Employee hasn't liked her role for the past 4 years

[holidayblues25]

I started in my new role as manager 6 months ago and she just came back from ML.

My manager (who used to manage her) just told me she hasn't been happy for many, many years, but that she has stayed even though it's very apparent she isn't happy.

We're thinking of starting to involve HR as her quality of work is subpar (she's already been on a PIP before).

I'm new to this role so don't really know how to proceed. When it happened to me, my then manager told me she's help me "leave" (although my circumstances were slightly different).

So AIBU to think we need to build a case? Being unhappy is obviously not a reason for dismissal. Or somebody has to be brutally honest with her, but that might backfire.

She's most certainly a mid level professional (even within her original role).

Is she in a mid-level professional post though, was the job post redundancy a demotion?

How you manage her depends on what you want here, her being happy at work isn’t your responsibility if she chooses to stay in a job she doesn’t like. So do you want her to leave, to perform to a higher level, to work towards promotion?

There are loads of people in roles they hate and it's usually because they need to pay the bills and/or know they won't attract the same salary elsewhere.

If she's unhappy, because of the roll and not other factors, then that's not your issue to address, it's hers.

Has she been back from maternity leave sufficiently long to review her actual performance or are you basing it from history performance? You can't put her on a PIP for pre ML performance.

Whether the role changed etc is completely irrelevant.

She is being paid now to do x, y and z. Therefore to remain in the role she has to do x, y and z to the satisfactory standard.

The employee has just returned from maternity leave and you have only been in this management role for six months. You should not base any of your decisions on what the previous manager has said. You need to form your own opinion of her work, over a period of months (especially when she's just been out of the workplace for up to a year).

If they are too admin heavy then can she lead on an initiative to reduce an over engineered process?

I really think a PIP and dismissal is entirely inappropriate here. It’s very sledgehammer/walnut.

You need to be working with her to help her find a role she will enjoy. Get her to do a gap analysis on her competencies and get her to practice applications ( offer to feedback on them or find someone on the wider team who is good at job applications to help), find her a mentor in the wider business, get her to do some online training and in the meantime ask her to do specific tasks/ give her some interesting work. If her attitude sucks then address that separately but I bet if you show an interest in her instead of trying to manage her out it will improve tenfold.

My manager (who used to manage her) just told me she hasn't been happy for many, many years, but that she has stayed even though it's very apparent she isn't happy.

We're thinking of starting to involve HR as her quality of work is subpar (she's already been on a PIP before).

That would be her manager failing to manage and now that you are in the sacked for bullying crosshairs and her ex-manager is not, her ex-manager is ready to act?

Red flags:

• 5 years ago the employee was moved rather than the company pay redundency amount
• why was she on a PIP and was "passed" by her ex-manager and then the ex-manager let the standard slip
• the low standard as set by the ex-manager is the same as when she left the job so the current PIP would be an improvement on the pre Mat leave standard
• she is just back from one of the most protected leaves in UK employment law.
• when she was not made redundant she was kept on at an above market rate salary and is unlikely to find a matching paid role easily.
• you currently cant manage her on a day to day basis and have no idea how to manage a PIP.
• Your manager is expecting you to clean up her mess as the first big project of your management career

Her happiness is irrelevant. The only relevant bit is this: We're thinking of starting to involve HR as her quality of work is subpar (she's already been on a PIP before).

If her performance is sub-par, she needs to improve or leave.

If, as part of that conversation, she raises taht she's not happy in the role, and you can offer some alternatives that might make her more happy and therefore improve her work, great. Win. But if you can't, then so be it, she improves or leaves.

Just wanted to clarify that when her role was made redundant, she had only been 1 year in her role, so no redundancy pay was due.

I think the put her in her current role out of "good will" but obviously I'm not entirely sure.

Loads of people are unhappy in their jobs. Not everyone lives to work but unfortunately most people have to

Ask yourself why there is a "rush" after 3+ years in the role & Mat leave. There will be a reason why it did not happen before.
Plus be cynical when assessing your managers motives and take is as a warning of how she may manage you in the future too.

If she is going on a PIP make very very sure that you are getting direct management instructions from your manager and HR are guiding the process and even sitting in on the meetings to documenting the process. And benchmark against any other employees at the same level as her.

I think you need to be careful posting this in here because there is quite a lot of identifying detail that could lead her to recognise herself.

I understand why some posters are saying you need to get HR support or management training.

But if you posted an AIBU of "why do some people stay in jobs they hate for so long" I'd kind of agree with you. Some people want the organisation to be like a parent who sorts everything out for them and actually they need to take responsibility for their own lives and look for the job they want.

OP I am feeling nervous for you. Please seek HR advice before you make any major mistakes.

And really make sure you have objective measures of how she is under-performing and what is expected of her. Being unhappy in a job is not a justifiable reason to get rid of somebody.

A lot of people are unhappy in their role, I think that’s irrelevant. The only relevance should be whether she is underperforming or not. A lot of people quietly quit their job. Ie they come in do what they need to and leave. Again only a problem if they are underperforming. Sounds like the business has mugged her off, I would t blame her for being unhappy .

The issue is she’s not performing. The fact that she’s unhappy is irrelevant. If another employee loves her job but was shit, would you approach it the same. Go to HR and manage her out.

Of course I know attitude is no justification for a PIP but I still find it baffling

What do you find baffling? That someone would stay in a secure, well
paid job that they don’t particularly enjoy? She presumably has bills to pay and knew she’d need maternity leave. Lots of people stay in jobs they don’t particularly enjoy, it’s no reason to manage her out.

I know that, and I've been in her shoes but

a) I've never openly said I disliked my job
b) be closed to any other options
c) stayed for that long

All the jobs I've ended up disliking I've left within months not years and years later.

Plus saying that she's too experienced for her role, when you objectively she isn't.

Have you had any GDPR training. I think you need some urgently.

You need to get this advice from HR or a mentor not from Mumsnet

Has the OP had any training?

a) I've never openly said I disliked my job
b) be closed to any other options
c) stayed for that long

Good for you, life works differently for different people. Her reasons for staying are none of your business to be honest, as her manager you have a duty to treat her fairly and legally, regardless of how happy she is at work and her motivation for not leaving.

I have had a similar situation where someone else was unhappy in role and underperforming. Hadn't been properly managed.
Kept saying that the assignments given were not right for various reasons, always an excuse why this particular thing she was asked to do was not possible to do well etc. She was a mat leave returner. Basically untouchable.

We waited an appropriate amount of time to allow her to settle back into the role, i think 4 to 6 months, then gave her an assignment which had clear outcomes/deliverables so we could track performance with a view to putting her on a PIP if she didn't perform.
She started it and then never finished because she got pregnant again and then went off on sick leave and had OH confirm she wasn't able to have any stress.
She's about to come back again to work now. We will have to do the same ie allow a settling back period and then specific assignment and then see how she performs.
It's a long slow process and you need proper advice and everything has to be measurable and documented and the appropriate support given etc. You can't put a foot wrong. So definitely get help

If she's really unhappy then I agree it would be better to proactively look for another job.
Sometimes people don't do this because of pension schemes, flexibility req /child care, not many alternatives locally that match pay package or simply just being stuck in a rut. If she's just had a baby I'm guessing she wanted to ensure she would be entitled to maternity benefit.

Perhaps the company has treated her badly? I've have seen this happen before,almost a constructive dismissal situation.

But I think you need to develop a relationship with her and unpick what is really happening. Perhaps ask for extra management training with HR to have those conversations?

You’ll find more unhappy people than happy.

Loads of ppl don't like their jobs, I'm not sure why you find that shocking.