New role at work and feel like everyone is pissed off with me.

[Tanfastic]

I work in a small professional office with ten staff (won't say what in case it outs me). I'm the longest serving employee of and I'm the boss's assistant. We've never had any kind of office manager or HR department as such with us being such a small team and have always kind of muddled through with basically everyone doing what they want to do. This has caused some problems and bad feeling between employees in the past.

Last year we had a problem with a member of staff that needed to go down the disciplinary route. None of the bosses wanted to deal with it preferring to brush it under the carpet in the hope it would go away. I (naively) volunteered to sort it out and it was then decided that I would be the main HR /personnel person and an email was sent round the office by the boss to say that everything should now be directed to me and not to them. Anyway I sorted the problem employee out and her performance has now improved somewhat.

I always thought I had a pretty good working relationship with my colleagues, lunches out etc but since this has happened I've felt a change.to be frank I just feel like most of them now hate me. I expected an adjustment period because maybe I'm now not viewed as "one of the girls" but it's starting to piss me off.

Because we've never had any proper procedures for sickness, taking holidays etc and appraisals I've started implementing some proper procedures but rather than being heavy handed and laying down the law what I've tended to do is email everybody asking what they think of the idea or whether they have any other ideas. Every single member of staff has so far ignored my emails. I've raised this with my boss and she says it's because they don't like to be policed but it's tough, they'll have to get used to it.

I've always been viewed as someone with a no nonsense approach but I think so far in my new role I've done pretty good, even getting one of them more holidays and another a wage rise. My bosses seem pretty happy the pressure has been taken off them.

So I guess I just stick it out and rather than asking them what they think just bloody well go ahead and do it? They have obviously all got the hump that they can't now just swan around and do what they want.

I just wondered if anybody else has any tips about dealing with this kind of thing and developing a thicker skin etc? Maybe any office managers etc?

"Anyway I sorted the problem employee out"

This is the problem. I work with loads of small businesses and, as you can imagine, bosses' PAs taking on some HR responsibility is common. But it normally involves administering holiday, keeping the personnel files, that type of thing. HR don't discipline people or appraise people or "sort them out", they advise managers how to do it, and provide a framework of procedures and guidance.

Your boss seems to be trying to offload the unpleasant and unpopular bits of managing rather than HR. Do these people report into you? Sorting out people who don't report to you is going to result in problems.

Flowery you are correct, they don't want to deal with it so hence me taking over that role, which is fine, I don't mind really, I'm enjoying the challenge apart from the change in atmosphere.

They've told everybody they are to report to me (they are hardly in the office). So any problems in the office or people wanting to leave early, etc gets reverted to me. once or twice recently a couple of staff have gone to them only to be told, can you ask tantastic.

They seem to be struggling with that.

You can either be in management or their mate. Not both.

I hope you negotiated a fab new pay rise with your new role.

You need to sit down with the management and decide on your actual role; the role of HR is to back up the management, but they should be managing their staff; otherwise your role needs to be office manager with HR...

I'd also stop trying to be friends with them. You are now privvy to things they aren't, it's not fair to try and be their mate any more.

Yes I think you are right, I have the feeling I've not been particularly welcome at recent social events anyway

You also need to make sure you are doing things properly and legally, not just how you feel is fair etc., to protect yourself and the firm. Unfortunately HR by it's very nature means people are sidelined because they need to stay neutral to everyone.

it is human nature, you are now the enemy, and I hope you have a pay rise.

it will however look good on your cv, have you a new title?