Results 1 to 7 of 7

Hybrid View

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Posts
    4

    Question Isolation of an Employee Who Complained About a Supervisor's Conduct

    Here’s the situation, I have an HR employee that made a formal complaint about a senior leader’s inappropriate behavior in the work place last summer. Because this person was a member of the HR team, an investigation was claimed to have been completed by the legal department. The conclusion of the investigation resulted in coaching for both employees to only discuss work related topics. The initial complaint was made over 6 months ago and since then the senior leader has chastised and put this HR employee on an island. The senior leader goes out of his way to avoid her, ignores her in face to face meetings and even discourages his own team from speaking her name. She is often excluded from key communication because he doesn’t CC her. However, he does include her counterpart which supports a different area within the same region. This employee is asking for my advice and I’m looking to this team for answers since the top execs have been made aware of his behavior but nothing has changed. In fact, the only thing that they have shared is how much this experience will help this person in future roles and how she will grow and learn from this experience. What advice can this community lend?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Massachusetts
    Posts
    24,521

    Default Re: Isolation of an Employee Who Complained About a Supervisor's Conduct

    Please be more specific about what was inappropriate about the senior leader's behavior. (Yes, it matters.)

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Posts
    4

    Default Re: Isolation of an Employee Who Complained About a Supervisor's Conduct

    The complaints were mostly a collection from the senior leaders direct reports and some of her personal experiences with him. As the primary HR contact for the region, his leaders reached out to her and vented about their frustration with his favoritism and lack of professionalism. He often addressed his administrative assistant as his “hot admin” and admitted to one of his direct reports that he had a crush on a younger, married female HRBP. He also spread nasty rumors about other employees (especially younger women) and created a culture of distrust and unprofessionalism. One of his former direct reports (also a female) made a formal complaint about him before resigning after only a year with the company. A total of 3 women in the area (all part of the HR team) also quit within a year or two. There’s no proof that they left specifically because of him but one of them did feel his wrath since he always gave her a hard time about routine tasks. He boasted about these interactions with his confidants. The HR person took this information to her supervisor, which sparked an investigation that has now created a divided team. During a recent team outing (approximately 120 employees were in attendance) he forbids people around him to say her name. He even directly told his “hot admin” to make sure her name wasn’t included in the presentation despite the fact that the team building location happened to be named after her. If she walks in the room, he looks the other way. She ended up leaving that event early because employees told her of his childish tactics and she felt so uncomfortable that she left the event a day early. It’s really uncomfortable for everyone but everyone is afraid of him. His direct reports are also afraid to interact with her because they know how he feels about her.

    - - - Updated - - -

    I'm not sure if this point is relevant or not but the employee that made the complaint had been promoted 3 times in a 4 year window, and was respected for having built solid relationships with her business partners. Her senior leader liked her very much and agreed that she was a valuable employee. He even recommended her for a promotion but when he heard that she made a formal complaint he retaliated as I mentioned in the previous posts.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    OH10
    Posts
    17,019

    Default Re: Isolation of an Employee Who Complained About a Supervisor's Conduct

    He has likely been advised to avoid her as much as possible except when business requires it and he does. It is also likely other team members that share a more relaxed repore are intentionally staying away from her to avoid having something they felt normal or acceptable to say taken out of context and a complaint lodged against them also. Retaliation would have been termination, not exile from fear. There is no corporate policy that says your co workers must be your friend.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Posts
    4

    Default Re: Isolation of an Employee Who Complained About a Supervisor's Conduct

    Thank you for your feedback Disagreeable.

    Her boss is currently out on leave and both her and her counterpart need to ensure all of the work for the entire team is taken care of. Is it ok for him to work with her counterpart and not with her? To send emails to the entire team and exclude her? All of the region level assignments that she took care of last year when the team was understaffed are now being assigned to her counterpart because of the tension. Am I wrong in assuming that the leadership team supports the decision to exclude her? It sounds like I should advise her to quit.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Massachusetts
    Posts
    24,521

    Default Re: Isolation of an Employee Who Complained About a Supervisor's Conduct

    Again, I am asking these questions for a reason.

    Has the inappropriate behavior that was initially complained about, stopped?

    What is your relationship to the HR employee?

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Posts
    4

    Default Re: Isolation of an Employee Who Complained About a Supervisor's Conduct

    I don't mind you asking CBG. I'm the one that posted on this forum for feedback so please ask anything you'd like!

    No, the inappropriate behavior has not stopped and will likely not stop. Leopards don't change their spots.

    I work with her in a neighboring region. I am also a member of the HR team and would like to be able to give her some helpful advice to either work through this or move on (quit). It’s extremely disappointing that the HR team and top execs are aware of this behavior and allow it. Guess this fortune 50 company isn’t too far from a “good ole, boys club”.

    1. Sponsored Links
       

Similar Threads

  1. Getting Fired: Supervisor Fired Over an Employee's Accusations
    By izumihoshiko in forum Employment and Labor
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 04-19-2013, 04:26 PM
  2. Harassment: How to Prevent Retaliation After Complaining About a Supervisor's Conduct
    By kimmisc in forum Employment and Labor
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 02-15-2013, 09:45 AM
  3. Supervisors: Supervisor is Acting Disrespectfully Toward an Employee
    By Bartender101 in forum Employment and Labor
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: 11-10-2012, 09:58 PM
  4. Supervisors: Mistreatment By Supervisor After Complaining About His Conduct
    By nygelmartin in forum Employment and Labor
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 10-14-2012, 08:00 PM
  5. Defamation: A Supervisor Defaming an Employee
    By kingkaren375 in forum Defamation, Slander And Libel
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 06-18-2006, 02:45 PM
 
 
Sponsored Links

Legal Help, Information and Resources