Why won't my boss fire my terrible coworker?

(MoneyWatch) Dear Evil HR Lady,

I started working on a project with one woman, we'll call her Heidi, over a year ago. I was the first person she started managing (she had been kept at an entry level position for three years and then promoted twice in 6 months). She was managing me and things went badly. I was doing my best, but she was setting unrealistic expectations and sending very abusive emails (all caps, lots of !!!!!, 'you never do anything right', etc.). She complained to my real manager, we talked, but because she'd been there longer, they believed her stories. I wanted to quit, but luckily, I was able to transfer to a different department. Since then, I've loved my job, the other people I work with like my work, and I've been promoted. She's the only person to have such a problem with me.

Then they hired someone new to work for Heidi. Things went the same way. She complained, he complained about her, and he switched projects. This also happened with another new hire who then was let go. I talked with our Managing Director at dinner one night and it came out that Heidi has been taking management classes for months. Now one other newer coworker (working here for almost two years) has been assigned to work with Heidi. Things are following the same pattern. She's shared some of the stories and emails and they're still abusive and Heidi is setting her up to fail. Then Heidi complained to the manager and the manager talked to the newer person and says she needs to cover herself and try really hard to fix things. This person says she's miserable and isn't enjoying her job any more.

Heidi is really fake and always panders to anyone above her, but I can't believe management isn't resolving this serious issue. Heidi hasn't worked well with anyone she's managed, she constantly complains about the person she's managing, and four out of five people have stopped working on her projects because of all these issues. Heidi has had these issues for more than a year (including formal negative reviews) and yet she's still working with the company and has been promoted again. What do we do in this situation? How can we make management realize that these management classes aren't working and that Heidi needs to be given an ultimatum of change or get fired? She makes people miserable and is not an asset to the company

There is actually a really easy answer to your question, "What do we do?" You probably don't want to hear it, though. Most people don't like it, but they don't call me the Evil HR Lady for nothing. Ready? Nothing. You do nothing.

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Whew! You don't have to worry about it because Heidi is not your problem. She's not your manager. She's not your employee. So, you do nothing. You come to work and you do your job and you can provide a listening ear for her latest victim, but other than that, ignore her.

As I said, no one really wants to hear this, because many of us have a tremendous desire to fix things. And in situations like this the problem is just glaring at you and screaming "Fix me!" yet, no one is fixing anything, and you're so frustrated you could scream. But, repeat after me, "Heidi is not my problem. Heidi is not my problem." Perhaps some yoga or something would be helpful.

Since we've established that Heidi is not your problem, (honest!) let's talk about why her bad behavior is seemingly ignored. First of all, if she's enrolled in management classes, it's not being ignored. If her boss has authorized the expense for her to receive this training, it means he recognizes there is a problem and he's got a plan to fix it. Heidi may need more than a class or two and she may never be a good manager. Some people just aren't.

But, managing isn't Heidi's only job. It sounds like she doesn't have hire/fire authority over the people she supervises and she only has one person at a time. That means that managing people is a very small portion of her responsibilities. You are probably unaware of how well she performs in her other responsibilities, especially since you work in a different department. Her boss may well keep her around because she does an excellent job at everything BUT managing people. And he may be trying to develop her because he sees potential.

And yes, there is a possibility that she's managed to simply pull the wool of her manager's eyes and he's completely clueless. But, then there would be no management class. It is true that some people are very, very good at presenting one face to managers and another face to their employees. But, if she does have this talent, what you do is the same thing: Nothing.

They see her miserable employees. They allow people to transfer out. Her manager may just be a super awful manager himself and have no idea how to coach her and even less of an idea of how to fire someone. But, that's his responsibility. Not yours.

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[Complexity1]

If she is saying/writing things like "you never do anything right" she is abusive and should be fired. It does not matter if she does other parts of her job well, in the same way that it doesn't matter if an abusive spouse is a very good cook. Abusive behavior should not be tolerated in the workplace, or anywhere, period.

[lkbeck1]

We only have one side of this story, and that side is very biased. Would the letter writer even admit if Heidi does good work in any area? Probably not. This person seems to be holding a grudge, and not inclined to acknowledge _anything_ positive about Heidi. The whole "She complained to my real manager, we talked, but because she'd been there longer, they believed her stories." thing makes me suspicious that there is a lot more to this story than is being revealed.

You notice that there is nothing in the complaint about how the letter writer wants to help Heidi to become a better manager? It is all about how "somebody," but not me, should DO something!!!

While I agree that it appears that Heidi is a bad manager and needs help (which the company appears to be giving her - management classes!), I also think that people should be given an opportunity to grow and make the changes they need to become better at their jobs -- not just by their bosses, but by their co-workers, too. Learning to be a good manager takes time, and Heidi should be given that time.

[Rory_Trotter]

You make some really good points, Suzanne.

The truth is that some individual contributors aren't great people managers, but still move up into management roles because companies reward top performers. Just the way it is. :-)

Thanks for sharing.

Best,

Rory

[RHX100]

I have to agree that Heidi is a problem to everyone, since she is so disruptive. Would a customer like to hear that this tyrant of a person is being kept as an employee and making other employees miserable? Anyone that works under Heidi is dedicated to working hard for the company, so why would HR look the other way when Heidi creates such a hostile work environment? Sorry Suzanne, I think in cases like this, HR is trying to cover its rear and avoid a lawsuit from Heidi because the first thing she will do is have you served with papers for wrongful termination, discrimation, or some other reason so she can get some money from the company. And the dedicated employees that try to create a friendly work environment have to suffer so the company can avoid paying big bucks to Heidi.

[Suzanne Lucas]

There's no mention of HR, and the letter writer was not HR, so we have no idea what HR is or is not doing. Whatever they are doing is still irrelevant. Managing a problem employee is still the job of her manager, not someone in a neighboring department.

[RHX100]

Suzanne - This is in reply to your comment below. Apparently I hit a nerve. What you aren't admitting is that Heidi is everyone's problem because of how much she disrupts the work environment. It can be assumed that at least five people have had bad working experiences under Heidi, so HR must have at least heard about the issues with Heidi. Or are HR departments that deaf and blind? Yes, managing the problem employee is the job of her manager, but the manager's manager, or HR, should step in and take action to either remove the problem employee or assign her elsewhere where she can work on her own and not disrupt others. Anyone who has had the bad experience of working under Heidi carries with them bad feelings that come out to others in the company and even to the customers of the company. Tell me how is this good for the company? As an HR person, you fail to see the domino effect that Heidi's behavior is having on the employees, the company itself, and the customers or stakeholders. Just because the letter writer didn't specify anything about HR, anyone who has worked in an office has had the experience of a bad employee that disrupts the office and nothing is done about for fear of a lawsuit.

[wonkman9]

Okay, hold up.

Suzanne is not saying that Heidi is just peachy keen and welcome in the workplace. She's not advocating that Heidi be allowed to continue working, or be promoted, or continue to have supervisory responsibilities.

All she's doing is identifying (correctly) that Heidi is not the letter-writer's problem, and that there may be (somewhat) valid reasons why Heidi has not yet been fired.

This remains extremely good advice. If this is the worst-case scenario and Heidi is genuinely just a despicable two-faced person, getting embroiled in this dispute would amount to a career suicide pact: you might take her down, but YOU would be the collateral damage. Even if you survived the encounter, your career would be badly wounded, and you'd have to work extremely hard to bring about this outcome to begin with. (Junior employee, and one of the people who "doesn't like" Heidi at that, trying to tackle a senior and respected supervisor? This rarely ends well for that junior employee.)

So. You back off. You sympathize with her latest victim. If you can, you throw them a lifebuoy. ("We have an opening in our department, and we'd love to have you." "I hear Jenny in Market Research is looking for a seconded employee to cover some administrative stuff while her junior is out on mat leave, would you like me to talk to her about you?" that sort of thing) But you don't engage with Heidi, or with management about Heidi, because that's almost certainly going to lead to you getting badly, badly burned.

Should HR do something? Yes, HR should. But they AREN'T, and that's the reality within which you have to work. Getting involved here does not end well.

[MBI-3]

I have a "Heidi" where I work (this person is not management though) and I think I disagree that they are not my problem. They cause problems with the good employees and I can name at least 4 different times (in the 3 years I have worked here) that the problems have been escalated to either management/HR yet "Heidi" is still here and the good employees decided to go somewhere else. When I either have to calm people down after arguments/get stuck working with people who only want to work their way (no matter if their way is the right way or not) then yes, it is my problem.

[sjc_1]

This manager is making workers miserable and harming the company, so it is everyone's problem, especially HR.