Okay, where do I begin? I started this job in the fall of 2007 with a community mental healthcare facility. I should have picked up on the fact that no one else working at this facility was jumping at the opportunity of working with this woman! She is foreign born and as nutty as a snickers bar! She is very insecure about her intelligence and skills. As a result of this, she tends to be overbearing, suspicious and controlling with our team of casemanagers whom she supervises. She has boundary issues with regards to sharing her personal life, with me in particular. Only four months or more into my employment, she shares her divorce in detail with me. She tells me about how her husband cheated on her with their next door neighbor. I really didn’t care to know this, but I listened respectfully because I needed the job. She definitely has issues with men, and tends to favor the female opinion when ideas are presented. She ignores suggestions at team meetings by select male staff members as if they were invisible! We guys call it the Girls Club. As for her work habits, she undermines, lies, or forgets and refuses to take responsibility for her mistakes. She never apologizes when she is blatantly wrong. I myself have a two degrees, one is a masters and the other a bachelors. She has two also, but her masters doesn’t command as much attention as my masters. I personally don’t put that much value on degrees. I value experience, teamwork, honesty, and work ethics. I feel that she is intimidated by me without justification. I have done my best to reassure her that I am there to support the team and that ego and arrogance have no place in a team oriented workplace. It drives me crazy to think that is some cases, not all cases, but some cases, the U.S. gets foreign born individuals that could only make it as Wal-Mart greeters in their country. But they can come to our country, speak with an accent and immediately be considered highly knowledgeable with little scrutiny. And I mean no disrespect to those foreign born folks who are indeed very knowledgeable and an asset to their employers here in the U.S. The strangest thing that she has ever said to me was at a staff meeting in front of other team members. She was planning a cookout at her house and strongly suggesting that we all clear our calendars for this cookout. I had plans, so I respectfully declined to attend this after work social activity due to a personal commitment with a family member. When I declined, she said with a smirk on her face, “You remind me of my ex-husband” She added: ” He always had an excuse for why couldn’t do something”. I looked at her and thought, WOW!!! she has no insight, no professionalism and poor to no management skills with subordinate workers. This Ditz should be deported back to South America on the next flight!!
