My colleagues are at war, advice please?

[mountainboo]

My line manager is a complete nightmare. She has worked in the job for about a hundred years!!! Anyway, a couple of years back she had a nervous breakdown. She came back after 6 months and felt completely threatened by my other 2 colleagues who ran the place extremley efficiently in her absence and has since treated them appalingly. She is in her late 50's and has lived with her mum all her life and has also never been in a relationship. She has no personal skills and is very inconsiderate towards other people ie: she never helps out with admin, spends up to half an hour at a time on the phone happily leaving myself or other colleagues alone and will make sure that she isn't left alone during breaks but will leave me and others alone without a thought. She has recently been making many mistakes on customers accounts. She also undermines my colleagues regularly. The big boss' know what she is like and my two colleagues have complained many many times but no action is ever taken. Today after one of the boss' said to my colleague that he is no longer going to mediate as he cant deal with it any longer, she was devastated. They are continually treated like crap and regularly under staffed because she wants to save money. He even admitted to my colleague that my line manager shouldn't be in the job, but wont do a thing about it. They keep saying it's 'clash of personalities' but it really isn't, I see it all and I see my line managers complete incompetency, but what the hell can I do about it? I'll add that she fell into the job years ago due to no other applicants. She is good at the community stuff, but that really takes over at work. Sorry for the rant

[mrs_overall]

Why don't you all keep a diary of all the things she does wrong/time she spends making personal calls/undermines people etc.
If you present a weeks written evidence to the boss, surely he'll have to act. Are you in a union? If the boss still refuses to act, I'd make a note of his comments and then go over his head.
if your line manager is making so many mistakes, you'll all end up being tarred by the same brush
What a horrid situation for you & your colleagues to be in.
Good luck. xx

[VillageVicar]

I agree with Mrs Overall. And I would suggest you take it a further step. Your boss has an accountability to all of you. If the line manager has been causing a history of grief since her return, whilst I have empathy for her emotions, it is clearly causing distress for all of you. Keep that diary, but particularly mark what you've said to your managers and how they've responded to your collective and private complaints. Also, write a formal letter, setting out your complaints. In essence, you are building a case for a tribunal. I believe this is very important as I see that in time it may become a 'you or her' situation.

I do wish you the very best

Fr Bill

[mountainboo]

Thanks very much mrs o and Villagevicar, that sounds like very good advice to me. I will definately make sure a diary is made and even a letter of complaint. Thanks again