© 2022 Fairygodboss. All rights reserved.
head of finance/accounting/it
I was put in charge of a major computer implementation last year. The original schedule that was set (NOT by me) was aggressive. Throughout the project, I worked 12-18 hour days and every weekend. The other leaders got distracted by competing priorities, but I was expected to manage my regular job on top of this project. The go-live was postponed multiple times. My boss promised help several times, we got a temp for a month or so and then I was instructed to let her go and not replace her. The system makes things harder for my team because we are reporting the history from 2 different systems, but most other departments are streamlined now. I am still working ridiculous hours trying to get everything done, and nothing is ever enough for my boss. He has very little understanding of what it takes to implement a system like this, nor what it takes to complete the rest of my tasks on a day to day basis, especially now (still working out kinks in our area.)
I am greatly suffering from burnout, and am wondering if I have any recourse here...we have no HR department (I handle those responsibilities) and my boss is the owner so there is no going around dealing directly with him. FMLA request or anything else would require his approval and direct interaction to deal with it.
Lynne Cogan
Career Coach for Realizing Professional Dreams
858
02/24/20 at 6:53PM UTC
Keeping track of your work and time could prove very helpful. And since you keep putting in the time it doesn't effect him.
What I suggest is showing explain in such a way that it does. How? Money. How is it affecting the bottom line for the company. How much is it costing the business and him?
Also, I have another idea. I don't know if it is applicable to your situation or not. I have a friend with a company that's about 15 years old called Convertabase. It can convert any database to any other one with ease and speed.
Jennifer A
968
02/24/20 at 4:09PM UTC
I think you said it correctly when you said: "He has very little understanding of what it takes to implement a system like this, nor what it takes to complete the rest of my tasks on a day to day basis, especially now (still working out kinks in our area.)"
First - let me say one thing - for a system conversion, you have the worst of all worlds. You are leading Finance and IT and they are the hardest systems to convert. IT needs to be all to everyone and Finance get's hit with everyone else's bad decisions and has to figure out how to do GAAP and reporting on time every month for financial statements. As you said, you need to do data entry and reporting in two systems to ensure everything is working. It's a tough position to be in!
I have lived this and the best thing I did was educate my boss. Right now, a To-Do list is your friend. Don't work out of Email, work with a ticket system and/or create a free account on something like Trello. List tasks - even daily or weekly recurring ones and add them to a 'BackLog' column. Label everything you need to do weekly with high, med, & low priority. Add your team and most importantly your boss to this list. This is going to feel like a lot of overhead when you begin BUT after a while it does a lot to expose the problems. When I did this, my boss was able to see the accomplishments and then see the backlog and realize what I was up against.
My second piece of advice is going to be harder to accept but you need to stop working 12-18 hour days. As a Type A personality, this was very hard for me. I had to shut it down to a 50-60 hour work week and let a lot go. I had to learn how to say - "No that's not going to happen for at least XX months" and that killed me. Burning out wasn't helping me or the company. Attempting to keep up was hurting me as my boss thought what I was doing was 'just another little thing'. When I stopped trying to carry the weight of the world, he was able to see the backlog growing and started to understand how much I had been doing. It took a little while and a couple of times I had to get up and leave. This is where keeping the to-do list helped. I started and ending my day with that list so that I could see my accomplishments and at the end of each week report those to my boss. I would also ask him to review the board and let me know if I need to prioritize anything up for him - understanding that when I did that, he also had to prioritize something down.
Last, I am sure that you are already doing this but invite your team to help look for creative solutions. I was always in the weeds and as a result it was hard for me to manage and more importantly "let go". As your team for solutions and if they have one, let them run with it. Reward good solutions with whatever kudo's you can.
Good luck!
ShellyBPassionate about equality for all at work!
607
02/24/20 at 2:34PM UTC
This is untenable for much longer. Maybe ask your boss for 30 minute meeting and be clear about what you are trying to do, how you need more support to be successful, this has taken over your life for way too long, the timeline is tight, and you are feeling burnt out. Then ask him what he recommends you do about it? Really hard for a boss to say "too bad" to you, right? Get help from the top to be successful and good luck!
© 2022 Fairygodboss. All rights reserved.