#badmanager

I always love how the day starts out great. But then my boss gets into her email and starts firing away all sorts of directives and asks. I probably have a few more hours before this nonsense starts. Often wanting a response “ASAP”. Almost all isn’t urgent yet treated that way.

I’m on the clock at all times Monday thru Friday and basically get a Saturday off. This isn’t sustainable.

Anybody else’s boss “lead” in this glorious 2010 fashion? At least we sponsored the NBA Dunk contest, right “see you on the commute guy?? That changes everything.

So mismanagement loses the Marriott account and immediately out come the travel cuts! I don't think we will T&E our way out of this poorly run company! Does stopping manager travel and meetings, training events, back filling roles send the right message? How about stripping Senior Leaders bonuses? Those bloated million dollars payouts for poor performance? And if you say we will lose them so be it there has not been a strategic decision made in over 5 years! Funny how we blow smoke up everyone's butts on Town Halls but behind the scenes we do this cr-p!

I work in credit fraud and recently there were recent layoffs of remote employees who were amazing people to work with back on March 20. There are still some remote employees left that live about 1 to 3 hours from the office. They now want people to go in 60% of the month and I’m a remote employee that’s still standing and I am always left wondering am I next. This whole RTO has been a mess and it’s just getting worse. They even told me I should try to get into the office. No way I’m going to do that long commute with the high gas prices and I was hired as remote. With all this lay off talk I am getting to a point where I just feel they should just lay me off. My whole department struggles with low morale and if you ask a question or want help on something you get an attitude from management saying you are an advanced case processor, you should know how to do that. There is a lack of support for one another, just a negative attitude. I just keep my head down and quietly do my work. Anybody else feel like this? Always wondering if you are next? And your department struggling with low morale?

Elevate Kevin Z and get rid of Alfonso he’s another Manon waiting to happen.

Pay is below market, raises don't exist, and talent gets zero recognition. With all the layoffs, individual contributors are doing management work on top of their own jobs. Meanwhile everything keeps getting offshored. There's literally nothing positive about this place.

the most overlooked dynamics in a toxic workplace is the clash between a high performer and a su-ky mgr…

on paper, it doesnt make sense. Here u have someone who is proactive… engaged, and solution-oriented reporting to someone who should want exactly that. But the tension isn’t really about intent… it’s about how they fu--ing operate.

Hi performers focus on outcomes. they question inefficiencies and suggest improvments…. Su-ky ineffective managers, on the other hand focus on control. they avoid risk, interpret questions as pushback, and spend way too much energy covering for their own shortcomings.

so when a high performer tries to make things better, the manager doesn’t hear the idea. they hear that they’re doing something wrong…that’s where the toxic cycle begins. instead of engaging with the idea or the solution their focus shifts to the person presenting it.

from there, it usually goes one of two ways. the high performer keeps pushing, keeps offering ideas, and gets labeled as difficult. Or they go silent, stop questioning, stop contributing beyond what’s asked, and get labeled as disengaged and utter sh-t.

from the outside, both look like problems. but they’re not. they’re what happens when confidence meets insecurity.

if you’re a high performer at WFB dealing with this, the right environment won’t make you feel like you need to shrink just to survive or be effective…

My useless manager is getting riffed wef June 30.
He was totally useless. I need to tell him and executive team about it.
But I am too nice to tell him before he leaves.
Any suggestions?

I am sorry this is happening and leaders like MF should be fired and mid tier manager; that don't know how to manage up and balance.

What a tool

No support. Not even micromanagement. But also no involvement in anything, including office politics. Literally absent. Some might call that the dream, but in reality it just means the team is unmanaged. And when we slip, we'll pay the price. Meanwhile, they'll keep climbing, blissfully unaffected.

A good life. I was so used to that place that I stayed way too long when I could have been working at a place that has better pay, is actually staffed well, and doesn't have managers who get off on yelling at the rest of us. Give it a try, folks. There are much better employers than Macy's.

That's my manager. Everything is burning around us, we have so many issues, don't even get me started on layoffs-related morale drop, and all he does is ignore everything and drinks his coffee. And these are the people that are considered leadership at this place?

EM takes action the way a broken vending machine takes your money. You put something in, you hear a noise, and absolutely nothing comes out.

I’ve been checking this site occasionally because for me it's where I catchup on office politics. I laughed with the sarcasm and got upset with the pain some have been tolerating. I’ve never posted before, but seeing how many people tolerate hostility and harassment made me want to share my own experience.
I had serious family issues and needed some time off. Instead of supporting me, my manager started insulting me, saying women “aren’t made for the workforce” and that he needed “strong people.” He even went around telling others what was happening in my personal life and told the program’s project manager not to count on me. Then he dropped my ranking. I was humiliated and heartbroken.
About a year later, I heard his wife filed for divorce and he was dealing with a nasty situation of his own. Life has a way of circling back.

Never used to get this, but now it’s every week. GK has got to go.

Who is hiring these unqualified window dressing only store managers?
This is becoming a serious problem at Belk.

I once heard PP say in private that one of the the firm's biggest problem is over retention of underperforning associates. Did ER solve this? A lot of talent has walked out the door and im still surrounded by id--ts.

I've been here long enough to see this play out multiple times. A mediocre person gets promoted. I don't know if they interviewed well or they're friends with someone important. Then they get put in charge of a team of talented people and within six months, the best people on that team are gone. They quit, transfer, find something else. The mediocre manager is the one who stays as the work gets worse and the team gets weaker. And the company acts surprised. Promote the wrong people and you lose the right ones. It's not that complicated. It's just cause and effect. But they never seem to learn.

I'm in therapy now thanks to this job. I did everything right, great reviews, no issues. New management is awful, threatening, plays favorites. I have a health condition that needs good insurance and I live somewhere with few other jobs. So I stay. But I'm done ki-ling myself for them.

So after I was laid off last year, I grew a deep seated hatred for my director and manager for my departure. My resentment knew no bounds. I cursed them everyday for sticking me in this godforsaken job market. I imagined them laughing at me and my misery.

After finding nothing for almost 6 months and wishing I was dead and gone, my hatred for my prior leadership still driving me strong, I've come to learn that they were recently dismissed at the beginning of the year and recently today.

I now feel an emptiness I can't describe. All this time hating and letting it drive my passion to surpass them and land a better opportunity, and I now feel like I don't know like I wasted my time wishing them despair. I hate them for putting me in this situation, but now they're in the same boat as me. It feels weird learning that they're gone too from T-Mobile and I don't know anymore.

Heavy work, broken tech, bad managers, tiny raises. Insurance keeps getting worse. Basic tasks take all day. Sales and customers dropping, no vision. It's a mess.

Nobody's acknowledged the people we lost, and the workload is crushing. The manager isn't even trying. It's not just the volume, there are critical gaps. Even if we wanted to pick up the slack, there are some things we simply can't do.

Looking for advice or perspective from others at Intel.

There’s a manager in my organization who consistently treats engineers in a way that feels demeaning and, at times, abusive. The pattern includes setting unrealistic expectations, giving inconsistent or misleading feedback, and in some cases making claims about performance that don’t align with actual work or documented results.

What’s more concerning is that this doesn’t seem to be an isolated experience—multiple engineers over time have had similar issues, and some feel their careers have been negatively impacted as a result. There’s also a perception that feedback about this manager isn’t effectively reflected in any meaningful performance review or accountability process.

I’m trying to understand:

How common is it for situations like this to go unaddressed at Intel?
Are internal systems (HR, ethics hotlines, etc.) actually effective in handling this kind of concern?
What’s the safest and most constructive way to raise something like this without risking retaliation?

I’m not looking to attack anyone personally—just trying to figure out how situations like this are best handled and whether others have seen similar patterns or successfully navigated them.

Appreciate any insights.

I got laid off by OptumRx. I was unhappy with my manager and the unrealistic expectations. My manager treated me poorly from the start anyway but it seems like all my ex-coworkers still have their jobs and have no idea that these layoffs were happening. Is OptumRx doing mass lay offs too? Is OptumRx going to be phased out one of these days? Especially with the new bill?

I have real trouble with a new manager. I've been either left out of the work that fits my skillset, or outright subjected to passive-aggressive treatment. I thought it was some personal animosity at first, now I have the impression it's a campaign to make me leave. If that's the case, why not just lay me off? It's not as if my salary makes me worth all the special attention. Have any of you had a similar experience?

I can't believe I put myself into this position. The environment is toxic, we have extremely poor people managers, most of them are micromanagers, and tools and processes are broken or ineffective. There is massive burnout not just in my team, but anywhere I look. Getting out of here is my number one goal.

I feel frustrated and disrespected because my manager cuts me off or dismisses my ideas before I can fully share them. It often feels like he values speed over depth and agreement over thoughtful debate. He seems to take what he needs from me, then favor others who match his style. His inconsistency makes it hard to trust or understand what he actually wants. I’m angry because I see a better way forward but don’t have the authority to act, and I feel stuck between caring about my work and protecting my mental health .

There is one KY manager that is incredibly toxic. They bully their employees by grill them about their decisions, one ups them, and makes them second guess themselves. If I wanted the college studying and "exam" 1:1 life, I'd go back to college. This person is just plain mean and seems to get their jollies off of making employees flustered during 1:1s. I want to report them but am afraid that I would be found out and fired instead. So as of now, we are all just waiting for the hub strategy to mitigate "the problem". I'm tempted by "fight or flight" response to either "lay into them about their bad behavior on their last day" or conveniently "call in sick". That person is a human piece of trash and the second choice may be my best choice.

In addition, I'm very sorry that you all got laid off. You didn't deserve it and I hope you all get better jobs than your previous ones.

Something changed. Managers used to be fine. Now they're toxic, yelling, pitting us against each other. Six years here and the last two have been awful. No idea how some of these people still have jobs.

Pointed out something that saved my boss from major embarrassment, but instead of being grateful he's upset at me for correcting him? Should've just let him walk into it. Lesson learned.

I'm an id--t for staying this long. Now I desperately want out, but there are no jobs. I'm stuck, thanks in part to my own laziness.

Has been the biggest joke of my life. And some of these managers are quite literally the slimiest. I can’t wait to see their sappy LinkedIn post when they lose their jobs, it’s coming.

I hope my rude and incompetent manager gets fired soon.

Most of the posts here are from people who were let go or did not like the company policies like RTO. Would like to hear from folks who left the firm as you couldn't deal with your immediate manager or one above them - basically management who knows who you are and what you do. What was the red line for your decision? Have you found another job? Which part of the firm you were in - Ops, TSG, Engineering, etc.

I’d like to know the logic upper mgmt and the executive committee has about letting go of good tenured staff for bullsh-t reasons such as wfh status they caused while thinking the company will benefit greatly from staff and mgrs who cant do sh-t and dont know sh-t? The level of stupidity up top is embarrassing. The company has gone down jill drastically since Robin stepped in. No way people outside this company dont know this

New manager won't get off my back. I'm good at what I do, yet I'm constantly interrupted and second-guessed. They're relentless, especially with me. No clue if this is just bad management or if I'm being set up for cuts. As if I don't have enough stress already.

My manager is only capable of micromanaging, nitpicking, and creating problems out of nothing. That's it. That's his whole shtick. How these people get promoted is beyond me.

There’s definitely plenty of fat around here. The problem is that when cuts come, the fat somehow stays and the actual muscle that does the work gets cut. Sad but true. We’ve got so many useless managers who could be removed, but they’ll continue to stick around and siphon off resources. What a crock.

I didn’t realize how sick Wells Fargo made me until I left last May. I’d gained weight, couldn’t sleep, and lived with constant anxiety. It took at least six months before my body started feeling like it belonged to me again. Sadly, the mental part takes even longer. I’m still recovering.

Part of it was dealing with a horrible bully of a manager for so long, but the overall culture played a role too. I genuinely hope more people decide to leave. It can be life changing.