When Your Boss Lies
What do you do when your boss lies? I am not referring to little things where maybe the boss was mistaken but when you have proof of repeated lying and unethical behavior. What can be done?
I was faced with this scenario at my previous employment. For the first 2 years I believed that my boss was simply overly-optimistic and that he actually believed the promises that he made to me. Over time I caught him in other lies that were clearly lies and not just optimism that something would happen.
When I accepted my position at my previous employment I had 3 other job offers. The deciding factor was that I would have ownership of the company. This is what he told me on the phone when he extended the offer to me. When I received my official offer letter it said that ownership was just a possible benefit. I then assumed that it would be available very shortly. After starting at this new job I asked about it and he said the lawyers were working up the papers and should be done in a few weeks. A few months went by and nothing happened so I asked again. Same response. I let some more time go by and every time I asked it was always the same response. After 2 years I finally gave up asking. After being employed for 4 1/2 years I still did not have ownership even though I was told I would.
I was speaking with a co-worker a few weeks before I left my previous job and he asked me how much the largest profit sharing I had been given. I told him $500. He then told me that when he was negotiating his offer he asked my boss how much the smallest profit sharing amount had been and my boss told him $1,000. Then, to confirm, my co-worker responded that he should expect at least $4,000 in profit sharing every year since the smallest ever given was $1,000 per quarter. My boss responded affirmatively which was a blatant lie.
So, what can be done? In my case I confronted my boss over and over and have the emails to prove him a liar and yet he continued to claim that he was an honest Christian. He thought that by claiming to be Christian I would believe him. After 4 1/2 years of his lying and no willingness to change I had to leave. It literally made me sick to go to work every day. I could not stand to see the sight of him. He was the owner of the company so I could not go anywhere else for help.
To top it off, my boss is cheating me out of earned money now that I have left the company and is not paying me everything he owes me. I will likely have to take him to court.
It is a real shame. He has so much potential and really could be a great guy but I have come to believe that he is clinically sick and needs help. Now that I have a new job with a real company all I can think is good riddance.