At some point or other, most folks work for someone that makes them think ‘how did THEY ever get put in charge of other people’? Or we think ‘I’m glad that person isn’t MY boss’, or otherwise notice someone who should never have been put into a position of authority. But compared to the folks on the Worst Bosses of 2010 most of those folks would seem a great alternative!
eBossWatch is a site that:
eBossWatch was launched in June 2007 to help people avoid hostile work environments and workplace bullying. Because it is extremely difficult during the job interview process to discover the true atmosphere at a potential employer and the true nature of a potential manager, eBossWatch is a critical job search resource for people who are considering a career change.
BossWatch enables you to anonymously rate your boss using a respectable and focused evaluation form so that job seekers can search for bosses at potential workplaces and can receive reports detailing the ratings that each boss has received.
Former New York 29th District Congressman Eric Mass made the list (at #4 no less!) … he was the representative for our area until forced to resign in shame early this year.
Being very new to NY state during the 2008 elections we had little clue about Eric Massa or any of the other local politicians … and my contacts at Corning Incorporated were too new to be privvy to ‘the dirt’ – I didn’t even know he had worked for a number of years at Corning.
However, early this year I was on a business trip and out at a rather large dinner after a long day of work with the rest of the project team … and it was just as initial allegations started popping up. The project leader, who was never one to say bad about anyone, pretty much said ‘I don’t like him, I never liked him, he is a dishonest creep and a sleaze-bag and I have no doubt he is guilty of whatever anyone says … I’m a lifelong Democrat and voted against him’.
That opened the flood-gates and over the next couple of hours I heard all sorts of things large and small from male and female employees about stuff he had done through the years, and how he had managed to position himself right so he would constantly get side-shifted as organizations wanted to get rid of him, leaving a mess behind for someone else to deal with. It is amazing to me that none of this stuff came out when he was up for election, but then again companies like to keep this stuff internal – which is why I can’t say anything more specific!
As I noted, Mass is just #4, with Dallas Fire Chief Eddie Burns topping the list. He gets a double-whammy, as he is at the center of three sexual harassment claims, and cost the city a load of money:
3 Dallas Fire-Rescue sexual harassment lawsuits have cost the city $1.4 million in legal fees
I know that the money is immaterial compared to the hostile environment, but it punctuates the impact of allowing this sort of thing to perpetuate – particularly in a down economy when every municipality is tightening funds! It is amazing how long these environments can last – Burns has had these allegations for years, has promoted others with sexual harassment histories over more qualified women, and a whole host of other Neanderthal behaviors.
I have been very lucky in terms of bosses. My worst experience was with a boss who would never give critical feedback in person or in any other way during the year but would be vicious in the written performance evaluation … and then refuse to have a frank discussion during the face-to-face review. Fortunately that person was my boss for less than a year before moving across the country to become someone else’s problem!
So … who is the worst boss you have aver had and what is your worst story?
Source: Corning Leader
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