Boss cancels remote work policy for all employees but himself: 'My boss is totally incompetent'

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Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
Aug 27, 2024 6:00 PM EDT

"Rules for me but not for thee" is a phrase you'll see bandied about whenever there is an unjust application of rules by undeserving leaders in instances where they are making themself an exception to their own rules without any explanation being given. This hypocrisy will earn them the ire of their subordinates, who are disgruntled at the lack of fairness and the fact that they're having their own conditions worsened, eroding the credibility of leadership and their employee's trust in them and spiraling downward into a toxic workplace culture with high burnout and turnover rates.

This frustrated worker shared how their incompetent boss planned to cancel the company's current work-from-home policy, which has already been reduced to one day remote a week. Meanwhile, the boss himself arrives late and leaves early and is clearly not getting much done while not in the office. It's no surprise that someone who is a walking-talking example of the Peter principle would be so blind to their own hypocrisy.

The workers voiced their thoughts and feelings on the topic on this thread, which they shared with this online community. They gave an account of what was happening at their workplace, which sparked discussion on the topic in this thread.

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  • 01
    "[My] lazy boss wants to get rid of remote days for everyone but himself..."
    via Siora Photography
  • 02
    Lazy boss wants to get rid of remote days for everyone but himself My boss is totally incompetent. He is only above me from seniority. Lacks technical ability and has no idea what he's doing. Can't manage for not even good soft skills, and takes credit from everyone else's success. The other day he mentioned that it's nice for everyone to be in the office. and maybe we should end remote work. Mind you, we only get one day remote.
    via u/NoMoreCoolNamesLeft
  • 03
    Meanwhile this guy makes his own schedule every week and says "oh I gotta be remote today because my kids have appointments" and he'll say that the day of. Does this multiple times a week. He doesn't even do anything on his remote time. And when he does come in, he gets in late and leaves early. He humble brags about his cars and big house and his plans to buy rental properties, but it's all because of his wife's rich family. He always makes excuses for working remotely because his kids, but he
    via u/NoMoreCoolNamesLeft
  • 04
    I'm just waiting for the day he hard and everything blows up in his face. up
    via u/NoMoreCoolNamesLeft
  • 05
    C64128 13 hr. ago If he doesn't know what he's doing, how did he get this job and keep it? Is he taking credit for other people's work? Do the people above him know what a tool he is? Call him out on his Make sure other don't cover for him or do his work for him. Set him up to fail.
    via u/NoMoreCoolNamesLeft
  • 06
    NoMoreCoolNamesLeft OP ⚫ 13 hr. ago Was the most senior with a bunch of turnover. Only got the position because he was there the longest. I came in after that period and didn't really know about it. After working with him, me and my peers noticed he doesn't to do anything. know how Yeah I have a long list of he up and things he takes credit for. Planning for a meet with his superior.
    via u/NoMoreCoolNamesLeft
  • 07
    • C64128 12 hr. ago Hope you meeting with his superior goes well for you. There's no reason to keep someone that isn't adding anything to the business.
    via u/NoMoreCoolNamesLeft
  • 08
    Mammoth Ad_3463 12 hr. ago Ugh sounds like our owner. I cant be fully remote because they "REALLY NEED" me in office, like if I have a doctors appointment and need to leave 30 minutes early they feel I should make up the full day. Meanwhile, they do nothing they claim they will, aren't reachable when a question comes up, and on the rare occasion they do come in the office (usually to randomlycheck that we are)
    via u/NoMoreCoolNamesLeft
  • 09
    they go on about their next vacation, whether they should work that week from their beach house, mountain house, or city high rise, or which country they should visit next. They inherited the business from their spouse and we have no retirement plan and insurance, but of course the business funds their retirement and they are on a separate (and much better) insurance, also fully funded by the business.
    via u/NoMoreCoolNamesLeft
  • 10
    Unfortunately, to get a business loan, you have to have collateral, and since my partner and I can't afford a house around here, we can't open our own business either. Our raises this year didn't even cover the rent hike, much less groceries, insurance, utilities... It really makes me want to throw a monitor at my boss.
    via u/NoMoreCoolNamesLeft
  • 11
    AlternativeAd7151 13 hr. ago • Give him an incentive: be less productive in office than you are when WFH.
    via u/NoMoreCoolNamesLeft
  • 12
    SnooApples5554. 12 hr. ago He probably assumes everyone abuses it as badly as he does, and we can't have that.
    via u/NoMoreCoolNamesLeft
  • 13
    mcflame13 · 12 hr. ago Why don't you report the blatant time theft to his boss? As for him taking credit for stuff that he did not do. Find ways to put who made it into whatever. So that he can no longer take credit. It would be hard for him to take credit when everyone finds out how much of a lazy person he is and how much money they could save by getting rid of his lazy
    via u/NoMoreCoolNamesLeft
  • 14
    orangemoonboots 11 hr. ago I don't understand how these people get away with this and also I don't understand how they don't see their employees as humans with equal or more needs and equal demands on their time than they, themselves, have. I worked for a woman like your boss and she was always "calling in remote," while we were reduced to two remote days per week and then they took remote work away altogether. She kept her privileges though.
    via u/NoMoreCoolNamesLeft
  • 15
    Another boss I had was always out for "appointments" or he'd call in from his car and not really be able to concentrate on the meetings, etc. At one point he took an extended leave of several weeks and mentioned he wasn't using short term disability because he "had a lot of PTO banked." He was only with the org for two years so he must never have taken one hour of sick or vacation time - even being off all of those afternoons.
    via u/NoMoreCoolNamesLeft
  • 16
    MOTIVATE_ME_23 Document everything. Track how many resources he wastes and used to bail him out. Deliver it to his superiors someday to oust him. They may love him and oust you. They may not even care he's incompetent as long as they are making money. Or form a new company and start an independent side business. Pick up clients he bungles and loses. As work goes down, find current competent and discreet employees to leave this company and run your other one.
    via u/NoMoreCoolNamesLeft
  • 17
    Someday, they'll realize he is incompetent and fire him. Then they'll start looking around for the competition. Offer to take over management of their client management under a different business name while you still have their old clientele.
    via u/NoMoreCoolNamesLeft
  • 18
    sysctled It's actually pretty common for upper management to promote incompetent people to management positions due to a fear of someone immediately underneath them being too capable and possibly replacing them. I'm not sure whether it's a conscious or subconscious decision, but it's the reason why good managers are an absolute rarity. If you're intelligent, the trick to moving up in the working world is to play the fool and make everyone else around you (especially leadership) feel more intelli
    via u/NoMoreCoolNamesLeft

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workplace discussion employment issues return to office antiwork workplace-stories remote work jobs office work employment-discussion working from home job work office life rto workplace Horrible Bosses employment in the workplace
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