I used to work in maintenance. After two months of dealing with humiliation, verbal and emotional abuse I called it quits. I was targeted in meetings repeatedly, yelled at over very minor and petty things, disturbed during my lunch breaks, etc. I was the youngest of all of my coworkers (I’m in my 20s). My boss, (male in his 60s) more or less thought I wasn’t pulling my weight. I had to have coworkers vouch for me because he wouldn’t believe a word I said.
Instructions were vague, communication was nonexistent, and I was afraid to ask for help because I don’t like being managed by emotion. I completed everything to the best of my ability and how I saw fit. The guy was a total neat freak and I would be reprimanded over the smallest details. He even had the audacity to prioritize his own personal projects, and make all of us stay in the shop; instead of us completing work orders and repairs.
He would take pictures of minor mistakes, keep logs of text messages, all in an effort to build a case against employees and make us look bad. Unfortunately, one of the other techs got fired without any notice, or written warnings whatsoever. Upper management swept everything under the rug.
Ideally, you would have a one-on-one review, figure out what’s not working, make a plan to improve, follow up in a few weeks, and learn from mistakes/setbacks rather than punishing employees for it.
I had finally had enough and I tried to be courteous and give my two weeks notice. The day I gave my two weeks notice was hell. He created a huge scene in front of all of my coworkers, I was yelled at and finally was told to sit outside for the rest of the day. Almost like a timeout. That ended up being my last day and I made a formal complaint citing that he was “creating a hostile work environment”.
I recently heard from an employee who still works there that someone else quit, after only 2 days of working for the guy. The boss continues to target and humiliate employees, and even did it in front of upper management. This all happened after he got a call from HR two weeks prior.
Lesson here is that you don’t ever sacrifice your well-being for a job. It’s work. You’ll find another job. You’re not married to your boss, praise be god!