Micromanager’s criticism backfires as junior employee withdraws support, prompting boss’s desperate plea for help

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Sienna Varady
Jul 20, 2024 7:00 AM EDT

Every business has a different hierarchical structure that is exclusive to it. The account provided in the story below comes from a former student. The original poster (OP) was a university student majoring in English. During her time as a student, she launched the department newsletter and helped with the editing and publication of the annual literary journal. She significantly improved the newsletter and the magazine, but since she was still viewed as a junior editor, she was expected to perform within the call of duty rather than going above and beyond. Essentially, she was expected to 'stay in her lane' and let the adults run the show.

Naturally, OP was not pleased with this. She then made the conscious decision to address the issue head-on and came up with a cunning plan that would persuade the professors to accord her the respect she deserved. So, if you're interested in learning more about what happened then be sure to check out the story below!  After you're done, don't forget to read the tale of the micromanager who writes up a part-time employee for not returning calls on his day off!

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  • 01
    en, osch en hei, een fietstocht ladde len het wint waar geen ka s, alleen met de natuur.. esmenschen meer zijn, Immer Hansie. De organisatie act van de avond raadt aan op tijd te komen. Vol is eptie. uur en één op zondagmiddag 1 mei zijn twee shows gepland: één op zaterdagavond 30 april om 20.00 Jaar is de entree gratis! om 14.30 uur. ove Voor hen, die in de gelegenheid zijn nog ter en korte herfstvacantie te nemen, al-schien rens donkere dagen aanbreken, geven den in, gens waar thans enkele fra
    via canva
  • 02
    Think I'm "too involved in everything"? Fine. I'm out.
    via u/brother_p
  • 03
    This has a bit of long set-up sorry. TL;DR: made a professor jealous by helping out the other professors so he told me to stop, which caused havoc in the department Back in the 80's I was a university student majoring in English in a smallish school. I was one of a small number of students with my own computer and got to know a lot about word processors, desktop publishing software, and (more generally) MS-DOS, the text-based precursor operating system to Windows.
    via u/brother_p
  • 04
    Many of the professors in the department were just starting to buy computers to do their research and writing, and so I often offered to help them with buying/setting them up as well as helping them understand DOS and using their word processors. I and a few friends took over editing and publishing the annual literary magazine, and we also started a department newsletter. I was editor of both. I also served as the student representative on the Faculty
    via u/brother_p
  • 05
    Council. I believed in being useful, and it didn't hurt that the profs all offered to be reference for me in exchange. However, for some reason, one of the professors in the department took umbrage with me for all this. He was usually very friendly to all the other students, but when he'd see me he'd just brusquely pass by. Then, in my senior year, he became the department head and that's when things came to a head.
    via u/brother_p
  • 06
    One day one of the professors asked me to format his forthcoming book for publication. There was a paid research associate in the department but she didn't know how to use desktop publishing software or how to do layout, whereas I, as editor of the magazine and newsletter, had a lot of experience with both. However, she complained to the department head that I was "taking her job". She knew he didn't like me, so she was stirring ups t deliberately.
    via u/brother_p
  • 07
    Well, he came running (literally, he ran) up to me and started berating me in front of the research associate and the prof who asked me the favour. He ranted about the things I was doing and said "you're too involved in everything and it isn't appropriate. You are just an undergrad here, and I don't appreciate you undermining <research associate>." He didn't give me a chance to reply, just turned on his heel and strode back to his office, no doubt feeling good about b lying a student.
    via u/brother_p
  • 08
    Cue the malicious compliance. Since he felt I was "too involved in everything" I stopped helping everyone. Printer jammed? Sorry. Lost your Word file? That's a shame. Having trouble making a back-up of your novel? Wish I knew what to tell you. Need to install that new hard drive? Guess you're gonna have to bring it in to the computer shop and pay. Department newsletter, which the president of the university had personally congratulated me on? Ceased publication.
    via u/brother_p
  • 09
    After a few weeks, with things having ground to a halt, the s t. Hit. The. Fan. The other professors all took my side, and called for an emergency Faculty Council meeting. Even though I was the student rep, it was closed door so I never got to hear what happened. The minutes of the meeting merely said "Discussion re: research activities." It lasted for well over an hour and when it was over, the department head called me and invited me in to his office. Once again he did all the talking, but thi
    via u/brother_p
  • 10
    he regretted his harsh words, offered a shame-faced apology, told me that he appreciated all the help I had given his colleagues in the past, and expressed his wish that we could put this "unfortunate misunderstanding" behind us. We shook hands and parted enemies. Things went back to normal. I finished my undergraduate degree and stuck around to do my master's. I continued to do what I always did, and even helped launch a writing tutorial centre in the department that is still operating 35 years
    via u/brother_p
  • 11
    DokterZ 19 hr. ago The part where you had to explain MS-DOS made me feel old. In college as a CS undergrad I went from punch cards to mainframe terminals to Apple IICs to IBM PCs in 4 years. Wild times.
    via u/DokterZ
  • 12
    HelenaHansomcab · 19 hr. ago • I love "we shook hands and parted enemies." Great story, and good for you!
    via u/HelenaHansomcab
  • 13
    Sirbo311 · 18 hr. ago I 100% have done this in my professional career. I never knew how do describe it in words. Thank you for that phrase. I know how to describe this in the future now.
    via u/Sirbo311
  • 14
    Tamalene 18 hr. ago He took accountability? What parallel universe was this?!
    via u/Tamalene
  • 15
    brother_p OP. 18 hr. ago To paraphrase Shakespeare: some are born accountable, some take accountability, and some have accountability thrust upon them.
    via u/brother_p
  • 16
    Lazy-Two8387 . 20 hr. ago Well done. What happened to the paid associate?
    via u/Lazy-Two8387
  • 17
    brother_p OP 20 hr. ago Last I heard she retired some time in the early 2000's.
    via u/brother_p
  • 18
    RealFakeLlama · 15 hr. ago I had not been so forgiving as you, OP. Publicly (even 'just' in a school setting) i had insisted on something more than an apoligy behind closed doors. Public apoligy. A propper student job with pay since you actualy did not just the assistants job but also kept the place
    via u/RealFakeLlama
  • 19
    running... there are a lot of stuff the department head could have done to actualy show remorse of his public dressing down of you and start to show tje value you actualy contributed free of charge untill you was yelled at to stop.
    via u/RealFakeLlama
  • 20
    Scortch earth - dont like the value i bring free of charge - humble yourself and start show me the value i bring in keeping stuff running, or i simply wouldnt start to help again. I, a student job like that would still be cheaper than hireing a non-student.
    via u/RealFakeLlama
  • 21
    brother_p OP · 15 hr. ago I did have paid work as well -- I was a TA in my senior year, then a Graduate Assistant while I worked on my MA. The extra stuff I did to help pad my resume and build some references -- which worked when I applied to Teacher's College and then getting my first job.
    via u/brother_p
  • 22
    Temporumdei 13 hr. ago I loved the line "We shook hands and parted enemies..." Lol.
    via u/Temporumdei
  • 23
    TheFluffiestRedditor · 5 hr. ago I wish you'd been able to say nah, I don't feel like returning to the previous status. How about a paid position for all the work instead? but I understand universities, and their grossly unbalanced power structures, and thay may not have been feasible.
    via u/TheFluffiestRedditor
  • 24
    TheRealTinfoil666 · 7 hr. ago • When I was in second year engineering, they were just getting PCs for the first time for some fancy new thing called Computer Aided Design (CAD) and were going to instruct it as part Drafting II. Problem was NONE of the engineering faculty has used a computer before (small school, old school profs).
    via u/TheRealTinfoil666
  • 25
    I had done decently in First year, and word got around that I have used AutoCad during my summer employment (version 4.0 so you get how long ago this was). So I was hired to set up all of the computers and install the software. They then had me do all of the lab instructing while simultaneously taking the Drafting II (CAD) course.
    via u/TheRealTinfoil666
  • 26
    So I was basically paid to take a course, and they guaranteed me a 100% mark, since I basically designed the assignments, mid term and final for them. Yes there was resentment from a few of my classmates, but oh well, I still got paid.
    via u/TheRealTinfoil666
  • 27
    Wodan11 17 hr. ago Never work for free.
    via u/Wodan11
  • 28
    Kinsfire 9 hr. ago I love the comment "We shook hands and parted enemies." That meeting you didn't get to sit in on was all of the other professors informing him that while he might be department head, they were in the position to make his entire time in that position a living to the point where he would willingly give up his job and tenure just to get away from them.
    via u/Kinsfire
  • 29
    And I suspect that the research assistant who reported you probably was informed that they were going to have their work gone over with a fine tooth comb for the uproar that they caused over something that THEY DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO DO IN THE FIRST PLACE.
    via u/Kinsfire
  • 30
    Having the person you work for tell you that "You done f d up, Billy boy!" (The Stand reference) does not make for an easy time when you're finishing your degree...
    via u/Kinsfire
  • 31
    TheFluffiestRedditor 5 hr. ago I wish you'd been able to say nah, I don't feel like returning to the previous status. How about a paid position for all the work instead? but I understand universities, and their grossly unbalanced power structures, and thay may not have been feasible.
    via u/TheFluffiestRedditor

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