Management issues at work, or is it me?

[Itseducational358]

I'm in the Civil Service, was promoted a couple of months ago from Admin Officer (junior) to Executive Officer (slightly higher but still junior)

I've come from an AO role where I believe I did well, management were happy with me etc. We had a clear 'target' of 3 phone calls per hour which I met.

Something new to me in this EO role is that there is no defined target. I did ask, but there is no minimum number of cases we have to clear per day, it's just as many as you can do. We have to do the work of people who are on leave or sick, which of course is fine but it's not clear who does what. For instance he'll say 'John is off this week, he's got 25 outstanding cases, decide between yourselves who's doing what'. For me that's not our job, he should be delegating it equally and it will always create inconsistencies.

Next are his inconsistencies as a manager. I was in training myself so wasn't privy to what happened but he sent a Teams message out saying 'Sorry I've been a bit of a prick this week'. On one hand it's good he apologised, on the other he shouldn't be acting like that in the first place at work?
The flexi is another issue. Our department requires 60% office attendance, but we all go in on different days and hours. I've come from a role with fixed shifts so this is new to me.

We're meant to work 7.5 hours per day, I've seen numerous staff in the team leave at lunchtime, the manager himself will sometimes disappear himself for a few hours then log back on at home, my old manager did that too. I asked my manager if I could book annual leave for a half day. He said oh don't worry as long as you work 3.75 hours on one day and make the hours up the next you're fine, im very chill about that bla bla.

So I thought ok great, and planned my hours next week around that. To make sure i wasn't taking the piss I asked him, so for clarification I can complete my 3.75 hours in the office each time then the rest at home? His reply? HA no, you need to do your 7.5 hours.

His actual reply was HA. I don't appreciate being patronised and spoken to like that, I've emailed both him and HR for official guidance on office hours and flexi, not what he feels like that day, because I have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing and I'm being given inconsistent information.

I'm mid 30s and so at least another 30-35 years of this. I've only been in this department for 6 months and don't want to move yet again, but I'm unhappy with the micromanagement. I've come to realise that junior grade operational Civil service frontline roles are usually all the same shit! How do I manage this?

I feel like he has a side I don't like, you also don't know where you stand with him. In some ways he's over familiar and calls us all dudes, legends, mate, bro etc.
The next minute he will send you very firm emails with, there is NO EXCUSE not to have your work done by today. So I try to keep a professional distance. My previous manager would just say, can you do X task please, and that was it, no drama.

For the requirements of a role, (on a wider Civil Service basis) there isn’t an explicit target
Each individual role has its job description and annual objectives/goals

The measurement of an objective/goal could be a number (such as the 3 calls) or an outcome (getting the job done, meeting a target date etc)

For time management, the hours need to be covered. That’s either explicit hours such as 9 to 5 with lunch, or flexi time scheme with a +/- allowance to carry over, meaning you could work 7 hours one day and catch up another
For in office / WFH / hybrid the overall target is 60% in office (which can mean at an alternative workplace if your department uses government hubs etc, or site visits if applicable)

How you operate is defined in principle by the government department, and then in agreement within your department / team / manager

I would have taken the first example to be a one off half day for a reason was fine to make up but not to change your weekly working pattern longer term?

He sounds like a pretty hands off manager who treats his team like grown ups and gives them the chance to step up. Good on him. There are too many micromanagers around.

He doesn't sound perfect but it's not unusual for people to be flexible as a one off or in conversation, but then to resist allowing the same thing as standard, or putting it in writing.

The apology - impossible to judge without knowing what he was apologising for.

The sort the work between yourselves - depends on the team and the culture if this is a good strategy or not. If it's causing specific problems, ask him to intervene.

You really seem to be watching his movements very critically. Managers aren't saints or heros. They're there to do a job. If you need him to do something for you in the job, ask him.

Maybe ask for a mentor at your level with more experience working in the department, and that might help with picking up what's normal and expected

It sounds like you weren't ready or are not used to the step up where you manage your own workloads.

Sorting out cover for an absent person is fairly simple to do between colleagues and will depend on what they have on and their capacity.

Whilst his style may be questionable to some extent it certainly sounds the opposite of micromanaging and that you are uncomfortable with being expected to get on with your own caseload and not take the piss regarding wfh/office/flexi. As someone else pointed out doing 3.75 and then going off for an appointment and making time up every now and then is totally different to making that your weekly work pattern.