To resign after six weeks?

[Senco23]

I was excited to start a new job six weeks ago which sounded good on paper. I've realised colleagues have been very unaccommodating. Mostly giving 'I don't know' or 'It's not my role' or 'Ask x instead' when asking the simplest questions. No friendliness and basically saying, 'hello' when I arrive and 'goodbye' at the end of the day. I decided to ignore this attitude and get on with the work.

Here's the thing. I work part-time hours and my job spec was vague - basically listing a whole range of roles that I may have to assist in & some that I need to manage. I'm now doing ALL the roles listed on the job spec (which are several professions in themselves) squashed into my part-time hours! In addition, the other team members have sent me everything from the smallest admin jobs (printing) to designing the sales plan for the entire company!

One of the colleagues who has passed a load of work onto me follows up with about 20 emails a day - 'have you managed to get this done?', or 'can you do this in the next 30 mins' or 'this is urgent and needs to be completed asap!' but she is not my manager, is treating me like a child and the emails are driving me insane!

My actual boss saw me once at the beginning and only retuned this week. He asked if I had done x, y & z. When I said I had done x, y but not z due to work load he said 'I'm very concerned by this' and asked why not. I told him the truth - that my workload is huge, people have passed a lot to me, I'm spending a lot of time on smaller roles as well as my own role and haven't had time for job z which is something entirely different! He didn't seem at all sympathetic or understanding. We have a huge event next week which I'm taking a main role in (even though I've only been there 6 weeks). In addition, he now wants me to lead on another role at the same event and said, 'You really need to be up to scratch by then because the CEO will be there!' WTF?

I asked if someone else could do the smaller jobs and his response was 'Just finish them quickly and focus on the CEO!' Instead of making my workload more manageable he's actually given me more! The big event is at the end of next week and in some ways I feel I should stick it out but the pressure is on and the people there don't seem to care for my wellbeing in the slightest. I've come to hate going into work. Not once have I felt appreciated in this position and the working environment is horrible - unprofessional, disorganised, hostile etc! I've become stressed and think they are expecting a hell of a lot after just six weeks in the role with minimal support. I am employed on a temporary contract (6 months) so this was never going to be a long-term role. AIBU to resign now?

I know it will be more work but I think you need to start listing everything you have been asked to do and then discuss priorities with your manager. A manager is supposed to manage.

Put in the same position, I would be speaking to my bosses boss or HR.
It is clear they need a full timer with controlled workflow. If your boss is going to ignore the issue and you get no support or guidance, ask yourself, is This the environment I want to spend my day in? If the answer is no then walk away. I think if he knew the facts, the CEO should be appalled by your manager's behaviour. They are clearly setting you up for a fall.
The other way would be to refuse all work until you have cleared your intray. Was there someone in this position before? If so, were they popular? This may a also join the dots on their attitude.
If you don't need to do this now, then don't. Find something else before your head explodes.

Yeah i'd be gone. This isn't going to get better and you will be the fall guy when it goes tits up.

YANBU.
If the role is making you unhappy and it’s not a long term career goal then I’d quit now if I were you op.
I was in a similar situation a couple of years ago.... I quit after three weeks!
Best thing I ever did. I found a new job where I was welcomed, respected and happy.
Life’s too short.

I've been in temp jobs where the people doing them have apparently always been treated like shit because they're only there on a temporary basis and the permanent staff patently couldn't be arsed treating the temp as an individual.

How easy is it for you to find something else, do you have childcare you've set up around the job you do now and how much do you need the job? If it's an admin job and you're close to a big city, try firing your CV around some agencies and saying you're immediately available.

Oh, and tell people you can't do the printing jobs. That's nonsense, they'd be quicker printing themselves than sending you an e-mail.

Had a similar situation a few years ago (they had compressed three previously full time roles into one), I stuck it out for a year (I was single and private renting for most of it). I can’t describe the relief when I resigned, no way would I have been there as king as I was if I had any other choice.

Focus on the CEO thing alone, tell everyone else that's what you are doing, and turn down any other work. If anyone asks you to do something, it has to push one of your other tasks out, and the requester of the task needs to be made aware.

You can only work on one thing at a time, and there are a fixed number of hours in the day.

And look for a new role now.

Send your manager a message saying that you are considering resigning due to the unrealistic expectations and lack of training and line management. Ask what they'd prefer - for you to resign and to recruit again or to sit down with you and work out a sensible workload with key priorities and someone to delegate the surplus to.

I would make a list of everything that you have been asked to do and take it up with your boss and then HR. They are really being unreasonable expecting you to do a full time job in part time hours.

Your colleagues don’t sound very helpful either. How did the vacancy arise?

Walk out. Don't worry about dropping them in the shit, this is what they have done to you. Leave tomorrow.

Quitting things is seriously underrated. We all get told that we need to stick with it, but why? You've made a bad call by accepting this role, we all make them. No need to make it worse.
Quit, retreat, and move on.

YANBU your boss is a twat and you need to LTB. Unfortunately, in some businesses there is a culture of bullying, passing the buck and blaming others. Who is ultimately responsible for all this stuff that you are being given? Why can everyone delegate to you yet you have no way of pushing back? You need to ask that all requests for your assistance are routed through your boss and if he's too busy then you need an intermediate line manager. This company sounds like a box of frogs to be honest and you'll be best off out of there

*I would make a list of everything that you have been asked to do and take it up with your boss and then HR. They are really being unreasonable expecting you to do a full time job in part time hours.

Your colleagues don’t sound very helpful either.*

^This.

I would say leave, don’t let it even begin to affect your health, morale and wellbeing.

It mirrors a couple of situations exactly that I found myself in, the first where a respected member of staff was leaving because of some issue and I was unknowingly recruited in the handover period to take over...but the entire team were overtly hostile to me from the outset, I was via an agency, so just quickly moved on...

Recruited for another role where it became apparrent in the first week that both other existing team members were leaving because of the stress, unreasonable unrelenting pressure and ridiculous hours - it was better for my wellbeing to walk away. And I didn't do it lightly.

It’s easy to think we have to stay, be tenacious and persevere, prove to ourselves/work through it etc, but life is too short - don’t let yourself be unhappy.

Focus on the CEO stuff. Every other request for work reply that they will need to speak to your manager. Bet they back off in no time.

I'd leave. It's not going to get any better.

How much notice do you need to give? If it's only a week, I'd hand it in today and leave them to it for the big CEO presentation.

Is it a job with a charity?

is it a job with a charity?

^that

I work for a “charity” funnily enough 😳

Me too, I love the charity I’m with now but the op could be describing any one of the jobs I’ve had.

Op, honestly, if it’s making you miserable and you dread going to work and you can afford it, have a chat with your boss and be frank. If that has no effect, and you can, I’d walk. Although for 6 months it might be worth sticking it out because you can see the end.

I’ve been utterly miserable in s few jobs and it’s not worth it. It effects every part of your life and can be really damaging.

Leave. Life is too short.

I would just leave. I left my last job because my boss was a nasty woman. I was perfectly happy to leave her in the lurch.

Thanks all! It's not a charity but a reputable organisation so I've been completely surprised/shocked that this is the way people work within this particular office. Last person left before I joined so no handover! I've been thinking about it more and all of the replies confirm that my boss is being unreasonable and not at all supportive. The bitchy staff is one thing, the unsupportive boss who doesn't seem to have a proper idea about my workload is another.

I could speak to HR but I'm not sure what I could prove, since a lot has been verbal or rather lack of verbal/written guidance. I am used to working independently in senior roles but all of these takes the biscuit. Thanks for the comments re: people not making an effort or being helpful with temps. I hadn't thought about it like that and makes perfect sense. The job does look good on my CV but as my boss doesn't seem to have a clue about the work I'm actually doing & hasn't said one positive thing to me I can't imagine him giving me a glowing reference anyway.

I'm going for the list option & another meeting with boss. Will have to do this over the weekend which is a pain... If nothing improves I will resign I think. This job has gradually become worse and worse and I feel stressed! Agree with the other posters that life is too short for this. Thanks.

"I'm very concerned by this"

So? Let the unhelpful twat of a boss be concerned. Find something else, it won't get better by the sounds of it.

Hope you get it sorted OP. Were you given a job description with what your role would be? If so take that in with you as well so HR can compare how royally they are taking the mick.