You'd be saying thanks too. The staff thank the users for making it all happen.
When Facebook eventually goes public to raise some $5 billion in the largest net share offering in history, it’s not just co-founder Mark Zuckerberg who stands to gain.
Rumours are flying that one third of the company’s 3000+ employees will become instant millionaires. Or, more accurately, some will become instant millionaires and others will become millionaires for the second time. Or third. Or fourth.
You get the picture.
They were given stock options when they were hired (you might remember the diluting of shares that snagged co-founder Eduardo Saverin as told in the movie Social Network) and those shares are about to propel them into great(er) wealth.
Nice boss, right?
Well Zuck himself will be worth more than $1 billion for every year he has been alive. That’s $28 billion for 27 years. So he’s done well out of the business and employees who got in on the ground floor will cash in.
It’s been a week for nice bosses and an even better story originated right here.
Did you catch the generosity of Ken Granda, the bus company owner who splashed $15 million on his 1800 employees when he sold the business?
The SMH reported:
“The 79-year-old boss handed out an average of $8500 to each of his 1800 employees using the proceeds of the sale of the family owned business.
Workers thought their banks had made an error when they discovered thousands of dollars in their accounts.‘‘I get totally dismayed when you see some of the salaries the CEOs get paid,’’ he told radio station 3AW this morning. ‘‘It is far beyond what somebody is worth.”
The Victorian company has been running for 66 years and was sold because of family issues, Mr Grenda said.
‘‘You only get to where you are by having great people — and we have fantastic people.’’
Mr Grenda said the decision had prompted calls, emails and flowers from his employees, some of whom had worked with the company for several decades, as had their parents.
‘‘They are absolutely stoked. There were lots of tears,’’ he said.
‘‘Bus drivers aren’t the highest paid workers and I think some of them have been quite low.’’
On ABC, Ken’s son Scott said it was the family way of saying goodbye to a true family business:
ELEANOR BELL: Scott Grenda told PM the benevolent gesture was an obvious extension to the ethos underpinning the company.
SCOTT GRENDA: Grandma, I can remember as a kid, she used to make fruitcake for all the employees at Christmas time. And we used to have employees coming and staying the night and those sorts of things. And growing up it was very much a family culture and it hasn’t changed.
Makes your cheeks glow, doesn’t it?
Who was the best (or worst) boss you’ve ever had? Are you a boss and how do you treat your employees?
 boss you ever had? on http://www.mamamia.com.au){kind=link}
Comments
44 Comments so far
loading...
My boss certainly not the best – just been made redundant when returning from Maternity leave…. Not that position is not there anymore, but because we couldn’t reach an agreement on flexible working arrangements (eg: shorter hours so i could pick up kids from daycare, work from home etc)
Sorry only just happened so i’m still pretty worked up about it.
loading...
Oh Katy, I feel your pain. I am in the process of negotiating comin back – doing all the things the need of me and I am sure I’ll be made redundant. These types of bosses are shit and I truly believe that karma will bite them, sizeably, in their arse.
I just keep thinking that this is the bet way forward. Better be at home with a gorgeous baby than to be putting up with crap from an idiot.
loading...
Worst boss I ever had? I used to work for a top tier commercial law firm, my 6th year working for top tier firms. It all started ok but month by month my workload was increasing. I was originally working for a Partner and a couple of his offsiders (the normal workload) plus a paralegal who worked in Intellectual Property (the only one in Victoria). Working for a Partner is easy, the offsiders do all the work. Over time, the Partner left and I was made to work for up to 6 offsiders at a time who were all extremely busy. I was forced to do unpaid overtime whilst being forced to use annual leave if I was ever a few minutes late for work – there was no flexibility whatsoever. Towards the end, my manager was requesting so-called “catch up” meetings with me to discuss my performance which was apparently lacking. He would type up a dated list of every minor mistake I made and then present it to me in this meeting, alongside someone from HR, and then berate me about my sliding performance. I considered this list a form of harrassment because it meant that I was being watched like a hawk by someone who was just as prone to making mistakes as I was (so I started a list of my own detailing his failings). When HR asked their usual pointless questions such as “Is there anything going on that we should know about? Is everything at home ok? Is there anything we can do to help you?”, I told them that my workload was far bigger than anyone elses (for instance, while everyone complained about doing 6 bills once a month, I was doing around 60 bills all month round whilst still trying to keep up with my other work). Instead of acknowledging this as a HR-related problem (understaffing/overworking), they said that I wasn’t being treated any differently to anyone else and offered me counselling, as if that was supposed to reduce my workload. I found it offensive and after putting up with that for months and receiving two written warnings for whatever they could think of, I simply left. It was my birthday and, once again, I spent the morning throwing up because I was so nervous about going to work. So I simply didn’t. I called the 2IC to tell her I was not coming in ever again and, unsurprisingly, she was late again (without reprimand, of course), so I left a voicemail. It was like breaking up via SMS. Rude, impersonal and sensationally satisfying. Now I work for a plaintiff law firm where the working conditions are 1000% better and I am so much happier! Best thing I could have done! Quitting on the spot like that meant I never got to present my own list of my managers mistakes but, to be honest, although it would have been a good laugh, it would only have got me out the door quicker and this time on their terms. Not on my watch.
loading...
I work for a small business and I’ve currently got one of the best and, simultaneously, worst bosses I’ve ever had. She’s a fabulous person – kind, empathetic, patient. A great friend. Family, almost. But she’s a TERRIBLE manager. Her husband “bought” her the business, presumably so she could further her career but she treats it like a hobby. She’s nominally the manager, but swans in at a quarter past nine and many days leaves before close of business. She has no clue about the financial aspects of the business either. She’ll sometimes have words to the employees, telling us the business is not making enough money and if we “could put in a little bit of extra effort that would be great”. But there are no real structures in place to make it happen.
I really do care about the business and about my professional reputation, and hence I get there early and leave late to ensure that everything gets done. I do most of the things that our “manager” should be doing during the day while the rest of us are working and she’s facebooking.
I’ve had a few little chats to her but I honestly don’t think she realises how bad the situation is. All of the employees get really demoralised by her laziness and cluelessness – it’s an attitude of “well if she doesn’t care, why should I?”. And it’s not even that she doesn’t care as such – I just think she doesn’t GET IT.
But she brings us coffees, gives us afternoons off, and is an all-around lovely person. I think her friendliness and giving is a deliberate overcompensation – because in her heart of hearts, she knows that she really doesn’t have a clue what she’s doing
I love working for someone so kind – because I have had my fair share of horrible, mean, cruel bosses – but I kind of wish she was just competent at her job!
By the way…hate working for small businesses and I will try to avoid it in the future! Working for an owner-operator makes you feel like a criminal when you ask for your basic rights to be observed…because every dollar you’re entitled to is a dollar that has to come out of your owner’s wallet. You may as well just ask them to open their pockets up. Horrible feeling, especially when you are only asking for what you are legally entitled to!
loading...
Re. working for the owner directly: You are spot on. It’s terrible, unless they have some critical distance (which is probably impossible), you know they feel each dollar as if it’s going straight in and out of their own pockets.
loading...
I hope someone writes about me being their best boss one day
I am almost 25, being trained to be in a management position, have found myself a mentor, and I’m currently reading “women, work and the art of savoir faire” by Mireille Guiliano.
I would like to think that I’m the best supervisor my team has ever had and that I’m on the way to being a better manager.
The comments have definitely given me a bit more help on what to do (and what not to do!)
loading...
My best boss became my worst.
We had a total meeting of the minds, we complemented each other professionally, he had my back and I had his, he expected the very best but understood if I messed up.
But then… one day totally out of the blue, he came to work, told me I was the love of his life and he had left his wife so we could be together. It was exceptionally uncomfortable. I was due to move jobs very shortly and it was such a relief to go!
loading...
My husband is a great boss. He doesn’t tell me this, his staff do! It’s hard to get good staff and so he does his best to make the good ones happy (there are a few bad staff that this doesn’t apply to!)
I had a very bad boss years ago when I went into labour at 24 weeks pregnant. Can you believe that he actually visited me in hospital to ask me when I was coming back to work? Pffft.
loading...
I have had some truly horrible bosses, yet to have a really nice one
Boss #1 – Was so distanced from the finance side of the business he signed off on a letter to me written by some dunce book-keeper which offered me a pay cut instead of a pay rise. And then tried to deny it was a paycut. Complete idiot.
Boss #2 – When the company was relocating the office and extending my already long commute (an hour each way) by an additional hour each way told me I wasn’t cut out to work in the industry if I was concerned about something like that.
Boss #3 – Continually explained to the staff that he wanted the company to be considered an employer of choice like local and state government which offer flex time, maternity/paternity leave, gym memberships, etc. But he insisted on paying staff the absolute bare minimum, expected them to be on call 24/7, was discriminatory, didn’t pay any leave he didn’t have to, and wouldn’t allow anyone any flexibility in their shifts.
loading...
I haven’t had many bosses, but my current boss is still going well for the most part after 7 years. I think the most important thing is that I feel like he has my back. When it comes to pay reviews etc, I know he always fights hard to get me the most he can. We are also friends, and to an extent, kind of like family.
As an aside, when I first started working for him, I kind of had a major crush on him, and it took me ages to get over it. Looking back, I noticed I had a trend of developing crushes on my bosses. The only thing I can think of is that I have some daddy issues!
loading...
My last bosses would take us to a couple of expensive long lunches a few times a year and a few at Xmas time too. I always got a $1000 cheque in my Xmas card as well as a lovely Xmas and birthday gift like Country Road towels and Chanel perfume, Evelyn and Crabtree goods etc.. I worked pretty hard in that job doing 8.30am-6pm with no break for lunch normally eat at my desk. I also had a parking bay paid for by work.
Have had a couple of awful bosses to, one that told me that his job was ‘up here’ pointing to the roof doing the hand gesture and that my job was ‘down here’ pointing to the ground.. asshole…
Another owner of a company I worked at, she would try and make staff work back an hour after they would meant to finish and not want to pay them, she even tried to contact a lawyer to see if she could legally do that… I had to leave at 5pm on the dot at that job to run to my train otherwise I would miss it and be home about 40mins later than normal.
loading...
My current big boss is lovely, supportive and kind. However I have one gripe: every month or so, she awards someone an employee of the month type award with a speech of how well they work and a gift, etc. I work bloody hard there and haven’t received one yet! I’m the only part-timer in the section though so I’m already on the backfoot. I see those who receive the award blossom and thrive from that extra confidence boost. I just think it makes those who haven’t received this prize feel disheartened and demotivated.
loading...
I work as a paramedic in the sunshine state. While the people I work with are great, the managers etc like to save a buck. Some years ago they took away tea, coffee, sugar and milk. Told us we have to provide our own. Bit of a shame really, to take away a simple staple from frontline staff. All the people in the government offices still get it. Sometimes after you have been to a stressful incident or death, a tea or coffee is a godsend. Othertimes, it is all we have time to grab during a busy day to keep us going.
loading...
Firstly I’d just like to say that I have a lot of respect for paramedics as my sister is a nurse and I know first hand not only how hard those in the field work but also their necessity in life! But as someone who also works in government, id just like to clear one thing up – we don’t get our tea and coffee provided!! No one in our entire building does. It’s 4 bucks a week into the kitty which keeps our caffeine on the shelf!
loading...
Teachers don’t get coffee or tea provided, and as a peripatetic (not tied to a school) teacher, I often get glares for daring to use the stash at a school I might be in, even if I contribute to the kitty.
At least if I take my own, I don’t have to put up with Nerada tea bags (less tea than bag) and Blend 43/International Roast (not that I drink coffee, but I’m told it’s terrible).
loading...
Hang on, I thought my profile name was Rach!! Confused!
loading...
Point taken. Sorry. It was just the offices I knew of in our area. I will reread what I write in future.
loading...
I work for a government department and we get big tins of tea, coffee and Milo and milk provided. There is also a coffee machine in our kitchen.
I don’t drink hot drinks myself and I am not trying to gloat about it as I’m not phased but just pointing out that some places do and some places don’t…
loading...
I had the boss from hell when I used to work in one of the big 4 banks. I was 16 weeks pregnant and bleeding and my Dr put me on bed rest. When I rang to tell her she said “well you better decide which is more important..your job or the pregnancy, because I cant afford to keep paying casuals (yes despite making $6billion!!). I was so shocked I couldnt speak but just said “ok thanks for being understanding”, and yes I know I should have reported her but I was sooo stressed as it was with threatened miscarriage. She was honestly a she-devil, yelling at us in front of customers, not letting us leave till 1 hour after knock off and after “debrief”, making us ring customers to apologise for not “tagging on”, ie sell them more debt (credit cards, home loan top up’s, personal loans etc). I have never ever wished bad things to happen to a person but I hope karma bites her on the behind one day!!. Funny thing is Im now an emergency nurse and she came in after falling off a motorbike and I was meant to triage her, I couldnt do it though as I would have been tempted to put her last and make her wait 5 hours and couldnt let my hate for her cloud my professional judgement, I swapped with a collegue….
loading...
Had one who blatantly picked his nose whilst informing me of what a bad secretary I was !
loading...
Worst boss:
1. Interviewed me over the phone and his first question was “can you carry a slab of beer”….
2. His second statement, rather than question was “I hope you don’t mind swearing because this is a f*cking building site and we can’t have sheilas who don’t like swearing”
I took the job (hey it was a time of high unemployment and it was 15 minutes from home)
He was the worst sexist, racist…everything ‘ist’ you can imagine. Our accountant was Asian and my boss would call him “Chongy” to his face. Our architect was a woman and every time she visited he would complain non stop about women not belonging in the building game.
And worst of all….this guy was only 27 YEARS OLD! Not 65….
I lasted a whole eight months before the company went into liquidation – I want those eight months back!!!!
loading...
A husband & wife team, so lovely & supportive. Giving staff shopping afternoons off (paid) around xmas, awesome xmas parties at some of the best restaurants in Sydney for lunch, took all staff + partners to national awards nights, regular pay rises & reviews, fairness etc. They have since retired but we are still in contact and meet up a few times a year – it’s been 9 years since I worked for them.
loading...
The best boss I ever had had done so many different aspects of the same profession, he was / is incredibly experienced, laid back and a very strategic thinker – he complemented my ‘technical’ ability.
In fact, we got on so well that I’m due with our first baby together in about 4 weeks time, and can safely say he’s the love of my life (and vice versa!).
We definitely experienced a so-called marriage of the minds.
loading...
My worst boss used to clip his toe nails in his office….you could hear the clip clip clip – it was really off putting. And he’d take the communal office newspaper with him to the loo each morning and then return it for everyone else to read. YUK!
loading...
we have a director in our office who does this too…so gross!!
loading...
This made me gag :-/
loading...
My current boss is amazing! Small but growing company of external bookkeepers, all women, all mothers, all with the odd occasion when we just cant do more than 2 hours at a stretch because of breastfeeding, sleepless nights with little ones or a need to grocery shop before dinner time. He is amazingly supportive, very motivated and hilarious. Too many in-jokes to list, and a wonderful pass-time of loading “Album’s of the Week” onto our web-based hard drive for those days when you just need to sing. Love it!
loading...
I’ve had good bosses and I’ve had bad bosses. And I’ve always said “its not rocket science treat your employees well and they will treat you well”. When Ive had good bosses I’ve always gone above and beyond for them. It is very hard to do this when you had a bad boss that doesn’t respect you or even bother to know your name.
loading...
The best boss I ever had was at an IT company back in the 90s when I worked as a PA. He was really inspirational, great to work with, and taught me so much about business and marketing. He was known for having a wild temper but we got on so well that I never saw it directed at me. He had really high expectations (both of himself and his staff) but he was really generous and something about him just made you want to go the extra mile.
loading...
Funnily enough I tweeted this yesterday:
“You know you’re in a unique work environment when the boss threatens poor performance will be punishable by 3rd toe bunion scrapings!”
In truth he’s a great employer despite his ridiculous, joking, threats.
loading...
I can’t really highlight any one of my bosses as a “best” boss…I guess I’m lucky I’ve never had a bad boss…
What I like about most of the bosses I’ve had is how inspirational they have been…the best of them led from the front and encouraged me to be innovative and creative…that’s all I need…
My current Boss is interesting too…when I first met her 11 years ago, she was an intern straight out of Uni…I watched her (and her husband, who I also work with) grow up from quiet young interns who were dating to mature adults who are now married…and now she has just become my Boss…so, in 11 years I’ve gone from being mentor, to friend, to someone she manages…I think that’s great!
FYI – I’ve never applied for manager roles myself…never been interested…in my company you can progress up through non-managerial promotions that are in parallel to managerial promotions…so it’s not weird to be managed by someone who used to be an intern
loading...
Hmm in my industry… good bosses are few and far between. Best boss was when I was a grad living in the UK, we went out at lunch and got drunk together at the pub everyday. Good times
loading...
I have had two bosses at the same workplace who have been awesome, one was my direct line manager and one the principal. The benefit of music, and music teaching, is that there is a good chance you’ve had these people as teachers through school, there is a good chance you’ll sit next to them (or their children!) in orchestras and a good chance when you go for a BBQ to your colleague’s house that they will be there because they also work/are friends with them!
So, I feel blessed to work in an industry where everyone works so closely in so many facets (as students, teachers, parents, performers, etc) where I can have these relationships with people. You understand each other’s backgrounds and see them as people.
I mentioned in B&W this week how I’ve realised that I was meant to do what I was doing before, and now you can probably see one reason why!
loading...
I could easily say Mia, but I won’t because that seems obvious.
But someone else springs to mind. The editor of my home town newspaper Wendy is great. I’ve worked for her on and off since I was in Year 8. I used to fold the newspaper with my friends every week throughout all of high school.
Even back then I could have earned more at the local IGA but she was such a font of knowledge and so generous. She knew my family struggled for income so she’d give me all the odd jobs she could, and my mum when she could. Feeding the pets when she was on holidays, painting her office (even though I ruined it).
After I did my cadetship as a journalist on the Gold Coast I moved back for 18 months or so and worked side-by-side with her on the paper which was the most rewarding thing and we still brainstorm ideas to this day.
loading...
My best boss when I was 22 was a woman in her early 60′s. She was old school but amazing. She taught me so much, expected a fair days work and didnt like us turning up late or making personal phone calls unless it was an emergency but then sent us home at 5pm on the dot every day. Her motto was if you work well during the day its your right to leave on time. And if you need to stay you need to be paid overtime and sent home in a cab, which she did when it was busy and we had to stay back, even an extra hour! Any wonder everyone loved working for her. I was really sad to leave.
loading...
Okay, I know it’s sucky and all of that but seriously Mia is the best boss I ever had. Supportive, nurturing, kind and compassionate. On top of that I have learned more from her than any other person I have ever worked for.
I am one very happy employee
loading...
My current boss is fantastic. He’s the reason I’ve stayed at the job for four years now despite occasionally finding the work tedious. Flexible conditions, encouragement, complete support through my IVF (he was one of the first people we told, at six weeks, that it had worked) and pregnancy. Now I’m back working mainly from home, with his blessing. Love it!
loading...
I had my eye on a new pair of boots – kickass knee-high Docs. $300 that I really couldn’t afford. Next day, our small legal team went out for christmas breakfast. We were each handed an envelope with our christmas bonus – $300! Guess what I bought at lunchtime?
loading...
I’ve had some bad bosses and some good ones. My best boss was a woman who taught me so much about life, work, and how to get ahead while standing up for what you believe.
She changed my life. She even MCed my wedding.
loading...
Ugh, don’t get me started on worst bosses! My old boss was YEUGHHHHHHH. Told me that people who worked longer hours were the ones who were most successful. Mind you, on the flip side, he also reassured me when I made a major mistake at work that it is ok to be human and make mistakes.
My current boss. Hmmm, it’s hard to explain. He is good to staff, but really hard to talk to. He’s super flexible and accomodating. I am really lucky in my firm that we don’t have the same culture as other firms in terms of ‘work work work’.
Best bosses I ever had (yes plural!), when I was at uni I did reception/secretarial work for a group of barristers. They were so good to me, they bought me perfume and a coffee machine when I left for my grad job!
loading...
Best boss I ever had was a partner at a law firm when I was a baby lawyer. He was unbelievably supportive and really gave me confidence in my work ability.
Worst boss: threatened to take me to law society when I resigned. I’m still not sure why!?
loading...
I have had a lot of bad bosses, but my current one is nothing short of awesome.
She has basically set me up an amazing job, which gives me so many opportunities, paying about $15k p/a more than I ever recieved before, with so much support – and a gym membership and flex time to boot.
Even without these incentives she is possibly the most understanding person I have ever encountered, and all she asks is that I back her up when she needs – and that isnt a hard stretch.
Definitely going to be hard for me to find a better boss in my future roles, but the story of the bus company owner gives me hope
loading...
When you get a good boss it really does compel you to go beyond the call for them, everyone’s a winner!
loading...
That bus company owner story is just gorgeous – what a wonderful thing to do for your employees. Ah, bless!