Managers Will Drive You Crazy (And Nowhere Else)
Ten years ago, my sister worked in our capital city, in the sales office of a big production company which is some 100km away. The headquarters have all the high-level managers, and they have one middle-level manager heading the sales office in the capital.
After about two years of her working there, a new head manager arrives in my sister’s office and nobody is taken with him. When my sister was hired, they specifically asked her if she had a driver’s license, because her position meant she would use a company car. That car never materialized, and she would use cabs and let the company pay for the invoices.
Six months after the new head manager arrives, she quits. Headquarters asks her to come in for an exit interview with the CEO. He is interested in one point specifically and it looks like the main topic for the interview.
CEO: “Can you tell me why you have so many cab fare invoices?”
Sister: *Dumbfounded* “Well, [Old Manager] told me to bring invoices to the company whenever I went to meetings. I hope that is okay. We all did it that way.”
CEO: “Yes, but why do you have so many invoices now?”
My sister, trying to find sense in his questions, starts explaining the arrangement, which is extremely common in our country, once more.
The CEO, just as lost as she is, finally manages to ask the right question.
CEO: “Why aren’t you using the company car we sent you?”
Sister: “I… was never sent one?”
CEO: “Yes, you were, just when [New Manager] was sent over.”
My sister is very calm, but also more confused by the second.
Sister: “No, I have neither heard about a car nor seen one. You can call anyone at the office, and they will tell you the same.”
At almost the same moment, both my sister and the CEO remembered what kind of person the new manager was. The CEO just broke off the topic and my sister left the interview. She later learned that the new manager had simply given the car to his wife. He was never punished in any way because he was the son of a high-level manager. This kind of issue was exactly the problem and reason why she left the company. She now earns about double what the highest-level manager in that company makes.