Company transition is causing some unrest - Boss is now leaving, do I step up and fill her shoes or abandon ship?
(apologizing in advance for this being a bit long, I like details and I think they're important)
I work for a small energy consulting firm, and we were actually purchased and going through a transition and will be 100% this new company come 1/1/2021. The last few months have felt rough (maybe more for me personally than everyone), the company that bought us (and upper management) has been telling us that this will be better, and the employees will be benefitted equally & fairly (I should add that we had pretty decent benefits at our original company). They added some compensation to our salaries for next year to balance out the loss in some benefits (extra insurance premiums, less of a 401k match, probably some other background items). It has seemed like overall this might be good for the company, and they keep saying that they're all about valuing their employees - but so far all I've heard is them talk the talk and not really walk the walk. I know it's hard to really know how things will be once the transition is complete, but right now it's hard to see that future.
Some things that haven't really sat well with me start all the way back when we were purchased in Sept. 2019. Typically we receive a mid year bonus as well as an end of the year bonus. Well when the purchase was finalized we had just received our mid year bonus, as well as an additional selling the company bonus (this was not even half of my mid year bonus which is typically about half of my end of the year bonus). We never received an end of the year bonus because the company that purchased us determined that the selling the company bonus qualified, this was unfortunate, but I figured things would just be different. Well then we switched to their review schedule which meant instead of getting our raises at the end of the year, we had to wait 4 extra months, and they weren't going to back pay to the new year - once again it sucks but we keep getting told things will be better. Well now when I get my raise, but boss said that she was given a budget to have to allocate throughout her team and determine how to give people their raises (I'm sure this may be typical for larger companies, but it wasn't typical at ours) this meant she wasn't able to give me the raise she thought I deserved (that last year I had taken on managing 4 additional people as well as managing a new program). This was sort of red flag number 2. Obviously going into 2020 things have been chaotic, but the company that purchased us had been pretty hands off (a few meetings here and there, but now big policy changes).
This is where I start to get pretty frustrated. My husband and I found out the end of July that we are expecting! This is great, I reviewed our current companies policy for maternity leave and was pretty pleased and was just looking forward to continuing to work. This policy is 8-10 weeks (depending on how you deliver) 100% paid leave, and you can take the additional 2-4 weeks unpaid (FMLA), or use your vacation/sick time to supplement the time. Well as we went into early fall, we had meetings with the new company to discuss some of the new changes to our policies and benefits. They sent out their employee handbook which had their maternity leave policy, however it didn't really note their policy it mostly talked about New York & California policy (because they have offices there and I believe there is state wide policy) so I set up a meeting to talk with our new HR person. That call went fine, but the HR person tried to tell me their policy is way better than what our current company offers (sounds great, right?) - their policy is 6-8 weeks at 60% of my pay and then the other 4-6 weeks unpaid or they can be supplemented with PTO . It's a bare minimum, short term disability policy, nothing extra. I went back and reviewed both our policy and theirs and called the HR manager out and said that this policy wasn't better as she initially had said. Overall she came back and admitted this wasn't actually better.
Now I bring my boss in to the loop on this policy, she agrees that this isn't really better, and is something they could improve. She got involved and tried from her position to lobby for them to change the policy. Basically after 2.5 months of this, they said they can't change anything because it wouldn't be fair to do something differently for our company vs. when they took over other companies.
I'm probably going into too much detail on my own personal thoughts, but I think it's important to know about to help give me some advice on my situation. We're nearing the end of the year and since the beginning of December 3 people have put in their two weeks notice, one of them being my boss. I love my boss, she's the first person I've worked for at my first job out of college and she's amazing at advocating for her employees and was always giving me opportunities to prove myself.
Her leaving does have a lot to do with the transition, there were some upper level management items that she had to deal with and she wasn't feeling like there was a lot of growth for her in her position. She also informed us she is pregnant as well now (14 weeks). I am pretty upset that I'm losing such a great leader/mentor like her, but I'm having a hard time figuring out what to do.
I am currently 6 months pregnant, due at the end of March. My plan before she left was to see how things play out, if they give me a promotion in March (my boss told me that I'm at the top of their list), what does my raise/bonus look like, and just in general how things go once we are 100% a part of this new company. If I didn't like how things were going, I was likely going to spend some of my maternity leave job hunting.
With my boss leaving, I feel I have the opportunity to get some additional experience by taking over some of her responsibilities. Out of everyone on the team, I am probably the best suited. However I'm not sure I would want to take on that responsibility if I'm unhappy with how things are going so far. I wouldn't want to take that on and then leave the company hanging because I should just get a better offer somewhere else. I'm only 26 and the experience would be great, and I can do this for a couple years and then leave for greener pastures (if I'm still unhappy). Or should I take my bosses leaving as a sign that I should as well?
(TL/DR) Boss leaving because new company policies kinda seem to suck. Should I step up and take her responsibilities, or spend my maternity leave job hunting?
6 Comments
6 Comments
Nina O
55
12/17/20 at 4:25PM UTC
What a crazy situation to be in! Can you take a private lunch with your boss who is leaving to maybe feel her out on what is going on there? Since you mentioned a mentor like relationship, and she tried to advocate for you, maybe she will give you more information on her reasons for leaving, which could inform your decision more - maybe she just wants to stay at home with her child for a while, maybe its the work changes, you can't know for sure until you talk to her a bit more.
Beyond that, I think it comes down to what's most important to you right now? Will the experience from a new role create a firm stepping stone to advancing your career in a direction you want? Will you enjoy that experience even if there are some disadvantages in the new company?
You can also continue where you are and just start looking around now to see what is out there and see if there is a job opportunity that would be something you want in your career path - you can look without the pressure of feeling like you HAVE to get a new job now. Definitely do what is best for you and do not worry about leaving the company hanging - if it came down to it, the company would consider its bottom line first as well.
1 Reply
Anonymous
12/17/20 at 7:59PM UTC
OP Here - It's funny you said this because I actually just had a meeting set up with her to go over some of her duties. What came out of that talk basically sounded like her boss (who only has ever had a high level view of what was going on) is trying to take over and manage the programs. On one hand I understand it, on the other it feels like he doesn't really trust anyone else to do it which is disappointing to me because I feel he doesn't see my value that my existing boss does. I'm disappointed to hear that, but in general the only reason I'm looking to help take over is more for experience. With everything that has been going on lately, I haven't really been feeling valued, and have been debating finding a new job anyways. Maybe it will end up being a blessing in disguise...
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Anonymous
12/17/20 at 5:04PM UTC
Nina gives great advice. I second that you should definitely talk to your boss and feel her out on why she is leaving and get an idea of what her day to day is like. It could be that your department is at risk of being downsized because of the acquisition.
Now important note, I'm not pregnant nor have I had kids, but a lot of my friends are/have had kids so speaking from their experiences a bit.
After you talk to your boss, think about if her day to day responsibilities as well as your current ones sound like something that you want to do until you go on maternity leave and after you come back from it. Do not underestimate the stress of adding the new responsibilities and potentially learning new things. Not saying it would be a bad thing to do, just make sure that you don't go into it with rose colored glasses.
If you can afford to do it, you might also consider quitting or going part time for awhile (longer than 2-3months) after your baby is born. This would allow you to spend more time with them than the typical maternity leave. A couple of my friends did this and loved it.
I agree that it wouldn't be right to take on the boss' responsibilities and then quit after maternity leave. The way I see it, you have a few different options (not taking into account financial situation, or company decisions)
1. Stay with the company in your current position and return after maternity leave to the same position
2. Stay with the company, but take on your boss' role and return after maternity leave to that role
3. Stay with the company in your current role, but quit once you would go on maternity leave.
4. Quit now
Which one do you think will make you happiest in the next year and leave you with the least regret? I think it's more important to look at the short term. Your life is going to change drastically in March and your priorities will shift. What is important to you now, might not be so important once you have your baby. So, don't think about your 5 year plan, think about your 1 year plan. How do you see your 2021 pre and post baby?
Also, keep in mind that your boss can always be your mentor/friend even if you don't work at the same company. I still mentor one of the people that used to work for me, even though we both work at different companies now. It's turning into an awesome friendship and it's great to see her thriving at another company.
Good luck! :)
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Christina Santoro
30
Wholesale Footwear Sales Executive
12/17/20 at 6:40PM UTC
Spend your maternity leave with your baby and family because you will never be able to get that valuable time back if you waste it on other things like a job search. Start looking for a new job when you go back to work (as a Plan B). If the new responsibilities and promotion work out with the old company, then Great! If not, you have already taken the first step to finding a new gig, and hopefully by the time you are ready to leave, it will be for a new job you've already accepted.
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Anonymous
12/22/20 at 10:14PM UTC
I have a different advice solution: 1) Look into officially taking over what you can from your boss (most likely reduced load, since her boss is also taking over duties) & 2) Start looking elsewhere ASAP, since 2a) you may/may not have the option of taking over any of your bosses duties & 2b) general dissatisfaction with money related benefits and pay issues may continue to be a problem-especially with covid-19 and cost cutting-perhaps why your bosses boss is trying to salvage their position in the company with your bosses duties. Either they can let you step up and do more, or an exit will eventually happen, from your details. 2c) I have known of go getters who got jobs over the holiday season, so look now in case something better is available. Everything happens for a reason.
User edited comment on 12/22/20 at 10:16PM UTC
1
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MoneyCareerMotherhood
169
Smart financial decisions for work & home
12/23/20 at 11:53AM UTC
First off, I feel for you. This is a challenging situation. I've both been acquired and have helped many of my business clients acquire businesses. A couple of things I want you to consider:
1. Looking for a new position now while pregnant is definitely possible, but challenging. Many companies have a timeframe you need to be with the company (like 1 year) in order to utilize the maternity leave benefits. So while your company's policy may now not be as good as it was, it may be better than what you can use if you go somewhere else at this time. It's important that you look at what is required in your state and for the type of company you work for, because it can vary.
2. Even though you didn't change jobs you work for a new company now. Any policies can and probably will change if they differ from the acquiring company's policies, and it may have an impact on whether or not you want to stay long term. I say this because many people who work for acquired companies hope things will stay the same, but they generally won't. The acquiring company needs to integrate the new business plus gain synergies to justify the cost of the acquisition so there will always be changes and cost reductions. They also need to keep employees and the knowledge base of the company they acquired while they learn the business, so often it's presented to the acquired employees like this is going to be good for them. In reality, it may or may not be. It's for you to decide.
I know this doesn't give you a yes/no answer, but I hope gives you a little more perspective on what you can expect from the acquiring company in the coming year. Helping women make smart career & money choices through the stages of motherhood is what I do - I'd be happy to connect if I can help! Also, you may want to check out my past webinar here on FGB - Prepping for Baby: Managing your career before, during & after mat leave. https://fairygodboss.com/events/QR5ObHCUv/prepping-for-baby-how-to
User edited comment on 12/23/20 at 12:02PM UTC
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