Insulted at work by an idiot manager

Rainstorm5 · Cogito ergo doleo Joined: Feb 20, 2008 Posts: 1043

I feel I'm being openly disrespected at work and there's not a d*mn thing I can do about it. Ever get into a position where you're working for a manager/supervisor/whatever that really has no idea how to do something, but they THINK they do?

I have a manager (a publisher, actually) who asked me a while back to help out with a magazine project, and since I was looking for a leg up in the company, I agreed to help. In fact, I was promised that if I 'did a good job' I would be given the project itself from then on. Since then, another designer managed to muscle her way in and took over. There's outsourcing going on in my company and since we're all fighting for a way to stay relevant in our particular industry, it's become very cut-throat at work.

Well, this certain manager disliked the ideas I had for page design on the last couple of magazine issues, but because another manager [Sales] agreed with me and even brought in another big gun from a sister company to convince this guy that my way was the 'right' way to put the magazine together, he's held it against me. This manager I work for aqcuiesced in regard to my proposed changes, but did so grudgingly. He also decided right then that he didn't like me and the feeling was mutual. [He probably disliked me even before that, but because I was recommended by another dept manager, he was sort of stuck with me].

I can't stand Type-A personalities (which this guy is) because I think they're loud-mouthed butt-kissers who will say and do just about anything to make themselves look good at the expense of other people. He's a controlling jerk who claims to be an expert in what he does but others (like me) feel he's utterly incompetent. Again, I repeat, we (the sales manager and I) had to bring in an expert from a sister publication in order to make this guy listen. He finally agreed to do things my way, but I could tell that he didn't like the idea of me making the design decisions (for what reason, I don't know). I think he dislikes me because I'm not an outgoing, in-your-face sh*t-talker like he is. That, and I've said openly to others that I think he's an idiot (yeah, that could have something to do with it).

HE DOESN'T UNDERSTAND MAGAZINE DESIGN.

Somehow things went horribly wrong and I don't even know how it happened. He somehow managed to take away any say I had in the design process, giving it instead to another designer that he's worked with for about ten years. This designer is totally in love with white space and everything she does looks like boring newsprint. White space is what designers call the "layout style" of leaving a small amount of type on a wide-open page, whcih is supposed to draw the reader's eye to the type. Some designers take this to the extreme, forsaking color and making photos/artwork too small in an effort to create more white space. They tend to forget that readers pick up a magazine to look at the photos and read the stories. Instead, these people like to cut type (and tear the guts out of an article) in order to create more space for the blank whiteness behind it. It's complicated, but let me just say that too much of it is a bad thing...

Anyhow...a month or two later...

Instead of my being vindicated, I found myself shut out of the main part of the design decisions. I dealt with it, figuring that this clown of a manager got his way. It happens. I get slighted from time to time. That's the way life is. But now it's become personal.

This past week I'd spent four days solid working on my section of the mag that only to find out yesterday that this same Sh*t-head manager tore my design apart (the day before it was supposed to go to press) and had his 'pet' designer re-do the entire 23-page section the way HE wanted it! Then hhis pet designer calls me up and says, "He [the manager] made some changes to your section, so don't get mad when you see it." She was apologetic and she even told me that if he'd done that to her, she'd have quit.

Oh yeah. I saw it. And I was unbelievably pissed off. He completely redesigned it. Did away with my entire color scheme, shrunk my photos and rearranged EVERYTHING. I might as well not have done anything in the entire magazine!

I wanted to quit right then and there. I almost went into a meltdown because of it and had to take a three-hour lunch to calm down. I punched the wall outside and I think I fractured my hand.

This guy is an idiot who doesn't trust his employees. He's a lower level publisher (essentially middle management) and thnks he's a designer. The magazine looks like total crap now. Sales is unhappy with it and I'm almost positive that advertisers are going to drop out of it, then corporate will kill the publication. Just as well, since they're chopping the heads of middle management these days in my company. it wouldn't be so bad except that if this magazine fails, several innocent people are going to be out of a job - all because of an incompetent manager. I HOPE he's going next. I can't STAND him and I think he SUCKS as a supervisor and has no clue about how to put togther a magazine. He's so myopic and ignorant that because of his colossal ego, three more people will be out there looking for jobs where none currently exist.

Middle-management types like this guy deserve to be roasted over an open fire. I'm in a relatively safe position because since he cut me back on how much I contribute to the magazine, I've been doing flash web ads instead. I managed to find a niche there and the majority of the web stuff is coming to me. They're not (as far as I know) going to lay off the web designers. Meanwhile, though, I'm STILL pissed off over what he did. How can people be so stupid? It's the next day and I'm still fuming over this. I want to quit over it. Not a good idea, since graphic design jobs are very, very hard to find these days. I'm hoping this will pass. Still, he treated me this way long before I ever called him an idiot to anyone else. I know he resented the fact that I was behind the big-gun designer coming to our podunk office and educating him on what a magazine 'should' look like. Well, he eventually got his way. I just hope corporate doesn't punish the other people involved because of this guy's incompetence.
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Terminal Outsider, rogue graphic designer & lunatic fringe.