How can I get my teammates to speak up to senior management about our “leader”? I am ready to say something but others feel like they may get added to the layoff list or even fired if they speak up and some fear retaliation. This can’t continue. We are all anonymous here. What will happen if we report how we are being treated? How do we report things that are said verbally in meetings or one on ones because we can’t record them to prove what has been said? Are we better off just finding new jobs at this point? Please just give it to me straight. Someone. Anyone.
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- HR is never on the employee's side. They are there to protect the company.
- even though HR will do nothing (and may even defend the senior leaders), you should still go through the proper channels filing the bully/harassment behavior. You will need that paper trail for any legal action. this will be used as evidence for any retaliation.
- document & record all meetings with the toxic individual (especially if you are the only person in the meeting). if the person refuses to be recorded, end or leave the meeting.
- hire a labor lawyer or ask for legal counsel from one. follow their advicez
It’s sad to know theres a 0 tolerance on bullying in schools and non in workplaces that have adults bringing the toxic work environment.
So who is leaving because of toxic leaders?
- New folks?
- The ones who have a few years of experience?
- Or the ones who have a “wealth of knowledge” with over a decade or more under their belt?
All of the above are equally valuable. But the 2nd is hard to replace. The 3rd is almost impossible to replace. If the company is okay with losing all of the above... well then OP you have your answer. I agree with the other commenters. Get out before it gets worse. There is no solution. I reported mine. I too experienced retaliation. So I got out. I fell into the 3rd category above. There are a lot of places hiring. You’ll find something new in no time. Best of luck on your job hunt.
Of course I’m only speaking on behalf of good hardworking employees that don’t deserve to be treated that way.
No one deserves abuse. Management should not contribute to a toxic work environment
- On the other hand, we are talking about Centene…
I agree. But yelling, harassment, and bullying are not okay whether it’s a policy violation or not. It creates a toxic work environment, destroys employee morale and ruins good work ethics because they no longer feel valued. Of course I’m only speaking on behalf of good hardworking employees that don’t deserve to be treated that way.
Maybe HR needs to define what’s considered a bad manager. Maybe the yelling, harassment, and bullying style of communication isn’t violation of a policy. It would be good to know if someone can clarify so employees go to work motivated.
The solution is to either get rid of those in management positions that don’t belong in such a role or move them to roles where they are not managing other employees. I’m tired of being talked to the way mine talks to me. I have complained. Others have too. Nothing is being done. We already lost one because of it and we are already a small team.
Agree. It is frustrating when hard working and knowledgeable employees with a great work ethic are caught under them because it can and does eventually run them off.
Just google why companies keep toxic managers and you will get an answer. Everyone exhausted with reporting toxic behavior and nothing improving. Afterall, these are leaders who promote similar behaviors that create a culture. You’re not alone we just don’t have solutions. Besides as someone said these leaders approve if we get transferred, promotions, layoffs, and good job reviews. They have lots of power. Its who you know not what you know. Hope this helps! Stressful jobs are tough on mental health.
This post has over 1,300 views and only about a dozen replies. People don’t care unless they themselves are also under bad leaders. The rest are just thankful they aren’t in the position we are in. They have no idea just how lucky they are. I have an interview this coming week with a new company. They also don’t do exit interviews anymore at least not in my wing of Centene.. My advice is to start looking and get out before it gets worse.
So I’ll share my experience. If you speak up, senior leadership will step in and help by addressing it with the bad leader. Things will be okay for a few weeks. Then that leader will go back to their old ways. They will just be more careful about it which will make it harder to report them again because you won’t have solid evidence this time. You’ll be miserable and you’ll find yourself wanting out. Nothing will happen to the leader. You’ll still have to report to them unless you can transfer out or get a new job. I hope that isn’t the case for you like it was for me. But I fully understand what you’re going through.
Start a union. That will get their attention very quickly. They can’t officially or legally stop you from trying.
Good Luck! Top down management doesn’t allow employees input. We need bottom up management to allow employees feedback on process improvements. The fact that this is a layoff forum with so many complaints of poor leadership speaks volumes. Numbers don’t lie, people lie. Suggest some emotional intelligence training for these emotional leaders that don’t have critical thinking skills because they just lash out creating bad working environments.
Thank you all for the advice. I appreciate the input. I think it would be best if we, or at the very least myself, leave the company. We have tried to capture and document things but unfortunately this tactic has failed because our manager is good about making sure we don’t have anything solid. My teammates are too scared to speak up. And who can blame them? It is just unfortunate that someone was put into a leadership role they have no business being in. I will report everything during my exit interview. I am saddened by this decision and I will miss the friends I have made over the years at Centene but I cannot take this nightmare anymore. I am not eligible to transfer to another department for another 5 months but that is out of the question. This is a nightmare.
Does it count if I say that everyone I know at work who knows my boss has said the same thing to me “I don’t know how you do it. If I was under your boss I would have already quit.” That is the reputation this person has made for themselves. That is the extent of what I am dealing with and NO ONE will say anything or speak up with me. I just can’t take it anymore.
My advice, document. If something sh---y is said in a meeting, respond in email later that day. "Just to make sure I understand, when you said (the thing they said) did you mean (whatever)." Make it seem like an innocent question. Play stupid. Without knowing any context of what is being said, it's hard to know how to help, but try to find ways to get them to respond to things in email where you lay out the troubling behavior and they acknowledge it. When you have this evidence, open an Employee Relations ticket. They are an arm of HR, but one disconnected from the HRBPs. Then, the most important step, make sure there is NO sensitive information OR PHI/PII in your evidence, and put them somewhere safe in case things blow up.
If you end up printing or emailing something with sensitive information (PHI/PII/confidential practices) to yourself, you will get in trouble or worse. So be careful with this piece. Good luck.
I was terminated from my job last week. I am speaking to an Employement attorney. This discrimination has to end.
You with CN? Open an Employee Relations ticket. ER team is not part of HR at all, and has a legal requirement to gather your input. In fact, if it goes forward, they will interview 10+ people as well, to a solid baseline of the details.
Have you spoken up to your manager and your manager's leader? If you are going for a "strength in numbers" approach, you are likely not going to get the consensus you are looking for. Some don't care, some too much. Advocate for yourself. Thats really all you can do. Be direct with your manager and if they disregard, then escalate .
Senior Management doesn’t care…middle management doesn’t care and lower management is nothing but sock puppets for those above. You can’t fix toxic without burning it to the ground.
Someone has to be willing to break a policy and lose their job. Record calls. Record everything. Then hand it over to HR and a labor attorney as well. Cc others so they know the truth. Your goal isn’t to save yourself or others - it’s to document and shine light on the problem in a way that nobody can deny it later. Trouble is - who is willing to stick their neck out for the greater good?
The reality is that there's are double standards for that , some people will get a pass and nothing will happen to them, you will be the one in trouble. Centene hr particularly is getting to be known for being super shady, I would not trust them a bit unless you know who you are talking too.
Find a new job unfortunately. Unless you know with absolutely certainty that your manager's manager wants that person out, this usually won't end well for you, nor your teammates.
If enough people leave said person and it's stated as the reason in the Exit Interview, then and only then, do the leftovers have any leg to stand on in complaints to Sr Management.