total-recoil
Well-Known Member
I have had a run-in with a sociopath. This is a female boss at work who is so awful, it's hard to describe. My encounter with her took place on a Sunday morning when she suddenly appeared and began to shout at one of my friends there. First thiing I noticed was everybody was terrified of her, including other managers and she was attacking virtually everybody. I'm going to relate my encounter with this person as, in some ways, it verges on being funny although, at the time, I was pretty upset and came close to a meltdown.
Initially she seemed to be too busy attacking other people to turn any attention to me. It was stuff like bits of tape on the floor, boxes supposedly looking scruffy and, above all, that we were all too slow. I was very soon moved away to work on another job and the woman then seemed to disappear.
Here comes the amazing part: After about 2 hours of hard work, this boss appeared again and asked me to stop and answer her questions. She said that production had been slowed down due to my poor performance. She said I was the slowest person she had ever seen and that my movements were also slow. I attempted to explain I had been doing a three man job on my own (with other people were at break) and she accused me of making excuses. She told me she was going to make sure personally that this would be my last day and that I'd never work in that department again. I was stunned.
The crunch (and turning point) came when a few minutes later I was making my way to the canteen to take my 15 minutes break. This was quite legitimate as we have in total 45 minutes and I'd already had my 30 minutes at dinner. She was walking in one direction and myself in another so our paths crossed. I was then asked where I was going and I mumbled something about a break. She then told me to forget the break and go back to work and I calmly replied I was due my break and fully intended to take it. She then asked me to clock off and go home. So, still stunned I got my bag and coat, said goodbye to my friend (who was himself still in shock) and I quietly left, making a bee-line for the workplace internet cafe. Only a few minutes later did I get angry (very angry).
I should explain at this point this woman was not really my employer as I work for an internal agency. My actual bosses are quite pleasant and fortunately they are happy with my work. So, I expected this particular boss woud complain about me to the agency. I decided to take preemptive measures and inform my agency before she could make her report and I basically told my employers she prevented me taking my 15 minute break. They kind of shrugged and I got the strong impression they didn't take her seriously and since then I have worked in that department (they send me when she's not there). In some ways, I became a martyr as I got a warm reception last time I was there and seemed to have survived.
A word on sociopaths - I decided to research the subject a little: Basically they thrive in junior managerial positions. Their work, in some ways, is their life as they can use their position to bully other people. It also came to mind that the work sociopath doesn't make a big drama over some minor misdeed out of genuine care and concern for work performance. In reality, they thrive on our mistakes once detected because each mistake can be used as evidence to claim we are quite useless. A few days after I heard another female friend had been sent home for taking too much time when visiting the toilet. The woman had actually timed her.
Initially she seemed to be too busy attacking other people to turn any attention to me. It was stuff like bits of tape on the floor, boxes supposedly looking scruffy and, above all, that we were all too slow. I was very soon moved away to work on another job and the woman then seemed to disappear.
Here comes the amazing part: After about 2 hours of hard work, this boss appeared again and asked me to stop and answer her questions. She said that production had been slowed down due to my poor performance. She said I was the slowest person she had ever seen and that my movements were also slow. I attempted to explain I had been doing a three man job on my own (with other people were at break) and she accused me of making excuses. She told me she was going to make sure personally that this would be my last day and that I'd never work in that department again. I was stunned.
The crunch (and turning point) came when a few minutes later I was making my way to the canteen to take my 15 minutes break. This was quite legitimate as we have in total 45 minutes and I'd already had my 30 minutes at dinner. She was walking in one direction and myself in another so our paths crossed. I was then asked where I was going and I mumbled something about a break. She then told me to forget the break and go back to work and I calmly replied I was due my break and fully intended to take it. She then asked me to clock off and go home. So, still stunned I got my bag and coat, said goodbye to my friend (who was himself still in shock) and I quietly left, making a bee-line for the workplace internet cafe. Only a few minutes later did I get angry (very angry).
I should explain at this point this woman was not really my employer as I work for an internal agency. My actual bosses are quite pleasant and fortunately they are happy with my work. So, I expected this particular boss woud complain about me to the agency. I decided to take preemptive measures and inform my agency before she could make her report and I basically told my employers she prevented me taking my 15 minute break. They kind of shrugged and I got the strong impression they didn't take her seriously and since then I have worked in that department (they send me when she's not there). In some ways, I became a martyr as I got a warm reception last time I was there and seemed to have survived.
A word on sociopaths - I decided to research the subject a little: Basically they thrive in junior managerial positions. Their work, in some ways, is their life as they can use their position to bully other people. It also came to mind that the work sociopath doesn't make a big drama over some minor misdeed out of genuine care and concern for work performance. In reality, they thrive on our mistakes once detected because each mistake can be used as evidence to claim we are quite useless. A few days after I heard another female friend had been sent home for taking too much time when visiting the toilet. The woman had actually timed her.
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