My Boss is really laissez-faire in her management style which suits me nicely, but younger members of the team just take advantage and skive.

Claire Wright

April 28,2022 at 12:35PM UTC

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My Boss is really laissez-faire in her management style which suits me nicely, but younger members of the team just take advantage and skive.

I started a new role within a company just before the pandemic. I am tasked with looking after clients and undertaking policy work in two English counties. I love the role and I have worked hard to build contacts and relationships. As lockdown restrictions eased I have taken time to visit my areas and meet key people face to face.

We recruited two new members of the team who are supposed to look after the rest of the patch. Their work ethic is poor. One is leaving of his own volition later this year whilst the other is remaining with the company.

My boss won't manage them properly as she doesn't like conflict. She has now suggested that she wants to swap one of my counties for another because the colleague seems reluctant to get out and meet people in his allocated patch and she feels she can help him better if he looks after an area nearer the office. I feel like I am being punished for being good at my role and I don't want to have to start again from scratch with a new area. It was hard enough to get back to normal after covid. It feels like she just seems to want to paper over the cracks rather than actively managing the problem members of the team.

Any thoughts or advice on how I should resolve this? Should I just start looking about for a new role and leave them to it.

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AnonymousApril 29,2022 at 3:49PM UTC
Do you have a relationship where you could bring this up to her? I would frame it as setting boundaries about your work rather than blaming it on them.
BreannaMay 2,2022 at 7:16PM UTC
Do you have any concrete examples of areas for improvement for the other team members? You could potentially offer to share your best practices with them to help them get up to speed.
In the long run though, I’d question whether your manager is hands-off, or not very competent. It doesn’t seem like she’s willing to get her hands dirty when needed.
Chloe ShauckMay 8,2022 at 10:32PM UTC
I have a few thoughts you may consider:
-- Is there someone above your boss that you can make aware of the situation?
--Is there a company wide goal system that could potential motivate the employees to work better?
--Could the younger employees not be as motivated because they maybe were not trained adequately?
--You (or another individual) could talk with the younger employee to see if there is something besides getting paid that motivated them to apply to this specific position vs one that may not be so forward facing? Maybe if they're reminded why they wanted this job, they will improve their performance.
--Also it may just be helpful to talk to your boss and share your concerns. You could frame it as it may be more helpful for the employee to stay in the county they were assigned to as they already (hopefully) have built relationships and it will be more of a learning experience than taking over your already well managed county.
I would only consider looking for a new role if you've tried a few things and your boss and/or your bosses boss has not done anything to improve the situation. It may be helpful to set a time frame in which you hope to see improvement or you will start looking to transition out of the company.