Interfering/micromanaging manager

[Starfish38]

Hi, I work ,in a kitchen of a care home. The manager naturally is over responsible for everything in the home. However, she insists on dictating how the kitchen is organised and what should be stored in it or in a nearby cupboard. My feeling is that I have the right to work in a kitchen that is convenient for me to use, to store away infrequently used items in order to facilitate getting things off of shelves and cleaning. Additionally, things not used often are dust magnets and hidey-holes for pests. I am having a review this week and I would like to know what I can say to her in my defense of how I need things to be. After all, I wouldn't tell her how to organise the office because I occasionally need to use it. I sometimes have the impression that some of these decisions are based on other staff wanting things to be convenient for them.

[ULA]

I presume the manager you are speaking of runs the home are they also the owner?

Is your responsibility as the manager of the kitchen?

[Starfish38]

Hi, she is manager only. We are two cooks of equal standing but we work our own days, not together.

[ULA]

Do you know if your colleague has the same issues?

Before you have your meeting with her I think you need to have prepared some notes about how you would like the kitchen to be set out. Take it away from the personal "I like the kitchen to be set out this way". Concentrate on the fact that you believe this is better for reasons of efficiency within the kitchen, hygiene, ease of access and convenience for frequently used items etc.

These are never easy conversations to have, so preparing what you want to say helps and I hope some of my suggestions have given you some ideas as to how to put things to your manager.

[Starfish38]

I don't want things to be my way, I have given in my original post the reason for practical reasons, which she doesn't appreciate, which is why I also added that she is sometimes swayed by other staff who don't work in the kitchen. Perhaps I should have chosen a catering forum. However, surely a person has a right to work free of unnecessary difficulties brought about by people who rarely use that space.

[ULA]

Sorry i was not clear from your original post that you had actually already provided those practical reasons to the manager. In your meeting you do need to try and again set out the reasons as you have stated and explain that given that as the cook you have good knowledge and practical experience of how a kitchen should be run it would be helpful for you to be allowed to manage this area in the most effective way, in co-ordination with the other cook.

Is there someone more senior at the home that you can raise these issues with if they do not resolve themselves.

[Starfish38]

Hi, I think things may have been sorted now, hopefully! Thank you.

[ULA]

Glad to hear that

[Starfish38]

Glad to hear that

Although the problem exists otherwise in her deputy manager whose priority seems to be to allow staff to do as little as possible, which creates other problems, which I'm going to post about as I find it so unacceptable.

[Starfish38]

Hi, when I left one cook job for this one, the hours offered were regular. 9 - 2 5 days a week, possibly the odd long day, to 7. I told 1st job I was leaving and the new job manager said she wanted two cooks, full time. This is not usual, although it could be the arrangement in some care homes. Normal thing is for carers to make breakfast, cook makes lunch, carers make supper some of which may be prepared by cook earlier. I argued the point but she insisted, so, realising it would be problematic, I went along with it - not much I could have done. It soon became clear that the assistant manager, also head carer, was probably behind it as she typically tries to have the carers get away with doing as little as possible.

For some reason, she/they (carers) feel that once they have done the absolute minimum required of them in terms of personal care, they don't have to do anything else, willingly at least. This has created a "spoilt" staff, many of them are on their mobiles a lot of the time, drifting about (possible in frustration of not having anything to do), etc. As expected, the situation didn't go well and the other cook left, a bank/agency cook came in to fill in. I was still doing the long days, which I didn't want to do from the start, and I was expecting to return to the original hours I was meant to work and that they would advertise for someone to "fill in the blanks", i.e. two days lunch and the rest suppers, 3 or 4 to 7.

Last week, head carer came into kitchen with someone who had been there for interview - nothing was mentioned beforehand. This week, it turns out that they have offered him the job, creating the same situation when I was told that there would be two cooks full time. They want him doing 8 - 7. I had a few tense words with her and at her request gave her the hours I wanted to do, 5 days a week (the particular days aren't important to me), 9 - 3, as I had gone into the job as a regular job.

She has got back to me "We have come up with something - let me know what you think about these hours" - Mon and Thurs 9 - 4, Fri 9 - 7, Sat 9 - 3. These are not regular hours, nothing like the hours I expected to do when offered the job and it leaves me with three days off, not ideal for me, nor given to expect. Opinions and suggestions please. I don't feel like I should compromise or be in a bargaining situation.

I need to reply asap, as her shift ends at 8, I might try to do so by then, or tomorrow even though she's off tomorrow. I would like to make a simple statement about doing a normal job with normal regular hours across a normal work week, that I had argued the point in the first instance when I was told that another cook would be taken on, that I had mentioned to the manager and possibly with head of care present that although I was prepared to be flexible to some degree in order to help out, I wanted some consistency, that I should have been consulted first about days and hours before they advertised for the current new cook, and that I should not be put in a postion that I'm in now, but I'd like it to be put clearly and professionally sounding. The poor man might well have handed in his notice at the other job and I don't want it going on longer than necessary but it wasn't my mistake causing this situation. Thanks.

[echat11]

Hi Starfish

It might be an idea to add some paragraphs to the block of text. ULA would appreciate that.

[ULA]

Sorry I am very confused as you are also posting on an old post of yours from last year. Are you now working in a new care home from last year?

What does your contract of employment state about your hours/days of work. If that confirms 9 - 2pm 5 days a week then you need to point this out to the head carer in regard to the current situation.

[Starfish38]

I was going to create this new post when I saw there'd been a reply to the old one. It is the same place, it's quite unprofessional really although they get a good rating from the inspectors. I don't have a copy of the contract to hand, it wasn't that involved, the computer I had it scanned to broke down and couldn't be fixed.

[ULA]

Thank you for the clarification. I will merge both threads otherwise it will be very confusing.

[Starfish38]

Thank you for the clarification. I will merge both threads otherwise it will be very confusing.

It may be more confusing as the problems are quite separate and one is to do with manager and the other is primarily the head of care/assistant manager.