JAMichael

"It's not that people are talking behind my back that worries me. It's that they're so comfortable doing it TO YOU that concerns me." Just a phrase I heard long before nursing was even a blip on my radar. It rings a certain truth that many are hesitant to hear. "I have a manager that slanders her employees to each other." And that is what made me think of the phrase above. To me, the manager acting like this is the primary problem but, the people who allow themselves to be an active audience to it are just as in the wrong. She, the manager, is not going to change. But everyone else doesn't need to be so involved in it with her. That just puts gas on the fire. In your shoes, I would always have my guard up around the manager and I'd be extra "professional" with her at all times. She'd would not, at all, get me pulled into the behavior with her as an audience. And I certainly wouldn't contribute to it either. With that said, the manager is not going to change. People like this for some odd reason are just allowed to drone on and on doing what they do and it never gets to the point where the people who could fix the problem wish to do so. And that brings me to my second point. It's like I tell my friends who are stuck in dead end (and/or abusive) romantic relations. They (the boyfriend or girlfriend) are not going to change. There comes a time where you have to decide to accept things as is, or move on. And yes, I still stand by me assessment that your manager is not going to change. Not trying to be flippant, I do appreciate that it's hard to do that but, it's the only option you have if the powers that be aren't interested in fixing the problem. Voting with your feet can be a very powerful protest at the right time.