Struggling to keep my cool

[PurpleSky300]

I have an immediate manager who is basically useless. Does the bare minimum, pawns most work onto others, can't answer a straight question. Just not really 'there' in any meaningful way.

I didn't raise it with anyone because I was worried about repercussions. Then something happened or someone else spoke up - I don't know which - and suddenly our Director (manager's manager) started to join meetings, manage workflow, and set up 1:1s to see if we had any 'problems.'

In my 1:1 I was vague because the whole thing made me feel like a school snitch but the Director said, "Look, I know the score and I promise that it will be dealt with. Keep your head down and keep going and it will be resolved."

Then... well, manager disappeared off sick for a long time, Director effectively took over, and now we're back to square one. Manager still here. Whatever was going to be solved, it hasn't been. I feel so angry every day, I could scream. I feel abandoned by the Director but I don't know how to raise it again because it feels like complex HR and health issues have now been brought into play. It's a god damn mess.

Can you ask for a 1:1 with the Director, and raise the concerns again? Has the Director been managing you while your manager was off? If so it’s not strange to continue contact and having catch-ups. You may get the same “I’m aware and am dealing with it” message tho. Managing someone out in this situation takes time

Yeah - the time thing will be what I'll hear, I'm almost certain. I know they probably have all kinds of processes to go through but it's just so irritating.

At this point, the manager is like an extra in a film. No longer has any visible responsibility, isn't asked to attend meetings, is bypassed in emails and sign-off procedures and is basically a ghost. Yet every day we have to go through the motions of reviewing a workplan, updating the manager on projects and looming deadlines, like bad actors. And sometimes I just look and think "You know you don't care, everyone else knows you don't care, why are you here?"

Maybe your manager has health issues - menopausal brain fog would cause what you describe. I am like this at present.

Also your manager has been off sick. Don't assume the health issues are resolved.

Maybe they do have some issues - but how long can someone stay in a senior role where they aren't able to perform their duties in any way, and expect other people to just cope with the extra work and do nothing? This situation has gone on for over a year and is not tenable anymore. It is ridiculous.