Employment stress

[Alisoon2022]

This is quite long but bare with me.

For over 18 months you have been understaffed, through loss of staff and lack of timely replacements.

At the beginning of 2021 you have 8 members of staff at work, but it’s agreed you need extra resource and told you’ll get another person, giving you 9.

Weeks later the business introduces a new I.T system for customer communication, which nobody wants, it’s not fit for purpose, customers won’t use, it leads you to duplicate work across the new system and another.
Your team get just a one hour training session on the new system, and the new system leads to an increase in workload.

In July you still don’t have your new staff member, and you lose 1, taking you down to 7.

In September, another I.T system is upgraded.
Your old system is stopped, but the new one is not fit for purpose and cannot be used, multiple fixes are required.
This system is critical to your teams daily work, they spend the bulk of their time using it.
Workload backs up, as the only option is to work paper based.
You are without a working system for almost 5 months.

In early October, you lose another member of staff, taking you down to 6.
Your new staff member and replacement for the one that had already left, have yet to be approved.

Due to the project work on the new systems, and the workload increase, your team have not been able to take holiday, resulting in a backlog of annual leave, which must be taken before 31st March or lost.
Throughout December, January and February you have on average 5 staff on hand, out of a potential 9.

In late January the new I.T system is introduced, but still doesn’t work properly, and your team have had no formal training.

Your staff have been working extra hours all year with no overtime or reward.
There is still no sign of the new person or the replacements.

In February, you are told your team are fully staffed and are not working hard enough, or managing their time effectively.
Remember, back in early 2021 you were told you would get another person, giving you 9.
You have 6 staff out of 9.

Is this the kind of workplace you want to be in?
Should I tell them to stuff their job and look elsewhere, what would you do?

My first response is - get out of there!
What have you done to communicate your grievances? Can you take it higher?
Are you paid enough to deal with this ridiculousness?

Run!

Leave. I’d be mightily pissed off with the comments made in February about being staffed and time management.

I have spoken to my manager and the most senior manager in the group organisation.
HR are not interested, they simply tell you to discuss with your manager.

Salary is poor compared to other industries, 50 hours a week since 2018 without o/t, bringing salary below 30k for a manager.

Tell them to stuff their job and look elsewhere. You're in a no win situation which is turning into a race to the bottom. Others have seen this and run - follow their example.

I have just left a place like this. Down to half staff since september, one staff member not pulling his weight and making more mistakes for others, no-one willing to tackle him on it. Increasing workload, new positions/ promotions promised but never came. They asked people who were part time if they would increase hours and when they said they would all of a sudden it was too complex to sort. I just left in the end, there are no shortage of other jobs around.

Get out.

Have the same problem in my job. Constantly asked to do more than what my job is supposed to be with no additional training or support, constant issues with IT system and two people in my team quit in the past few months, one after only two months in the job.

I have been getting emails from recruitment agencies who seem desperate for candidates to do temp and permanent roles so I would say there are better opportunities out there. Last week I made the decision to start looking for a new job, have one interview already this week.

The point is some workplaces are just toxic/hopeless/unreasonable and you are better off looking for something new rather than try to argue with them.

It is blatantly obvious that your employer doesn't care so why should you?

Vote with your feet or you are going to be doing the work of 9 people at this rate (and being told you aren't working hard enough).

I work somewhere similar. Not exactly the same, but issues which are exceptionally similar (system and staffing issues). It's disheartening.