Robot boss

[flumpybear]

Hi - we have a new boss - she's very dynamic, making tons of changes and generally 'ok' albeit a bit of a control freak but I'm senior yet sideways enough for that not to bother me too much

She's in her 30's and reasonably well educated, but is single and literally works all the time. She has sympathy, though we're in an industry that relies way way WAY too much on people working many extra hours for no money, it's constant because the business doesn't want to invest in administration or management

She doesn't get it that others can't work 7am til 10 pm then get up in the middle of the night to work ... she's single, no kids, driven (like I was at her age) but others I work with are struggling because she doesn't get it that emails go unanswered or there's insufficient time to fit things in a 'timely manner' (other depts ... our departments are crazy busy so fast paced)

Yet she feels that the 100+ emails we get a day should be answered ... i'd literally spend 7 hours answering emails and often start meetings at 8am finishing at 4-5pm ... where do you do emails and actual work?! I often do work in between but surely somethings got to give ... fair enough if it's transient but not daily grind - literally we'd need full working weeks plus probably 2-4 hours extra per day

My working day is fast paced, constantly on edge about getting work done. I'd love to say I was as dynamic as i was 15 years ago, young and full of get up and go... but these days I'm investing they time in my family ( and own mental health so I don't break ... like I have done before when I was literally broken by work ... along with 4 out of my 5 colleagues ....). We're all senior management by the way with specialist skills

What is this called and how do you articulate it well?!

I’ve known people like that, full of nervous energy. They can’t seem to slow down... until they burn out.
Do you want to broach the subject and with whom? Do you want to help her become more aware?

Thanks @7Worfs ... honestly flid don't think she'd realise or consider that acceptable for her

Part of the problem is she's flirting in and likely to leave quickly whilst we're in for the long haul

New measures v what's worked and notmworked in the past ... 👀

Well I'm in law which can have a similar culture. For what it's worth, my recommendation is to smile and nod, cut as many corners as possible, and just get on with it. Answer as many emails as possible and block out time for actually getting work done (turn off your phone if you need to.

People like that just won't listen if you try to have a rational discussion about finite resources. It'll just put them on the defensive and make them more control-freaky.

She won't last long. If you have a specialist skill and aren't a jerk it's very unlikely anything serious will happen to you.

Yep, what puppet said... listen to what she’s proposing, adopt things that are genuine improvement and ignore unreasonable ideas and expectations.

Part of leadership is to get people to follow you willingly. She either needs to learn or leave.

Speed read emails she sends and pick a few to respond to that shows you're ticking the right boxes. She'll soon be over this honeymoon period, and be part of the furniture like everyone else.

Use [ .. ] in the subject field of your emails to categorise the content within, like the Military do

[ FYI ]
[ Action Reqd ]
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Straight-face it, don't show a flicker of emotion, keep all interaction 100% factual. Don't express an opinion, it will never end well!