That Problem Is Taken Care Of

My manager was a monster. He belittled people, made work a hostile environment, and denied anything that would make his employees happy while giving himself every comfort.

I had taken my bereavement leave after my mother’s death (he couldn’t deny that as it was a corporate mandate, even though he wanted to) but he found a way to get his revenge.

Me: “I need to take a half-day to go to my mother’s funeral.”

Manager: “Would it be a big deal if you couldn’t go?”

Me: “Uh… yes! It’s my mother’s funeral!”

Manager: “Well I can’t spare you. You shouldn’t have taken vacation time a few weeks ago, so now we’re too backed up.”

Me: “That wasn’t a vacation, that was bereavement leave! And I haven’t even told you what day I need yet.”

Manager: “Doesn’t matter. Request denied.”

I decided I would go anyway, and was able to find cover thanks to a supportive coworker. This did not go down well with my manager, however, and he wrote me up for it. I took this write-up to Corporate, and along with other complaints, they realized the entire office was about to revolt.

Corporate stepped in, and while he wasn’t fired like we wanted, he was demoted, which was satisfying.

In comes the new manager. He’s a very well-regarded, twenty-year Air Force veteran, a humble guy who knows how to handle people. We have our first awkward team meeting, with the old manager bitterly in attendance.

As the new manager is giving his “nice to meet you” speech, he sees the douchebag glaring around the table trying to intimidate people. He stops talking, pauses for a few seconds, and then says:

New Manager: “You know, when I was in the Air Force, I learned that if you take care of your people, they’ll take care of you.”

He then stared directly at the old manager:

New Manager: “And if you don’t take care of your people, they’ll take care of you.”

The new manager was awesome.

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