So I am new to the forums here and have read some very good information from other members which has lead to me joining...that and I need some advice of my own.

Here is my situation...I am 26 and have worked for an Electronics Circuit Board Manufacturing company for going on 3 years now. Around the same time I obtained this job I was also diagnosed with Adult ADD and placed on meds to help with the lack of concentration.

I have always been a "job hopper" of sorts so it actually still surprises me that I am going on 3 years but it is because I really do love my job and what I do. I started out working as a production worker but within 6 months I was asked to be the lead over about 35 production workers. On top of this, at the time of my promotion our shift lost its supervisor which left me with the responsibilities of a Shift Supervisor AND a lead at the same time. It took us almost 5 months to hire a new Supervisor ane I ended up training him how to do his job at our facility.

Moving forward, I worked my butt off as the lead of my area and maintained very good relationships with all of my co-workers (give or take one or two) when tragedy within the company struck. Our Production Manager quit and a new, more aggressive boss was brought in to fill his shoes. Our old Production manager was very laid back and rarely made his presence known to anyone on the floor, for what reasons I still don't know.

Immediately our new Boss decided that instead of having a normal work week, 3 8 hour shifts, 5 days a week with voluntary overtime, he was going to restructure everything. We ended up having 2 weekday shifts, swing and day, both 10 hour shifts, and a weekend graveyard shift which worked 3 12 hour days and is paid for 40 hours. I had the option to go with my supervisor to the weekend shift but the long shift time did not appeal to me so I brought this to the attention of our new boss and was told that I would be in charge of a "setup crew" that would work the normal graveyard shift of 11-7, Sunday night through Thursday night and that we would be in charge of setting up our lines and cleaning up older orders.

During this period of time I started to learn a lot about the inner workings of our company and I took it upon myself to not only manage the few employees I had but I also spent countless hours cleaning up our older orders that no longer were in production. This sat very well with the new boss and I was commended many times by him as to how good of a job I was doing. Then, trajedy struck again...

Apparantley I had a crew member who was not happy with me for one reason or another and she took it upon herself to gather the rest of my crew, most against their will, and go to the new boss to inform him that I was treating them in a very rude manner. This was totally untrue; I was actually doing what I was supposed to do and manage them. Regardless of my explanation, I was pulled into the office and talked to, very sternly I might add, and was told that I would have my shift "dissolved" and that over the course of 2 months we would move on to other shifts. He did state that I was a good leader and that within a year he could see me being a shift supervisor or more (this was much more than a year ago).

I made the move to the weekday swingshift and was placed on a "special projects" role which to me sounds a lot like one of the roles they make up to keep someone they want working there while attempting to make them feel good at the same time. More or less my job consisted of cleaning up the mess that production would leave behind, working with our Business Development Managers to resolve any conflict, and keeping our active orders under the Five Million dollar mark. While doing this I continued to teach myself our company programs or rather I worked to understand them better and I also worked as the right-hand man to our new boss...

Jumping ahead again...in the past year we "merged" with another company and it was decided that we are getting so big that we needed a larger facility to house everything under one roof. Plans were drawn up for a building extension 3 times the size of our current facility and construction started rather rapidly.

At this time I spoke out to my boss about my ADD for the first time, basically informing him that I do have it and that my main constraint is distractions from noises and other people. I asked that when we moved into our new building, that I had a place away from the sound of our machines and the full production crew so that I could focus on crunching data and giving him the spreadsheets and charts that he wants. He said ok but it was rather haste which worried me but the completion of the building was so far in the future I didn't worry too much. At this time I was sharing a desk with a lady who worked on the day shift and we had an hour overlap which left me with no computer or place to sit for that timeframe but we made do since we both knew the building would be done soon.

Now, we just had our open house a couple of weeks ago and things are not looking good. I have since changed shifts and also departments...I work days and I work for the Production Planner as his "right hand man" while still fullfilling the duties I was prior to this change, so my workload has essentially doubled. When I asked the "big boss" where my cubicle was going to be, since we have 35 brand new ones in my area alone, he informed me i would be located in the middle of the production floor.

At the present time we are still finalizing the move so I am not there yet BUT that is supposed to be what happens in the very near future. Right now I share a cubicle with my indirect boss and neither of us have any problems with doing so...things are a bit tight however we get along great and it is necessary as we communicate so much throughout the day about our work.

Last week really sent me into a tailspin...the day before our open house our HR Rep was walking through our area and she noticed that I was sharing a cubicle with my co-worker/boss. (basically there are 3 of us working as planners and my co-worker is the "master planner") Her first comment was she couldn't figure out why we were doing this when we have 7 cubicles that are empty and are not slated to have ANYONE occupy them in the future. There are 3 other empty cubes but we have 3 guys being hired that will take those spots. At the time this was noticed she talked to our VP of Operations and got the OK to have our construction workers turn the 2 cubes into a bullpen style cubicle where all 3 of us would sit in the same area, it would just require removal of a wall that is made to be moved easily.

Well, we went to lunch that day while they rearranged things and not 10 minutes after we left my co-worker received a call from OUR boss telling him to get back to work, "they needed to talk". Turns out that the VP denied ever saying it was ok to have the workers travel 100 miles to make this change and he wanted everything back the way it was before. Now, as of today, I am sitting in the corner of my co-workers cube, sharing an internet connection, bumping chairs, and knowing that someday really soon I am going to be told to move my stuff onto the production floor.

I have talked to my indirect supervisor, my direct supervisor, and even mentioned this to HR, stating that placing my work area in the middle of a high traffic area will decrease my effeciency by 30% at least due to distractions. No one will listen or they just don't care but I am stuck because I really like my job. My gut instinct is telling me that someone has it out for me and that is why they won't give me my own work area but I can't prove this. Even if I am moved to the production floor, I will be sharing a desk smaller than the one I am at now so it will really hurt my effeciency.

Now that all of this has been stated, does anyone have any recommendations? I asked my indirect supervisor if he thought it would be a bad idea to talk to HR and let the director know that I informed the Manager long before the move was ever made of my "situation" and that he has ignored it from day one. He does not have much advice so I am in need of personal experiences from people who have dealt with this before.

My biggest fear is rettaliation from the Production Manager because if I do go over his head (even though I talked to him), I fear his ego will cause him to treat me like a bag of dirt. Also, I worry about the long-term effects that "announcing" my learning disability will have on promotions, etc...I have done a really good job at what I do and my position within the company is so unique, having someone else do it would not be something that would be possible in even a 6 month period, simply because I took the initiative to train myself to excell and deliver what my boss asked for every time.

So, with that "novel" being said, can anyone offer advice on "to tell or not to tell"? I appreciate all of the great things that have already been written on this forum and look forward to reading much more in the future along with hearing any responses you may have for me about this situation specifically.

Thank You,

sk8rvirgo

Stuff like this just bugs the snot out of me. My husband works for a car dealership and while it's totally different industry wise, it's the same bull crap in the management department.

Because they can't just outright fire someone they dislike for whatever reason, they just "push them out". Sadly, it does indeed sound like your boss has an issue with you and is jerking you around.

I find it interesting that the new boss comes in and restructures, and then down the line a bit your company merges with another. Regardless, your boss sounds like a *insert bad word here*.

You're in a tough spot. Logically, going to HR is the right thing to do. However, your boss doesn't sound like the kind that would take constructive criticism well, nor would he enjoy a reprimand from another department.

First thing I'd do is start keeping track of everything he says to you. If he says to you "you're really doing a fine job, in one year I see you doing... *job*." Write it down, and when he said it. If he tells you he's going to give you space you request, write down what was said, and when. If you've got a clear, dated outline of conversations, it could prove valuable in the event he tries to pull anything should you file a complaint, or even just bring it up to HR.

It sounds like you don't say anything to him if there's an issue. Meaning, he's doing all this crap and not getting any complaints from you. Have you tried approaching him and asking directly "when we discussed my space I felt we were in agreement that I would have an area that was free of some distraction...". No need to mention ADD. If ADD does come up, all you need to say to him or HR (no one else unless they are a supervisor or higher up needs this info) "yes I've been diagnosed from my physician and am being treated under his professional care" If they want details, I think there are laws that protect you and there's only so much they are allowed to know/ask.

Google is a wonderful thing, use it. Don't expect anything to change if you roll with whatever he does. I realize being involved in something like this starts to take on a David and Goliath feel to it, but don't let them run over you. You have rights. I think your boss is just assuming you don't know that OR are too intimidated to fight for them.

P.S. Excellent post. I was able to read it all the way through without meds ORD glasses! Clear, easy to read and interesting. Great job. You're an ADD forum readers blessing!

I appreciate the feedback and also the compliment on the post...ironically I wrote that at 1 in the morning after working a 13 hour day so I actually felt it was going to come across a completely different way than it did.

To give a little feedback on what you recommended I do, I actually did approach him just recentley because he fired a Supervisor and then instead of asking me if I wanted to move into the position, he actually moved another person, who has worked there less time and knows nothing about the part of production he is supposed to be supervising, into that leadership position. I asked for a 1 on 1 with him and after a week I was able to get it, mind you it took a little bit of pushing...I said..Do you remember when we had our little meeting over a year ago and you said that within 6 months to a year you could see me being a shift supervisor, what happened to that?

This put him on the spot but he is not one to hesitate with an answer to anything so he replied that he would "support me" in whatever course I chose to take within the company because I am "invaluable" according to him. You wouldn't know it by the way that he treats me or acts around me but that's what he says.

At that time I decided I was going to pursue a position that was not supervised by him and paid a lot more money than my current job then tragedy struck...He actually removed that opportunity from my plate by offering the guy doing the job more money to stay. It may sound logical however this guy has only been with the company for 3 months and is making 5 dollars an hour more than me...he was quitting because he had another job offer which would pay him more. It is unheard of at our company for anyone to be paid as much as this guy is making, especially for the type of job he is doing, but my boss paid him off to stay with us.

Granted, it isn't all bad because the person who was going to leave is an extremely great asset to the company and even though it shut the door on an offer for me, I know that his presence at work is a good one for morale and for just getting the job done.

But back to the original point, when confronted by his own words, my boss had a comeback in every pocket and excuse for everything as to why I am still doing what I do. I even defined out to him in straightforward terms that I just want to have something consistent and that is helping our company succeed. Nothing more than that. But lately his true colors have been showing in his actions which is too bad because I viewed him as a really nice guy.

Also, you nailed it on the head that my boss is NOT the type to take any sort of constructive criticism, no matter how it is delivered. He is the master of blowing smoke and setting mirrors to keep you hanging on a string but never giving more than he has to. His background includes management positions with very large companies which will remain unnamed but I think he has a cocky attitude that comes from the success he had at his previous jobs.

I think I have already done enough ranting, especially being the new guy on the block with the forum however I look forward to future insight and posts from other members. It is almost a sigh of relief to finally have somewhere I can turn to for advice or just to read and know that I am not the only "normal" person living with an inconvenient issue.

sk8rvirgo

Sk8er,

My experience with disclosing my diagnosis to my law partners was.... well.... disappointing, to say the least. I'm a lawyer and probably ought to know better, but I treated my law partners as.... uh.... partners? Learned my lesson the hard way on that one.

So at least I can impart valuable information to you. I would strongly encourage you to consult with counsel NOW. It will be well worth the investment. I would get referrals from people if you can, because that's the best way to find a lawyer. Even if you get names of people who usually defend employment cases, you can ask those people to recommend good plaintiffs' side lawyers. Call around and talk to a few lawyers and choose the one that you feel most comfortable with. Expect to spend a few hundred dollars, but you'll definitely benefit the most from their advice NOW. That doesn't mean that you're going to get into litigation with your employer, etc. It just means that then you'll know what your rights likely are, and that's important. (I say "likely" because law is not black and white all the time. Sometimes it's a lot of grey.)

If you can't find a lawyer that way, look up your state's bar association website and find relevant sections and committees (you're looking for disability lawyers or employment lawyers), then you can try calling those sections' or committees' chairs and other board members. That will usually get you to someone who can help.

Remember, too, that in addition to federal law, you likely have state anti-discrimination law that may apply, and potentially even local ordinances. This is why you need a Utah lawyer.

Good luck to you.

Sandy

Your boss needs to sell cars. Anyone that has an answer for anything and can blow smoke should sell cars. lol


I feel for you, I really do. He seems to be messing with your head.

WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN!!! especially if you take Sandy's excellent advice and meet with a lawyer; if nothing else but to get an idea of your rights.

When in an Adversarial position I tell people as little about any personal issues or situations as possible - this includes but is not limited to my ADD and dyslexia the less information they have the better.

Meadd is right. Plus you want to limit HOW you deliver the information, if you do share it.

Don't be a dumb dumb like this dumb dumb lawyer, here.... :o What's that line about a fool for a client? :rolleyes: