Just when I thought it couldn't get worse

[worksucks2023]

I posted before about some 'performance conversations' I'd been having with my line manager. I got some really good advice and I now have another situation I could do with some help on.

Mid management, financial services. General background is that more and more is expected of us year on year. I work part time (80%) and I have a colleague who does the same role who is full time. Client based, we split the clients between us. Colleague is about to go on maternity leave and it's becoming increasingly apparent that they're not going to be able to get anyone in to cover. The way conversations are going, it's looking like they're going to expect me to do it all. Would you:

1. Say absolutely not, it's just not possible
2. Attempt to do it on part time hours but make them accept that not everything will get done.
3. Go full time temporarily to give myself a better chance of tackling the workload.

I feel like none of these are good options really and are probably setting me up for more performance conversations.

@filka thankyou that makes me feel better. I actually got to final two every time. It's just exhausting, the whole process. But maybe I need to keep going.

I would definitely do 1.
they just need to get someone in to cover.

Don't write yourself off like this. You are not old! You are a senior member of staff with experience and skills. That is a positive. Everytime I mention retirment my boss screams "Noooo....." and launches into how I have to do what is best for me but....... (fill in multiple reasons why not). He could get someone younger and cheaper - I am very expensive. But he can't get my experience or skills. FWIIW - I should have retired a month ago, but I actually do like my job, and every time I mention it to my manager...... :-)

@Neriah thankyou. I am the oldest in my team by quite a bit and yes I'm probably more expensive than the others too! That's probably why they're trying to get me to do two jobs - value for money!

This is a slightly outing post because my team at work would immediate recognise me by this... But:

"If we can't increase capacity, then we have to reduce scope."

This is just maths. You can't handle 2x the work on current capacity. It's fine for your employer to say that they can't hire a maternity cover for whatever reason, but the follow-up conversation then needs to be how you will reduce scope of work for your partners to be able to manage it.

The best approach for you would be a pragmatic one: sit down with the pregnant colleague and write down all tasks that you both are doing right now.

Then grade each task by effort (how long it takes) and business value (ideally using you a KPI that your boss understands).

Then go through the list to identify any tasks that could potentially be picked up my other teams (e.g. support functions or even your manager or whatever... Anything that isn't strictly speaking your remit).

And then prioritise (across both of your jobs!) and highlight what you have to stop doing for however long your colleague is on leave.

Take that to your manager, together, for a planning session.

Good luck!

I posted on your other thread that they could be trying to manage you out. You didn't accept that as a risk, but here you still are and in addition to down-rating you, theyre potentially going to force you to increase your workload when your colleague goes on ML.

They will have zero incentive to pay someone off with 20 years service if instead they can get you out through capability, ie successive poor performance ratings. It really doesn't look good, they're not giving you support and it's eroding the trust and confidence that is meant to exist in an employment contract.

its a horrible damaging and dehumanising situation. Your options look bleak I'm afraid, realistically:

1. you could just continue to take their slings and arrows and see what happens, see if they give you an equally poor end of year. If this happens I question what incentive they would have to make you redundant.
2. you could confront them head to head with a grievance about your unjust inaccurate low rating at mid year, with evidence of actions you're taking to increase productivity yadayada. This may force the issue, and then management and HR may join forces against you
3. You could formalise in writing that you have major concerns about the risk of workload when you're contractually on 0.8 week hours. If your manager ignores your concerns that's another sign they don't support you and are happy to see you sink
4. you could tough it out and meanwhile look for a new job and just leave them to it.

I honestly don't think they're trying to manage me out. I'm not on a performance improvement plan, and no formal steps have been taken.

Probably your best bet then is to manage the situation about your workload potentially increasing and see if they respond positively. What you wouldn't want is for them to not take your workload concerns seriously and then later on, add that as another criticism to the already lower that expected performance rating they gave you,

do you have any insight into why you've been underrated? There must be something going on there, a reason. It's often when a new manager inherits a team, they want to get out their broom and give it a clean sweep in the team, to get their own people in ie people they've chosen and not inherited.

@daisychain01 the comments I had are around not displaying enough leadership internally. Nothing to do with the quality of my work - behavioural stuff.

What I would do is prepare a one pager with where your time goes at the minute

ie client. Management 2 hour. . Administration 4 hours etc etc. so that my full 30 hours are more than accounted for.
I'd then tel them that I would happy to do an extra nu hours but ask them which of the existing tasks you should stop doing
. Makes you look flexible and considerate.

Say you think a 1.8 wet can't be achieved by 0.8. That you can only do what you can do in the hours. If they don't like the message, look for another job.

It's actually a two full FTE workload. I didn't get anything reduced (apart from pay) when I went part time.