I'm personally over it but haven't had time to get over being tired. For a few days this week I wasn't sure how well she was able to manipulate the management at work. Have worked with people that use management to manipulate things if they want people gone from jobs in my 20 years of working life and she totally fits that bill. So the worry of knowing that she'd been in the job for more years than I have months there meant I was getting about 3 hours of sleep a night on top of the long hours at work. I just didn't know if she was going to undermine me in the job and try as I might I'm not brilliant at clearing this type of thing from my mind when I lay down to sleep.
Brief rundown of the three days that bought the lack of energy on.
Sunday- Start 13 hour shift at 6 am. Get bacon eggs and tomato plus porridge in oven, go to set tables 45m away from kitchen door. Karen comes in early to put sunday roast on, rings doorbell 6 times before I have time to get to the door, I open it and say "can you ring that again please I'm getting really fond of it" while giving her a dirty look (she's not supposed to enter there anyway, all workers are meant to enter the main entrence and do temperature checks while this covid shutdown is on).
-5 hours later kitchen manager comes in and I get chewed out about supposedly not following Karens orders (complete lie). I don't get the right of reply while Karen speaks in her saddest voice while I try to defend myself about the accusation. I have the feeling that this is the first in a series of complaints. Go home angry and can't really sleep.
Monday- (second day in a row of 13 hour shifts) Hear Karen asking nursing staff if she hears how I talk to her multiple times throughout the day, so I decide I'm just going to speak when spoken to in a polite manner.
- About 3 hours from finishing time she practically yells at me that if I'm not going to talk to her she's going to take this up with the CEO of the nursing home and would I like to go now? I tell her I'm busy, I can't usually hear her when I'm near the dishwasher and that for most of the rest of the day I'm working 40 plus metres from her and I don't like to shout, but if she wants to take it to the CEO that's fine with me. Total silence for the next hour before she clocks off, but she's banging every pot and pan she touches and looking at me like daggers. I still have two hours till closing up after she leaves which is nice since I'm already wanting to tell her to go fuck herself and if she'd been there I probably would have.
-Go home and can't sleep again since I think a shitstorm is heading my way.
Tuesday- The registered nurse on duty comes and asks me to put silverside on for lunch since Karen has called in sick and the kitchen manager will be in to cook today.
- Wendy (kitchen manager comes in) I jump straight in and say I suspect Karen is off because she felt I wasn't talking to her on monday and go over what I've written above with. Tell her that during her (Wendies) shifts with me she'll know I'm mostly quiet and follow instructions, but that if something needs to be done first I might take half an hour to do something I've been asked to do. Tell Wendy that I haven't tried to create any tension but that I think Karen is trying to undermine me since the Sunday morning incident. Wendy assures me that she's happy with my work, that Karen has found issues with everyone she's worked with and that she'll talk to the CEO about this since Karen has called for stress leave since I'm ignoring her. Later in the day CEO comes and tells me not to worry since Wendy has explained the situation.
So I know i can just relax and do my job now. But have still worked massive hours since this happened last week and have had just the 1 day off. Really can't wait for the nursing home to swap workers between the two locations so I can get more than a single day off and cut back from 2 or more double shifts every week. It's more about being tired now than stress about being undermined. But still not looking forwards to working with Karen again. I know that she can still make life difficult even if she doesn't undermine my job security.
Only just seen your posts 79. Sorry this work mate is so high maintenance.
99% of TK members value your reasoned opinions and conciliatory approach to issues on here, so I imagine you would be the same in your workplace.
As you know, I volunteer at a nursing home and yes the kitchen here is a sewer pit of gossip and bitching. Must go with the territory as others here have said.
Every single chef, or head kitchen supervisor, we've had here has been an insecure control freak and tried to make the other staff (who are far more popular) life hell.
They don't seem to be able to handle the pressure and/or have no staff management skills or team building abilities.
Yet want all the kudos.
If any other staff seem popular with the other staff or they show initiative or any flair for the meal preparation, or presentation, the insecure supervisor gets all snarky and mean. Usually the good staff leave. Then the supervisor gets inferior staff working for them, the standards drop, the residents complain about the food and the troublemaking kitchen supervisor is put under the pump, so then they leave. The cycle then starts again.
Why? Sadly It seems endemic to that industry.
DL offerred some great strategies to deal with this in her post above I thought.
Could I also suggest if this doesn't resolve itself very shortly, that you seek a remedial counselling session between Wendy (or whoever) and 'Karen' and yourself....that will demonstrate to Admin your concern and willingness to resolve the work environment in the best interests for the sake of your employer.
Good luck with it all.
