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That Time My Staff Mocked Me in an Email Thread I Was On
There are better ways to learn if you’re a cringeworthy manager — like these four traits I’ve observed in myself and others
Have you ever been sitting through an episode of “The Office” and thought, “Holy shit, I’ve worked with a Michael Scott doppelganger”? (Or, if you’re a fan of the original British version, substitute ‘David Brent’ for ‘Michael Scott’.)
Yep, that boss. The one whose every word screamed ‘cringe’ and had you praying for a surprise fire drill or divine intervention by way of a lightning bolt, leaving nothing but a smoking pair of shoes in its aftermath (harsh, but fair). If I had to describe that type of boss as a sound, it’d be the screech of long fingernails on a chalkboard. Eee-freakin’-eeeekk.
These ‘leaders,’ if we can even call them that without triggering our gag reflex, breeze through the office like it’s casual Friday every day. They’ve mastered the art of looking busy, but you’d be hard-pressed to find any real productive work. In their mind, actual work is reserved for the rookies— those poor souls yet to ‘pay their dues’ and earn the manager moniker.
Okay, so here’s a twist that’s more shocking than the grizzly ending of series 3 of Ozark (I’m a big fan). What if… wait for it… you’re the Michael Scott of your office? Gasp!
I’ve been that guy
Now, picture this: One morning, some two decades or more ago, I was a twenty-something young man in a middle-management position. I arrived at the office and commenced my typical routine. Let’s just say I wasn’t strutting into the joint pointing my finger-gun at folks with a wanky wink, giving them the ol’ Joey Tribbiani ‘how you doing?’ cheeseball greeting — but damn, I might have been toeing that line.
On this particular morning, I was indulging in an email chain full of inappropriate comments and innuendo (c’mon, it was the early noughties…things were chill.) Back and forth the emails flew, everyone losing it over the David Brent memes one of the tech gurus had cleverly Photoshopped together. As a reminder, Brent was the loser boss from the original UK ‘The Office,’ played to cringy perfection by Ricky Gervais.
