I'm in a shitty situation. I was unlucky to witness a bad exchange between my coworker and boss. He (boss) began an argument with coworker (female) and approached her aggressively, got close in her personal space, swore repeatedly, very loud and wouldnt relent when it was clear she became distressed and asked him to leave her alone. After he got it out of his system, she began crying and I advised her to take a walk, cool off and come back when she is ready. I could imagine it was pretty stressful for her. What he did was entirely unprofessional, threatening, uncalled for and could put the company in a precarious position. Plus the coworker is a good worker, contributes positively and I would hate to think that she could quit over this.
He is an angry son of a bitch, ex marine hot head type that I can usually get along with and avoid the bad parts of his personality. He is definitely a curmudgeon, 50+ years of age and most of the time is grumpy. If he starts to give me shit, I give it back to him and the weird thing is, I think he respects that. Anybody who stands up to him, he develops a weird respect for and backs off. Others in our group who don't defend themselves or cower, he lays into them more. Despite not having served in decades, I get the feeling he tries to run our group like a bootcamp with him as the drill instructor.
Later on while walking through the hallway, a different coworker approached me and asked me what the shouting was all about this morning. He said he heard the swearing and much of the exchange - through the walls. I was embarrassed that our group's reputation is now all over the building.
Found out that my coworker went to our boss's manager to report the incident and mentioned I was the only other person in the room. Later on I was called into his boss's office to corroborate the incident. I didn't lie, told him what I saw/heard and we discussed it. Big boss was pissed about the incident and doesn't support that kind of management style. He now wants me to document what I witnessed and send him a report. He is going to open an HR incident on my boss. The problem is that the only people in the room were myself, coworker and boss. My boss is surely going to put 2 + 2 together and realize the corroborating report came from me when he is called on to discuss the incident.
I'm not going to disobey the order from big boss to complete the report. That I have to do. I'm trying to figure out how to perform damage control with my own boss who will form and nurse a grudge over this with me. I get plum work assignments from him, we do joint projects, he does my annual reviews, we are in many weekly meetings and I report to him frequently.
I'm thinking of approaching my boss and saying I was interviewed by his boss about the incident and asked to document what I witnessed. I'm going to say that I want you to hear it from me first rather than start the HR interview and realize my corroborating documentation is there waiting for him. I know he is still going to get mad, but I figure he will get over it sooner and possibly respect me for being forward with him. Or just say nothing and let him take his punishment. What do you guys think? Anybody in HR here?
He is an angry son of a bitch, ex marine hot head type that I can usually get along with and avoid the bad parts of his personality. He is definitely a curmudgeon, 50+ years of age and most of the time is grumpy. If he starts to give me shit, I give it back to him and the weird thing is, I think he respects that. Anybody who stands up to him, he develops a weird respect for and backs off. Others in our group who don't defend themselves or cower, he lays into them more. Despite not having served in decades, I get the feeling he tries to run our group like a bootcamp with him as the drill instructor.
Later on while walking through the hallway, a different coworker approached me and asked me what the shouting was all about this morning. He said he heard the swearing and much of the exchange - through the walls. I was embarrassed that our group's reputation is now all over the building.
Found out that my coworker went to our boss's manager to report the incident and mentioned I was the only other person in the room. Later on I was called into his boss's office to corroborate the incident. I didn't lie, told him what I saw/heard and we discussed it. Big boss was pissed about the incident and doesn't support that kind of management style. He now wants me to document what I witnessed and send him a report. He is going to open an HR incident on my boss. The problem is that the only people in the room were myself, coworker and boss. My boss is surely going to put 2 + 2 together and realize the corroborating report came from me when he is called on to discuss the incident.
I'm not going to disobey the order from big boss to complete the report. That I have to do. I'm trying to figure out how to perform damage control with my own boss who will form and nurse a grudge over this with me. I get plum work assignments from him, we do joint projects, he does my annual reviews, we are in many weekly meetings and I report to him frequently.
I'm thinking of approaching my boss and saying I was interviewed by his boss about the incident and asked to document what I witnessed. I'm going to say that I want you to hear it from me first rather than start the HR interview and realize my corroborating documentation is there waiting for him. I know he is still going to get mad, but I figure he will get over it sooner and possibly respect me for being forward with him. Or just say nothing and let him take his punishment. What do you guys think? Anybody in HR here?
Facebook
Twitter