There’s a saying that states your manager can be the defining factor that can make or break your career. A bad manager can set in motion a series of unfortunate events that can be the beginning and end of your career. The saying “People don’t leave jobs, they leave managers” has never been more true, as seen in this Redditor’s story. The author had to deal with a hellish boss who removed her from a project as a form of punishment and also obstructed her promotion.

More info: Reddit

Nothing beats the feeling of leaving a toxic job

Image credits: Andrea Piacquadio (not the actual photo)

The poster had to deal with a boss who made her the target for every company misstep

Image credits: Pixabay (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Gustavo Fring (not the actual photo)

When she complained to HR, he said she needed to have more compassion towards leadership since they never had any management training

Image credits: RDNE Stock project (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Andrea Piacquadio (not the actual photo)

When she requested a promotion, it was vetoed as the VP claimed she was not fit to be a project manager

Image credits: Jo Szczepanska (not the actual photo)

She eventually resigned and joined a new firm who, coincidentally, were working on the project her previous kicked her off from

Image credits: xoxogossipcats

The project manager they put on top of it is grossly incompetent

The Original Poster (OP) was working as a junior project manager at an engineering firm for two years. While there, she was asked to work on two unfamiliar projects due to a departing project manager. While helping compile the final reports, senior engineers reviewed them and found them lacking key information.

The VP lambasted her for allowing the reports to reach the reviewers with such errors. She explained her lack of involvement, stating she had no content information and wasn’t asked to review, only assisting with formatting to meet deadlines. She suggested contacting the project manager and director, her direct supervisor who led the projects for months, who somehow failed to check the reports before review. The VP, still angry, eventually dropped the issue.

Months later, the OP, under her utilization target and criticized by the VP for insufficient work, was supposed to be working on a new project. However, she was informed she wouldn’t be managing it due to the importance of the new client and the need to stay under budget. They claimed they couldn’t “afford” her, despite her being the lowest-paid option, and wanted to run the project lean.

They appointed someone with no project management experience or certifications. This individual, uninterested in the role due to their existing full-time job in another department, struggled and sought the OP’s help with the project management software and meeting minute recording.

The VP, learning of the OP’s assistance, held a call with her and other junior PMs. She questioned her involvement, to which she explained she was simply instructing the new PM on the unfamiliar software, offered at his request. She clarified she wasn’t billing the client, eliminating financial concerns. When she inquired about his preferred method for recording meeting minutes, the VP, despite company policy requiring the software, demanded Word format. After the OP explained the software’s advantages, she shut her down, telling her to “learn her place” and assigning another junior PM to onboard the new one. 

The OP, having looked forward to the project, ended the call feeling even more discouraged. She complained to her boss, who refused to get involved, and HR, who advised her to be more compassionate towards leadership. Months later, upon requesting a promised promotion, she learned the VP was blocking it. They even suggested she was unfit for project management and should consider an administrative role. After enduring this series of negative experiences, she left to join a competitor.

At her new firm, she discovered they were working on the same project she was removed from at her previous company. Apparently, her old firm was struggling, and the project manager they assigned performed poorly.

Currently, she works on the project at her new firm. As the deadline approached, her old firm’s mistakes came to light, resulting in their replacement by her new company. Now, her new firm is working to clean up the mess created by her previous employer.

Currently, her new firm is in charge of cleaning up the mess her old firm created

Image credits: Pixabay (not the actual photo)

Dr. Sandra Robinson, Professor of Organizational Behavior at the University of British Columbia, identified several common causes of workplace hostility for Bored Panda. These include personal traits like poor mental health or communication skills, unresolved issues between individuals, and a lack of conflict resolution skills.

Regarding the author’s situation with a challenging superior, Dr. Robinson mentioned several potential next steps an employee might consider. “There are about four options: One is to leave the company, which is the best option if you are able and the costs incurred are low or negligible for doing so. Secondly is to seek a lateral move, so no longer under the same boss. Thirdly is to wait it out for your boss to move on and finally to seek to resolve it directly.”

While directly addressing conflict is generally the healthiest and most productive approach, it can be difficult to achieve positive results when a strained relationship or incompetence exists on either side.

“However, it doesn’t hurt to attempt to talk it over with the person one is having conflict with and then follow all the advice you can find on healthy conflict resolution strategies in one-on-one conversations,” Dr. Robinson explained.

The post has about 2.8k upvotes and had a lot of commenters rallying behind the author. People in the comments wanted to know the reason behind the hatred, which the OP replied the VP was going through some family issues and took it out on people around her, as well as having a strong dislike for women, as her ideology is “if I went through it, you have to as well.”

Commenters applauded the author with many still having questions on the VP’s attitude

Image credits: juan mendez (not the actual photo)

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