Stressed out - being replaced?

[secretteaaddict]

I have been at my current place of work for 3 years. For the most part I've enjoyed it which has made up for the at times bad management.

I work independently and that works for me. I am not micromanaged and I get the job done.

However, I have been informed that they have hired a man to work alongside me and take over most of my job responsibilities. To put it mildly, I'm freaked out. I never said i am struggling with workload and i don't know what my job will actually be now if this person takes over those roles.

This role was never advertised, so I was never even given the chance to apply for it. I am so stressed I am considering getting signed off, I take things very personally and a knock on my self esteem.

I have a paranoid feeling they're trying to manage me out as I don't 'fit' with the team. I am quite a bit younger than the rest of the team, and one of the only females under 45 in the company. I can see them doing 'restructures' to manage me out, as they have form for doing this.

Does anyone have any advice?

Ask for a meeting with your boss to discuss exactly what responsibilities the new member of staff is taking over follow up this with a document which outlines this. Before your meeting write down all your concerns with this and tell your boss these. It might be that the work is simply getting more for one person you or that you all will be taking on more work. Without a meeting don’t assume your being managed out it usually costs more to employ new staff then retain existing ones

Do you have a copy of your job description? If not, get one from HR, and take it with you to the meeting with your manager. If they prevent you from carrying out the role they hired you for that'd be constructive dismissal.

Definitely speak to your manager. It does seem from your post that you are jumping to conclusions, and it's not worth putting yourself through so much stress without the full facts. Rather than leading with "concerns" perhaps ask your manager to clarify your work priorities and deliverables now that this new person is in post.

From your post it doesn't seem that they have any particular reason to want to get rid of you. Have they given you any specific feedback to suggest you don't "fit" or could it be that's in your head? You may need to work on your emotional resilience if you have a tendency to take things personally.