IS YOUR BOSS A BULLY?

Discussion in 'Serono' started by Anonymous, May 4, 2013 at 12:39 AM.

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  1. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Women vs. Women in the Workplace
    By ANNA WILD and JONANN BRADY Feb 24, 2009, 9:53 AM
    The bullying magazine executive played by Meryl Streep in the film "The Devil Wears Prada" is played for laughs, but women bullying other female employees in the real world is no laughing matter.

    Joan Frye, who worked in a hospital in Nashville, Tenn., said she endured nearly two years of bullying at the hands of her female boss, which led her to a mental breakdown and a long court battle.

    Just four months into her job, Frye, 62, said she knew there was going to be trouble with her boss.

    "She had me come into her office for my 90-day review, and she started, 'We don't click. ... What are you going to do about it?' Not what are we going to do, but what are you going to do about it," Frye said. "I knew then that we were going to have a serious problem."

    Frye said her boss undermined her in front of employees, isolated her from senior management, gave her impossible deadlines and humiliated her. She dreaded going to work.

    "One day she would be nice, and the next day she would attack," Frye said. "She would glare at me. She would make noise like 'haaa' if I was talking to somebody. She would walk between us and turn her back on me."

    After she complained to human resources and senior management, she said, she was transferred to another department. After six months in her new position, Frye said the problems with her previous boss led to a mental breakdown, forcing her to take a medical leave of absence.

    Frye filed a lawsuit against the company. Four years later, after exhausting her savings, the case was dismissed. The court did, however, describe her old boss as "an equal opportunity oppressor," calling her management style "abrasive" and declaring that the difficult relationship contributed to "disabling problems" for Frye.

    Suffering in Silence

    Many women are afraid to confront their bullying bosses and suffer in silence, said Gary Namie, a psychologist and founder of the Workplace Bullying Institute.

    "You should not have to risk clinical depression, debilitating anxiety, or -- and as 30 percent of women experience -- post-traumatic stress disorder. You shouldn't have a war wound in the workplace," Namie said.

    It's a war being fought across the country in all types of workplaces. An estimated 54 million people say they have been bullied at work, according to a 2007 survey by Zogby International.

    While men tend to target male and female employees equally, women bosses are likely to aim their hostility toward other women more than 70 percent of the time, according to a survey by the Workplace Bullying Institute.

    Workplace experts have different theories on why women more often target other women. Some say these women see female co-workers as possible competition for only a few top-level positions.

    Namie said it's more important to get help, not try to analyze the tormenter's motives. The institute says more than 80 percent of those bullied lose their jobs, and 41 percent suffer clinical depression.

    Recovering Bullies Confess

    The Growth Leadership Center in California counsels women whose "tough" office demeanor amounted to aggression.

    In a "bully broads" roundtable discussion, a group of women talked about their hostile workplace behavior.

    "I actually made someone cry. I sort of went over the edge, and as I closed the door I thought, 'That was not me in there,'" said Christine Forter, one of the women in the roundtable.

    "I knew I was a bully, but I thought I was justified. It is the perfection combined with the urgency that creates a lethal combination," said Christine King, another woman who took part in the discussion.

    By attending counseling groups, some "bully broads" said, they hope they will be able to recognize how their negative behavior affects others and try to make changes in their management style.

    "Like, you never say, 'That is stupid,' but you pause and say something like, 'That is an interesting idea, and let's talk about it,'" said Monica Palm, another group member.

    But for people like Joan Frye who have been bullied, the debilitating effects of a hostile work environment may last forever.

    "I feel like this took away my life as it was. It caused damage to my family; it caused damage to my reputation; it caused damage to us significantly financially," Frye said. "I feel like it was probably the worst thing that has happened to me in my entire life."

    How to Fight Back

    The Workplace Bullying Institute recommends these steps to deal with problems in the workplace.

    Get support from family and friends. Talking about the problem eases the burden and lowers the chances of stress-related illness.

    See a doctor or a therapist, especially if you're having stress symptoms, such as sleeplessness and appetite loss.

    Get witnesses to help you build a record of the bully's actions for a future complaint.

    Confront the bully with the same toughness he or she showed you. This should be done with a single witness or as a group.

    File a complaint. It can be risky for your job, but if the previous steps didn't work, it's essential to establish a paper trail.

    Make a case to remove the bully. You want to show your employer the costs of keeping the bully and of losing you.
     

  2. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Just file a complaint with local EEOC office! Let's see what happens then.
     
  3. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    NW has biggest bully manager in EMD Serono!
     
  4. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    The biggest bully I have ever encountered in the workplace was at serono. A total nut job worthy of a feature film. A complete nut job. Unstable. Addict. Incompetent. Boozed and slept through conf calls. Total disaster. Good riddance
     
  5. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Same here...I look back and it is a HBR case study on “How not to lead a team and manage people”. This person would get hammered drunk at the meeting and then the next morning, hungover, read everyone the riot act for not being professional! From an integrity perspective let’s just say there was none as this person got caught, on multiple occasions, sleeping with customers, but the best was the first class tickets…that was classic. Having reps buy upgrades for them and expense them under odd categories that they would approve.

    I think anyone would be hard pressed to find a more unethical company then Serono.
     
  6. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

     
  7. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

     
  8. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Fertility ABD is horrible. Anyone that worked for her knows let me stay at a boutique hotel on company dime.... Let me do connecting flights.... Oh I can fly friends and family around the country for free oh wait do I work.... No because I don't meet with anyone when I travel I am good at making excuses....

    Hahahaha
     
  9. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Nailed it...
     
  10. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Mine liked to get drunk and abuse reps in front of teammates...I will never forget one rep who stood up for me as my drunk boss ridiculed me in front of my teammates at a dinner. I was being ridiculed for things that usually are considered good qualities at a normal company....thank you to those reps that stand up to bullies...to those that feed into mgt bullying...you are just as bad as the bully
     
  11. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Most teammates don't want to stand up or "call out" the bullying behavior of the ABD if they aren't being bullied....it takes a strong person with character to speak up. Those with weak character either feed into it , ignore it or brown nose the "abuser/bully" regardless of what they are seeing or are aware of.
     
  12. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    HR is a joke here! Don't bother wasting your time. You call they gather information and make sure they know how to protect the DM and company. Then get back to you and say nothing we can do for you. In the meanwhile the crazy ABD runs wild.

    Be warned don't share anything with HR!

    If you need help seek an attorney. Let them file a complaint and then have HR figure out how to protect there stupid ABD!
     
  13. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Is that guy Chris Blanc still around?
     
  14. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    I totally agree w the person who says most reps stay quiet to bullying bosses. That is very true. My old boss was a classic bully at serono. Most of the reps stayed quiet while some adopted his behavior. Omg it was a nightmare. He was the worst but was allowed to run wild due to his relationship w his horrible boss. I would never go to HR as they will allow mgrs to retaliate. A few reps went to HR with proof of mgt misconduct and were promptly fired. HR here disgusting bedfellows with mgt. they could care less.
     
  15. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Chris B is around. Who would hire him. He is a reject from NDD we all hated him there. He is truly the worst of the worst. No class and not respected.
     
  16. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Heavy set with way too much makeup?
     
  17. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    That description fits her, but it is a bit too kind. Let's just say she is DM and I don't mean a district manager. She flies all over our region staying at boutique hotels, taking many connections to get better status on the airline and never even works with a rep. She blows us off all the time
     
  18. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    How true the above posts are. Management let's her run wild. Then she gets in a bizarre mood everyone that works with her knows what I mean. That strange twitch, can't look anyone in the eye.
    Worst of all she starts sending emails like crazy her famous line I will send when I'm in the air. She tries to justify her job.
    DM leave you are disliked!
     
  19. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    OMG that is hillirous as I was talking about a fertility dm from back in the day who is no longer with Serono! She did the same exact things...the AA upgrades, the hotels, etc. Very strange!
     
  20. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    So true. This guy is one of the biggest wastes in the industry. If you want to be a good leader, and a good person for that matter, study CB and do everything opposite from him. Then watch your career blossom. Stay away from this mental midget!