Communication with my manager is lacking and it's starting to concern me.

Communication with my manager is lacking and it's starting to concern me.

I started this position in January, and my manager has met with me individually a total of 2 times to discuss projects that she wants me to work on. She took on quite a bit of work when I started with a new project, so I tried to stay in the back and not communicate much, however, I'm starting to get worried that she's forgotten about me. I have sent her 3 different documents that she's requested over the past 3-4 weeks, and I have heard no feedback on them at all. I also have not had any direct communication (email, teams message, etc.) from her in almost a week. She also has been in and out of the office for work and personal travel the past month, but hasn't communicated that to team members. Two of us joined a call yesterday to learn she was out of the office. I've been trying to schedule time to discuss projects with her by going to visit with her in person, and her door is always closed. This position I am in is new, so there hasn't been any protocols in place. In addition, she works jointly at this office and another office, and seems to favor projects at the other office, even though she directly oversaw my hiring and the development of my position.

I had this similar thing happen to me at another position and ended up being let go, and while I am in therapy and recovering, I feel like I am going to get fired for not doing anything.

I want to stay in the position, but I'm starting to wonder if it's a good fit. I had multiple awesome job offers that I turned down to take this one, so I am very frustrated and could use some advice.

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2 Comments

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  1. Anonymous

    Are you fully remote or hybrid? Is there anyone in the office that could give you any insight? If so, is there someone she works with who can let you know if she has been taking extended time off and provide insight on who she might have left things with? Are the others on your team having the same problem? Maybe you can set up a meeting with the team to see what everyone knows. Extended periods without communication or staff meetings are not normal, and you need to get to the bottom of it.

  2. Anonymous

    Do you know what the situation is with the broader company? I was in a contract role, so a bit different than this, but the company was reorganizing and had been for a while. My manager and her manager wanted me in a new role and gave me some work, but then "crickets" for a while, and I received an email from my recruiter that my contract was ending.

    The day that I left, I sent out a good-by email, and a fairly newly hired coworker called and told me that she had resigned that day. I knew she was working crazy hours, and she had just inherited another business unit. When she asked for help, she was told that she was the help, so she resigned.

    If you are in a fluid situation like that or your last one was, it is not anything you have done, but if you need a job for financial reasons, it may be a wise move to see what else is available. Conventional wisdom says that it is easier to find a job while you have one, as you know.

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