missingu Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 My boss asked me to do something and i refused. Now i am a good worker,i do most of the required overtime,i do just about anything he asks me to do. i rarely have sick days or vacation and i'm always on time. A few months ago we had a meeting, him, his boss and i. His boss said i am not to do the task ever again that i had always done at all because i made a mistake, i agreed. Fast forward to yesterday,my boss asked me to do this same task and i refused.He told me no one else is here to do it so can i do it and i still said no. I said not until your boss comes and says i can do it . He got mad and wont talk to me. And i left on time yesterday because i had something else to do and he indirectly had a go at me for it in a team meeting and more or less said i don't care about my job. I'm quite upset as i really admire this man and he is nice when he gets his own way but the minute you don't do something he wants he acts childish. what should i do?was i wrong? i even told him me refusing wasn't a personal thing against him but he is still mad Link to post Share on other sites
jen1447 Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 Is your boss's boss also your boss by extension? (Like owner of the company as opposed to a diff division head?) It seems like if he's technically not your boss but he is your boss's boss, this order should have been between him and your boss, not you, and it being carried out would be up to your boss, not you, and telling you to do whatever it was would be a violation of that and on your boss, not you, and that you should just follow your boss's instructions. But if the boss's boss is actually like a company power broker (owner etc.) then you'd have little choice but to obey him, and you should explain that to your boss if he asks you to disobey the big boss's orders. Then if your boss gets his panties bunched up over that and starts giving you crap, go tell the big boss that your boss is giving you crap bc you refused to carry out his instructions, which were to disregard the big boss's instructions. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
GunslingerRoland Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 Personally I would do it, but make sure that the whole conversation is in email. His request. You reminding him that the big boss, said you can`t do it. And him saying to do it anyway. Then if something ever does happen you have clear evidence that you gave your objections but were ordered to by your superior. 3 Link to post Share on other sites
newmoon Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 i would have probably done it, even though in the prior meeting you were advised not to. in most jobs, you need to take direction from your immediate boss (not the boss's boss). in this case, you were going above your supervisor to obey an order from his supervisor. as i see it, you do what your immediate supervisor tells you and then let him/her take the heat again if you make an error. the lowest person on the totem pole (you) should just be doing what they are told and letting the others fight over your mistakes. also, it could have been him/her giving you a chance to prove some growth - perhaps by doing it and not making a mistake this time you would have shown some progress. you were essentially trying to do the right thing, but i would have (personally) listened to the supervisor, done my darnest to not make an error this time, and then let him take the fall (again) if you messed up. he shouldn't call you out for it in front of others, but i guess i agree w/him that you should have done it, especially if some time had passed in-between the projects/tasks an the last mistake you made. Link to post Share on other sites
Akashsingh Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 My boss asked me to do something and i refused. Now i am a good worker,i do most of the required overtime,i do just about anything he asks me to do. i rarely have sick days or vacation and i'm always on time. A few months ago we had a meeting, him, his boss and i. His boss said i am not to do the task ever again that i had always done at all because i made a mistake, i agreed. Fast forward to yesterday,my boss asked me to do this same task and i refused.He told me no one else is here to do it so can i do it and i still said no. I said not until your boss comes and says i can do it . He got mad and wont talk to me. And i left on time yesterday because i had something else to do and he indirectly had a go at me for it in a team meeting and more or less said i don't care about my job. I'm quite upset as i really admire this man and he is nice when he gets his own way but the minute you don't do something he wants he acts childish. what should i do?was i wrong? i even told him me refusing wasn't a personal thing against him but he is still mad Refusing a command is insubordination. Bosses would not like it. 3 Link to post Share on other sites
CarrieT Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 Refusing a command is insubordination. Bosses would not like it. Repeated for truth. It was not your job to tell your boss to wait for his boss to give you a command. You report to your boss - do what he tells you. In the future, if you do something wrong, instead of NOT doing that job again, you would be better suited to ask for training so that you can do it right the next time and thereby increase your value to the company. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
anika99 Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 I agree with Jen. It sounds like you're not even sure who you are accountable to. If I were in your shoes I probably would have reminded him of what was said in the meeting and if he said do it anyway I would have done it and let my boss be held accountable by his boss for HIS decision. You are trying to hold your boss accoutable to his boss and that's not your place. I never outright refuse to do anything I'm asked to do by my manager. I might speak up about my concerns or my limitations regarding my ability to do the task but if I'm told to do it anyways then I do it. Then if it goes sideways and I get called on the carpet by some higher up I would just let them know I was following the direction of my manager and they can take it up with him. Link to post Share on other sites
SincereOnlineGuy Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 Excerpt from "How to be a good employee" A) figure out who your immediate boss is B) DO what he tells you to do (the variable here is not your doing the task, but your written documentation of YOUR boss having commanded you to do said task - for use later, when the bigger boss questions your having done it) Link to post Share on other sites
preraph Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 Talk to his boss, or put it all in an e-mail. Now, you could make the e-mail to the guy who's mad at you but then openly copy his boss, which might be the better chain-of-command protocol, rather than just going over his head secretly. Say I understand you're upset, but I was initially told not to do this task again, and both you and Mr. Big Boss were present. I'll be happy to help any way I can as long as I am not violating something I have been instructed, so would you two please get together and decide how you want to handle this in the future and just let me know. Link to post Share on other sites
basil67 Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 I'm dumbfounded that they stopped you from doing the task again in the future. Do they really think that you are unable to learn from your mistakes? 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Author missingu Posted January 30, 2016 Author Share Posted January 30, 2016 His boss tells him what to do and she told him im not to do that job again right in front of me. Anyone but me she said. Anytime there is a problem,instead of my boss just having a meeting with me she is always there too. Every time. So in this case i obeyed her instruction as she is higher up than my immediate supervisor. Link to post Share on other sites
almond Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 (edited) I'm not going to comment on whether I think it was right or wrong, but I can tell you that it definitely wasn't smart. He answers to his boss, and you answer to him. You should have followed his instructions, and if his boss didn't like it, then he'd have to answer for that - not you. You've just caused yourself a bunch issues at work for no good reason basically. Edited January 30, 2016 by almond Link to post Share on other sites
Mzzundastood Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 I was thinking the exact same thing as I was reading. Link to post Share on other sites
Maggie4 Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 If I was his boss, I'd fire you for this, but I'd keep him. Sounds unfair since you were following my instructions and he was not. But the organization has to run, he needs to be able to move things along, we have to look at the big picture. Since you were barred from doing this task, you're not exactly employee of the month, there would be other reasons to fire you, not tomorrow but in the near future. You're still there probably because they are short on people (he asked you to do the task because there was no one else). Link to post Share on other sites
salparadise Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 His boss tells him what to do and she told him im not to do that job again right in front of me. Anyone but me she said. Anytime there is a problem,instead of my boss just having a meeting with me she is always there too. Every time. So in this case i obeyed her instruction as she is higher up than my immediate supervisor. Sounds like it's time to be looking for a new job. The ice is looking pretty thin where you're standing. What is the task? Link to post Share on other sites
Author missingu Posted January 31, 2016 Author Share Posted January 31, 2016 Im still there because i am on a permanent contract which makes them have to have a damn good reason to fire me or i will take them for unfair dismissal. Thats why im still there. And i am also one of their best workers they have even told me. Link to post Share on other sites
Author missingu Posted January 31, 2016 Author Share Posted January 31, 2016 And not to mention my management are bullies,ive never ever worked anywhere where every single person hates this manager and has no respect for her until now.. even other people outside my company hate her. So maybe i am not the problem after all Link to post Share on other sites
Stereotypical11 Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 At the end of the day you're there to a job and if they're not happy with you doing that job then don't change their mind when it suits them. To me it sounds like your supervisor is on a power trip don't take it to personally he's probably stressed and now it looks bad on him you did the right thing to stand your ground just because you're lower down in the rank doesn't give them the right to make you feel and treat you badly. You work hard and should be a valued employee maybe talk to your boss higher up and explain that you would like to be treated with a little more respect, if you let people walk all over you they will especially in the work place. Power isn't an excuse to make someone else's life miserable x Link to post Share on other sites
Stage5Clinger Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 You should always do what your boss asks of you to not be insubordinate. After the fact in yout next meeting use it as a way to point out the flaws in their thinking and ask them both if they still feel as though you should never so it. The fact is that most managers are not trained managers and they just try to represent a position of power. That image of themselves is more important to them than getting it right will ever be. In short they are probably not as intelligent as you and therefore you need to approach the situation with that understanding. They just fire off the first "solution" that comes to mind without ever asking the questions to thoroughly understand the problem. It's like that saying "absolute power corrupts absolutely". They have this feeling of power that makes them totally ignorant and you squashed that by being insubordinate. Now while I appreciate your position you didn't fix this growing relationship problem with your bosses. Always just remember that they are dumb and you are smart unless they consistently prove otherwise. Treat working with them accordingly. Next time think "this retard is awful at his job", confirm with him that although they said not to do it before that you're doing it today, and complete the task. On a final note, what makes it obvious that they are poor managers is that the plan was to remove you 100% from a task because you made 1 mistake. Unfortunately this represents the skills of 90% of management. Link to post Share on other sites
Maggie4 Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Im still there because i am on a permanent contract which makes them have to have a damn good reason to fire me or i will take them for unfair dismissal. Thats why im still there. Ah, that explains everything. Gee... *permanent* contract? Link to post Share on other sites
Survivor12 Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Im still there because i am on a permanent contract which makes them have to have a damn good reason to fire me or i will take them for unfair dismissal. Thats why im still there. And i am also one of their best workers they have even told me. I would think that insubordination would be a pretty damned good reason. Link to post Share on other sites
OldRover Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 First, there is a chain of command issue in the company. You should be responsible to YOUR boss, and him to HIS boss. However, in a lot of companies, the upper boss with often give direct orders to the level below his subordinates... you. This could be in the form of a personal directive, or perhaps in a general meeting. Shame on your boss for not following his boss. I would tell your boss that you would do what he wants, after HIS boss directed you to appropriately, and would make that as a request in writing to the head boss with a copy to your boss..... just state basically "I want to do best for the company and my boss, but need some direction so there is no conflict... please advise us". You may get canned no matter what you do. If I were the top dog and you disobeyed my order, you'd get fired, and your boss would get a warning (depending on the value of both of you). But, I would be wise to make it clear when I give a blanket direction, it is to be upheld by all involved. Fortunately, I've almost always been the top dog (with one exception), so last to get fired. Link to post Share on other sites
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