How Should HR Handle a Senior Employee's Exit After Verbal Abuse by a Boss?

One of the employees in our organization was verbally abused by his boss XY over the phone during a telecon, while others were also present. This employee has suddenly been in a dejected and very frustrated mood.

The boss XY is known for such abuses organization-wide, but due to his stature and position, nobody willingly comes forward to launch a formal complaint.

This employee has since then taken a long leave and is currently not reporting on medical grounds. He is known to me, and we all at HR fully sympathize with him. We had asked him to launch a complaint, but he refused to do so. He has taken leave to alleviate himself from the legal bond he has signed while going overseas.

Now, the twist to the story is that he wants to leave the organization immediately the day his bond expires, i.e., exchange his leave + 1 month salary in lieu of a 3-month notice period. He has around 2.5 months of leave and about 2 months of sick leave. He says he is willing to settle all the financial matters amicably but doesn't want to come to the office and face the big guy.

As an HR professional who has worked with this guy for almost 7 years, and this person being very senior (almost 12 years of experience) and an asset to the organization, is being treated unprofessionally, and I am just helpless as I can't do anything. I am just confused about how to handle the scenario.

Please advise.

Pyarelal

Hi Pyarelal,

Welcome to citehr.com!!

"One of the employees in our organization was verbally abused by his boss, XY, over the phone during a telecon while others were also present. This employee has suddenly been in a dejected and very frustrated mode.

The boss, XY, is known for such abuses organization-wide, but due to his stature and position, nobody willingly comes forward to launch a formal complaint.

I understand your predicament, being the mute bystander to all these happenings. You feel like killing the boss! :D We all have experienced that from time to time.

This employee has since taken a long leave and is currently not reporting on medical grounds. He is known to me, and we all at HR fully sympathize with him. We had asked him to launch a complaint, but he refuses to do so. He has taken leave to alleviate himself from the legal bond he has signed while going overseas.

Now the twist to the story is that he wants to leave the organization immediately the day his bond expires, i.e., exchange his leave + 1-month salary in lieu of a 3-month notice period. He has some 2.5 months of leave and some 2 months of sick leave. He says he is willing to settle all the financial matters amicably but doesn't want to come to the office and face the Big guy.

Naturally, this is expected if he is dejected, certainly a demotivating factor, especially being humiliated in the presence of others.

As an HR professional who has worked with this guy for almost 7 years and this guy being very senior (almost 12 years of experience) and an asset to the organization is being treated unprofessionally, and I am just helpless as I can't do anything. I am just confused about how to handle the scenario.

I am glad you want to do something.

There are two strategies that can be employed -

1. The aggrieved employee - Personal counseling so as not to take this as a personal affront or look at things from a larger perspective. Maybe boss XYZ didn't do it intentionally or it was a spur of the moment. We all, at some point in time, do receive rebukes from our bosses. Others who have been at the receiving end can share their experiences and convince him to stay on. Emphasize the fact to brush off this incident and move on. Making a career change on this basis is not a good idea. We all need to have emotional intelligence to deal with these issues.

2. Boss XYZ, the bad guy - in reality, he may not be so. To deal with him in the following manner may help:

a. Speak to his boss in confidence about his behavior and the impact it has on the organization in terms of losing talent and low morale, which would leave a dent on the company's performance in the long run (assuming this company is run by professionals). The big boss should have a word with XYZ on this matter. The emphasis should be on the behavior and not on the person per se.

b. Send him to an anger management training program or emotional intelligence session.

c. Have a meeting with Boss XYZ after the big boss - see what he feels about the same and try to arrange a meeting with the employee for reconciliation, preferably in a pub after office hours, as it helps.

d. If the employee leaves, let Boss XYZ know the reason.

My advice to you - be bold and firm. Why get scared at all? After all, your main responsibility is to keep the talented professionals in the company and do everything to retain them.

If you love your job and genuinely concerned, then take the firm stand and at least make the attempt. If it fails, you would have the satisfaction of at least trying for the same. It would soothe your conscience.

This is what I call the Strategic HR Role! Otherwise, we stand relegated to staff roles and administrative functions.

Good luck.

Rajat Joshi

Thank you, Rajat, for such a detailed and resourceful insight. I humbly appreciate all your efforts and time. Yes, we have tried counseling the Big Boss XY, but he brushes off all such activities as simple time pass. He is a very senior manager in the organization and is responsible for generating revenues to the tune of 150 crores rupees.

We all belong to a Software Consulting Company.

I have also tried counseling the employee. He mentioned that he has been through this excruciating experience under Boss XY almost four times since he joined his team about five months ago, despite being a bright and resourceful person. His boss understands the situation but doesn't want to express feelings since he believes that praising employees or middle managers decreases their performance.

My Senior HR manager is also reluctant to listen to this incident or act upon this due to the big stature of Boss XY.

In short, the employee has decided to resign. Boss XY is unaware of this fact and has no time to listen to such matters.

I feel helpless at the crossroads of corporate politics because I have already tried the suggested steps.

Thank you again.

Best Regards,

Pyarelal