How do you handle the dreaded you don't seem happy at work conversation

LightFlare

Could it be that your interactions with other staff have precipitated this conversation?

I used to work with someone who always looked miserable, was very negative and was very brusque to the point of being downright rude - this type of behaviour could be interpreted as not enjoying the work (unless she actually did get enjoyment from it)

Ella_fella

Just to serve as an update I received a very intricately crafted email from the MD this morning copying HR in and basically summarising the content of our discussions this week.

Which I assume that they have raised to record and document our conversation. Proposing that we have another meeting in a couple of weeks time to review progress.

I've already arranged a meeting with both parties next week but on the basis of the email then am assuming the end is nigh and they want me to know this.

elsien

Without knowing what was actually in your discussion it’s a bit hard for anyone else to comment.

If it was me, I wouldn’t necessarily see it as a sign post towards the door but then again I would ask straight out.

Conversation with my new manager a couple of weeks ago, asking me why I seem angry a lot of the time. Manager has autism and doesn’t read people very well so I explained I wasn’t angry I was just extremely frustrated with the carp coming down the line from the new management structure when all I wanted to do was do my job and do it well.

I tend to work on the basis that if people ask me something they get a straight answer.

Tabieth

You really haven’t provided enough info for us to be helpful. What triggered the conversation? What was said before and after the “you don’t seem happy” comment? What did the email actually say? This could be anything from genuine concern for your welfare to wanting to get rid of you. Without more context it’s really hard to say.

Grumpy_chap

I can't see whether the OP has answered the question in the thread "are they happy at work?"

The OP has said "they take pride in their achievements" and also that "they do their best" but neither of those are directly the same as being "happy" subject to the level of "peak happiness" in the workplace generally lower than the level of "peak happiness" the same individual experiences in leisure time.

I think it is an important thing for the OP to be able to know in their own mind if the job and them are simply not a good fit, then the way to approach things is different to if the OP actually loves the job and sees it as a forever place to be.

ohreallƳ

Two points, ask your MD how one quantifies happiness.

Secondly put any idea of negotiating an exit package out your head. You've informed they can exit you out the door so why would they entertain any form of package?

TELLIT01

I've come late to this one but I would ask the manager what makes him/her think you aren't happy. That puts the ball back in their court. We don't know what age the OP is but it's far less difficult for an older employer to say what they really feel than it is for a younger one.

At the last place I worked prior to retirement, many younger staff would ask me to ask questions on their behalf at team meetings. They already knew that I wasn't afraid to ask justified but awkward questions of managers at our team meetings. In the end it became accepted that this was happening, but managers never asked why staff felt unable to ask the questions themselves. Maybe they already knew that those who had done so in the past had a pretty rough ride from certain managers for daring to question them.