Reply to: Should I Quit?

[robin]

LEWIS...think thats great advice and at the end of the day I look at it as part of being a contractor is yes you can suck it up a bit more and deal with it as you know its only temporary but at the same time if it gets bad you can get out a lot easier and don't have to put up with it.

[Lewis]

I've been contracting for about 13 years and have come accross this type of thing three times (although never as bad as described).

First time I talked to the person, they said sorry and they would stop doing x-y-z but a few weeks later they were doing it again. In the end, I told their boss I wouldn't work with them any longer (after a couple of months) and was moved to another project that I stayed on happily for two years. Fortunately I got on well with their boss and they didn't. I have since heard the person was sacked.

The second time, I didn't know their boss. I was assertive when faced with unreasonable behaviour, but hated it every day for four months and in the end terminated the contract early, and looking back I should have left after a week! I found a great new contract within two weeks.

The last time was quite recent and I decided to try a different approach, to tough it out (it was my highest rate and I didn't want them taking it away from me), push back on everything unreasonable and try not to get bothered by it all. But I think that was the most damaging approach as I kept it up for nine months and looking back it caused all kinds of issues at home, mood swings, poor sleep, possibly even mild depression etc.. etc.. Again, it took me two weeks to get a new contract which I loved and on the same rate!

I think some people can stay in these environments and not be affected, others can't. For me, I don't take the sh^t, but that doesn't stop it being stressful. I think it is better to just get out. Life is just too short for this stuff.

Just move on ... and good luck, it's a horible situation to be in.

[darrenb]

main thing is to be able to learn and handle all these situations, I know running away
and avoiding them seems easier but if you can truly manage yourself and control your
thinking about the situation you will always be able to deal with people like this in the
future.

Disagree. These kind of environments would disappear if people like the OP would just leave. I mean, simply, there would be no one left to staff them.

At this stage, there is an established situation: the bully has learnt that he can get away with a lot with the OP, and he will keep on happily pushing the limits. So it's only going to get worse. The OP should use his talents somewhere they can do good, and not continue to contribute to this kind of system.

[matei]

When I was a permie at a huge bank, I worked for a similar type of person. He treated his favourite contractors very well, and the ones he didn't - appallingly.

He himself was a contractor initially despite knowing sweet FA about anything other than kissing up to his superiors.

He treated the permies ilke you describe. I had several run-ins with him, finally had enough and reported him to his boss.

A year down the line he tried the same rubbish with a highly thought-of contractor, who was crucial to important projects. This came on top of a raft of complaints about his arrogant, abusive and deluded behaviour. He was finally marginalised and supposedly left the bank.

If you can do it, take the money for as long as you can put up with the fool and then split...

[Dearnla]

Hi,

I am an IT contractor (Banking) with about 3 yrs of contracting experience. I have just started a new contract at a reputed bank and have found myself in tulip.
The line manager that I report into is a crazy person. I am hired to work as a Systems Analyst, however my manager is unreasonably giving me work that has nothing to do with my skills - printing documents (100s of papers in a day not used for any valuable purposes), booking meeting rooms, calling team members to find out if they are at home/office, carrying his laptop to the meeting rooms and back. I did this unwillingly for a few days, but now this has become a standard practice.

He will stand behind me, see what I am working on and then suddenly ask me to work on something new (which was not previously spoken about). He frequently changes his mind, which causes a lot of re-work; no extra time allowance given for the re-work. Doesn't provide clear instructions as to what needs to be delivered, causing a lot of confusion; think he is himself unclear about the deliverables. The other thing is unlike seasoned experts, he is unable to layout a plan for the day; this guy gives me 20 different things to do in a day, and says everything is urgent and required now. Since I have joined, I have never had my lunch at normal times, its always 3 or 4pm. I have requested him to give me a 15min break to grab a bite, but the guy just doesn't listen. If I am eating at my desk, he stares at me and says - "can we finish xyz first? look at me, I don't go out for lunch". He asks me to call people for status updates and abruptly grabs the phone in his hand while I am in the middle of a conversation. He is always late in approving my timesheets, missed payments a few times now. When I come back from the toilet, his frequent remark is "it took you too long, i was looking for you. I usually don't get up from my seat until a job is done." He uses the company phone to make a lot of personal calls during the day which extend to about 10-20mins every time and in the middle of his phone call, he checks on me asking "are we done, this should be done in the next 10mins"; feels really rude.

Have enough money to see myself for 2-3 months. Should I take this crap or quit immediately? Have spoken to him (and to the HR/agency separately) a few times about his behavior in a polite manner but no results. Instead, the guy got back to me saying, you have a bad attitude towards work.

Thanks

Is this guy for real? Get outta there!

[strawberrysmoothie]

In contracting their will always be times when you land a contract that doesn't fit
with what the job spec is, or you end up working with really weird people especially
in banking.

main thing is to be able to learn and handle all these situations, I know running away
and avoiding them seems easier but if you can truly manage yourself and control your
thinking about the situation you will always be able to deal with people like this in the
future.

Maybe start laughing at him to reduce his power over you, start making excuses like
you've pulled your back and you can't carry his laptop etc, slowly you need to gain
your authority back over him.

At the end of the day your still getting paid, and in six months time you
will probably be on another contract and this would have been a good learning experience.

I agree totally. In this line of business there is the potential to run into some right idiots - just take it as a given. I don't know how much time you have left on this contract but frankly if it's not part of your job description --frankly your within your rights to say 'no'. After all what the hell can he do to you? Is going to kill you in cold blood in office...no I doubt it. Is he going psychically attack you...no. No unless he wants to police involvement. Frankly all this idiot can do is shout at you...Big deal. You don't have to listen to it, you can walk away and tell him your happy to listen to him when he 'can speak to you in a calm voice...like an adult'.

After all he can only continue to treat you badly if you allow him to. Put this down to experience and move on.

Ufortunately BS happens.

[Bright Spark]

Hi,

I am an IT contractor (Banking) with about 3 yrs of contracting experience. I have just started a new contract at a reputed bank and have found myself in tulip.

Thanks

In contracting their will always be times when you land a contract that doesn't fit
with what the job spec is, or you end up working with really weird people especially
in banking.

main thing is to be able to learn and handle all these situations, I know running away
and avoiding them seems easier but if you can truly manage yourself and control your
thinking about the situation you will always be able to deal with people like this in the
future.

Maybe start laughing at him to reduce his power over you, start making excuses like
you've pulled your back and you can't carry his laptop etc, slowly you need to gain
your authority back over him.

At the end of the day your still getting paid, and in six months time you
will probably be on another contract and this would have been a good learning experience.

[TestMangler]

Never understood the relevance of using the canteen. After all, if a company has visitors it usually lets them use the canteen.

It doesn't have any relevance but a lot of contractors seem to think it does. In the same way as people start an arguement about IR35 by saying, "If I engaged the services of a plumber...."

Means f**k all to me, you and strangely enough HMRC. As I said in a later post, that is NOT the kind of questions they ask clients.

A lot of getting out of an IR35 investigation is down to what the client says (mine told them to 'refer to the contract')and how the rest of it is handled. I had insurance and refused to engage in any dialogue with HMRC, but that didn't stop them phoning constantly and asking you to answer questions, which you have to repeatedly refuse to answer and refer them to your representitives. It gets them really pissed off but it paid off for me in the end.

[2BIT]

having thought about this I would probably stick around if there were a few weeks left purely so I could **** with the guy obviously whilst invoicing but if there was months to go would walk, permies shouldn't have to put up with that tulip so as a contractor you really shouldn't

[MarillionFan]

Is this for real ? I cannot believe anybody could be so narcissist in a corporate environment.

If I was you I would have walked out the moment I was told to carry his laptop. Carry your own laptop!

Love it. There's a broken laptop straight away.

If you stay, you're an idiot.

FWIW: I've been contracting 23 years and have only come across this at 4 sites. Each time, I've ripped into the guy within the first few days. Only once has that resulted in us "parting ways" early. On the other 3 occasions, Mr DickHead has taken his attitude elsewhere, to some complete muppet (usually a permie) who'll put up with that kind of bullying. Still, that's me, not you. Your call.

WHS. I'd have ripped him a new one the first second he started acting like a dick. Life's too short.

[lukemg]

Yes – You probably should.
I wouldn’t though, unless I had another contract in place, I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
I would stand up to him though and I would hand over all responsibility for the work allocation to him. Just say – do you want me to stop the other work and start this when he asks you to do something. Work on that until completion or told otherwise and don’t kill yourself.
Get up and leave for lunch, if challenged just tell him you are going for lunch and keep walking.
If they want to bin you off, that is their choice. If it happens I would be recording the actions of this nobber (without any emotion whatsoever) and communicate to someone senior on your way out. They will know all about him anyway and either this is the culture of the place (phoneys4you) and they like it or he has been sidelined because no-one knows what to do with him.
There are a thousand ways to give the illusion of being helpful while driving this guy nuts – think Fletch in Porridge.
Soon as you get a contract offer to bail immediately, if they keep you to notice, do as little as possible or just walk, they deserve it.

[psychocandy]

When I went through one a few years ago, HMRC did NOT ask questions about stuff like that.

They sent a list of questions to my client co (but nothing to do with the usual expected canteen and car park questions) who replied to every question with 'refer to contract' and then covered the whole thing with a letter stating that they did not, nor ever did have a contract in place of any kind between them and Mr T Mangler.

What I'm getting at is that people who spout advice about 'don't carry anything for your line manager, you'll get caught with IR35' are basically talking out of their arses, so take their advice with a pinch of salt.

Having said that, if someone asked me to carry their laptop, I may do it out of common courtesy, if they were, for example, carrying my coffee and bacon roll and had to open a door for me

More than likely, i'd tell them to take a flying ****, which is IR35 neutral.

Never understood the relevance of using the canteen. After all, if a company has visitors it usually lets them use the canteen.

[Scrag Meister]

Just tell him if he wants you to act like his bitch then you'll have to charge your working-for-a-bitch rate.

Equates to the same thing though.

If I were you and things don't improve, I'd be looking and then move.

Do you have any form of relationship with his boss? Speak to him if your manager is not taking any notice of your polite requests.

[TestMangler]

Just because you've been through an investigation doesn't automatically mean you know anything/everything either, does it?



If I was the OP, I'd tell this dick where to stick his contract and walk.

1. Don't recall saying I did know everything about it, but I know a tulip load more than someone who hasn't.

2. Completely agree.

[Mr.Whippy]

When I went through one a few years ago, HMRC did NOT ask questions about stuff like that.

What I'm getting at is that people who spout advice about 'don't carry anything for your line manager, you'll get caught with IR35' are basically talking out of their arses, so take their advice with a pinch of salt.

Just because you've been through an investigation doesn't automatically mean you know anything/everything either, does it?

If I was the OP, I'd tell this dick where to stick his contract and walk.