I’m really upset about this. My line manager has told me that he would like to promote the person below me to a position above me. Currently there are three of us on our team, I am in the middle.
The way I’ve always, maybe naively, seen our kind of jobs is that if there are 3 positions in the department and you want to move up, you either wait for that person to leave/retire or you apply elsewhere.
I’ve been told that everyone is happy with my work, I do a great job etc, but the person below me is keen for promotion and this is the only way.
In fairness to my line manager, he has said that this new role would have to be open to me too and if I were interested I could apply for this role. My problem with this is I’ve already been told they are creating this role for someone else, I feel like I’d be setting myself up by applying for this role.
Therefore I see it as a fore gone conclusion that the person below me will be promoted above me which more than anything else, leaves me feeling humiliated.
This is not a situation I had foreseen. Our team of three are really close and very friendly. I don’t think this person means to disrespect me, they are young and keen. I’ve probably given the impression that I’m not looking to be promoted and I’m happy as I am.
So as to not drip feed, this has happened to me before when there was a company restructure and we all had to apply for new roles. They made it that there weren’t any ‘middle’ positions to apply for so myself and the person below me had to apply for the same higher role. I was sure I would get it, they got it. Not to be all woe is me but this really affected my mental health and I was very depressed for a number of years. I’m afraid of feeling this bad again.
Sorry this is so long, does anyone have any advice? I thought about contacting my union but I’m not sure it it is the kind of thing they can help with.