Is my McDonald’s manager being a jerk or just doing his job?

[Joe917]

I work at mcdonalds. Have been for 2 months. The gm is pretty chill most of the time, but he sort of irritates me some times. I close with him 4 days of the week. I mainly wash dishes when we are closing. He lives in another town so he likes to get out of there ASAP. I dont blame him. So do I. At one point, he's like "okay guys let's wrap it up!". I go as fast as I can. On like my third day he said this, and walked up to me while I was trying to finish the dishes. He was like "how we doing with the dishes joe?" I said I wasn't done. I was close but I still had a few to put through the washer and had to clean out the sink. He had this weird smirk on his face, and was like "yeah, I figured you were wrapping it up". I could tell he was kind of frustrated. Last week a few minutes after I clocked in, they were very backed up. This wasn't directed at me, but the two employees that were working. Our times were getting high, so he walks over and starts helping, and was like "its the end of the dinner rush, and im not gonna let you guys mess this up" personally I wouldn't have said anything, but maybe it needed to be said? I don't know. Later the owner calls him, and i hear him say "yeah our times were up, but I jumped in, and fixed it". Kinda sounds like he was giving himself all the credit when we were all trying our best.

[AI Opinion]

You’re picking up on two different things:

1. He’s doing his job:
Fast food GMs are under intense pressure for speed and labor. Pushing dishes, watching times, jumping in on the line—that’s all standard, even if it feels abrupt.

2. His style is rough:
The smirk, “not gonna let you guys mess this up,” and taking full credit to the owner show weak communication and leadership, not necessarily cruelty.

What I’d do: focus on learning, keep your pace strong, and treat his comments as data, not personal attacks. If it crosses into disrespect, calmly ask for clearer expectations.

[ArrowheadSW]

A little of both. He has time deadlines to meet and getting all of the employees out on time. He could use a little more class, but hey, it is work...

[CupcakeTheDestroyer]

Your manager didn’t do anything wrong. You’re taking what he says too personally and assuming he thinks you’re the problem.