorites]
Okay, so you're on your way out but it will probably take a while; the main problem for you is 1) you're annoyed and 2) the balls he's dropping are causing workflow problems for you.
If you have a good relationship (if he's giving you rides, it sounds like you might), you could try going to him as a friend--all frustration off the table; PLEASE don't project frustration--and say "You seem to have been having a rough time of it lately; you've been distracted and not your usual self. Your personal information is your business, but is there anything I can do to help with the workflow for X and Y so that we as a team can keep on top of things better?"
At the very least, this is an entirely kind and supportive way to put him on notice that his slips are not invisible and someone is noticing. That alone might improve things. If not, you've positioned yourself as an ally, so any future conflict might go more smoothly.
As for dealing with the frustration, well, dealing with a frustrating workplace and coworkers who don't get you what you need when you need it is a pretty standard problem. I'd suggest checking out Ask A Manager; I've seen her answer that question many times. Some combination of a Zen mindset and working around the person in question is probably your best bet.
posted by gideonfrog at 11:23 AM on March 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
If you have a good relationship (if he's giving you rides, it sounds like you might), you could try going to him as a friend--all frustration off the table; PLEASE don't project frustration--and say "You seem to have been having a rough time of it lately; you've been distracted and not your usual self. Your personal information is your business, but is there anything I can do to help with the workflow for X and Y so that we as a team can keep on top of things better?"
At the very least, this is an entirely kind and supportive way to put him on notice that his slips are not invisible and someone is noticing. That alone might improve things. If not, you've positioned yourself as an ally, so any future conflict might go more smoothly.
As for dealing with the frustration, well, dealing with a frustrating workplace and coworkers who don't get you what you need when you need it is a pretty standard problem. I'd suggest checking out Ask A Manager; I've seen her answer that question many times. Some combination of a Zen mindset and working around the person in question is probably your best bet.
posted by gideonfrog at 11:23 AM on March 29, 2019 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
You might try offering to just do whatever your manager does wrong for him. It may be less frustrating to simply do it right in the first place than to spot and correct errors. YMMV there. An extra benefit is that in the event your manager is given the boot, you'll be ready to step in and get promoted. After all, you'll be basically doing his job at that point, anyway.
posted by Citrus at 8:20 PM on March 28, 2019