Am I wrong on this?

Things have been going well with my boss and all so I was willing to write our butting heads off to stress but he just made me so annoyed.

He likes to go to the gym. I have zero problem with him doing that while I am at work but, he likes to reserve all my work for when he comes back from the gym. Ok sure, but You cannot come back from the gym at 4:30. I leave at 4:35. Is it me or should he know this.

So tonight he came back at 4:45 and I had called looking for him and he goes "I said I would do it when I came back" yes, but had I known that was going to be 4:45 I would have asked you to do it earlier.

I know he was annoyed but I woke up feeling like crap today and I went into work but I don't want to go in to work tomorrow if I am feeling back and you won't be in anyway. So don't make me LUG in there for this thing because you can't do it between 9 and 5.

It is SOOO rude. I sit around all day long waiting for him to do things at 4:30 to 5 OR he does them and I have to come in the next day to distribute them.
GRRRR.

Your boss is no different than 90% of the so-called authority figures out there. They only care about themselves.

If he expects you to stay after 5 to wait on him than he should pay you for your time. Otherwise, he's being selfish and you shouldn't have to put up with it.

So no you're not in the wrong. He is.

I'm currently dealing with a contractor just like your boss. It seems to me that it's part of the macho persona for some guys to act like they are the only person in the world, either that or their mums and dads brought them up that way.

My system is to calm myself down first, then calmly and with a smile to state there is an issue. Because seems to me that neither of these guys are antagonistic or unlikeable, just that it's their habit to act stupid!!

Of course stating there is an issue doesn't cure a lifetime habit but it does work it's way into the consciousness, so that next time they do their behaviour they have a nudge inside that tells them that they are being unreasonable.

It's exasperating but seems to me that the nudges keep the good feeling in the relationship but also externalise the fact that someone is acting dysfuctionally. They also make it easier for me to assert my boundaries and say no.

I came from a family where people were disciplined about emotions up to a point but then let rip destructively. I want to learn to maintain the pleasure of good relationships but also not to run my life by other people's dysfunctions - have plenty of my own.

Good luck whatever seems to you to be the best way forward!!!

This was really outrageous too because what I gave him required him to only write his name on it -- 1 second -- and I gave it to him at 2. So when he said, "I will do it when I get back from the gym" that seemed reasonable. But at 4:30 when I hadn't heard, I feel like I had every right to call up there and look for it.

It isn't a matter of pay but on a week I have little to do and thus could leave when I want to, it is rude of him to keep me there - FOR HIM BEING AT THE GYM. He might say, you could do it tomorrow but what if I am NOT going to be in tomorrow? Grr.

Or when I come in the next day I forget about it.

I agree that it sounds really rude, Emily Fox Seaton. I'd suggest to talk to him about this if you haven't already, and see how it goes from there. Hopefully he will understand. If that doesn't work, then at the very least you should ask to be paid for your overtime. I believe that is your right. All your requests seem reasonable to me. Wish you good luck! Let us know how it goes. Sending many hugs to you

4:30 sounds like such an odd time to head out to go to a gym, to me. And the fact that he couldn't bother to sign something knowing that you need to be out the door before he returns is even stranger. What a PIA!

I agree that his behavior sounds inconsiderate and disrespectful. He should be aware of your schedule and coordinate things accordingly.

I don't know his personality is like. Some bosses are not open to any sort of discussion and will not take anything they perceive as criticism well. I guess only you know what your relationship is with him, and if trying to discuss it with him will get results for you.

ummm my first thought here when reading this thread was....ok who is the boss and who is the employee?

heres why...

its a bosses job to tell the employee what to do and when to do it
its the employees job to do what the boss tells them to do.

an employee doesnt tell a boss what to do. (quickest way to lose a job here in the USA is to try and "boss" the boss) think of it like you have your own home and you hire a maid to come in and clean your home and the maid instead tells you what ..........you ......... should do in your own home... your the boss and the maid is the employee, the maid follows your orders not you following the maids orders kind of thing.

now for the situation...

you completed some work, put it on his desk for his signature. he tells you he will sign them when he gets back from the gym... then its your job to wait for his signature, then distribute what he has signed...

thats your job and his...

question most jobs entail more than just that. most people have other things that they must do.... more paperwork or filing or what ever... so what about instead of just sitting there waiting for signatures, you move on to other work at your desk, that way you wont feel the time is wasted...

example when I had a boss, their schedules never matched up with mine. but there was always files to do, job related phone calls to make, job related errands to do, paperwork paperwork paperwork....

While waiting for my supervisors and bosses to do their part I continued with work of my own. by the time the supervisors and bosses had done their part I was just bringing in another batch of stuff for them to do... we though we had different work hours we got our respective parts of the job completed with out affecting each others abilities to do our own jobs.

my point is since you know this boss is going to go to the gym and then do his part of the job, you can still do your part of the job by moving on to the next thing that you have to do in your job while waiting for him....

all jobs here in the USA are like this where the boss does his own thing and the employees have to follow and do what the bosses tell them to do and when the boss is busy with his day the employees continue their job by having things on their desks that they can do when the boss is busy.

maybe you can set up your workload and work station accordingly so that while he is at the gym you can continue to do your job.

Very patronizing and also oblivious post.

Obviously I have to do what he says but (1) he is going to the gym not work; and (2) his going to the gym is keeping - me late. There is no dispute that I can do other things while he is at the gym. Which is why I said I didn't care if he went DURING WORK HOURS, EXCEPT, if he keeps me late because he going to the gym.

If he had work related duties that made it impossible or difficult there would be no ranting. But the gym is not that.

It's also the job of both an employee and a citizen to stand up to corrupt authority figures.


Mindlessly obeying orders like a slave is why corrupt people remain in power.

In the very unlikely event I ever have children, one of the first bits of wisdom I will distill into them is to ALWAYS question authority figures and to stand up to those that treat them unfairly.