Federal Government - ATO - Toxic Boss By Out of there

Although I needed my job, I have left it, due to a section supervisor who is a tyrant and a control freak.

Although all the people working in the section have been in the workforce for over twenty years, she goes out of her way on a daily basis to make them feel like children again.
She hounds people relentlessly over the tiniest things, and is constantly ordering them around. She habitually talks down to people, and never misses an opportunity to demoralise them.

People have to keep their email in tray open at all times, ready to read every message as soon as it arrives. To ensure this is done, she not only makes her way around the section looking directly over everyone's shoulder (watch out if she catches you out not reading your emails at the same time you are trying to get your work done), you will be subjected to a quiz at the daily "team huddle". If you can't recall at will the details of every single email received since the last "huddle", you will be called on to provide an immediate explanation as to why. That you were concentrating on getting work done is not considered an excuse.

The "huddle" (meeting) itself is conducted with her completely in control of the proceedings. She can speak whenever she likes, but no-one else can say a word until she tells them they can do so. If anyone dares speak without her say so, they will be subjected to a tirade in front of the rest of the staff.

With the monthly "feedback", she could give Cecil B. De Mille a run for his money when it comes to fault finding. She zeroes in on anything wrong that she can find, harps relentlessly on it, and calls on you to justify yourself for not measuring up to her expectations, and will keep hounding you until you do.

She can see nothing wrong with expecting people to produce more and more work in the same amount of time, and if you succeed in doing so, she will then use it as a weapon against the rest of the staff, expecting them to do the same.

Although she sits at her own desk doing very little in the way of work, she is constantly pre-occupied with what other people in the section are doing, and is obsessed with "catching them out". if she thinks they are doing something they shouldn't. Despite producing large volumes of high quality work, I have had to put up with her galloping up to my desk, standing right behind me, looking over my shoulder at my desk for violations. Any suggestion that she shouldn't do this only makes her do it all the more.

She also keeps close tabs on people's attendance. One time someone came back about five minutes late from lunch, and without seeking an explanation as to why they were late, she proceeded to rant and rave at them as if they had gone missing for a week.

Recently, it was decided that a lot of the City based staff should be re-located to the suburban office of Parramatta. At the same time, redundancy packages were being offered to staff who wanted them. Eight people in my section took the redundancy packages and left, seven of them because they couldn't stand her any more.

I feel sorry for anyone else brought in to take our place, because they will surely be subjected to more of what made us leave. I am told by others who have known her a lot longer than I have that she has always been like that.

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