Hell Hasn't Frozen Over...

Given last week’s rant about my current boss and the new job offer I expect to be receiving next week, I’ve decided to reflect upon some of the good, bad and ugly bosses and co-workers I’ve had over the last 10 years.

A little over 3 years ago, I was working at a company that I loved, for a boss that I liked. I was convinced that I had finally broken the curse of bad career moves. For 10 months, I flourished within a male dominated workplace and managed to gain respect along the way. Little did I know, but my personal growth and self-esteem would soon take a hiatus and the 2 years to follow would be considered by me to be a plague of epic proportion. The plague I speak of would become to be known by all throughout the organization as “he’s such an idiot.”

“He’s such an idiot” was brought into our company as a temporary solution. He was on temporary loan from a local law firm that was dying to keep our business. Unbeknownst to us, the law firm had set us up. They had sent us additional legal help in the form of an idiot, anticipating that we would offer him full time employment, which would cast off their mistake to my company. Good for them, their plan worked. This hiring disaster unfolded while I was on holidays and I had no part or say in what had transpired, although I would be left to clean up the shit-storms he created in the years to come.

I’ve been able to suck a lot of stuff up over the years and let it go; however I found it extremely difficult to work with someone I didn’t respect – although I honestly tried. Respect aside; imagine the overwhelming feeling of not even being able to look at someone without the urge to hit them upside the head with a tire iron. What I’m speaking of is not a simple dislike for someone, but an utter distaste for a single human being. Simple dislike is manageable when you know it is only for the short term. I dislike going to the dentist, but realize I can manage it, as it is only for 45 minutes maximum.

What began as dislike for this man, soon turned into rage and loathing and when I became aware that in order to rid myself of the pain and suffering of this festering boil, I needed to become the master of my own destiny and either needed to get another job or get him fired.

It soon became apparent that the firing plan wasn’t going to work. This individual inflicted pain and suffering on many individuals over my tenure and nothing was done. His bad behavior would be acknowledged on numerous occasions by his superiors and while not condoned by them, it was not addressed either. I was told that he was a “necessary evil”. It’s true, spineless individuals run corporations.

“He’s such an idiot” once told me “you will never get ahead in this organization because you don’t have a penis”. My response: “no shit and you’ll never get ahead because you are too stupid to try”. Not my best material, but when I was foaming at the mouth, with my eye twitching uncontrollably and the blood pressure ringing in my ears, it was all I could come up with.

I quit the next day. In my exit interview, my boss had the nerve to ask me “Is there anything I could do to persuade you to stay”. My response (while taking an exaggerated look out the window): “No, seeing how hell hasn’t frozen over, I’ll be leaving. I hope you understand that it’s a necessary evil.”