At the office I work in there is a very stupid, inept manager whom I imagine I would have to deal with more often were it not for the cubicle wall between us.

He is usually either clearly audible or annoyingly loud.

I must apologise. He is usually annoyingly loud and seldom at other levels of volume.

Hi usual approach is to yell at people in a semi-panicked tone regardless of what he is talking about, even when the person he is speaking to is next to him.

Unfortunately this is not an exaggeration.

Another thing he likes to do is make disparaging comments about his team members; usually to another member of his team. Whilst not yelling, he still make the comments audibly enough to be heard easily.

On Tuesday last week the manager was talking to one of his team members about how another team member was sick.

He voiced his thought that the team member probably only called in sick and was doing something for his wife instead and then said “I think (name) is a bit shifty”. To describe the person in question as shifty is a misnomer.

The manager continued on for a bit, eventually saying “Some immigrants tend to lie when they come here”.

Now I don’t take any personal offense to the statement. However, considering it was in relation to the team member they were discussing (as he is an immigrant) and his tone (accusatory), I found the statement to be offensive.

I stood up and said “As the son of an immigrant (my mother is an Italian immigrant), I find that offensive”.

The manager then told me he was an immigrant to and that it wasn’t offensive as some immigrants do come here and they lie because that’s what they know. I told him I still found it to be offensive. He then told me I shouldn’t be listening into his conversation (which is difficult when he was discussing it so loudly it could be heard clearly by people farther away from me; something I confirmed) eventually mentioning how he has worked in many offices with a lot of immigrants and has come across it many times. I told him I’ve worked with a lot and not come across the issue that much. He then continued before I could keep speaking and said “I only said some immigrants are liars but a lot of them lie. You can make a complaint if you want. Everyone does”. I replied by saying “I’m not going to make a complaint. I was just letting you know”.

A couple of minutes later and the manager was typing angrily. Shortly after that, my manager came over and asked about a problem the manager was dealing with. The manager said it was already sorted. Then my manager looked at me and walked away.

About fifteen to twenty minutes later (and after a brief meeting the manager was involved with) my manager came back to the manager’s desk and asked if he wanted to discuss an issue they had been in communication about downstairs whilst having a smoke. The manager said he did and hurried off.

I had a feeling it was about me. Neither the manager I am referring to nor my manager could be considered discreet.

I waited about ten minutes after they came back before I approached my manager and asked if he wanted to talk to me about something. He asked why and I told him about how he looked at me before as it is his tell (which it seems to be). He told me that at the time there wasn’t, although he had received some feedback afterwards. He proceeded to tell me that apparently I had a go at the manager. I told him I didn’t and I had told the manager that I found something he said to be offensive. My manager said that because it is easier to lose a job in some places overseas, when some immigrants come here they lie to keep a job as that is what they’re used to doing and the manager was stating this and it doesn’t mean he is racist. I advised my manager that I never called the manager racist and repeated that I found what he said to be offensive and nothing else.

I asked if there was going to be further actions. My manager told me that there wouldn’t if it wasn’t pursued.

I learned that telling someone that you find a statement to be offensive is considered having a go at them. I also learned that one should not try to raise an issue in what some would consider to be a mature manner as it could end up with a formal complaint against you.

The second one is what I find most surprising. Someone cold have found the statement to be offensive, especially the with the switch from some immigrants to a lot of immigrants being liars.

My apologies for using “manager” so frequently throughout the post.