Tayla Posted March 16, 2012 Posted March 16, 2012 I work for a small company- Three owners. The one owner in my office has created a wonderful system of keeping everyone at bay with one another. He plays folks against one another. This keeps him in control and the staff confused and distrusting overall. His "self appointed" Girl Friday recently started utilizing his email to send out company messages. I found this out thru simple reasoning. He was at a Business conference with a speaker and could not access a computer or have phone service. Yet no one caught on...I did because as soon as the email was sent, she came prancing out of his office smiling that DIVA smile. Because our office is in another town, Our Main company takes his messages as being from HIM directly and things get changed. Its boggling to say the least...So do I go to human resource and remind them of the COMPANY policy for utilizing another personnel email account. Its basically a two day suspension to the person caught doing this..or do I allow this to ride its course. Its unnerving to know that 75% of the changes are really coming from her..and not from the Boss himself. The Two owners are very particular with how information is relayed and secured. My Boss is very good at always making excuses for his Girl Friday...but I think even the two other owners would be appalled with his allowing certain information to get to the underlings...
oldguy Posted March 16, 2012 Posted March 16, 2012 What are the pros & cons of going to HR & is it worth it either way?
oldguy Posted March 16, 2012 Posted March 16, 2012 Treat the emails as if they came from the boss. Well okay, there's that too
Author Tayla Posted March 16, 2012 Author Posted March 16, 2012 What are the pros & cons of going to HR & is it worth it either way? The Pro would be securing/implementing a Trust that our boss is a man of His word. Integrity. The Owners would want the staff to know their emails are authenticaly from the person who sent it and not a lackey Naturally the Con is being vocal for relaying this data and facing the firing squad. Sad though that I am forced to chose financial over business ethics. On a realistic level, if you got a letter from the Supposed President of the company who parlayed a new rule..and the next day you showed up expecting that new rule to be implemented...Maybe the rule was- You can now wear Jeans on Friday. So there ya are happy to be able to wear casual attire...when Your Owners arrive and are appalled that you are not Business Pro dressed. They immediately write you up....but you reply that you got the new rule from a letter given to staff just the day before. The President denies ever writing this (which is true because his "girl friday" did). So with that you get three days suspension and ridiculed for your poor judgment in attire at work. So explain how this is a good thing then to simply "treat it as coming from the Boss"...if you get three days suspension??
carhill Posted March 17, 2012 Posted March 17, 2012 Any clue as to the rogue owner's stake in the company? For example, is he a 50.1% owner? TBH, and I've seen a lot of such 'stuff' go on, I'd be out the door as quickly as I could find replacement work. Unchecked, that kind of stuff will kill a small company, and it'll die fast once critical mass is reached. Screw a few key employees and they'll take the whole place down. It happens. Is this company under 100 employees? You did say 'small'. As things are, I wouldn't get involved in the shenanigans nor buy into the power plays. Keep a safe distance and document, document, document.
Diamonds&Rust Posted March 17, 2012 Posted March 17, 2012 It sounds like you want validation to go ahead and report her. To me, it sounds like more of a personality issue than a business ethics issue. Keep a safe distance and document, document, document. This is always good advice.
johan Posted March 17, 2012 Posted March 17, 2012 The Pro would be securing/implementing a Trust that our boss is a man of His word. Integrity. The Owners would want the staff to know their emails are authenticaly from the person who sent it and not a lackey Naturally the Con is being vocal for relaying this data and facing the firing squad. Sad though that I am forced to chose financial over business ethics. On a realistic level, if you got a letter from the Supposed President of the company who parlayed a new rule..and the next day you showed up expecting that new rule to be implemented...Maybe the rule was- You can now wear Jeans on Friday. So there ya are happy to be able to wear casual attire...when Your Owners arrive and are appalled that you are not Business Pro dressed. They immediately write you up....but you reply that you got the new rule from a letter given to staff just the day before. The President denies ever writing this (which is true because his "girl friday" did). So with that you get three days suspension and ridiculed for your poor judgment in attire at work. So explain how this is a good thing then to simply "treat it as coming from the Boss"...if you get three days suspension?? That's ridiculous. The boss can't go look in his own outbox? He wouldn't be able to look at the email you show him that shows what came from his account? Who do you work for? Saddam Hussein? If you work at a company as weird as that then do you honestly think HR or anyone else can do anything? If this girl Friday is authorized to send emails on his behalf, then you're obligated to treat them as if they came from him. If she isn't then she is playing with her own fate. I would just keep doing my job.
Feelin Frisky Posted March 17, 2012 Posted March 17, 2012 .. If this girl Friday is authorized to send emails on his behalf, then you're obligated to treat them as if they came from him. If she isn't then she is playing with her own fate. I would just keep doing my job. Hi Tayla. It pretty-much comes down to ^ I would think. Unless this really causes you a work hardship, hold off on crusading against this person or it could back fire on you.
spiderowl Posted March 17, 2012 Posted March 17, 2012 Treat the emails as if they are coming from the boss and then, when you are sure he is back and dealing with his own emails, ask him an innocent question about one of them - ideally the most controversial one - taking care to include the original email in your message. If he doesn't know she's sending out messages on his behalf, this will give the game away and you should certainly not be criticised for wanting to know exactly what the boss meant in his message.
threebyfate Posted March 17, 2012 Posted March 17, 2012 There are better things to worry about than petty crap like this. Take the high road and don't allow your emotional distaste for the girl and the boss, impact your rational judgements. If he's allowed the girl access to his computer, it's his problem. You have email evidence of the policy change which will cover your butt and if it doesn't, bring your evidence to an employment lawyer and he/she will ensure you're well compensated for any distress. If anything an employment lawyer will be cackling with glee over an easy kill. 1
CC12 Posted March 17, 2012 Posted March 17, 2012 when Your Owners arrive and are appalled that you are not Business Pro dressed. They immediately write you up....but you reply that you got the new rule from a letter given to staff just the day before. The President denies ever writing this (which is true because his "girl friday" did). Because our office is in another town, Our Main company takes his messages as being from HIM directly and things get changed. I think your reasoning is a little off here. If the entire company is copied in on these emails, then you have no reason to fear that kind of miscommunication that results in you getting in trouble. You just have to be diligent in covering your ass, and save all those emails so you can produce them if you're ever questioned. It seems like your boss is fully aware that she's sending emails from his account, so there's nothing you can do. It's not really your place to snitch on them, especially since it seems like this is not something that is putting your job in danger. You're not the one doing anything wrong.
Author Tayla Posted March 17, 2012 Author Posted March 17, 2012 Any clue as to the rogue owner's stake in the company? For example, is he a 50.1% owner? TBH, and I've seen a lot of such 'stuff' go on, I'd be out the door as quickly as I could find replacement work. Unchecked, that kind of stuff will kill a small company, and it'll die fast once critical mass is reached. Screw a few key employees and they'll take the whole place down. It happens. Is this company under 100 employees? You did say 'small'. As things are, I wouldn't get involved in the shenanigans nor buy into the power plays. Keep a safe distance and document, document, document. It carries at present 65 employees' - My boss is 20% owner technically. Thank you for the view and suggestion.
Author Tayla Posted March 17, 2012 Author Posted March 17, 2012 There are better things to worry about than petty crap like this. Take the high road and don't allow your emotional distaste for the girl and the boss, impact your rational judgements. If he's allowed the girl access to his computer, it's his problem. You have email evidence of the policy change which will cover your butt and if it doesn't, bring your evidence to an employment lawyer and he/she will ensure you're well compensated for any distress. If anything an employment lawyer will be cackling with glee over an easy kill. Thanks TBF, Objective and accurate words. Appreciate the feedback, since NO action one way or the other has transpired . Sometimes we need to bounce ideas off and see what is best for the matter. Overall consensus is shut up and put up. Will do.
Author Tayla Posted March 17, 2012 Author Posted March 17, 2012 Thanks to all who contributed. Silence is golden on this matter.
Recommended Posts