I started a new job in September at a major university. I transitioned from teaching public school to a federally-funded college prep program, and I love the work. I get the best of teaching, like interacting with students and providing help and advice, without the drawbacks of being in a classroom. However, my boss is out of her damn mind. Like, actually a sociopath or most likely a narcissist. She makes every day I have to be in the office miserable, which sucks because I really like my colleagues. They all feel the same way about her, and everyone who's quit this job quit because of her, which I found out after I got hired. Here's a short list of her bullshit:
- She has NEVER completed anyone's work. Ever. Not even a lackluster “good job.” There's always criticism, and the best anyone can hope for is disapproving silence.
- Everything has to be her way, and she needs to sign off on everything. Her “critiques” are often minor rewordings that say basically the same thing, or make the message more confusing. And she brags all the time about how great a manager she is and how much she hates bosses who micromanage.
- She has no personal life (mid-40s, no partner, family doesn't talk to her), so her life revolves around work, to an unhealthy degree. She was supposed to present at a conference last year and was mad her presentation got canceled because the morning of her presentation a pregnant woman died. Like when she was telling us about this we all thought she was joking about being upset her presentation got canceled, but no. That was more important to her.
- She expects us all to answer emails, texts, etc. at all hours anytime. To reiterate, we're an afterschool college prep program. We aren't saving lives, it can all wait.
- Another example of the constant criticism: I was supposed to present at a local high school to recruit students. My presentation was canceled because the school had a crisis where a student ran outside and tried to harm themselves by jumping in front of cars. When I told my boss, her first response was “So no presentation?” followed by a lengthy critique of how ineffective this teenager was at harming themselves. She was not joking, someone asked if she meant it and she said “If you're going to do something do it the right way.”
Basically, I'm miserable because of her, and I don't know how much longer I can take it. I wanna stick it out at least a year, but it's getting harder and harder. Which absolutely sucks because I LOVE every other part of my job, and the benefits are amazing. Also, my wife is pregnant, and the university offers 6 weeks PAID parental leave, which I can't walk away from. Honestly, best case is she tries to fire me for taking parental leave and I get a nice lawsuit, but she'll probably only make bitchy comments. When I interviewed there were none of these red flags, but now there's nothing but red flags (she recently asked me if I thought she was an intimidating interviewer, to which I said no not really- I've had far more intense interviews. She didn't like hearing that since she prides herself on “being intimidating”). If we had universal paid leave and healthcare, I could move on but I'm trapped because I need the insurance. Guess I'll just have to tough it out, or at least learn to not care at all at work and go numb.