Bad bosses

 When I started work, 27 years ago, I had a boss who I looked up to and respected. He was the managing director of the company I worked for. I was a new graduate and naturally, very hard-working and very keen. The job was in a laboratory, carrying out quality control chemical analyses. One day, my MD called me to his office. He had a piece of work he wanted me to undertake. I Listened carefully as he described the work that was needed. At the end of which he asked me, when is the soonest you could have that work completed, and the results delivered to him. I thought carefully about what the work would require, what tasks would need to be undertaken in the lab, how long they would each take, and I considered that if I worked extra hours, turned up early, finished late, work over my lunch hour, and worked very hard then I would be able to deliver these results to him by Wednesday. today was Friday. The MD stated in no uncertain terms that he wanted it by Monday. Well I was flabbergasted. I did not understand why he asked me to tell him how soon it could be done by if he was then going to say do it by Monday. It could only be that this more experienced, more mature, more senior man must know something that I did not. it must be possible by Monday. The only way it could be possible at all, although still very unlikely is if I begin the work tonight and left it running over the weekend. I was a typical graduate in that I had large debts and had worked my way through university with very little family support. so like many other students, I also had two jobs post graduation. my daytime job working in this laboratory and my evening, night and weekend job working at the truckstop. I left work on the Friday night, having set it up, to complete my 6 pm to 10 pm evening and dawn Sunday shifts at the truckstop. the laboratory site was a secure site so I could not stay overnight or at the weekends in any case. 

The analysis required an acid digestion in order to prepare the samples that I would then analyse. Acid digestion is as it sounds  - you boil things in acid that do not otherwise dissolve readily.

Not surprisingly, leaving acid boiling all day and all night for 72 hours is a bad idea. And as you can expect the laboratory filled with fumes, and caused panic and crisis on this sensitive site.

What I have learnt from this is that sometimes your boss is wrong as sometimes he asks for something because he’s an idiot. What my boss should’ve done is asked for a risk assessment. He should’ve asked for a method statement. he should’ve told me that there were such things as risk assessments and method statements and perhaps prepared one with me. He should certainly have asked, and indeed I should’ve asked, how come, it’s possible by Monday when you have calculated it to be possible at the very earliest by Wednesday.

There is also something in here to learn about ignorance. It seems likely to me now that my boss thought that people were lazy, and could simply work harder and faster, if ordered to do so. But I was diligent and conscientious and I had a second job because I was a normal student who had just graduated so naturally I had large debts and this employer had also required me to learn to drive and buy a car in order to do the job they had offered, me so I needed to eat and pay my rent and pay for driving lessons and I wasnt lazy, I would never have over estimated the amount of time it would take. if anything, by stating Wednesday I had already underestimated the figures but knew that I would work my finger to the bone to make it happen. Monday was only possible by nearly burning the price down. I understand now that my boss lacked sufficient life experience to be in the role he was in. from my point of view he would have worked his way up to managing director, and therefore done all of the jobs in the company before it, so would know. As managing directors naturally command respect, they do need to have enough knowledge to warrant that respect. And they need to know,  not just the jobs of the people that work for them, but that people simply are not lazy.