Borderline creepy management style
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About two years ago, I was forced to leave college due to some financial issues (read: my dad cashed out his 401(k) and forgot about the relation between financial aid, gross income, and 401(k) withdrawals) and I took up a dev job in my hometown.
A little while into the job I was having some issues relating to time management and one day my manager pulled me aside and told me this:
"Just treat me like an older sister."
I was taken aback, not because of her being a nice person or having genuine interests at heart (read: would do almost anything for a promotion), but because in the U.S. at least, that management style doesn't fly. I did get my time management issues under control, but it didn't stop her from trying to use that management philosophy. I eventually decided to go back to school (translation: go back to school and not have her as a manager anymore) to finish my degree and have an internship at an awesome company.
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@HuskerFan90 said:
one day my manager pulled me aside and told me this:
"Just treat me like an older sister."
You missed out. She was hitting on you and wanted to make out.
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@HuskerFan90 said:
A little while into the job I was having some issues relating to time management and one day my manager pulled me aside and told me this:
"Just treat me like an older sister."
She wanted you to masturbate to her while listening to Pink Floyd?
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@malaka said:
@HuskerFan90 said:
one day my manager pulled me aside and told me this:
"Just treat me like an older sister."
You missed out. She was hitting on you and wanted to make out.
1) Rated about a 2 on the office hotness scale
2) Was married with two kids who like GUI web designers
3) Possibly consumed souls for lunch.
Didn't really miss out...except the feeling of what losing your soul feels like.
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@HuskerFan90 said:
1) Rated about a 2 on the office hotness scale
2) Was married with two kids who like GUI web designers
3) Possibly consumed souls for lunch.
Didn't really miss out...except the feeling of what losing your soul feels like.
Are you talking about her or you?
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@HuskerFan90 said:
A little while into the job I was having some issues relating to time management and one day my manager pulled me aside and told me this:
"Just treat me like an older sister."
I'm not sure I follow her logic. Does HER older sister do her timesheets or something?
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@Buttembly Coder said:
@HuskerFan90 said:
A little while into the job I was having some issues relating to time management and one day my manager pulled me aside and told me this:
"Just treat me like an older sister."
She wanted you to masturbate to her while listening to Pink Floyd?
I think she listened to "Massaging Your Ego for Egotists, Pt. V" by Nick Burns. All day. Everyday. Unless she was in a meeting glory-hogging. Even then she kinda did.
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@Lorne Kates said:
@HuskerFan90 said:
A little while into the job I was having some issues relating to time management and one day my manager pulled me aside and told me this:
"Just treat me like an older sister."
I'm not sure I follow her logic. Does HER older sister do her timesheets or something?
I don't know if she is her older sister or not, but kind of. Her sister was one of the people who would send out the shame e-mail on Monday if you didn't fill out your timesheets on Friday.
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@HuskerFan90 said:
my dad cashed out his 401(k)
I sure hope he had a good reason. That's the biggest WTF of the entire story...unless your dad likes paying the feds an extra 10% of his income just because.
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@stinerman said:
@HuskerFan90 said:
... or he's old enough to withdraw it without the penalty.my dad cashed out his 401(k)
I sure hope he had a good reason. That's the biggest WTF of the entire story...unless your dad likes paying the feds an extra 10% of his income just because.
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I'm trying to figure out what the point of the original post was. That a manager was pretending to be nice when she really isn't? That the US doesn't normally have any places where management tries to "buddy up" to the workers and pretend to be all one big family?
Cause the first shouldn't be a shocker, and the second is just straight up false.
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@stinerman said:
unless your dad likes paying the feds an extra 10% of his income just because.
Maybe his employer (like mine) matches his contributions to it.
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@joe.edwards said:
@stinerman said:
unless your dad likes paying the feds an extra 10% of his income just because.
Maybe his employer (like mine) matches his contributions to it.Actually, we had the same employer (my dad was in the customer service department before he quit a year or so before I started) and IIRC, if they did contribute it wasn't enough to even call it contributing.
He had a good reason though: pay off the taxes for his first withdrawal. His first withdrawal: to buy a house as we lived in a house that was falling apart at the time. There was a reason behind this and IIRC our 401(k) provider didn't allow for the creation of a check other than to the account holder.
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@Buttembly Coder said:
@HuskerFan90 said:
1) Rated about a 2 on the office hotness scale
2) Was married with two kids who like GUI web designers
3) Possibly consumed souls for lunch.
Didn't really miss out...except the feeling of what losing your soul feels like.
Are you talking about her or you?
Her.
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@Snooder said:
I'm trying to figure out what the point of the original post was. That a manager was pretending to be nice when she really isn't? That the US doesn't normally have any places where management tries to "buddy up" to the workers and pretend to be all one big family?
Cause the first shouldn't be a shocker, and the second is just straight up false.
The point of the story is that while there are "buddy up" management styles,
no one99.9999999999% of managers don't try (and shouldn't) go the "older sibling" route of "buddy up." I've had managers that end up with the "buddy up" style of management because they're great people. Unfortunately for her, she needed people to like her since she was known for stepping on people to get what she wanted. I think that's what this was.Anyhow, still kinda creepy since this was in a professional context.
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@HuskerFan90 said:
one day my manager pulled me aside and told me this:
"Just treat me like an older sister."
<font size="5">OK</font>
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@HuskerFan90 said:
I've had managers that end up with the "buddy up" style of management because they're great people.
Usually they're good managers first.
A study in the UK revealed that people preferred to be managed by people that thought organisation and leadership was more important than popularity - they didn't like the David Brent management style.
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@HuskerFan90 said:
I have no older sister. Neither did my parents. My grandmother had an older sister, so from the closest experience I have, I would have to interpret that instruction as "try to get me put in a mental institution".A little while into the job I was having some issues relating to time management and one day my manager pulled me aside and told me this:
"Just treat me like an older sister."
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@Cassidy said:
@HuskerFan90 said:
I've had managers that end up with the "buddy up" style of management because they're great people.
Usually they're good managers first.
A study in the UK revealed that people preferred to be managed by people that thought organisation and leadership was more important than popularity - they didn't like the David Brent management style.
Well, I should've been more clear that even though they didn't espouse the "buddy up" style and didn't act as such that you weren't afraid to speak your opinion. The manager I described in the OP is borderline David Brent, just in female form.
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@da Doctah said:
@HuskerFan90 said:
I have no older sister. Neither did my parents. My grandmother had an older sister, so from the closest experience I have, I would have to interpret that instruction as "try to get me put in a mental institution".A little while into the job I was having some issues relating to time management and one day my manager pulled me aside and told me this:
"Just treat me like an older sister."
My grandfather had an older sister, I believe (I know he had two sisters), so I really don't know how to interpret it so I went with "WTF? Are you serious?" (not out loud of course.)
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@HuskerFan90 said:
The manager I described in the OP is borderline David Brent, just in female form.
Davina Brent.
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@HuskerFan90 said:
The manager I described in the OP is borderline David Brent, just in female form.
Okay, that makes more sense than "I'm your big sister".
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@HuskerFan90 said:
GUI web designers
Do you mean designers that depend on a GUI to make websites? As opposed to designers that actually know HTML?
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@HuskerFan90 said:
In my case it would be "so does that mean you're going to cook for me? And give me rides until I get my own license and car?"@da Doctah said:
@HuskerFan90 said:
I have no older sister. Neither did my parents. My grandmother had an older sister, so from the closest experience I have, I would have to interpret that instruction as "try to get me put in a mental institution".A little while into the job I was having some issues relating to time management and one day my manager pulled me aside and told me this:
"Just treat me like an older sister."
My grandfather had an older sister, I believe (I know he had two sisters), so I really don't know how to interpret it so I went with "WTF? Are you serious?" (not out loud of course.)
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@Zecc said:
@HuskerFan90 said:
GUI web designers
Do you mean designers that depend on a GUI to make websites? As opposed to designers that actually know HTML?I mean the "draggy-droppy ooh it's so cool" GUI web designer that makes hardened web developers cringe when they look at the source.
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@HuskerFan90 said:
I mean the "draggy-droppy ooh it's so cool" GUI web designer that makes hardened web developers cringe when they look at the source.
You'll love Macaw, if the promo video is anything to go at.
