Power crazy manager

CBR

Not sure what to do about this one rather a strange position I find myself in.

I am employed by a company who several years ago was sold to a new investor.

I was retained by the new investor, who employed an office manager. I am expreriencing problems with this young lady, with the fact that she refuses to delegate any work and I am sitting at a desk doing nothing all day.

There is no malice on my behalf and I have gone along with the situation now for two years. My allocation of work for Friday, from 10.30 onwards, after sitting for one and a half hours waiting for the post, was to punch two holes in a piece of paper and file it.

My main concern is the fact that I have been employed with this company now for a number of years and my skills are so rusty that I dont know where to begin.

My manager is 20 years my junior and I do not wish to cause any trouble or bad feeling. We get along fine on a personal basis and chat quite freely about personal issues but we have never had a work related conversation and it has always been made clear that we do not verbally discuss any thing regarding work. If anything should apply to myself, I receive an e-mail from her office next door.

I do not understand the situation and am confused. After many years of self employment this is my first position as an employee - is this normal in employment?

busterian

I assume this Office Manager is your Line Manager?

If so, and you say you get on well with her, why not just ask her for a formal meeting to discuss your working day. Be honest with her. She just might find it difficult to delegate or she may just feel like she has to prove herself to her bossess.

Try communication - it usually works!

Good luck

CBR

I approached the new investor over a year ago and asked who I was to report to and the reply was "no one, you are required to work as a team". Upon starting at the Company I was not given a contract of employment and since the take over have still not been given one, probably because it is a small company.

I have approached the young lady asking for a more demanding workload and the reply was "you are only an administrator" and two weeks of silent treatment, so I have tactfully avoided the situation ever since. Each day she will place my allocated work load in my tray system. This can vary at any time during the course of a working day. For example if she is in meetings and they last all day, the allocation of work will come after the meetings or just before she goes home. If she is on holiday, there is no work allocated and I wait until she returns, so that the incoming post can be monitored.

My instructions are clear and concise, my trays are to be empty by Friday which causes me no problems as employed full time and the average overall workload is ten hours per week.

I am rather dubious about raising the issue as I then have the silent treatment for weeks on end.

I find it so difficult to understand why someone should be like this, coming in early, working lunch hours and staying after hours and yet deprive another employee of mental simulation.

getmore4less

How many others work at the place?

Ask the investor if he is happy to have people doing nothing all day.

Activly find other work to do there must be things that need doing.

Get work off other senior people ask ift her eis anything you can do for them.

Look to play a more active role in the business you have the time look for things that need doing or could improve the business and make suggestions..

Zazen999

I suspect I know what has happened here.

You aren't managed by anyone. She is not managing anyone. The investor thinks that you don't need managing and that she doesn't need to manage. Because you are a 'team'. But a team needs a team leader. She is not a team leader [evidently] thus she manages 'the office' and not you.

Very very odd but if she hasn't been told to manage you then she probably feels a bit strange in asking you to do some work.

It is not normal in employment; quite the opposite in fact.

I guess you've got a few options.

Do as the above and just keep asking others for more work, but then again risk the cold shoulder treatment.
Do nothing and just go with it [many would]
Do other stuff in the spare time
Approach the investor again
Approach her for a more frank discussion
Find another job and leave

If you can't even call out 'I'm done, anything else for me to be getting on with' at midday on a Tuesday without her getting the hump, then you are really stuck between a rock and a hard place.

A ridiculous situation though, isn't it?

CBR

Believe me I have desperately tried to raise this issue. The new investor comes into the business once a month for a meeting and speaks only to the Office Manager. I am unsure of what they discuss as the office door is firmly closed all day. I have raised several issues which I feel needed to be discussed but the reply usually is "I forgot, we ran out of time or negative".

With regard to involvement and business suggestions, I am unsure of who to approach as the Office Manager deals with the investor on a one to one basis and hence I am unable to make any suggestions. Please bear in mind, I have no idea of what is going on within the business as it is never discussed.

When meetings are held for staff, roughly every three months I have asked if I was required to attend and the reply was "No, the meeting is for Management and Staff only". I was so shocked by the reply that I was unable to comment and whilst the meeting took place made the most of my free time.

Over the period of time I have made every effort to develop my skills further both at the local college and recently a private training company and yet my work load never increases or any additional responsibility placed upon me.

Perhaps, my face just does not fit? I have not had any disagreements and have completely changed my whole personality to fit in with new management so cannot understand the situation.

Anihilator

CBR wrote: »

Believe me I have desperately tried to raise this issue. The new investor comes into the business once a month for a meeting and speaks only to the Office Manager. I am unsure of what they discuss as the office door is firmly closed all day. I have raised several issues which I feel needed to be discussed but the reply usually is "I forgot, we ran out of time or negative".

With regard to involvement and business suggestions, I am unsure of who to approach as the Office Manager deals with the investor on a one to one basis and hence I am unable to make any suggestions. Please bear in mind, I have no idea of what is going on within the business as it is never discussed.

When meetings are held for staff, roughly every three months I have asked if I was required to attend and the reply was "No, the meeting is for Management and Staff only". I was so shocked by the reply that I was unable to comment and whilst the meeting took place made the most of my free time.

Over the period of time I have made every effort to develop my skills further both at the local college and recently a private training company and yet my work load never increases or any additional responsibility placed upon me.

Perhaps, my face just does not fit? I have not had any disagreements and have completely changed my whole personality to fit in with new management so cannot understand the situation.

As an administrator are you required to answer the office phones?

Zazen999

Sounds bonkers; if your face didn't fit I'm sure they would have made you redundant.

busterian

I would find an address for this "Investor" and send him a letter advising him how you feel.

CBR

Yes, I answer the phone, it may ring about three or four times a day. I have no problem answering the phone, answer politely and pass the call over to the office manager to deal with or take a message and e-mail it if she is in meetings or tied up.

Anihilator

CBR wrote: »

Yes, I answer the phone, it may ring about three or four times a day. I have no problem answering the phone, answer politely and pass the call over to the office manager to deal with or take a message and e-mail it if she is in meetings or tied up.

Well that answers the lot. A company needs someone around all the time to answer the phone. They may struggle to find other work for you (or not want to) but they still need the phones answered full time.