E-mail I had to send to my husband's employer

[snugglegirl05]

My husband has been dealing with a problem at work regarding one of the Manager's he reports to as well as the Senior Manager over the entire area of parking garages he works at as a CSR.

One particular job duty he has to do on a daily basis is a space count at 4 parking garages. The Manager over 3 of those garages literally expects the space count for those 3 garages to be done at 10 a.m. every day no matter what is going on. I am guessing that the Property Managers over those garages want the space counts done by that time.

The problem is this...

The Senior Manager over the entire area of parking garages, whom everyone reports to, expects my husband to clean one of the surface lots as well as audit it on a daily basis beginning at 9 a.m. My husband has been doing his best to get this done, and when he explains this to the other Manager, he will not accept his answer. He expects the space counts to done regardless of what other duties he has to do. At least 3 times my husband has been threatened with disciplinary action from the Senior Manager over the entire area of parking garages for not getting the surface lot done on a daily basis.

My husband called me this past Thursday frustrated because once again the Senior Manager threatened him with disciplinary action for not cleaning the surface lot as well as auditing it on a daily basis beginning at 9 a.m.

So I sent this e-mail to the Senior Manager and carbon copied the other manager...

Senior Manager and other Manager:

My husband, *name*, is having a difficult time explaining to *other manager* that he cannot complete all 3 space counts at 10 a.m. because of the fact that you want him to clean *surface lot* as well as audit it every morning beginning at 9 a.m. Since the surface lot has over 300 parking spots, it will take over an hour to complete both duties. It is not possible for my husband to complete the space counts for *other manager* on a daily basis at 10 a.m. due to this. So I am asking you, as his direct Manager, to explain this to *other manager* so my husband is able to complete those duties without the possibility of receiving further disciplinary action from you.

It seems that it will be beneficial to company management as a whole and to the property management company since they are the client, for all of the *area of parking garages* company managers, including both of you, to get together and prioritize all of the tasks my husband needs to get done on a daily basis. Every manager needs to be on the same page regarding this as well. Otherwise, problems will continue to happen on both ends.

The other option is for my husband to take time out of his work schedule to do this in a group discussion with everyone present. The goal is to hopefully keep everyone happy without any further problems happening on either side.

This is a frustrating experience for both of us.

[eltf177]

Which one has the final authority, and will they listen?

[jobssuck]

Which one has the final authority, and will they listen?

I hate situations like this...lazy managers who don't want to do their job and just want results. They are nothing but TROUBLE.

[bainsidhe]

I realize the email is already sent, but this type of communication should really come from your husband, and not from you. I realize he feels he is getting nowhere and that you want to help him, but you are not their employee.

Hubby should contact the "real" decision-maker, who I assume is the one threatening disciplinary action, and that boss's instructions should take precedence. When prioritizing his list of duties, hubby should always prioritize the duty given to him by the big boss that can hire and fire. And when 2nd manager gets upset because it's impossible to start other work at 10AM, it needs to be communicated that Big Boss made it clear that the 9AM duty was to be completed first. Hubby will make 2nd manager the next priority, and 2nd manager is welcome to speak to Big Boss himself should he have any questions. (it's important to communicate this calmly, and without showing frustration.)

Best wishes.

[snugglegirl05]

He has tried to explain to the Senior Manager several times about the ongoing problem, but she has told him that she does not want to listen to him. That is what he has told me several times. So there is nothing he can do. Plus he does not want to talk to her when she acts like this.

He has also told the 2nd manager several times what the Senior Manager wants him to do on a daily basis at 9 a.m., how long it will take him to do that, and if he has any questions, he needs to talk to the Senior Manager about it. His answer is "I expect my space counts to be done at 10 a.m. every day"

[paperfiend]

This sounds like a great situation to send to askamanager.org . I love her advice for dealing with tricky situations. She'll tell you spouses shouldn't communicate with bosses on behalf of employees, so maybe leave that part out? Just describe the situation and ask how the employee (your husband) should handle it. Maybe even have your hubby write in since he's the employee.

[notalwaysright]

He has tried to explain to the Senior Manager several times about the ongoing problem, but she has told him that she does not want to listen to him. That is what he has told me several times.

This seems problematic. Just deciding not to listen... Um, it seems like dealing with problems is part of their job? Yeah, I just don't think that's okay.

[snugglegirl05]

This seems problematic. Just deciding not to listen... Um, it seems like dealing with problems is part of their job? Yeah, I just don't think that's okay.

And neither do I.

[wolfie]

This seems problematic. Just deciding not to listen... Um, it seems like dealing with problems is part of their job? Yeah, I just don't think that's okay.

Sounds like the PHB way of dealing with an impossible situation. You give your subordinate an order. Other boss gives your subordinate a conflicting order. Subordinate asks you how to handle the situation. You tell them to do both (even though the orders CAN'T both be accomplished), and yell at them when they fail to do the impossible.

[snugglegirl05]

Sounds like the PHB way of dealing with an impossible situation. You give your subordinate an order. Other boss gives your subordinate a conflicting order. Subordinate asks you how to handle the situation. You tell them to do both (even though the orders CAN'T both be accomplished), and yell at them when they fail to do the impossible.

And this is something my husband got tired of dealing with. The same Manager wrote up a supervisor of ours when I worked for the same employer in 2015. The supervisor had a list of daily duties he had to do, but this Manager would give him extra work to do on top of his daily duties. Then one day the Senior Manager gave him a specific duty to complete. That week he was busy with his daily duties as well as assisting customers who had problems at the pay machines. That was one of his daily duties, and how busy he is doing this affects the other duties he has to accomplish. He explained to the Manager that he would complete the extra duties he gave him when he could, but that was not the answer this Manager wanted to hear. So the same week the supervisor was given the other duty by the Senior Manager he was written up by the other Manager, who reports to the Senior Manager. He still works for the same employer as a supervisor, but he only reports to one Manager, and he is not the same one. Plus he works the overnight shift, and so he rarely even has contact with the other Manager.

Being threatened disciplinary action when you cannot do the impossible does not solve anything. I know because I have been there before, and I explained to the Manager I reported to back then, which was in 2011, that I could not do what the client wanted me to do, but he would not listen to me. I was expected to assist more than one customer at a time.

[alogram]

I realize the email is already sent, but this type of communication should really come from your husband, and not from you. I realize he feels he is getting nowhere and that you want to help him, but you are not their employee.

I could not agree with this more.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

I realize the email is already sent, but this type of communication should really come from your husband, and not from you. I realize he feels he is getting nowhere and that you want to help him, but you are not their employee.

I could not agree with this more.

I third this.

Your husband's manager thinks he isn't doing his job properly. Now his wife is meddling and trying to tell manager how to do his job. Your husband will just end up getting fired. Fewer headaches that way.

I understand you're upset, but your husband needs to stand up for himself.

[alogram]

I third this.

Your husband's manager thinks he isn't doing his job properly. Now his wife is meddling and trying to tell manager how to do his job. Your husband will just end up getting fired. Fewer headaches that way.

I understand you're upset, but your husband needs to stand up for himself.

Exactly. I don't know of any boss that would go for this. His job is between his boss and him. I don't think this is appropriate for a parent, let alone a spouse.

[cindybubbles]

Did he ask you to write the email or give you his approval to send it out?

[Shyla]

At this point, the email is sent. So the question is how to deal with conflicting managers. If they just want to yell, let them yell. If there are disciplinary consequences, that's different. I would probably alternate for a little. Today Manager A gets what he wants. Tomorrow Manager B gets what he wants. Another option is to do exactly what the immediate supervisor wants. If anyone else requests something, ask that person to please talk to the immediate supervisor about it. Then if you're told to do three things at once, tell them you know you can get two of them done, which one should be left til later in the day.

I suspect this is more office politics than actual work. They're all having a contest over who is most important and using your husband because he's the peon. I recommend he do his job the best he can and go home. Work steadily but no running around getting heart attacks. Take breaks and lunch as dictated. Then try to ignore the yelling. I know it's hard to do.