my new boss treats me like his assistant … which isn’t what I was hired for — Ask a Manager

Remember the letter-writer whose new boss treated her like his assistant … which isn’t what she was hired for? Here’s the update.

I did follow your advice and speak with HR. They listened to my concerns and to their credit they launched an “investigation.” I know that at some point they found my claims credible and spoke to my boss, “Kevin,” because he did come back to me and say that going forward he would handle his own expense report submissions and wanted me to take on more substantive projects. However, this was short lived. Once he felt the attention of HR removed, he immediately returned to his old tactics of treating me like an admin, refusing to give me substantive projects and resorting to expense submissions, calendar management, and other similar tasks.

I once again attempted to speak with HR after he went back to his old ways but they were far less helpful this time and just said that I need to work on communicating with my boss. We then had mid-year performance reviews and while I received exceedingly positive reviews from my peers and stakeholders, Kevin gave me a negative rating. His negative feedback was regarding his complaints about my expense submissions not being timely and my securing restaurant reservations not booked far enough in advance. (I wish I was kidding). I was warned by my predecessor Melissa that he had done this to her before and she had to show HR that she was indeed a high performer and was qualified for the high rating. I did the same and was able to speak to my abilities and performance.

Kevin then attempted to put me on a “Performance Improvement Plan” but HR told him he could not do so since I was meeting expectations and my reviews were very positive. He then attempted to skirt this by putting me on an “informal coaching plan,” resulting in him scheduling meetings three times a week to provide “feedback” on where he thought I could improve. The feedback was largely centered on expense submissions, booking travel, and reserving conference rooms. One of his complaints or “feedback” to me was that I booked conference rooms for meetings that he had trouble finding. I pointed out that the floor of our building has multiple maps that show where each conference room is located. He said he didn’t have time to consult a map and my doing so resulted in him being late to meetings. Trust me, this was not why he was late.

I should also add, if it’s not already clear, Kevin has a widely known terrible reputation at the company. His team has by far the largest turnover compared to any of his peers and within the past year prior to me 50% of his team have left with many more planning to leave soon. In his mid-year reviews and in team and company surveys, this has been expressed by multiple team members, but management seems unwilling or unable to address this situation.

This process ultimately proved unbearable so I made the decision to leave. I know it’s for the best and am grateful to not have to deal with Kevin anymore. I did complete my exit survey and exit interview and, while I’m not confident my feedback will be taken seriously, I did state that whoever they hire to replace me should have an administrative assistant background. I’ve learned that in my absence he spoke to his boss’s chief of staff with a request for her to submit his expenses on his behalf and assist with administrative requests. It’s to be determined on how that’s worked out for him.