12:50 a.m. - 2002-10-23
Work
My supervisor called first thing this morning. It was his first day back in the office. He said the liaison of the project I have been working on since the beginning of April sent an e-mail yesterday confirming that their company wanted to extend the contract somewhat. However, there were no specifics so he asked to speak with her to arrange a time for us to return. As has been the case since the first, she has not responded.
I'm not certain why the liaison is so consistently rude to my supervisor, but it seems there is considerable effort made to avoid working with him and to be obvious about it. For example, one day she complained to me about the lack of communication she received from him, but I had been sitting in his office the day before watching him dial her number and leaving a voicemail while he commented that he was frustrated because she hadn't responded to several earlier attempts at contact that week. Another day, she arrived about 45 minutes late for a meeting saying that she had been at lunch and had "just forgotten the time"; we had had other issues to discuss so we had used that time for our own meeting. She then disappeared for another 30 minutes then returned. When my supervisor had gone, she asked me if he was compensated by the hour or if his time was by commission. I understood the question to mean had she cost him some income by her disregard for his time. That really isn't the point though. He manages several similar projects and has a lot of site visits to attend. She tried the same tactic for a couple of subsequent meetings, but my supervisor just left after he had allowed a reasonable amount of time. After that, she was just unavailable whenever he requested a project meeting, yet she and the "queen of mean" were often closeted in her office for a couple of hours during any given day. (See second entry)
With the previous project I worked on in another company, I originally had another supervisor. That supervisor lacked any knowledge of the data we were supposed to work with and he was a bully. The liaison and the project supervisor from that company both detested him because he was also lazy and dishonest. They were pleased when my new supervisor replaced him and I was grateful too. My current supervisor demanded a lot more of me in terms of reporting and accountability while giving me a lot more responsibility for the day to day management of the project, but he was always fair during that time and always made it clear to all parties that my expertise was valued. He made certain I had the time and resources I needed to do my work properly.
That changed between May and September on this project when he became very difficult to cope with - angry all the time, judging without checking for information, not listening. What made it almost unbearable was that I was very ill, having experienced a relapse to health conditions that arose in January. It was all I could manage to make it to work. I got the feeling he thought I was faking it while at the same time my doctor wanted to hospitalize me. I can't determine the cause but he seems to have resolved whatever was bothering him then. The concern that I have is was this a result of the liaison's or the "queen of mean's" behavior? Could this happen again?
In addition to everything else, the previous supervisor was continuing to cause problems for both of us whenever he could in both projects. He had started out as the supervisor for my current project but was replaced by my current supervisor before I was brought in. No one he had put on the project had the knowledge necessary to do the work accurately. In addition, a number of other staff/contracts hired by the company liaison to work on this project do not have the necessary background either. That doesn't mean they don't work hard, but they do deserve to have some training and support so that they don't feel set up to fail. I've tried to help where possible, with the consent of my supervisor, but the deadlines we have don't allow for as much as is necessary. Nor do I have any real right or authority to step in. I think both the "queen of mean" and my current co-worker may have preferred the previous supervisor to our current supervisor because he didn't check to see how much work was done or if it was correct. All the first supervisor wanted from me at the other contract was assistance and validation when he tried to milk as much money as he could from the company; he would really become nasty when I refused. I think he operated in the same way at my current worksite. He was finally let go in June but I know from their comments, that he continued to have contact with this liaison and each of my co-workers.
I can't figure it out.
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