Should I call out a toxic manager by name on Glassdoor?

Question

This toxic manager, let's call him "John." He is the director of the department and reports directly to C-level owners of a mid-sized American SMB (roughly 200 employees). To to quickly list some of his attributes:

• Absolutely radiates negativity and pessimism: everything is a problem, there are no solutions.
• Consistently in a bad mood (I'd say about 80% of the time) and makes no effort to be even remotely pleasant to talk with or be around (at least to his "subordinates" - with his superiors he's somehow always just lovely).
• Micromanages trivial and minute things for no apparent reason
• Refuses to take blame for his mistakes
• Weaponizes any mistake you make (no matter how small) to use against you when you ask for a promotion, or even just an increase in duties without more pay.
• Passive-aggressive and manipulative/controlling
• Extreme trust issues which led to him constantly overloading himself with work, causing delays and frustrations with his department from other departments.
  • Fails to delegate even the simplest tasks because of said trust issues.

I left the company last month by choice, I was not fired or even laid off. I was fortunate enough to secure a better position with a better company, but honestly the company I left (where said toxic manager is still employed) really is a great company and the only reason I started looking for employment elsewhere was because of how utterly horrible and insufferable my manager was. Yes, I am still angry and perhaps even bitter. Yes, I realize I should just move on and put this behind me...but I still have friends at the old company that are suffering under the draconian and toxic "leadership" of John...and I hate the thought of it, not to mention any new-hires.

Right before I left the company I privately messaged the CEO to tell him I'd be happy to come back one day, provided John was gone. Without going into detail, I added that I saw John leaving as an inevitability. The CEO is very laissez-faire of hands-off (which is good, don't get me wrong), but he surely knows about this toxic manager by now and continues to do nothing. I am not exaggerating when I say I am at least the 3rd, if not the 4th, person this manager has driven off. I held nothing back in my exit interview, but I happen to know for a fact that the guy before me did the same thing (our time at the company overlapped) and nothing came of it whatsoever.

I am going to write a negative Glassdoor review of the company. However, I'm unsure if I should call "John" out by name or not. If I don't, nothing will change. Of course I don't think a Glassdoor will provoke a lot of change, but I want to do something.

Answer 1

No. This is explicitly prohibited on Glassdoor:

We allow reviews that name individuals in the highest positions in a company who have broad influence over the work environment, as long as the review describes the individual’s behavior or performance at work. Individuals in this category include those who are the public face of the company (C-Suite, Executive Director, President, Owner, Founder, etc.) We believe this information is generally representative of a company’s culture and can be informative to job candidates.

We do not allow reviews that include negative comments about identifiable individuals outside of this group.

^{(bold added, document last updated 16th June 2018 at time of quotation)}

See also Does Glassdoor allow names in reviews? for further clarification on what is allowed.

My advice? Let it go, you've already moved on and I very much doubt that "John" spends any time thinking about you and you no longer have any need to spend any time thinking about him.

Holding a grudge is like drinking poison and hoping someone else dies.

Answer 2

I will agree with you that John sounds like a terrible manager, and not a great person at that.

That said, I would advise against calling him out by name. Doing that will look incredibly aggressive, and might make people view your review with less weight than they originally would have. If you start making accusatory statements towards a particular employee, it makes you look petty, and more concerned with that manager than with the company itself. In addition, it is possible you open yourself to accusations of slander, and you don't want to be mixed up in that.

The way I see it, there is a fault with the company itself if they can't manage their managers. You want your review to be about the company, not the people employed there.

I would suggest including something along the lines of

"The company has some serious problems with managing their management. One manager in particular, though I won't name names, is guilty of (...). I would strongly recommend against seeking employment with this company."

This way, you let potential applicants know that there is a serious management problem, but you avoid seeming petty. In fact, you seem even more level-headed by taking the high road and not pointing fingers.

And if that isn't enough to dissuade you, take a look at Motosubatsu's answer. GlassDoor does not allow what you are thinking of doing anyway. That said, I think it's important to know why it is a bad idea anyway, regardless of the actual policy in place.

Answer 3

Everyone has had a bad boss, and while yours sounds bad... Here's some things that bosses I've had have done.

• Timed my bathroom breaks
• Threw a block of wood at someone.
• Diddled a coworker while on the clock
• beat a plastic box fan with a 2x4 while it was running, sending parts flying.
• Had a man standing out in the hot sun for 8 hours without a break or water.

and more that's even more outrageous.

This is not to say that you have no right to be upset, but your situation demonstrates why a common answer given on this site is "find another job"

That said, again, everyone has had a bad boss.

If you call him out, you are going to be the one who looks bad and will be dismissed as a "bitter, former employee, who is taking pot-shots now that he has no fear of repercussions"

Worse, this will make John look like a victim of cyber bullying. God help you if it goes viral and people want to track down the vicious former employee being so mean. Don't think this can't happen.

You've already moved on physically, now it's time to move on mentally. Let the matter drop. As you said, the CEO is already aware of the situation. Nothing will be done on that end. All that will happen is you exposing yourself to liability (yes, John could sue you for libel) and probably get banned from whatever site you post this on.

LET IT DROP

Answer 4

What are you whining about?

This guy has the character of a future president.

...but more seriously:

Find a new workplace.
( oh wait, you did, so what is it to you anymore?)
I agree, that is a very unpleasant work climate

However:
It is sadly very often a tactic in company management NOT a toxic person.(whatever that is now...)

• no fraternizing with subordinates
• shattering any attempt of raise negotiations by pointing at employees' flaws and mistakes
• management is always right and makes no mistakes, critique on management is insubordination
• subordinates need to be controlled, dominated even pitted against each other to raise productivity and undermine insubordination
• trust is a) not given but earned and b) trust in the wrong people can ruin a company

Did I forget any?

Oh yeah, be an ass and you won't be bothered...

Answer 5

You're angry. You want revenge. There's nothing wrong with that. It's very natural. Just get an envelope, address it to him (at work), then fill it with glitter and mail it to him. THEN LEAVE IT AT THAT. The sooner you can let go, the sooner it will stop hurting you.