Advice on dealing with my boss

Hi everyone

I'm looking for some opinions/ advice on how I should best handle my current situation. I've been working in my current post for almost 3 years and been with the organisation 9 years. Recently However several members of staff have been lost due to budget cuts. As a result I have had to take on additional duties. My colleague however has been effected by this too, but nowhere near to the same degree as me.

My colleague continuously leaves his desk for up to an hour at a time to chat to his friends down the corridor, while I'm swamped with work. My boss encourages this behaviour and keeps giving me more and more work to do. She has also allowed my colleague to take extended lunches and praises any work he does and ignores my work efforts.

Other people have complained about the inequality of the work delegation and general treatment, but they all ended up leaving. It's extreme difficult not to say anything about my unequal workload as when I did in the past, I was accused of not being a team player and was basically tortured. My workload has involved me working considerable overtime, but I no longer want to do this. (This is voluntary but they try to blackmail me into doing it). Sorry for the long post.

Sounds difficult. Maybe apply for a new job?

Or maybe you could go to the doctor, and get them to write you a note saying you need a smaller work load due to stress that you can give your boss. That way your boss won't think you're questioning their management abilities and it shows you need less work, without any confrontation.

Sorry for the delay in my response. I am currently applying for jobs but have had no luck. For the past two days I have been off on sick. I went to see my g.p today but she wasn't very helpful. She just suggested that I should speak to the office manager again. At a push she said she would give me a sick note if I phoned back on Thursday. I am completely broken, after just one statement from one of my managers on Thursday, I ended up crying. I'm so fragile, but am thinking of returning to work tomorrow as I don't see any point in being off...other than to lose my job for certain.

that does sound seriously stressful..

would it be helpful for you to get that sicknote and have a bit of time off work?
Your health is really suffering here because of this.. have you got a HR department there that can help you by talking to your boss and getting them to distribute the workload properly?
it's seriously not okay that they're giving you everything to do while your colleague isn't doing their fair share.
The point that your boss doesn't seem to understand about being a team player is that a team consists of a group of people all working together and helping each-other out.. not just a single person carrying the load for everyone else.
I would be really inclined to go over his/her head to their boss and explain the issues if this is possible and there's someone higher up than them.

It is very stressful sea breezeblue, I no longer think about the things that would normally make me happy. I feel nothing makes me happy and that How I feel is ruled by my bosses. I did report the behaviour of my line manager last July to her superior, and her box gave me a few options; 1) to move to the other end of the office 2) apply for a transfer 3) she would speak to my boss. I said I would think about it, but fell ill and was off a few days.

When I came back she had spoken to my line manager. She was not pleased with this and things just got worse from there. With time her superior started making comments about me too due to my managers influence. I have thought of going to the head of branch but she happens to be the employment lawyer for the org, so would be defending them anyway. I was threatened that if I was a troublemaker they would go to her as they had in the past to get rid of other employees.

I actually managed to go in today, and my managers boss said to me not to worry about the extra work as I had other priorities. My manager however still bade a snide comment about me not working overtime. I'm amazed though any action was taken at all. It's an emotional roller coaster everyday.

Just an update: came into work today to facilitate some urgent work which never materialised. I was supposed to have been off. Been tortured by my colleague, line manager and her boss because I said I wasn't coming in to work overtime. The boss who said for me not to worry about the additional work two days ago, today said I was 'taking my time' doing the work.

My colleague on the other hand had over an hour for lunch and left the office in the afternoon to watch TV in another office. Nothing of course was said to him, but the work that he had to do because I was off, was emphasized.

My boss was putting the pressure on to get this 'urgent' work done, but in the end it was another office which held things up. How do I deal with this manipulation?

You are not the only one. All around the world people are going through this and there is not much you can do. You should try to look for some other work and once you find it then quit this one.

That doesn't give me much hope. I'm not sure of the point of quitting my job, only to go somewhere else and experience the same thing. I don't think I'll ever have my life back, always having to be under such people.

I agree that quitting your job at this point isn't a good idea..

Are you actively looking for an alternative though and applying for jobs.?

This sounds like a problem within your actual workplace and the management there rather than anything to do with you..

I think that with regards to the emotional manipulation that's going on, all you can do is to carry on the way you are but this time make sure you acknowledge to yourself that you are not acting inappropriately by standing your ground.

You have a job, you have certain hours and a contract.. you have a certain amount of work that it is reasonable to get done in those contracted hours.
Do your work as best as you can.. let your colleagues do what they will but if your boss complains then explain that while you understand that your colleague is struggling, you can't manage to do any more of their work than you currently do.

Try not to let them make you feel guilty or useless here..

xx

Hello seabreeze. I am currently looking for jobs which of course means a pay cut for me. I an actually of sick ATM because of a car accident. I'm feeling more mental relief than physical pain which concerns me. My boss has been making light of my injuries, has accused me of being off because of the good weather and was shocked when I got a sick note from my doctor. During her call she also mentioned how their approach to work is now 'they can only do what they can do'. However this was never the case when I was there. Her inconsideration and attitude hurts me so much. Our company offers physio which I would find useful but she has not offered it to me. My colleague had a football injury and was immediately referred by my managers.its a joke.