Facing Unfair Treatment at Work: How Should I Handle My Boss's Revenge Tactics?

I am a civil engineer currently serving as a Management Trainee in a reputable Steel Company since July 25th last year. The training program concluded this July.

Unethical Practices Discovered

Upon being assigned to the site, I discovered numerous unethical construction practices being carried out by our contractor, with the implicit approval of the management. Any issues arising from this were unjustly attributed to me by my manager, claiming they were done under my supervision as a trainee, without my knowledge. Fed up with this situation, I decided to document the site by taking photographs and sending a detailed report to the corporate office, outlining the circumstances and the necessity for action.

Response from Corporate HR

I received immediate praise from our VP (Corporate HR) for my actions, with assurances of intervention. However, inexplicably, no action was taken, and the matter was swept under the rug. The VP asked for confidentiality, so only the GM and I are aware of the incident.

Impact on Performance Appraisal

The repercussions of this are now evident in my performance appraisal. I received an unfairly negative appraisal, leading HR to extend my training for an additional 6 months. The reasoning provided was my perceived introverted nature and strained relationships with team members.

While I admit to being introverted, I dedicated significant effort over the past year. I complied with demanding work schedules, including consecutive five-week night shifts. This appears to be a personal vendetta on the part of my GM, who, by his own admission, never addressed my alleged shortcomings. In fact, he claims ignorance of my whereabouts for the past four months.

I am concerned about the impact on my career. Attempts to discuss the matter with him have been futile. I seek guidance on how to navigate this situation.

Are you from a Public Sector Undertaking or a Private Sector? You could have clarified that. If you are from the former, then you can raise and redress your grievance. There is a proper mechanism for this. If you are from the latter, then I would say that you acted a little hastily. You should have waited for your training to be completed.

Options to Consider

Now you have two options. One is to complete this extended training period. Don't expose any corruption now. The second option is to put up an application for a review of the decision regarding the extension of training. You can state that the extension of the training is more due to the exposure of malpractices and not because of your introversion. Introversion or extroversion does not matter for performance unless you handle specific jobs like sales, where extroverts have an edge over introverts.

If you exercise the second option, you may risk your employment. Are you prepared for this? Because for senior managers, it is easy to take action against a junior employee who sticks their neck out.

Therefore, weigh the options carefully and decide. Think about whether you have a better option at hand. In the meanwhile, continue to gather evidence of malpractices. This should be your covert activity and not overt.

Thanks,

Dinesh V Divekar

Concurring with what Dinesh V. Divekar mentioned, you did get into a hurry—sometimes it helps to allow the 'head' to operate rather than the 'heart'. This is in no way to justify what happened, mind you—just a different way of looking at the situation with respect to the 'if', 'how', and 'when' to blow the whistle. And please don't forget that you are only a Management Trainee—even if you went to the MD/CMD of the company, it will be 'your' word against 'theirs' (assuming the MD/CMD isn't involved—funny thinking in the times we live in).

When you realized that what was happening was 'with the tacit support of the management', you should have checked out the situation from a broader perspective—of who was involved, who would be the best person within the organization to approach, etc. For all I know (and I won't be surprised), everyone at the top may be getting their 'cuts' in it. Aren't we seeing such situations all over the place/country?

Courses of Action

Coming to the courses of action open to you now, frankly, I think you are a 'marked man' now—not sure if you realize it or not. In the medium-to-long term, I think the only option available to you is to change the company—smoothly (else your career would be affected for sure). You haven't mentioned if you have a bond—usually, MTs have it. Please confirm this.

I am not so sure if I would go with Dinesh's suggestion "...you continue to gather evidence of malpractices...". Overt or covert, such a category of people (corrupt, i.e.) are usually far more alert than normal individuals like us. It would only be a matter of time before you are found out—which could lead to quite dangerous (to say the least) situations.

Training Extension

Regarding the extension of your training, please note that the reason being 'mentioned' and the 'unsaid' reason are, in all probability, different. It is most likely an opportunity being given to you to make amends for what you did (from their perspective)—either you 'become' like them or just face the music—with them deciding what the 'music' will be.

Clarification Needed

Please clarify the following points—also mentioned by Dinesh—so that better options may be suggested by the members:

1) Are you from a Public Sector Undertaking or Private Sector?
2) Do you have a Bond?
3) Based on your observations around you at the site, do/did you get a 'feeling' of being 'observed' by anyone? You mentioned that 'only me and the GM know about it'. I am not so sure. Let's not assume that others don't have eyes, ears, and heads—only they may not have opened their mouths, like you did. Hope you get the point.

All the Best.

Regards,
TS

Concurring with what Dinesh V Divekar mentioned, you did get in a hurry—sometimes it helps to allow the 'head' to operate rather than the 'heart'. This is in no way to justify what happened, mind you—just a different way of looking at the situation with regard to the 'if', 'how', and 'when' to blow the whistle. And please don't forget that you are only a Management Trainee—even if you went to the MD/CMD of the company, it will be 'your' word against 'theirs' [assuming the MD/CMD isn't involved—funny thinking in the times we live in].

When you realized that what was happening was 'with the tacit support of the management,' you should have checked out the situation from a broader perspective—of who was involved, who would be the best person within the organization to approach, etc. For all I know [and I won't be surprised], everyone at the top may have their 'cuts' in it. Aren't we seeing such situations all over the place/country?

Courses of Action Open to You

Coming to the courses of action open to you now, frankly, I think you are a 'marked man' now—not sure if you realize it or not. In the medium-to-long term, I think the only option available to you is to change the company—smoothly [else your BC would get affected for sure]. You haven't mentioned if you have a bond—usually, MTs have it. Please confirm this.

I am not so sure if I would go with Dinesh's suggestion "...you continue to gather evidence of malpractices...". Overt or covert, such a category of people [corrupt, i.e.] are usually far more alert than normal guys like us. It would only be a matter of time before you would be found out—which could lead to quite dangerous [to say the least] situations.

Regarding the Extension of Your Training

Regarding the extension of your training, please note that the reason being 'mentioned' and the 'unsaid' reason are, in all probability, different. It most likely is an opportunity being given to you to make amends for what you did [from their perspective]—either you 'become' like them or just face the music—with them deciding what the 'music' will be.

Please clarify the following points—also mentioned by Dinesh—so that better options may be suggested by the members:
1. Are you from a Public Sector Undertaking or Private Sector?
2. Do you have a bond?
3. Based on your observations around you at the site, did you get a 'feeling' of being 'observed' by anyone? You mentioned that 'only me and the GM know about it.' I am not so sure. Let's not assume that others don't have eyes, ears, and heads—only they may not have opened their mouths, like you did. I hope you get the point.

All the best.

Regards, TS

Thank you for the suggestion.

1. I work in a private company.
2. No, there is no bond.
3. I never had such a feeling, but the mail did have its effects on the site. Work quality started getting some emphasis since the incident, and shady transactions between the contractor and management came to a halt.

Let's start with your last point first:

3. Effects of the Incident

I never had such a feeling, but the mail did have its effects on the site. Work quality started to get some emphasis since the incident, and shady transactions between the contractor and management came to a halt.

My Comments/Remarks:

A. This doesn't really align with your earlier remark/observation: "...nothing was done, and the matter was hushed up." Usually, corrective measures do take time to be implemented effectively. It seems like you mistook the delay as a 'lack of action.'

B. Based on what you mention, it looks like the corruption you noticed is very much at a local level. Otherwise, if those at the top in the corporate office were involved, you would surely have been 'under observation' in some way, with others at the workplace ignoring or avoiding you.

C. This would also indicate that your initial 'feeling/surmise'—and this could be important to you—that your 'bad appraisal' is linked with this issue could be wrong and may actually be related to your introverted nature. While this is not a 'right/wrong' issue at all, there are some job roles that require introversion (like staff/desk jobs, R&D, etc.) and some roles where extroversion is necessary/preferred (like sales, supervision, etc.). I suggest working on this aspect of your nature; it's quite possible to change.

2. No Bond Requirement

No, there is no bond. Though this is surprising, since the general trend is for some sort of bond for trainees, you should consider yourself lucky for getting such a job without a bond. While this would enable you to keep all your options open, I don't think that will be necessary given that you seem to be on the way up the ladder in this company (at least, that's my reading).

1. Working in a Private Company

I work in a private company. Tolerance for corrupt practices is very low in private companies. So from this angle too, I don't think you have a reason to worry. However, if you subconsciously wish to be rewarded (nothing wrong in it per se) for highlighting the corruption, it may not be realistic. Many organizations do take corrective measures to root it out but hesitate to announce it for many other reasons.

From an overall perspective, I think your career in this company looks bright if you take care to make your own set of corrections.

And yes, I suggest keeping one old saying in mind from now on: 'Act in haste, repent at leisure.' That's the lesson from this situation, I guess—aka 'experience.'

All the best.

Regards,
TS

Let's start with your last point first:

Effects of the Incident

3. I never had such a feeling, but the mail did have its effects on the site. Work quality started to receive some emphasis since the incident, and shady transactions between the contractor and management came to a halt.

My Comments/Remarks

A. This doesn't really align with your earlier remark/observation: "...nothing was done, and the matter was hushed up." Usually, corrective measures do take time to be implemented effectively. It seems like you may have mistaken the delay for a lack of action.

B. Based on what you mention, it seems that the corruption you noticed is primarily at a local level. If those at the top in the corporate office were involved, you would likely have been under some form of observation, with others at the workplace ignoring or avoiding you.

C. This also suggests that your initial feeling or surmise—that your poor appraisal is linked to this issue—could be wrong and may actually be related to your introverted nature. While this isn't a right or wrong issue, there are job roles that require introversion, such as staff or desk jobs, and roles where extroversion is preferred, like sales or supervision. It's possible to work on this aspect of your nature and make changes.

2. No, there is no bond. Although this is surprising, as trainees typically have some form of bond, you're fortunate to have a job without one. This allows you to keep your options open, which may not be necessary given your upward trajectory in the company.

1. I work in a private company. Private companies generally have low tolerance for corrupt practices, so you likely don't have a reason to worry. However, if you subconsciously seek rewards for highlighting corruption, it may not be realistic as organizations often take corrective measures discreetly for various reasons.

From an overall perspective, your career in this company seems promising if you make necessary corrections. Remember the saying, "Act in haste, repent at leisure." That's the lesson to learn from this experience.

All the Best,
TS

Thanks once again. What I meant by saying that it did have an effect was that it could instill fear in my manager's and GM's minds.

Considering a Job Change

I have another doubt. Now that my training is going to be extended, would it be a better move to change jobs during this 6-month period? It may be evident from my relieving letter that I couldn't complete my one-year training. Are candidates in such situations favored by companies during hiring?

Regards,
TS