Is it just a toxic kitchen thing, or is she just a bad leader?
Hi im currently working as a chef and its my first time working abroad. before this i usually held hospitality lead roles like a supervisor or a manager
i have a question and i know it might sound silly but is it normal for people here to share their deep personal problems with coworkers?? on literally my second day on the job my boss (the head chef) started venting about her personal issues and suddenly burst into tears lol
like I mentioned i was still trying to adjust to living abroad so at first i just thought oh maybe this is a western cultural thing where people are just really open and honest with each other
but now its getting weird. she constantly vents about the restaurants issues talks about how much she hates the manager and dumps all her personal baggage on me. at this point i literally know her entire life story from childhood to now. on top of that she started gossiping about our other coworkers problems to me. honestly it feels like backstabbing and its getting hard to listen to. its becoming so emotionally draining for me
lately ive been really suffering because of this. she complains about all these problems but never actually changes anything. she always just says well it cant be helped. i find this so disappointing. personally i feel like she keeps bringing up minor issues and nitpicking small mistakes just to assert her authority and make herself look capable as a leader
i know kitchen culture is tough but even so im really not sure if this is right. to be fair she is sometimes lenient with our mistakes but i think thats only because she makes just as many mistakes herself so sometimes i wonder is this even a good environment for me?
even though she is way older than me she cries in front of me all the time and constantly whines
she is supposed to be my boss but i dont even know how to process this anymore. ive honestly lost respect for her capability and it makes me feel guilty for thinking that way.