I searched past entries and couldn't find the report about what happened to me last year. So, since I just wrote a paper about it, I thought I would reproduce it here. Happy reading.







Christina Taft

Intro to Business

August 4, 2009





Ineffective Management Techniques in Temporary Worker Environments





Over the years, I have worked for a myriad of temporary employment service organizations. Usually, I would be the only temp worker assigned to a particular company and if I did a good job, or bad job, the only person I would have to worry about would be my immediate supervisor. I have never had any problems with any co-workers, permanent, temporary, or otherwise. I hadn’t, at least, until last year. And it was from this experience that I learned what management style I do not want to emulate.

I had been assigned to a data entry position along with 4 other temporary workers. I had an issue with one of them from the very first day. I had suggested people bring in ceramic mugs for their coffee because it would cut down on waste and help the environment. The person replied with a negative stance saying, and I quote, “I hate the earth.” That insulted me deeply and when I tried to talk with her about it, asking why she “hated the earth”, and why she didn’t care about preserving the world on which we live, she refused to talk about it saying she felt I was harassing her. I knew from that moment on to keep my distance from her.

The weeks that followed were very difficult for me. We had some downtime because the main packet of work hadn’t arrived yet. The person would surf the internet and play very bloody games, look up subjects on the internet that ended up relating to my faith, and then say very derogatory statements about what she found. I couldn’t say anything because I knew it would end up in an argument. I did, however, call our supervisor to complain. My supervisor listened, and seemed sympathetic. I believe she did speak to the person, because the behavior ceased to a degree, but it did not stop the person from continually surfing the internet and calling on everyone in the room to look at what she found. She was definitely an attention seeker. Everything that I held dear, in regards to openness to all, reverence for the earth, tolerance, equality and diversity, she was against and very vocal about it. My time there was miserable.

One day, I was having some digestion problems. I had eaten something the night before that was causing me to have belching problems. I couldn’t help it. I just wouldn’t stop burping. I tried to keep it in as much as possible, hoping it would work itself out. Then, in the middle of our shift with no warning at all, the person turned to me and said loudly in front of everyone in the room, “Would you do something about your bodily functions! It’s disgusting!” I was absolutely mortified. My first response was to say that it was burping, there was nothing I could do about it. She still reacted in a disgusted and demeaning way. My further response drew attention away from my “bodily functions” and said she didn’t have to say that in front of the entire room. She could have said something to me privately or in an email. She again used the word “disgusting” in her response. Her actions and reactions to me brought me to tears. I had had enough of this person. I left the room crying, found a private location and called my supervisor. She wasn’t in, but I spoke to another supervisor with the temp company. I told my story and what she had done, asking to be reassigned elsewhere. He was very sympathetic, listened to me, and cared about me as a person, which is what every supervisor should do. He said he would have my supervisor call me as soon as she was back in. It took a while to recompose myself, but I did, and went back to work.

When my supervisor finally did call me back, the response I received was not what I expected. She told me to essentially “suck it up.” She made no indication whatsoever that she was going to discipline or even talk to the person who hurt me so badly. She said that every workplace has people you have to deal with and that if I backed out of this assignment, she wouldn’t be able to place me anywhere else. So, she was basically saying that if one of her workers attacks another of her workers, she expects the victim to be the better of the two and not do anything about it. Ok, so the bully gets to get away with anything she pleases because the supervisor doesn’t want to have to deal with it? The victim is supposed to keep the peace? This was extreme avoidance of managerial responsibility. Yes, I agree that if one is attacked in the workplace, one should strive to keep one’s composure. But that does not excuse the behavior of the bully nor should it preclude them from being disciplined. There wasn’t even a way for me to file a formal complaint against the person attacking me. It was made clear to me in no uncertain terms that I would lose my job if I insisted that something be done. I had to beg her to talk to the person, and I don’t even know if she did. It took me two days to gain enough composure to speak to the person about how badly they had hurt me and ways to approach situations like that in the future. In essence, I had to be my own supervisor.

Managers and supervisors are in place for a reason. Not only are they supposed to regulate and manage the day to day operations of a business, they are also supposed to manage PEOPLE. Managing the interactions between their staff, creating a pleasant and successful working environment, should be one of the highest priorities of any manager. Conflict resolution skills are extremely important for the success of any manager. Avoiding confrontations simply for one’s comfort is detrimental to the workers and to the success of the company and any company relations. I learned what not to do and be as a potential manager that day. That job, while the work itself was fine, turned out to be the worst job of my life simply because of what I had to endure between my coworkers and myself. I know I became stronger for the incident, but the most important thing that happened was how open my eyes became in regards to employee/supervisor relations. I know I still have more to learn about how to react to bullies in work environments. In fact, it has recently been reported that bullies in the workplace cause more hostile work environments than sexual harassment, mostly because it isn’t illegal. However, some states are introducing legislation to help prevent workplace bullying. I can only hope such legislation makes its way across the country to help protect every worker in the land.

According to Whil Wheaton, and I fully agree. Posting here for all posterity.

There is only ONE RACE!

Bobby Bob Bob dances his lunch away.