...and I'm not talking about the simply gruff and direct type that says what they what when they want and is therefore sometimes a little harsh and offensive. I'm talkin' about the slightly insane totally irrational, like what the f#$k are you talkin' about kind of asshole. But, and this is is the big but - what if you respect the work and the other people you work with? Do you suck it up? Do you have the stones (or female equivalent) to stand up and say, "hey dickhead - who do you think you are? How about a little common GD decency considering I'm workin' 12+ hours for you here you piss-ass douch bag!" Or something like that? Well...? p.s. I had a bad day.
But my dear oldfogey, shouldn't one put the work first - history is replete with assholes that did great things - unfortunately talent does not distinguish between jerks and non-jerks. I learn a lot from the work - it's good work.
Anyway - anyone got any good stories about jerky bosses?
i think there are enough non-assholes doing good work to
make working for aholes unnecessary.
one boss i had told me something like this though...'i find that
the worse i treat people the more they seem to respect me..'
something like that. he was kind of an ahole, but he also had
an endearing personality
indeed ol fogey and lars. life is too short and plentiful to have to work for an asshole. would you tolerate an asshole for a wife or husband? most people spend more or equivalent waking time at work as you do with your significant other.
Rim - excellent! ahh what an appropriate topic. my boss was out of the office yesterday (watching his kids). this morning he is censuring this poor girl because she was sitting at her desk at 9:21am. He thought she hadn't arrived yet. this follows:
Boss - You're here! You're here! Why didn't you tell me you were here!!!
P.G - I come in at 9 o'clock.
Boss - Well you have to announce yourself when you get here. How can you come in without announcing yourself? You have to announce yourself!! I have a lot of work I have to go over with you! There's a lot of work to do. You can't just come in at 9 o'clock when we have a deadline. You have to honor the deadline. You have to get here earlier. You should have been here at 8 o'clock.
P.G. - I need to get feedback from you before I can do more work - you get here at 9 and you weren't here yesterday. I stay late yesterday...
Boss - Oh, so it's my fault...let me tell you how many hours i work etc etc (enter headphones and loud music).
Background info for you to know: There are 5 full time staff in the office. The office is the size of a living room.
There's better examples, but the timing was just too good...
my previous job was EXACTLY like that scorr. matter of fact, i've heard that speech before and this anonymous poster thing is steadily becoming a familiar story, because i believe we had the same a-hole boss.
aholeboss: you cant keep coming in like this...
(its monday -9:30)
me: uhm, i stayed late 3 times last week - one of them until 11pm, missing all my trains home...
aholeboss: i'll have to keep an eye on your time now, this is unacceptable, theres a million things we have to take care of!
me: wait - did you not hear what i just said? plus - i'm supposed to be here at 9, and every other day i'm here at 8:00 to get things done early- i dont get what we're going to miss in half an hour..
aholeboss: well, i never asked you to come in early or stay late, have i??
(the lack of logic hung in the air in silence for about 20 seconds as he peered at what had to be my perplexed face)
A story from when I worked for a firm where all of the slaves were hourly; A lecture from a former principal as he reviewed a window detail that my direct PM helped me to adapt from another project:
Boss: Where did you get this detail?
Boss: Did you draw this window sill detail from scratch?
Boss (to everyone in the studio): I don't want anyone drawing standard details from scratch! I don't pay you to draw standard details!
Boss: Do you understand??
(I couldn't get a word in edgewise. Obviously I didn't draw the detail from scratch. Why would I want to? Oh - this was at a firm where everyone was scheduled down to the hour. Glad to be outa there.)
i had a boss would throw 30 minute fits/rampages over minor shit, and then call his mom when things didn't go his way.
i'd get blamed for random shit that wasn't my fault (i.e. previous employer misplaced something that i couldn't find with a logical or illogical search)
hurt himself on a fairly regular basis, and then whined like a little girl, took rest of day off.
random beat downs, just because... (hey, when they are warranted, it's cool. because your boyfriend decided not to suck you off this a.m., not cool)
not to mention the crappy benefits and substandard pay (and his tawdry belief that he was paying for my education, even though i already had shelled out $35k for that apparently "worthless piece of paper")
oh, the work he admired (and told people he did) was slick and modern, the work he built was traditional and crappy.
Tell him how you feel when he acts a certain way. If he doesn't laugh, chances are he may feel bad about what he did, but maybe not. If he laughs or makes you feel worse, it will be that much easier to tell him off.
For me, this all happens in a matter of 30 seconds. My fuse is short.
okay true enough - my story blew - oldfogey - good story, lostinspace - bad story.
The story I told is not why I was angry - that story involves many invectives hurled at me and my work. Not really a funny story just kind of crappy. Not really worth telling - but I am enjoying the stories from the rest of you - thanks.
Maybe I should start another thread to tell nightmare employee stories.
I haven't ever vandalized a car or gone on a 30-minute rampage (or any rampage really) but I identify with the bosses in a few of these stories.
Me: it's 10am, where's Employee A? (employee is not here for impromptu team meeting to discuss status and direction of project X. Employee A recently spoke up in his annual review about feeling like he is not "fully included and integrated in the decision-making processes" about the projects he works on. My suggestion that he'd be more integrated if he unplugged his ipod occasionally didn't go over well. Here's some decision-making going on but he's not here.)
Other employee: he just came in the back door 2 minutes ago, but then he went out to Starbucks.
Me (to Employee A later that morning): we missed you this morning while discussing project X. We would have liked your input.
Employee A, rather indignantly: I was here until 10:30 last night.
Me: why?
Employee A: I was finishing the section you asked for.
Me: you told me on Monday that would take about 4 hours. It's Thursday. What's going on?
Employee A: All day Tuesday and Wednesday I was working on renderings.
Me: we didn't discuss any renderings. it's not in the budget and we can't bill that time.
Employee A: (rolling eyes at my petty concern over how to bill enough hours to pay everyone) I was also here on Sunday morning implementing my new filing system in the materials library
Me: I appreciate the effort and your interest in the making the materials library better. But again I wish we'd discussed that, and I certainly don't expect all these late nights and weekends (and now I'm thinking about how to pay overtime that I didn't know authorize...)
Employee A: (picking up ipod to indicate discussion is over) I have to get back to my renderings...
on a side note, how do you deal with asshole clients? the ones that make you re-work graphic packages ten times and question everything you (and their emplyees who might know a little more) do?
I had two bosses at my last job. Male boss and Female boss. Female boss was great but Male boss was c-r-a-z-y. Had no idea how to treat women or clients. He ran several projects into the ground. Gave me my first ever bad review, shafted me out of a bonus too, after countless hours of overtime. He only gave work to one girl in the office, and with Female boss? He treated her like the Duchess of York. Actually gave her flowers a couple of times, and brought her lunch unsolicited some days, but in a supremely creepy way. Until one day after work when his Beamer needed a jump, and Female boss offered to help. He accidentally kicked his car into neutral and smashed her leg in between the two cars.
She was actually later sent on several business trips without him, even in her full leg cast, because she was that much more competent than him. He was fired several months later (much to my satisfaction). Female boss is now in charge of something very important - and is one of my recommenders for grad school! We still talk about how crazy he was.....
I'm a believer in letting people be what they are. If a boss is an asshole - you're not going to change that.
Vote with your feet, as they say.
Of course, there's always the possibility that you've only got a narrow insight into the factors affecting his behaviour. My views on the skills required to manage employees has changed over the time I've gone from 'managed' to 'manager'. Neither one's a picnic.
the last time i had an a-hole boss (chewed me out in the a.m. over something insignificant) - - - i left for lunch, got an interview with another firm, and was gone in the afternoon....
didn't let the door hit me in the butt either...
of course, there were many other contributing factors leading to this sudden re-direction...
h.b- bill the client for every hour spent and every print. also in the contract make a clause for 'excessive client fussing' that charges 3x the normal billing for all changes to graphics/presentation material/drawings that are beyond typical professional standards.
Why can't we call out the bosses we've worked for who are assholes? Is there a ban on naming names here? Aside from the worry that they'd not give you a good reference later?
I say this because I swear I've worked for the same people as some of these posters, and I'd love to compare notes. Or could the entire field of architecture be filled with crazy, insecure/megalomaniac assholes, and a bunch of us have worked for them?
On that note, I hear at Norman Foster's office, you get three chits or tickets to leave your desk per day. Once you're out, tough luck. True?
Ok - so your boss is an asshole....
...and I'm not talking about the simply gruff and direct type that says what they what when they want and is therefore sometimes a little harsh and offensive. I'm talkin' about the slightly insane totally irrational, like what the f#$k are you talkin' about kind of asshole. But, and this is is the big but - what if you respect the work and the other people you work with? Do you suck it up? Do you have the stones (or female equivalent) to stand up and say, "hey dickhead - who do you think you are? How about a little common GD decency considering I'm workin' 12+ hours for you here you piss-ass douch bag!" Or something like that? Well...? p.s. I had a bad day.
take a dump on your desk and tell him yor 'working out some ideas'
stage a mutiny.
upperdecker
Superglue his butt cheeks together while he's asleep.
I hope to never be that close to my bosses butt cheecks.
cheeks.
But my dear oldfogey, shouldn't one put the work first - history is replete with assholes that did great things - unfortunately talent does not distinguish between jerks and non-jerks. I learn a lot from the work - it's good work.
Anyway - anyone got any good stories about jerky bosses?
i think there are enough non-assholes doing good work to
make working for aholes unnecessary.
one boss i had told me something like this though...'i find that
the worse i treat people the more they seem to respect me..'
something like that. he was kind of an ahole, but he also had
an endearing personality
indeed ol fogey and lars. life is too short and plentiful to have to work for an asshole. would you tolerate an asshole for a wife or husband? most people spend more or equivalent waking time at work as you do with your significant other.
my old boss once ripped his phone out of the wall and threw it at me...
Was it for you?
Rim - excellent! ahh what an appropriate topic. my boss was out of the office yesterday (watching his kids). this morning he is censuring this poor girl because she was sitting at her desk at 9:21am. He thought she hadn't arrived yet. this follows:
Boss - You're here! You're here! Why didn't you tell me you were here!!!
P.G - I come in at 9 o'clock.
Boss - Well you have to announce yourself when you get here. How can you come in without announcing yourself? You have to announce yourself!! I have a lot of work I have to go over with you! There's a lot of work to do. You can't just come in at 9 o'clock when we have a deadline. You have to honor the deadline. You have to get here earlier. You should have been here at 8 o'clock.
P.G. - I need to get feedback from you before I can do more work - you get here at 9 and you weren't here yesterday. I stay late yesterday...
Boss - Oh, so it's my fault...let me tell you how many hours i work etc etc (enter headphones and loud music).
Background info for you to know: There are 5 full time staff in the office. The office is the size of a living room.
There's better examples, but the timing was just too good...
I've got to get out.
my previous job was EXACTLY like that scorr. matter of fact, i've heard that speech before and this anonymous poster thing is steadily becoming a familiar story, because i believe we had the same a-hole boss.
aholeboss: you cant keep coming in like this...
(its monday -9:30)
me: uhm, i stayed late 3 times last week - one of them until 11pm, missing all my trains home...
aholeboss: i'll have to keep an eye on your time now, this is unacceptable, theres a million things we have to take care of!
me: wait - did you not hear what i just said? plus - i'm supposed to be here at 9, and every other day i'm here at 8:00 to get things done early- i dont get what we're going to miss in half an hour..
aholeboss: well, i never asked you to come in early or stay late, have i??
(the lack of logic hung in the air in silence for about 20 seconds as he peered at what had to be my perplexed face)
me: i'm going to my desk...
Bla bla bla.
I once had a boss light me on fire.
I wont go into details.
A story from when I worked for a firm where all of the slaves were hourly; A lecture from a former principal as he reviewed a window detail that my direct PM helped me to adapt from another project:
Boss: Where did you get this detail?
Boss: Did you draw this window sill detail from scratch?
Boss (to everyone in the studio): I don't want anyone drawing standard details from scratch! I don't pay you to draw standard details!
Boss: Do you understand??
(I couldn't get a word in edgewise. Obviously I didn't draw the detail from scratch. Why would I want to? Oh - this was at a firm where everyone was scheduled down to the hour. Glad to be outa there.)
i had a boss would throw 30 minute fits/rampages over minor shit, and then call his mom when things didn't go his way.
i'd get blamed for random shit that wasn't my fault (i.e. previous employer misplaced something that i couldn't find with a logical or illogical search)
hurt himself on a fairly regular basis, and then whined like a little girl, took rest of day off.
random beat downs, just because... (hey, when they are warranted, it's cool. because your boyfriend decided not to suck you off this a.m., not cool)
not to mention the crappy benefits and substandard pay (and his tawdry belief that he was paying for my education, even though i already had shelled out $35k for that apparently "worthless piece of paper")
oh, the work he admired (and told people he did) was slick and modern, the work he built was traditional and crappy.
last i heard, he was still a piece of shit.
Tell him how you feel when he acts a certain way. If he doesn't laugh, chances are he may feel bad about what he did, but maybe not. If he laughs or makes you feel worse, it will be that much easier to tell him off.
For me, this all happens in a matter of 30 seconds. My fuse is short.
boss - (to no one in particular while walking towards kitchen with head down) "Is Joe Millworker here?"
-silence-
boss - (still walking towards kitchen with head down) "where is Joe millworker?"
-silence-
boss (still walking now looking around confused) "Emplyee A!! Where is Jow millworker?!"
employee A "What?"
Boss - (still walking, almost in kitchen now) "Joe millworker - where the hell is he? Is he here?"
employee A - "How should I know?"
Boss - (stopped now) "Don't you have a meeting with him?"
Employee A - "No"
Boss - (walks into kitchen, head down) "oh, I thought you had a meeting with him."
employee A - "No, I don't"
Boss - (disppears into kitchen) - silence.
Hmmm... doesn't sound too bad. Is that a you-had-to-be-there moment?
I'm becoming more and more convinced that you all work at my firm.
well, in that case, STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM OUR BUTT CHEEKS
thanks for sharing folks. i haven't had a good laugh all day.
okay true enough - my story blew - oldfogey - good story, lostinspace - bad story.
The story I told is not why I was angry - that story involves many invectives hurled at me and my work. Not really a funny story just kind of crappy. Not really worth telling - but I am enjoying the stories from the rest of you - thanks.
Maybe I should start another thread to tell nightmare employee stories.
I haven't ever vandalized a car or gone on a 30-minute rampage (or any rampage really) but I identify with the bosses in a few of these stories.
Me: it's 10am, where's Employee A? (employee is not here for impromptu team meeting to discuss status and direction of project X. Employee A recently spoke up in his annual review about feeling like he is not "fully included and integrated in the decision-making processes" about the projects he works on. My suggestion that he'd be more integrated if he unplugged his ipod occasionally didn't go over well. Here's some decision-making going on but he's not here.)
Other employee: he just came in the back door 2 minutes ago, but then he went out to Starbucks.
Me (to Employee A later that morning): we missed you this morning while discussing project X. We would have liked your input.
Employee A, rather indignantly: I was here until 10:30 last night.
Me: why?
Employee A: I was finishing the section you asked for.
Me: you told me on Monday that would take about 4 hours. It's Thursday. What's going on?
Employee A: All day Tuesday and Wednesday I was working on renderings.
Me: we didn't discuss any renderings. it's not in the budget and we can't bill that time.
Employee A: (rolling eyes at my petty concern over how to bill enough hours to pay everyone) I was also here on Sunday morning implementing my new filing system in the materials library
Me: I appreciate the effort and your interest in the making the materials library better. But again I wish we'd discussed that, and I certainly don't expect all these late nights and weekends (and now I'm thinking about how to pay overtime that I didn't know authorize...)
Employee A: (picking up ipod to indicate discussion is over) I have to get back to my renderings...
aluminate, good post, but sorry to say i think you need one more person to help Employee A
hmm... yes maybe if he just had someone to delegate those pesky Starbucks runs to...
e-
on a side note, how do you deal with asshole clients? the ones that make you re-work graphic packages ten times and question everything you (and their emplyees who might know a little more) do?
I had two bosses at my last job. Male boss and Female boss. Female boss was great but Male boss was c-r-a-z-y. Had no idea how to treat women or clients. He ran several projects into the ground. Gave me my first ever bad review, shafted me out of a bonus too, after countless hours of overtime. He only gave work to one girl in the office, and with Female boss? He treated her like the Duchess of York. Actually gave her flowers a couple of times, and brought her lunch unsolicited some days, but in a supremely creepy way. Until one day after work when his Beamer needed a jump, and Female boss offered to help. He accidentally kicked his car into neutral and smashed her leg in between the two cars.
She was actually later sent on several business trips without him, even in her full leg cast, because she was that much more competent than him. He was fired several months later (much to my satisfaction). Female boss is now in charge of something very important - and is one of my recommenders for grad school! We still talk about how crazy he was.....
holz.box: two phrases:
1. Detailed contract
2. Additional services.
I have a client right now that moves recessed cans 2" during CA and replaced all of his closet switches with dimmers. I feel for you.
Lost In Space, for what it's worth, I thought your story was funny.
I'm a believer in letting people be what they are. If a boss is an asshole - you're not going to change that.
Vote with your feet, as they say.
Of course, there's always the possibility that you've only got a narrow insight into the factors affecting his behaviour. My views on the skills required to manage employees has changed over the time I've gone from 'managed' to 'manager'. Neither one's a picnic.
the last time i had an a-hole boss (chewed me out in the a.m. over something insignificant) - - - i left for lunch, got an interview with another firm, and was gone in the afternoon....
didn't let the door hit me in the butt either...
of course, there were many other contributing factors leading to this sudden re-direction...
life is too short
h.b- bill the client for every hour spent and every print. also in the contract make a clause for 'excessive client fussing' that charges 3x the normal billing for all changes to graphics/presentation material/drawings that are beyond typical professional standards.
For anyone who has to cope with jerks at work! Page three addresses dealing with a boss who's a jerk without putting your own careers in jeopardy…
Just curious....
Why can't we call out the bosses we've worked for who are assholes? Is there a ban on naming names here? Aside from the worry that they'd not give you a good reference later?
I say this because I swear I've worked for the same people as some of these posters, and I'd love to compare notes. Or could the entire field of architecture be filled with crazy, insecure/megalomaniac assholes, and a bunch of us have worked for them?
On that note, I hear at Norman Foster's office, you get three chits or tickets to leave your desk per day. Once you're out, tough luck. True?
"Or could the entire field of architecture be filled with crazy, insecure/megalomaniac assholes"
the whole world is, some of them just do architecture
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.