Weddingbee boards

Does anyone have a boss who's completely work-obsessed? Mine's just been driving me crazy lately, so I needed to vent.

Our CEO (my boss), believe it or not, doesn't think that people work because they have to. He truly believes that everyone works for his company because they all absolutely love it and what they do here. In January, he offered all of us $5K to quit our jobs, and the reason behind the whole thing was to ensure that everyone here loves doing what they do. He strongly encouraged people to take him up on the offer if they weren't doing what they really wanted to do in life. A nice offer if you think about it, but in reality, a lot of us work because we have to, at jobs that we don't like because there's nothing else out there.

I'm an office manager. I'm good at it, but I do not love it. It's just a job. It kind of freightens me to think my boss thinks, "She does this because she LOVES filing expense reports, taking calls from angry customers and creating sales reports."

It's just been bothering me lately because, since he thinks we all LOVE our jobs so much, and hanging out with each other, he's organizing yet another company dinner, which everyone dreads. Attendance is mandatory, and he calls it an "employee appreciation" dinner, but really, what we would all prefer is to go home and see our own friends/family or perhaps earn some extra paid time off (we have bare, bare minimum ... it's bad). He thinks we all love these dinners, though, which is why he continues to do them. Every reward we get for making sales goals or whatever is spending more time with coworkers. Managers have brought up different rewards in the past, like cash bonuses or more paid time off and he shrugs it off saying that people like parties and socializing outside the office.

I'm just venting because we have a company appreciation dinner tomorrow, and I'm dreading it. They take forever, and I'm bored the whole time. I don't not get along with my coworkers, and I respect them ... they're just simply not my favorite people in the whole world.

I feel kind of guilty for thinking these things sometimes, because my salary is decent (not great, but it could be worse), and I know I'm lucky to have a job.

Does anyone else have a boss that doesn't seem to get there's life outside the office and the people who work in it?

My old bosses (married couple) were EXACTLY like that (especially the wife AKA "president" of their business). It was tough working there (almost 4 years) because she was VERY stubborn and hard to deal with and would milk as many hours out of me & my co-workers as possible. I had to get out of there. I was working minimum of 55 hours a week and I felt like I was going insane. (Not exaggerating).

I get where you're coming from, trust me. I also understand the "guilty" feelings at having thoughts like those, but hey, you have to think about what's best for you. YOU don't own the company, therefore you shouldn't have to be there all the time. I think people that own their own businesses practially sell their souls.

I would die if they did this here. But I also would've taken the 5k :)

@ejs: We have a suggestion box type thing where these things have been brought up numerous times. They're ignored. I'm technically the HR department (small company), and always try to politely tell the boss these things, but he seriously just thinks people prefer social dinners. It's weird. I wish my boss understood that going home on time to see my husband is like, way more fun.

@ribbons: Ha! I considered it! But with the salary I make, plus the health benefits, the numbers didn't add up, and it didn't make sense for me to take the deal. No one took it, actually, because with the economy, it would have taken us forever to find other jobs, which is why I end up feeling guilty!

@girlwitharing: that sucks!

@laural: I see your point. I really do. It's just difficult because I have a lot of friends who work for companies that truly understand a work/life balance. I think what really gets me is that, no, he doesn't care what my life outside the office is, but a growing trend right now in HR is recognizing that employees are happier and more productive when their outside life is taken into consideration (telecommuting, for example, is gaining a lot of popularity because companies see how it can make an employee more productive, and the employee gets to spend more time at home).

The dinner is just a dinner. Cocktails, entrees and chatting. I know my corworkers pretty well (been to a lot of these things!) and honestly, like I said, they're just not people I enjoy socializing with, and I'm sure they feel the same about me and each other - in fact, I know that's true. We all respect each other and get along, but we're not BFFs and we recognize that we're just coworkers.

@laural: Unfortunately, that's the problem. With our anonymous suggestion box thing, employees have tactfully and professionally explained that while a free meal is nice, having them outside of work hours is difficult because of their personal lives. Many expressed that catered lunches and early Fridays would be great as a substitute to show appreciation, but he doesn't like the ideas, insisting he knows what people like. He's a difficult person to get along with.

I understand I come off as whining and complaining and unappreciative, but hey, we all need to vent sometimes, right? :)

Thanks to everyone who understands! I actually feel better just venting.

@ prettyflowers: exactly, which is why it actually would have been stupid of me to take the deal. With health coverage of my monthly prescriptions and my current salary, I wouldn't even have lasted two months! And that's with my husband paying all the bills except my half of the rent. So yeah, it sounds like a good deal, but when reality sets in and you crunch numbers, it's really not.