HR managers are often the shoulder to cry on or the person to “just listen” when employees are having a tough time with their bosses. But who listens to disgruntled employees when the boss is a U.S. Congressman?
U.S. Representative Anthony Weiner, a Democrat who represents parts of Brooklyn and Queens, NY, has a reputation as one of the toughest members of Congress to work for.
“I push people hard,” Weiner admitted in an interview with The New York Times.
Take this example: John Graff worked as a scheduler for Weiner. One day the congressman was on a routine conference call but became convinced that Graff hadn’t provided him with a crucial piece of information.
Graff was in the next room and suddenly heard Weiner yelling at him through the wall. Then, according to Graff, Weiner started pounding his fists on his desk, kicked a chair and unleashed a string of expletives.
Two weeks later, Graff resigned after a short stint working for Weiner.
The Times reports that Weiner has had more turnover of employees in his office than any other member of the New York U.S. House delegation in the last six years. About half of the congressman’s staff has been on board for less than a year. Since 2007 he’s had three chiefs of staff.
Why did the newspaper go to all the trouble to dig up this information about Weiner? Because he’s a top candidate for mayor of New York City next year.
The paper concludes Weiner’s actions as a boss of 20 or so employees in his congressional office offer clues about how he might handle New York’s 300,000 municipal workers.
Blame it on Brooklyn
Weiner’s toughness isn’t limited to occasional rants.
He’s also a technology fiend who requires little sleep and rarely takes a day off. He routinely instant messages his employees on weekends, often with one-word codes: “Teeth” means your answer reminds me of pulling teeth. “Weeds” means you’re too much in the weeds.
Even in normal conversation, Weiner speaks at a high decibel level.
Weiner blames his brusque nature on his New York roots. “When you grow up in Brooklyn, you know, sometimes arguing is the sport,” he said.
The congressman attributes the high turnover on his staff in part to the high expectations he sets for his employees.
Some former employees, including Graff, who left Weiner’s employment still have good things to say about him.
But some on the outside who have to deal with Weiner’s office say the turnover has created an air of instability.
And his constant texting has irked some. During a panel discussion on the middle class earlier this year, Weiner worked on his BlackBerry nonstop while the session was in progress.
“The clock is always ticking,” Weiner explained.
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