Want to leave job after one day

[safetyfreak]

I work in a council and recently transferred team.

I had been stressed in my old role and had high hopes for my new team, I have a young family and was told by colleagues the new team would be less stressful however, I have found out this is not true at all. My caseload will be much higher, and my manager seems to have taken an instant dislike to me.

There is a lot of new information I must learn by reading documents etc, during this I had 3 meetings with her and a visit. She also tried to put more work on me as I be “bored” so now I am co working a case with another colleague. I feel she is trying to overwhelm me with work and information. Its been one day!

What is worse, I find my manager intimidating and I find her manner towards me quite hostile. She has challenged me throughout our meetings, for example asking me what I know and giving me 3 minutes to tell her everything I learnt today about the team process. There has been no reassurance, no welcome to the team…it feels like she does not want me there.

She has also made it clear she be giving me lots of work.

My stomach been in knots, I cried and hardly eaten because I feel so anxious and realised, I made a mistake. If my manager was nice and supportive, I would have given the team a go but I feel its her which will make the work unbearable.

I am worried about money and worried I will become black listed from other teams, I know legally they cannot but if managers talk to each other in private it wont look good on me? I was with my old team for 6 years and never had any issues with managers or supervisors.

Will it look bad if I asked to transfer teams again? At this point I feel its unlikely I be able to stay long as my mental health is suffering after only one day. I feel physcially sick that I have to go into work today and have more meetings with her.

It does sound like a full on first day, and her style sounds abrupt, maybe. Are you able to reframe it in your head? Imagine what someone confident and happy would say in response to her questions and say that?

Have a word with your old boss. Yes managers will talk to each other, but they will also talk about each other, so I don't think you will be blacklisted. Life is too short and we spend too much time at work for it to make us stressed and miserable. Give it another couple of days if you like, as first few days are always crap until we get into the swing, but you amd your mental health are your priority here.

It sounds like she is putting you through your paces OP and you are finding it understandably challenging.

I don't mean to be dismissive of what you are saying, but are you sure that she dislikes you, or is this just her manner as a manager? How is she with the rest of the team?

Some managers are like this because they want to get the best out of their team and they see a no-nonsense approach as being the best way to get people to work. She's probably trying to make sure you're on your toes and busy.

I don't think that asking you what you know/ to summarise what you have learned is hostile - it's her job as a manager to challenge you and check what you've learned - that is just her approach. She's not necessarily trying to catch you out.

How do you think she'd respond if you told her you have a lot to take in and are feeling a bit overloaded?

Sometimes, managers who can seem quite abrupt are actually very understanding if you actually sit down and talk to them in a one to one setting.

I’ve learned in life it’s probably
not you it’s the manager/ team so it’s not
personal.

Could you give it a few weeks? Do you have a good enough relationship with your manager that you could ask if you could return to that team? X