We were acquired by another company a year and a half ago.
Anonymous
We were acquired by another company a year and a half ago. The company hired an office manager about four months after we merged.
The office manager very clearly picks favorites and she seems to dislike almost everyone from the acquired company. She often makes very rude remarks about the acquired company, such as, “the way you did X sucks” or the “people who managed x didn’t know what they were doing.” She also threw away most of our office supplies, even though people used them regularly, including people who were not part of the acquired company.
She spends most of her time with three administrative support workers, all significantly younger and less experienced than she is. She tells people things which should remain confidential and we suspect she gossips about all of us to these three employees. She treats some employees very poorly. She has certain individuals make lists of what they do so she can determine if it’s “appropriate” work. For another individual, she takes excessive amount of time to approve a vacation request, but with others she approves the request right away.
Most of the support staff from the acquired company and a few people from the existing company have quit because they don’t want to work in a toxic environment and this office manager has made them miserable.
With a few exceptions, everyone else I’ve encountered has been very nice and welcoming. I like my job and the people I work with on a daily basis are the same as before the merger. The Office Manager is not my direct supervisor.
This is not a great time for me to change jobs because my husband has health problems and recently had major surgery. Two of my former coworkers are at a nearby company and they keep urging me to come work with them. They said the work environment is really supportive. I work in a very specialized position and I am, thankfully, in high demand.
I’m wondering if it is best to wait this out or start looking elsewhere? I have an informal lunch scheduled with my former coworker and her boss, but I hate wasting their time if I’m not ready to leave. I don’t have anyone I can talk to about this manager because they’ve all have problems with her, too.
Share your insight
Join an authentic community that helps women support each other at work. Share your professional experience or ask for advice — you can even post anonymously.
8 Comments
Join the conversation