-Hostile work environment.
-Lack of professionalism in terms of giving feedback to employees.
-No capacity for receiving constructive criticism.
-No privacy for performance reviews.
-Feedback given to employees in an overly personal, un-constructive manner.
-Management's expectations are inconsistent.
-Work evaluations are made on a personal basis, rather than a performance basis.
-Unclear management organization structure.
To elaborate: Very quickly, the owner/president--a C level employee--went from welcoming and encouraging to sarcastic and accusatory. I reported privately and informally to the proper channels that I felt uncomfortable in the work place because I had been called into her office to witness a private conversation between her and another employee. As a result, the owner/president was asked to address sensitive matters in private.
She apparently felt this was some sort of personal attack, because the owner/president called me into her office again the next day. She claimed I didn't have a choice but to put the complaint I'd made in a private, informal conversation in writing.
I felt scared and panicked, and so I complied. But the owner/president should not have asked me to do this, as written statements are supposed to go through HR, and sit downs involving written complaints involve procedures and often mediation. Otherwise, the statement is considered coerced, contributing to tension in the workplace and a hostile environment.
But regardless, I did comply and brought her a short statement recounting the private conversation I'd had regarding my discomfort. She read the statement out loud, and laughed mockingly and sarcastically as she did so.
"It makes ME uncomfortable that you say you're uncomfortable," the owner/president claimed. And even though I'd only ever talked about it once, she demanded, "Are you going to report that you are uncomfortable here EVERY DAY? I'm seeing a pattern!"
Through the conversation, the company owner/president rolled her eyes at me, maintained hostile and aggressive body posture, and squinted at me suspiciously. There was no basis for such an interrogation. She treated me with inappropriate levels of anger and suspicion--and worst of all, sarcasm and belittlement--simply because I made a routine observation during an evaluation session.
