What have I done?!

[imnothavingagoodtime]

6 months ago I started. New role, quite senior, public sector. I’ve spent my whole career in the private sector and I was excited for the change. The role is something im very experienced in.

it’s not all bad, flexible hours, hybrid, mostly lovely people, BUT it’s a new role for the organisation and it’s nothing like the JD or what I’m used to. I was told I didn’t need technical knowledge of what they do but most of the time I have no idea what people are talking about and it’s quite boring stuff. They seem to be in chaos much of the time, reacting to government demands and taking so long to do simple things that nothing ever really seems to get done or have a clear direction. The approval process for everything is mental.

There is an MD who is new in, newer than me and didn’t have a role in my recruitment, she’s taking parts of the role that should be mine and leading on them, not because I’ve messed up, I’ve not even been given the chance. She will ask my manager to ask me to do certain things rather than asking me directly and it’s often gets lost in translation. Plus they will hold meetings where I am assigned tasks and then forget to tell me! Eg today I was chased for work I knew nothing about.

i feel like a well paid admin. I’ve tried to professionally raise the issues by asking for clarify on my role but it’s not forthcoming.

i don’t know what to do. I’m starting to hate it and wonder if I should start looking for something else or wait and see if things settle down. However, I feel the role on paper will be never be the role that exists in reality.

Would you start looking around? Give it longer?

I'd start looking, but also have a serious conversation with your manager... Are there any peers you can speak to, or ask for a mentor elsewhere in the org who you could get advice off?

I feel like I’ve not been there long enough to exert myself too much and there is no one I trust enough yet to confide in them. I’m worried if I bring up how I’m truly feeling they ought say ‘well actually now you mention it, we’ve decided the role isn’t quite working!

I should add I’ve been marked as on track or exceeds expectations so far!

It sounds like you're not suited to public sector. Taking too long to do everything is classic public sector. Every management consultancy worth its salt has gone into LG, CG and the NHS but they never achieve anything as sadly the culture is just so ingrained.

It depends what is most important to you - an easier life and an outstanding pension or pace, order and your sanity. 🤣

Don’t be too hard on yourself, in my experience working in public sector sometimes the senior role job specs are fairly generic and high level so you don’t really know what you’ll be doing.. you may have the opportunity to mould it into your own role given time. Also get used to things being relaxed and not getting done compared to private sector.. but also it isn’t as much of an issue.

@BlingersMcBling @HoskinsChoice Thanks for your replies. The thing is it doesn’t feel like an easier life, it’s hugely stressful and I’m constantly thinking about work, I often dream about work! I frequently work extra hours too.

My Husabnd works for a public sector giant and his job is also always stressful. I’ve said to him before that work is sometime meant to be enjoyable, fun even - but now I see his point of view!

I work in the private sector but supply to the public sector to a point where at times I'm required to be embedded into a public sector department for 1 to 2 months at a time. So I genuinely get to see it from both sides. With regard to fun, the big difference is that the public sector is solely there to deliver. Politicians set strategy and public sector organisations do as they're told and deliver it. In the private sector there are no rules. Yes there's strategy and delivery but there's also growth and challenge and competition and enterpreneurialism. It is so much more pacey and dynamic as there's a perpetual need to compete and drive profit. It's too different worlds. So I agree, it can still be hard work but there's none of the fun of commerciality. LG is still collecting our bins and faffing around with planning applications etc etc now as they were 50 years ago. They're leaner and better at doing it now (and there is still so much scope for improved efficiency) but it's still bins and planning applications.

Public sector workers serve whatever the political party in power wants. They have existing policies but can decide to change things, and civil servants pivot to deliver.

That’s just how it is.

It all takes a long time due to the various management clearance processes.

As for the lost in translation issues, you should be having
1-2-1s wirh your manager and that can be raised then.

Senior staff cannot just ask you to do tasks directly without going through your manager. The manager must know what her staff are doing at all times in order to allocate work and provide support. And for annual appraisals etc.
Otherwise some capable staff end up bogged down while the others are free.
If she’s not passing in the correct details of the request then this must change. You can always ask your manager tge questions and if she pauses at one of them to consider and appears not to know, you can always ask if you can go confirm the full details with the SEO or whomever it was asking for the work.

I am an NHS Nurse, senior now and have been nursing 30 years. 2 years ago we set up an new service which was rolled out by NHS England. I was also new to the Trust which was hard after 24 years in my last one. It has been a bit of a shit show - poor management style with new jerk reactions rather than any actually planning of the service. We have fumbled around and made a go of it over the 2 years and now NHS England have changed the goal posts again so we are back to being in turmoil. It never ends.

I would honestly say it will take a long time to settle and then likely change again as services and demands change. If you don't like that aspect of it then yes get out asap.

Yes this is what it feels like. They went through I massive change when the government came in and now it’s changing again and there appears to be very limited time to do this pivot. Perhaps I just need to get used to this way of working but I’m not sure I want to work under stress the whole time.

im sorry about NHS England, I can’t imagine bringing it into the DHSC will make it more efficient but on the other hand, I’m spending a lot of time in appointments at the moment and something needs to change!

I think what I’m used to is periods of pressure where targets need to be hit and / or workloads are excessive, but then things settle and it’s BAU and it feels quite nice and even ‘fun’ at times (not often tbf 😂). But this just feels as if it’s one crisis to another, it’s never settles and it’s never fun!