how to deal with an apologetic boss?

[evanrick]

so one of my bosses at work is an apologist. he basically is an etch-a-sketch type person, a mitt romney type.

he talks to me and co-workers about conforming to new corporate guidelines because he wants a promotion.

i tell him that his expectations are too high, that he cant possibly believe people will take him seriously, and communicated that while i understand his position it would be unethical to expect us to live up to his expectations when our company doesn't even do that.

he blames things, like the ability of our abusing boss to escape accountability, on "politics" which i see as a cop-out. he completely understands but doesn't seem to care how obviously "reform" is needed. by reform i mean our boss being fired for his consistent abuse.

even the people who have had his job before him, every single one ive worked under, and every single person that has worked for him feel the exact same way.

would it not be a disservice to not only the people he has worked with for the past few months and the company to not more forcefully object to the lack of accountability?

i know it may seen naive of me to expect a huge business to wake up to these issues but im not the kind of person to be ok with being treated badly.

i dont want a miracle solution and playing nice will definitely not work, how can i more forcefully leverage his bosses into seeing how untenable this atmosphere is?

 

[tarallucci]

I can't relate to this specific situation but in cases like this one, where I'm not ok with what is going on, at some point I stand up to the person and try to explain what's the matter as politely as I can.
This all depends on the seriousness of the problem you're pointing out and your ethical sense. Some say I have a very strong ethical sense because I took drastic decisions and left my jobs, but there are times you just can't be quiet and let go.
So if you're not in a position where you fear consequences, I would suggest to ask your boss you need to talk to him, not the one who panders to you.

 

[evanrick]

what needs to happen is for someone higher to get involved. whoever i talk to regularly about the abuse and wild expectations is not working. i just haven't been looking forward to throwing everything in their face all at once but i may have to at this point.

 

[borg69unimatrix]

Unfortunately the work place (corporations) are full of politics, egos, ass kissers, drama, self servers, rules - both official and unofficial, brown nosers, yes men, and slackers trying to get paid for doing as little as possible.

There was a time when you could start at the bottom and be recognized for hard work, paid accordingly and work your way up knowing all parts of the business. Now days you show up with a degree, not knowing anything about the business and lofty ideas how to reinvent the wheel and expecting to be paid millions just for showing up.

If you're planning some kind of ancient Rome type Senate "assassination" of your boss, I'd get some major documentation of his actions and then take it to his superiors. Questioning him directly is just going to get you fired. You're either with him or against him.

 

[checkinthingsout]

Unfortunately the work place (corporations) are full of politics, egos, ass kissers, drama, self servers, rules - both official and unofficial, brown nosers, yes men, and slackers trying to get paid for doing as little as possible.

There was a time when you could start at the bottom and be recognized for hard work, paid accordingly and work your way up knowing all parts of the business. Now days you show up with a degree, not knowing anything about the business and lofty ideas how to reinvent the wheel and expecting to be paid millions just for showing up.

If you're planning some kind of ancient Rome type Senate "assassination" of your boss, I'd get some major documentation of his actions and then take it to his superiors. Questioning him directly is just going to get you fired. You're either with him or against him.

Not sure I agree that the work place was drastically different before, I think now it is just more evident. In any case, documentation is key!

Also, I have no idea how your company works, but if there are compliance issues, seek out the ombuds person to present this information to, because approaching your manager's manager could create a serious issue if you continue to work there. Also, I would start looking for employment elsewhere if the situation is that bad. Losing team members some time is the only way that it is evident to senior/executive leadership that their middle managers are not managing properly.

 

[Harke the Boeotarch]

In your place I'd do my job as best I could. He's your boss so it's your job to do what he asks you to do; that's what you signed up for when you took up employment at the place you work at.

Now see what you did! I ended a sentence with a preposition.

 

[KaraBulut]

Or you could just go work someplace with a better culture and less politics/drama.