MIA Boss Issues

Work has been frustrating lately. The boss is out on sick leave. We don't get the privilege of knowing what exactly is wrong with him, just that he will be out for 6 to 8 weeks. Of course, it is his right to privacy but every once in a while we get a little hint of a suggestion of whatever it is that is bothering him. The rumors run from the big C-word to mental illness. Since he has shown up in the office for an hour or two looking just fine, verified by senior management that he has no symptoms, the rumors are exacerbated along the lines of mental illness.

My co-workers and I have caught him in a variety of inaccuracies so current thought is that the man has lost track of the tales he has weaved and can't keep track of who he says what to so he is suffering from a combination of guilt and shame. Which is in keeping with the mental illness rumor...

My personal experience has to do with something he told be about his calendar. To preface the story, the day before I asked about the calendar we had a departmental meeting where he explained that he is traveling often to gain some new clients in the area of quality assurance. We are a software hosting company in the long term health care industry and the software vendors that we do business with are a source for him. The concept of doing QA work for these vendors makes sense and would make our department more than just overhead, but a resource for revenue. Sounds like a good idea to me.

I am new to this QA department so this man is in the process of training me. He told me to book some time on his calendar to spend some time together going over a project. I told him I struggled to find time on his calendar because he was so heavliy booked. Half of his day was filled with school open houses in the Chicago area. I didn't quite understand this, I thought maybe he was a teacher as well as the director here. So I asked him, "Are you a teacher?" I thought it would be really cool if he said yes, I would like to hear more if he was. I have a high respect for teachers. He said, no knowing exactly where I was coming from (his calendar). He explained to me that those were his potential clients. He said, "Remember yesterday I mentioned that I am in the process of trying to gain new clients for the business?" I said, "Oh, OK" quite confused by this answer. Based on our senior management's philosophy called the Hedgehog concept which boils down to doing one thing well, this didn't quite fit. Plus he said he was traveling to Tennessee and Washington DC, what would that possibly have to do with Chicago area schools? Hmmm....

I started to do some research. Google is a great resource. I discovered that this man has a tutoring business on the side. That explains all the school open houses. He must be trying to sell his tutoring service to the schools as a resource for students. Both his home and company are located in Chicago, so it was all fitting together. I looked at his calendar again and noticed that he is here when some of these events occur. Strange. But he was usually in a conference call in his office at the exact same time listed on his calendar. Other times he just wasn't here. By the way, Google also revealed another business that the man is in selling real estate. His expertise: Senior Living.

What I don't understand is why he would tell me a lie. It's obvious that we are NOT going into the business of doing QA work for schools. My co-workers were also feeling a little uneasy because of the events of late. After some discussion with them, it seems they also felt a sense of betrayal by some of the things this man has said. We did not get into too much detail, some things are better left unspoken. And now he is out on medical leave leaving us all wondering about many things, including our own welfare within the company. Anyway I don't care if he has other business ventures, except when I need him and he's not here. Otherwise, it doesn't really matter to me as long as I get a fair shake at work. Based on some of the things my co-workers are saying, they aren't getting a fair shake. It's too soon for me to tell.