Late stage - work boundaries

[lemondropsandallsorts]

Firstly, I get my work done. I have always gone above and beyond to ensure I was a good little worker bee. I have been at the job 8 years now, have a great office culture and no red flags at all. My coworkers are all great.

Two weeks ago, I was setting up a conference room and had moved the partition to separate it into one large room and one small room. My direct boss and her peer walked into the big room, not realising I was in the little room, and were chitchatting about the teams.

I was just about to announce myself when my direct boss mentioned that she was not going to offer me the promotion I had gone for. She immediately fired back to the shocked response of her peer to say that I was brilliant in my role, indispensable and deserved the promotion, but frankly, as the absolute workhorse of the team, she needed me to stay where I was.

Her peer mentioned that it didn't seem very fair, and my direct boss said something along the lines of (I was reeling at this point and my recollection gets a bit fuzzy) being a manager, you have to look at the bigger picture and the bigger picture was I served her and the overall team better staying where I was.

At that point people started trailing into their room for a meeting so the conversation stopped. The whole thing happened in the matter of seconds. I felt like I had been punched. (luckily, I was on leave for a while after, but I was emailed later to say I had not got the job. I had been so close, but hadn't done quite enough at the interview. But I was a shoe in for the next round of promotions in about a year, or maybe two - if I kept up the good work)

Every fibre of my being wanted to act rashly, hand in my notice and flounce or rant back to the email - but I have just finished a work-based qualification (in preparation for the promotion) and I will have to pay the cost back if I leave within a set period of time. Also, I have bills to pay.

So, to the point of this post.

I NEED to become less available for about a year (after that I don't need to pay the training bill and my house buying process will all be done to a change won't mess up my mortgage offer). My work only does tombstone references - so I am not worried about a sudden lack of enthusiasm showing up on references if I end up going external.

So ladies, give you tips for just doing the job you are paid for - but not a single damn thing above and bejond because I need to sit this out for a year and the only way I can cope is by planning how to unmake myself indispensable.

You have an opportunity here. Think very carefully and make sure you get the position on your terms.

Blimey what a great thread OP. Although obviously I'm sorry you were treated so badly.

But what a turnaround! This may all work out for you in the end. AND a lesson for you on work, life, balance.

Agree with your friend!

Might be a good time to check in with big boss and seek promotion and - with subtlety - express you’ve been ‘put in a box’.

Is posted my reply without reading the whole thread - so my advice no longer applies!

Don’t do anything yet, have a think and another chat with your friend.

Keep your head down for now, and carry on being excellent!

@unbelieveable22 So Dude has been in his position for a few weeks and handed his notice in, coinciding with your manager going off sick 🤔

Indeed!

OP, because of the qualifications your friend does have a point.

Head down and see how things play out.
Perhaps with a good enough package you might take it and continue job hunting?

Possibly the best play is to get solid post qualification experience with the title in hand.

It will make you more employable.
Perhaps one of your conditions could be that debt being written off.

Everything is possible when a company is badly stuck I have long noticed.

I would sleep on it overnight. Then if you want to put yourself forward go direct to the big boss to make your case.

Sleep on it but seriously consider approaching the big boss and saying, seeing as A is off sick and B is leaving, I'm happy to step up to a more senior role to support the business. I've already been interviewed so it would be easy to appoint me to an appropriate role.

i agree with your friend- think on it. Btw you friend sounds great i have one just like her on your side (they can be rare) You go girl !

Before I had the chance to sleep on it, it was advised at knocking off time yesterday that they were 'looking for people to step up and help out'.

I clarified if it would be paid or a possible try before you buy temp to perm situation, but it is not going to be as they are looking to restructure instead. So it's just holding the line until they decide what the new format is going to look like.

Excitement over.

So another opportunity to get an extra pound of flesh out of you again?

Hold the line. Don't be used.

Bah

Say you’ll be Acting Manager if you get that title and payrise for however long it takes. Hopefully they would just confirm the promotion after a while. If not, when your year is up, you’ll have that role on your CV. Even better, you’d still be Acting Manager when you
left (because they were trying to have their cake and eat it) and they’d be left in the sh*t

I agree with others that you should hold firm. However, it sounds like a quite politically tricky situation and you will also need to step carefully. I think that there should be a way to present your case in a positive way that doesn't seem slimy to the people in charge.

Example: "big boss, I would like to speak with you. I understand that my business area has been temporarily left without a key senior point person. I have supported my manager in key tasks for x amount of time and am very familiar with the demands of the role. I am already well known in the organisation and I would be happy to step up during this time. However, to have credibility among colleagues and to avoid confusion, I think that it would appropriate for me to have a title which would make this role clear, such as Acting XXX "

How are you feeling now, after actually sleeping on it though, OP? I'd be willing to discuss promotion now. Fly your flag?

@BeesAndCrumpets

I have a deep distrust of unpaid 'acting up' to help out a business. I every single case I have seen the person gets screwed over - either you are formally good enough for the promotion, or you are not. (The only exception to this rule was a rising star who was jumping grades; acting up was used to see if they could operate at the new level)

My view of 'acting up' is management using it as a tool to stop a crisis, but when calmer heads prevail, the person acting up fairly gets moved into the slot they help out for.

They get a big thank you in a company-wide meeting and 'Can I have a big round of applause for Lisa' 'Thank you for all your hard work Lisa and for keeping the team on course during this transition, but I am pleased to say that we have now hired externally and Jane will be joining the team from the end of the month'

^not actual names but something that did happen at a previous workplace years ago

I would just like to say how much I'm enjoying your thread OP. So interesting.

You’d still have it on your CV in a year’s time though.

It's so interesting, and I don't disagree with your views - I can't help but thinking the stars are aligning for you though...

So …. Suppose you say you’ll do it, with the ‘Acting’ title and a commensurate addition to your salary while you have the role. After a couple of months, start looking actively for a job. When you’re offered one you want, put in your resignation. They may well instantly offer to make the promotion permanent. If not, accept the new job and leave them in deep do-doo, without a new Dude and without you

this may leave you having to repay the training costs unless you can get a new employer to pick them up. But your prospects would also be lifted by the enhancement to your CV, so might be worth the hit

I think you're shooting yourself in the foot if you don't go for it OP. You can still leave if they appoint someone else eventually. But just not going for it seems a waste of your training, and you won't have that more senior position on your CV to use to get a better job.

OP, I would have a word with the person who said they are 'looking for people to step up and help out', and explain as neutrally as possible what your line manager said.

Not to open a grievance but to ask them to clarify what are their views about performance management in general and if, in this case, "going above and beyond" can open the door to a promotion, or it will be just a one-off effort (that can also ask for its own reward, such as TOIL, bonuses)

Because what your manager does goes against the company's best interest, you don't block (and demotivate) a motivated and overperforming employee because it makes your life comfortable.

Explain how you have always gone above and beyond, and that's what you would like to keep on doing, especially now the company needs it, but you don't want to be caught again in a "too indispensable to promote" or for your extra contributions not to be seen.

They probably don't know the extent of it themselves and don't understand why you don't want to step up as usual, you need to clear that up before misunderstandings arise.

And this is the moment. You have good creds with top management, the role crisis is now, she is not there to muddle the waters. I would speak now.

What addition to my salary?

They have said they want someone to 'help out' until they have considered how they are going to rejig the department - they very clearly said it would not be paid, not temp to perm. It is just a stopgap and they are looking for a team player to step in.

In that case, busy yourself re-arranging your pen tray.

They want a martyr, not a team player. No-one's going to step up in those circs so bide your time

(I apologise - i had misread your update)

I agree with this. If someone covers that role without pay, that enables them to take their sweet time in replacing the boss, saving money as they go. They can pay someone if they want the role to be covered.

Wait and see if someone mentions it to you, OP. Then you can say that you did this once before, went for promotion and it didn't work out, so you won't be doing it again as you're not convinced that this kind of informal tryout for a role works in your organisation. Given that you've already decided to look elsewhere when your year is up, I would be once bitten, twice shy on doing extra work for free.