Throwaway for obvious reasons.
I’ve gone through hell the past few months, but was lucky to be rehired at a local chain I used to work at. It’s not much but it’s something as I look for something more substantial. I like the job, and I like my coworkers at each of the stores I work in…except for my manager in one location, Bob (M27).
When I used to work there (before he became a manager), Bob would mock people of other races, and make racist and sexist jokes. Others wrote it off as that he was young and he’d learn. But he would always talk over me when I was working with customers. For example, I made a joke about the country one of our items came from (something along the lines of “their engineering isn’t just for [their famous foodstuff] anymore!) and he yelled across the store “You know they make other things, right?”…yes, Bob. I know they make other things. He would refuse to clean things and act like all the things I recommend were completely wrong. Fortunately I didn’t work in Bob’s location all the time, so I did have reprieves.
Things hit a point in my last stint where he openly mocked someone I was working with on the phone. I did my best to make sure the customer didn’t hear me, but afterwards I talked to our employee manager (small business, no HR) and said that I was tempted to leave for the day because the racism and sexism was just too much at this point. Our employee manager diffused the situation, and eventually I had to stop working there part time due to other things in my life taking precedence.
So now I’m back and Bob is the manager. In the past few weeks, he didn’t replenish the printer paper the morning of the busiest sales day so I had to leave my shift to drive to another location because he “couldn’t come in” (but totally came in when a package for him arrived); made a racist Asian joke to one of my Asian coworkers; sits in the back eating and watching basketball while the rest of us work, and then steals our sales; and continues to make racist impressions in the back room even though others can hear him.
I thought about reporting him, but I’ve done so before and they just say “he’s getting better,” but I have no idea what that means. I may just ask if I can be moved to never work with or near Bob again. I’m a bit unsure what to do with this – on one hand, he’s a manager, and I need this job right now. On the other, is this what the business wants to be known for?
WIBTA? Or is there another option?
Take the next month to document. Dates, times, and most importantly, facts, not opinions.
Friday, January 7th, at around 10:00 he said, “\[sexist thing\]”. At 3:00 he said, “\[racist thing\]”.
Give context.
“There were three customers within earshot.”
“I was on the phone with a customer.”
“Coworkers Sally and John heard.”
It might only take a week to compile a list long enough to prove he hasn’t gotten better.
NTA
NTA.
Asking to not work with Bob is reasonable, professional, and honestly generous considering the behavior. If the business chooses Bob over basic decency, that’s information you can use when you’re ready to move on.
I would ask not to work with him. If you report him, you need really solid proof of this for anyone to act so tread carefully.
NTA – take notes and document each and every instance. Take it to management and let them know that if they don’t do something about him immediately that you are going to the labor board and reporting the entire company for harassment and a hostile work environment. Also throw the word “lawyer” in there and put the ball in their court. ANY, and I mean ANY push back and say the word lawyer again and remind them just how liable they are. They are the ones that let it get this far, as well as the one’s who promoted him.