Dear Roze:

I have a co-worker who is so frustrated with our boss and the way he shows his concern for her and the rest of us, or better said, the way he could care less about any of us.  She had told him that she wasn’t happy with our office environment and has been looking for another job outside of our company.  He responded by saying that he’s all for her finding another one and even offered to provide her with a letter of reference.  After a few weeks passed, he asked her if she had heard anything from the company, and she told him that someone from there had gotten the job.  He responded that she shouldn’t give up.  Give me a break!  She would have liked for him to have made her feel like she’s important to our organization and that he didn’t want her to leave.  What do you think of this?

-Looking for some true concern

Dear Looking for some true concern:

Have you ever considered the possibility that your boss’s reaction to your co-worker’s job search may be because he is not pleased with her performance?  Based on your description of your boss’s behavior, it does not sound like he is concerned about losing her.  Typically, management values and makes a concerted effort to retain a good employee.  There may be circumstances you have no knowledge of.

Dear Roze:

One of the sections in my organization has this huge initiative going on that requires support from a lot of us not in the section.  Our General Manager told us that we were expected to keep up with all of our own projects while working on this initiative.  He said he wouldn’t accept any excuses.  Interestingly, one of the Assistant Managers, my immediate boss, recently skirted a question I had about one of my projects.  He told me that we would deal with it later since we have this big initiative we’re supporting.  Did he hear what the GM said to all of us??  Of course he did, but he just doesn’t want to deal with my issue because it would require that he do his job and be assertive and supportive of my work, which, the last I heard, that’s what supervisors are supposed to do.  I know you can probably tell that I have an attitude about this, but that’s because I deal with this kind of mess from my boss all the time.  I’ve had enough.  I feel like I need to do something but I’m not sure what that something should be.

-Boss needs to do his job

Dear Boss needs to do his job:

When you are able to lose your edge, I suggest that you have a calm, respectful one-on-one with your boss.  Without question, your tone and attitude can have a significant impact on the outcome of this discussion.  Affirm your understanding of the difficulty his position of authority can place him in and then tactfully explain your inability to understand why your question cannot be addressed, especially in light of the GM’s announcement.  Let him know that you want to do whatever you can do to assist him assist you.  Even with all of this being communicated, be prepared for him to get defensive.

Best of luck!

Dear Roze:

What’s with my agency’s management?  While I was doing some work at one of our division’s satellite offices, a vendor came by and needed to speak to one of the two supervisors in this office.  Both of them were in a meeting with a visitor in the conference room with the door open.  I poked my head in and told the appropriate supervisor that he had a visitor from xyz Company.  Later that same day when I got back to the building where my pod is located and where my supervisor is, my supervisor called me into his office and told me that I needed to apologize to the supervisors at the satellite office.  He said that one of them told him that my interruption of their meeting wasn’t appropriate and that I needed to be “reigned in.”  I couldn’t believe it.  The conference door was wide open.  I was trying to be helpful.  I told my boss exactly what I did, but he didn’t care what I had to say.  So, I drove back to the satellite office to get things straight.  When I approached the supervisors and repeated what my boss told me and explained that my intentions were pure and I apologize if they were taken otherwise, they both told me that they had no problem with what I did and that they had no idea where my boss got his information because neither of them had said anything to him.  Well, in my mind one of them was not telling me the truth.  My boss wouldn’t have said anything to me, much less, have known anything about this encounter unless one of those supervisors had complained to him.  I don’t think much of my supervisor but I know he wouldn’t have known anything unless one of these guys had contacted him about it.  Any suggestions?

-Someone’s lying

Dear Someone’s lying:

I suggest that you send a non-confrontational email to all three of the supervisors outlining the circumstances and explaining that you have no reason to misrepresent what you know.  Preface your communication with the purpose for your email – to put the matter to rest by documenting your behavior and verbal communications and to document the subsequent verbal communications you received from the three of them.  Indicate that you are well aware that there has been a breakdown in communications and you are not sure how or if the matter can be remedied, but you believe that it is important for you to share with all of them your knowledge and understanding of the information you have.

Good luck!