Page 5 | Passed up on promotion

ellie09 · 2023-01-13T12:17:49+00:00

So, in my work we get EOY apprisals where there is a certain amount of automatic promotions allocated. I've been with the company 4 years. I've worked my backside off the last year covering illness and as the more experienced team member, I've had to help out the others in the team quite often. I was disappointed in my appraisal I must say. I got given a pay rise, and a bonus similar to last year. The feedback given to me was that the team would be lost without me, I'm so experienced and great with helping out with others and next chance I get I should apply for promotion. Despite this, I was given the same rating as last year (where admittedly I didn't work as hard) There are two others in my team. They've been there for around one year and are very friendly with the manager. They know about 30% of the processes I do, and I regularly help them with their work etc. They work hard and are nice people but I don't feel as though they are on the same level as me. Anyhow, the two of them got automatic promotions. We are told to keep hush hush about any news we are told but I overheard conversations as they sit behind me. I am obviously very upset. I've always been considered the more tenured team member, the one people apparently "need" and I have been passed up over them. As its not common knowledge, I'm sitting here today keeping my mouth shut, really trying to hold back tears of frustration and anger. I'm thinking about taking some time off. AIBU? What would you guys do in my situation?

Original poster

ellie09 · 19/01/2023 14:33

Puffin87 · 19/01/2023 11:28

If you read between the lines, the issue is her perceived conduct / ability to get on with others in the team.

Complaining about not getting a promotion to other staff then going off sick will make this worse.

Show quote history

I get on with others very well in my team. We are known as the rowdy bunch who will chat and chat all day with each other. I've been on a couple of nights out with them etc.

I haven't discussed anyone else's promotions with them or anything negative about my own either. This was conversation I had overheard. We are told to not discuss compensation etc with one another, so we didn't

OP posts:

InsomniacVampire · 19/01/2023 17:00

Fullsomefrenchie · 19/01/2023 09:55

I don’t think the answer is to go on the sick op. It won’t do uou any favours.

the fundamental issue here is you needed a 4 for promotion and for 2 years running got a three. First year due to not enough work effort, this year due to the errors.

they are clearly considering the errors signficant enough that they don’t feel you’re ready to move up yet and that these errors shouldn’t be made

I’d focus on that, I know it’s upsetting, but it would read they are amendable to promotion but they want the mistakes to stop.

OP should have gone on a sick leave ages ago by the sounds of it.
And why bother jeopardising her health when the manager does not give a f*?

Qwerty111 · 19/01/2023 18:57

I think the break will do you good OP.

Make sure you stay completely away from your phone or work email (the cheek of them pressuring you to work with COVID!)

There seem to be some quite snide responses on here, so I wanted to say that I’ve seen people in your situation before. Sometimes people (women) are so good at doing a job that the manager doesn’t want to deal with the hassle of replacing them in that role. I think your manager may have found it easier to ignore your requests for development tasks and regular 1:1 meetings because she sees you as the dependable office workhorse, and you’re really useful to plug gaps etc etc.

You won’t get them to see you differently than the box they’ve put you in. None of the effort you’ve put in this year has “counted” and that’s so unfair. I hope you’re taking her “you’ll be my next project” as the empty bs it sounds to me.

Managers where I work were astonished when our office workhorse left - she’d asked to be regraded because she was already basically doing most of the higher role. Nobody listened, so she went and got that role in a different part of the organisation. They were so surprised she’d left them “in the lurch”!

Original poster

ellie09 · 19/01/2023 21:08

Qwerty111 · 19/01/2023 18:57

I think the break will do you good OP.

Make sure you stay completely away from your phone or work email (the cheek of them pressuring you to work with COVID!)

There seem to be some quite snide responses on here, so I wanted to say that I’ve seen people in your situation before. Sometimes people (women) are so good at doing a job that the manager doesn’t want to deal with the hassle of replacing them in that role. I think your manager may have found it easier to ignore your requests for development tasks and regular 1:1 meetings because she sees you as the dependable office workhorse, and you’re really useful to plug gaps etc etc.

You won’t get them to see you differently than the box they’ve put you in. None of the effort you’ve put in this year has “counted” and that’s so unfair. I hope you’re taking her “you’ll be my next project” as the empty bs it sounds to me.

Managers where I work were astonished when our office workhorse left - she’d asked to be regraded because she was already basically doing most of the higher role. Nobody listened, so she went and got that role in a different part of the organisation. They were so surprised she’d left them “in the lurch”!

Yes! This will be their exact reaction if I decide to leave. We have a work Whatsapp group (I haven't left it yet but muted it) within one day of being off, the chat was coming down with messages of people freaking out as they don't know how to do reports, or how to do a certain task. From the sounds of things they had to stay and extra hour to try and resolve this. Not my problem. I've offered to show multiple people in the team these reports but they never seemed to want to bother with learning them - probably as I was always there.

I know I am not indispensable. That's absurd to even think. Anyone in a huge company can be replaced very easily with a few weeks training. I dare say if I end up back, someone else would have learned these reports etc that I had been completing. What I do know though is that they will be overworked and stressed. Half of our team members are trainees and I took on I would say about 30% of the daily tasks out of a group of 8 people. It speaks volumes that once one team member is on sick, another follows straight after. We have lost 5 team members in the space of 5 months. And that's only our small team of 10.

I didn't particularly want to be the one that is on sick leave. However, with working 45 hours per week, I wouldn't have had a chance to explore other options

OP posts:

MrsElijahMikaelson1 · 19/01/2023 21:35

Fair play-I hope you are successful in getting the new job

ColadhSamh · 20/01/2023 08:36

Well done you for taking time out and taking care of yourself. Your manager while praising your work has shown you how little respect she has for you. How was she going to explain why others have been promoted and not you. Your absence has thrown a spanner in the works. Those senior to your manager should be asking questions. Why is your team freaking out and working extra time in order to cover certain tasks when you are off. Why are those promoted not able to cover your tasks as easily as you do theirs when they are off.

Good luck with your job interview. I hope it's successful. Be thankful this whole episode has made you realise your own worth. When you return hopefully you will be working your notice in order to move on to better things. If you do stay in your current job it will be with a new attitude knowing how your manager operates. Don't you dare offer any assistance while you are off. Bet your work WhatsApp will keep you 'entertained'

HandsOffMyCarrierBags · 20/01/2023 09:16

You’re doing the right thing!

Patineur · 20/01/2023 10:46

I get on with others very well in my team. We are known as the rowdy bunch who will chat and chat all day with each other.

Are you sure that's a good thing? I'm wondering whether it might have something to do with the gradings they give you. Certainly if a team working under me were constantly chatting all day I'd find it infuriating.

Oblomov22 · 20/01/2023 10:54

Why don't you just ask. Ask for another meeting with your boss. And ask this very question.

Oblomov22 · 20/01/2023 10:57

"I told her a year ago that I wanted a promotion ASAP but the level of support I have received is poor -"

So why didn't you raise this? Both in your appraisal and more importantly before.

There are actually quite a few things in your post that have now become apparent where you do need to deal with these issues and you also need to be more proactive generally

Puffin87 · 20/01/2023 11:19

Qwerty111 · 19/01/2023 18:57

I think the break will do you good OP.

Make sure you stay completely away from your phone or work email (the cheek of them pressuring you to work with COVID!)

There seem to be some quite snide responses on here, so I wanted to say that I’ve seen people in your situation before. Sometimes people (women) are so good at doing a job that the manager doesn’t want to deal with the hassle of replacing them in that role. I think your manager may have found it easier to ignore your requests for development tasks and regular 1:1 meetings because she sees you as the dependable office workhorse, and you’re really useful to plug gaps etc etc.

You won’t get them to see you differently than the box they’ve put you in. None of the effort you’ve put in this year has “counted” and that’s so unfair. I hope you’re taking her “you’ll be my next project” as the empty bs it sounds to me.

Managers where I work were astonished when our office workhorse left - she’d asked to be regraded because she was already basically doing most of the higher role. Nobody listened, so she went and got that role in a different part of the organisation. They were so surprised she’d left them “in the lurch”!

It's not snide. You're likely missing the context of OP's last post:

www.mumsnet.com/talk/work/4607672-feeling-overlooked-at-work

"My work load is pretty much twice as much as everyone else. I don't complain because I like being kept busy"

Vs

"However, any time I have a one to one, or a conversation about my progress, my manager always comments that while my work is impressive, I don't look at "finer details" or take on additional projects. I have argued back that I am assigned twice the workload of some people and I simply do not have time to do this"

"We have promotions coming up which I would like to go for, and think I deserve one, but when push comes to shove, they will likely give it to someone who has completed additional tasks outside the norm which I currently don't have time to do."

"My gripe is, I'm doing the majority of the work, while being told my standards are lower than those who started less than a year ago"

Then relationship with team:

"Its also worthwhile noting that said manager also has a couple of favorites in the team that seem to have less challenging roles and sit and have laughs and giggles throughout the day, even buying each other coffee/lunch"

InsomniacVampire · 20/01/2023 16:28

@Puffin87 I dont see inconsistencies between the two posts.
OP has worked herself to the bone. She has been doing a work for 2 people (at least) which made it impossible for carry out additional projects other people with a lot more free time can take. If the standards were really that low, the manager would nto be giving her the work. The 'missing finer details' seems like a bullshit coput excuse to refuse promotion. It's also easy to tank someone's promotion by giving them an impossible task and then say well, you messed up so no promotion for you. A good line manager gives realistic target and workload.
Instead they have been giving nicer easier tasks to people they like personally and who end up with promotion. If OP was shit at what she does, her work would be easy to take over by all the team, but it clearly is not.
OP is not arguing daily, just thought it was a bit crap that she does all the work and no one seems to appreciate it and is beign taken for granted.

Emmamoo89 · 20/01/2023 16:30

Look for another job

Qwerty111 · 21/01/2023 06:16

Thanks Puffin, that’s explained some of my confusion - I couldn’t figure out how people were inferring x or y from what the OP wrote.

The rest of my post stands though. I don’t think OP’s current management will give her the time or the sort of tasks to prove herself worthy of promotion. She can’t even get them to attend 1:1s with her.