Jayar
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Been working on a crazy project since February, and it will finish up Phase I in December. Phase II begins in January, and Phase III on the tail of II. Since the beginning of the fiscal year, I have been working an average of 20+ hours of overtime. I am salaried. My workload has increased, responsibilities have ballooned, and the stress is out of this work and causing health issues. I've started therapy to try to help figure this out, and it is helping me to add clarity to my life. The problem-- 3 weeks ago after working 70 hours for 2 weeks in a row, my boss calls me in for a meeting. A colleague (there are two of us at the same level) is being promoted (she does the other half of the project), and she will be my new boss. I ask a lot of questions because although we are good friends, I do not think that she will be a good match for me. Additionally, I am the only permanent employee reporting to her, and there are four others at my level (and one junior) who still report to the Director (my former boss). So, even though I have not been demoted in salary or title, I am pushed down the rung one step. When I discussed the promotion with my boss, I asked if there was going to be a replacement hire to backfill my new boss's position. The answer was a resounding no, and that not much would change except that new boss would take charge of the program level pieces (I am at the project level). What that means is that she will no longer have Project Management responsibilities, and that will fall to me. And I already work way too much overtime. Also, decisions about how to project will work are going to be wholly decided by new boss when before I had a voice. It was made clear that those are her decisions to make. So, I said that I didn't see how I would be able to continue given the current climate of the position and the promise of even more work. Note-- I have been asking for help, providing a business case, and proving out the need. Each time we hire a contractor, I find them, train them, and then they move to the other half (new boss's side) of the project. In late August, I finally got help and I was to get a second person, but because of logistics, I couldn't get them to start until early September when I was in full swing with multiple aspects of the projects crashing. During this time is when old boss announces the new boss promotion. Quite honestly, I was completely demoralized at that point anyway, and this just sealed it. I went home, thought about it, and then organized a meeting with old and new boss, telling them that I either (1) Need more money, (2) Want to reduce my hours, or (3) Have another person come on board to help me. Walked away very upset while the rest of the office was at our annual summer picnic. With nobody else in the office, I had an emotional reaction (tears), and a colleague that I have known and loved for 16 years comes back to pick something up and sees me upset. After pushing her off for a bit, I finally confess that I am overwhelmed by my workload, am exhausted, and I think that I just quit my job. She comforts me, goes to picnic, and tells the office gossip. Next day I am out of the office for a scheduled day off, and apparently all hell breaks loose. Apparently I told everybody about me quitting, and I caused an office culture problem. When I come back to the office, I am told that (1) No more money because if they give in to me, others will follow, (2) That overtime will continue and it is expected that I continue, and (3) That they are hiring another person to come on board (contract) to help new boss. None of these things help me, but I trudge on, and I work nearly 60 hours over 4 days. Last week, Senior VP flies in from Chicago to see what is going on, has a long meeting with me, and tries to blame me for being disruptive. I explain that I can live with my actions, and I explain to him the reality of what actually happened. He decides that I am 'committed' to my work, apologizes that I have had problems handling the stress, and lets me know that I made my old boss feel like a failure. Anyway, I endure for another week, am training three new people (1 for new boss), and am still struggling with my workload. So today I create a spreadsheet with all of the overtime that I've worked this fiscal year, show how that decreases my per hour rate, calculate the additional costs of working so many hours (ordering in since I work most nights until 10 or 11, medication for stress, therapy, commuter costs since I used to carpool),and I give it to old boss. I also ask for a midyear review since I will be getting a new boss and want my performance documented before the transition. I walked away, and immediately heard my colleagues congratulating my new boss. My timing stinks-- the announcement came out as I was walking to my boss's office. Anyway, I'm overweight, out of shape, stressed out, have no personal life, and probably won't have a job much longer. What is a boy to do? (Besides use paragraph breaks... sorry about that.) Any advice?
Late note-- Two years ago I received the highest rating in our entire organization in my annual review. I've always received high ratings. Now I am 'difficult'. Culture or personal issue?
Late note-- Two years ago I received the highest rating in our entire organization in my annual review. I've always received high ratings. Now I am 'difficult'. Culture or personal issue?