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Anonymous
06/25/20 at 2:07AM UTC
in
Consulting

Signaling - should I contact HR?

I'm looking for advice. The background: Our company routinely makes weird internal moves and calls it innovative, among other things. The latest incredulous move is outsourcing the major part of four people's jobs (my teammates and I) to one new (rehire) part-time person plus an outside company who is salivating for more of our business. I have NO idea how this one person is going to handle the majority of the production work of our department. My manager is clueless and incompetent when it comes to our department and our role. They run three departments, one of which seems to be the apple of their eye because they used to work in it and manage it before their promotion. This person is very much a micro-manager and plays favorites. This manager also called upon our team to help shape procedures that will essentially help the new hire and the outside company more easily handle our jobs. (Yes, I am actively looking for a new job, just not having any luck so far!) Said manager also volunteers us to lead pointless team meetings, of which we have less and less desire to be a part of. The conundrum: should I talk to HR about the undesired, unplanned change in job role? Specifically, when the manager asks for the kind of "over and above" contributions, such as leading our team meetings? I (and another one of my coworkers) feel like we are dangling on the edge of being let go, despite our great track record of our team contribution. (More back story: the company, like many during COVID, is facing financial difficulties.) I'm trying to be hopeful that my manager is just absolutely clueless and that this plan will backfire tremendously but it seems intentional and that the writing is on the wall for some of us.

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Anonymous
06/25/20 at 9:22PM UTC
Thanks for the reply and the advice, Andrea! Yes, my frustration was coming out in that post. I apologize if that came across as wholly unprofessional. I typically have open conversations with my manager, but I'm not sure if there would be any course-correction here. I have no idea who originated the idea or whose backing it has, so I'm not sure what HR would do. For all I know, the COO could be trying to implement cost-saving measures for the future if they need to do another wave of layoffs. My best actions moving forward are to keep producing great design work (performing my job duties well), and to continue to look for another place to work.
ANDREA RAGGAMBI
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Human Being Awesome
06/25/20 at 3:32AM UTC
Hi! Sounds like a lot of change happening for you at once with very little effective communication or you would be less confused and frustrated (as I read it) about what’s happening even if you don’t agree with the changes. I didn’t notice you mention that you’ve had a frank discussion with your manager - is that off the table? It is more clear you don’t respect this person (as you view him/her as clueless and incompetent) which are definitely not great ways to perceive a manager so it makes sense you aren’t jazzed about these changes. Here’s some questions to consider: Since you only have control over yourself in any situation, what can you let go of or how can you think differently to feel better? Also, how might the discussion with HR improve your feeling about the situation? Based on what you know about your company, what do you think HR would recommend? What’s the best and worst case scenario should you decide to confront your manager? If nothing changed, how happy would you be continuing to work for this person? Most importantly, what do you really want? It’s easy to blame external circumstances for how we feel. Extract what’s happening ‘to you’ and evaluate what you most value in a workplace setting and why. What do you notice you were tolerating before these changes happened? You may find this is great timing to learn more about yourself and what’s important to you. I am going to guess this discomfort will support your growth in positive ways as soon as you can see why it’s happening. AND I bet you’ll do awesome no matter what!:)

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