Expected to start teams meetings?

[surrpundedby]

I’ve started a new job and my diary for now is very empty with few meetings and there’s quite a lot of training material that I have to go through.

My manager is always in back to back meetings and he’s put two 30 minute catchups in with me for the first month. From experience meetings tend to overrun so I’ve waited for him to be ready for our call and then I’ll hop on as I’m just reading - or he might need a loo break or get a drink.

Today it got to 5 past our meeting and he messaged me to say “are you joining”. So I started the call and he said that I am expected to always start the meetings.

Obviously once I’m more busy I won’t even give it a second thought as to who starts a meeting, but this seems such a weird rule to me.

Sitting staring at a screen? Guaranteed that’s not happening.

You said yourself he’s in back to back meetings… so he’s busy. Just join the call then he knows you are there and can jump into the call with you.

Life is too short.

Yes gen z is the people in their 20s/
late teens and below them is gen alpha

That thread was also wild.

I think OP has posted several threads under a different username about her last job, all with the same style of fixating on one specific aspect and becoming quite belligerent about it.

Have you told him your thought process, that you were waiting for him to be ready and then when you got a notification that he'd started it, you would join?

I think I would lean towards liking the people that I manage to just start the meeting, have it on mute and then I will join when I can. I am also often in overunning or back to back meetings. I think because you're new and you want to show good time management and competency, I would just join and ready waiting for him. However, I think if you have told him your thought process it doesn't necessarily look bad.

@surrpundedby

It is pulling a power move. It’s not a legitimate reason to not start a meeting because you think a junior person is beneath you.

I think you are looking for a reason to get offended. An established manager is further up the pecking order so yes they can call the shots. They don't necessarily think you are beneath them. They are just busier than you & want you to be prompt. I find it bizarre you don't just join the meeting at the allocated time.

@onlyone

I suspect millennial too 🤷🏻‍♀️

It was another poster who said that it was a convention where they worked. And another poster said she'd be annoyed if a junior person waited until she'd joined the meeting to join.

So much standing on ceremony in workplaces. Honestly. Just join a meeting if you are ready, or send a message if you need a comfort break between back to back meetings. It's not about how senior you are. It's about keeping the other person informed and respecting their time.

I do think people should join meetings at the allocated time but the rest is just wasting time and effort. However senior you are, if you have a meeting at 11 and you are ready to join at 11, join at 11!

No wonder productivity is rubbish in the UK if people are so worried about their status.

And the slagging off certain generations is stupid too. The only thing people of a certain age have in common is common cultural references.

Beyond that people are, gasp DIFFERENT. They have different hobbies, interests, skills and personalities. Who'd have thunk it?

I wouldn't put too much effort into reading those training materials, OP. I don't think you're going to need them for long.

Couldn’t agree more. I despair at times this need to constantly question just because you don’t want to do something or heaven forbid do something that seems inferior.

As a general point millennials seem to believe that constant questioning makes them confident and strong BUT they question the wrong things. I love a good challenge on an idea or decision but not on a minor process.

I see it constantly this misguided belief that questioning authority makes a person confident.

Where was the thinking about trying to impress, being proactive, doing the right thing etc. instead the focus and point is on how the manager didn’t behave the way she wanted.

I report to the Board of a large multinational company and guess what if they want something I do it. I am also described as confident, smart and strong. I don’t say this to brag at all but rather show that acting like this isn’t acceptable.

It isn’t a power move at all and your inability to see this is concerning.

You attitude sucks. You work for them (and yes the company). Be a good employee and help your manager if they ask you do something. If they are in back to back meetings they aren’t staring at a screen and the next meeting prompt is helpful.

Also, since you seem to not understand this at all sometimes you can’t start the next meeting if you are already in one unless your leave. It gives you a prompt to say sorry got to go and join the next meeting.

Your desire to be annoyed at your manager during a new job in probabtion and not understand that you are wrong would be a red flag for me.

Whether you like it or not you are paid to be there and small innocuous requests from your manager should be seen as an opportunity to help when you aren’t that busy and show team spirit. Seriously step back and consider how this looks to your manager.

If a new employee was turning up 5 mins late, I'd be worried. You just have training stuff to manage whereas he's jam packed with meetings, so the courteous thing to do is be available on time and wait for him.

Oh dear. This doesn't bode well!

These posts are utterly ridiculous. There are 15 MILLION millennials in the UK, but here we have one OP with an attitude problem and some people decide all 15 million are the same. I'm not sure how you came to be on a board with that kind of dim thinking.

What? Millennials are in their thirties and early forties. The majority of the MN demographic I should think.

Why are you having a pop at them?

OP is a fool, but I doubt her date of birth is relevant.

Not that smart if you haven't figured out that (a) millenials are not the young folks in the workplace any more (they're mostly in their 30s, some are even in their 40s!) and (b) lumping together a whole age cohort to comment on their supposed shared character traits makes about as much sense as astrology.

The comments about 'millenials' on this thread are utterly batshit. It's as if "millenial" is now shorthand for "young person I disagree with", despite the fact that millenials are mostly middle-aged these days.

On what basis? What is about the OP that screams "I'm in my 30s or early 40s" to you?

Fair, but I made that point ‘generally’ and would stand by what I said with replacing that word with new into the work place.

As I have said I make that point generally and your point if fair and while I stand by what I have said I would chance it to ‘new into the workplace’z

Okay as I have said three times now I made that point generally and while your point is fair I would reword with new into the workplace.

i have a genius IQ and considered to be very smart, emotionally intelligent and a leader in the business so not dim at all but thanks for the feedback.

This thread is a riot. Lost track of time on my lunch reading it and was late to a Teams meeting.

😂God I love MN sometimes.

I feel exactly the same.