New job not going to plan - thoughts?

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New job not going to plan - thoughts?

54 posts & 31 voices | Started 2 years ago by flipiddy | Latest reply from coogan

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flipiddy - Member

Ok, looking for some STW collective advice/wisdom on this.

I report as a lead designer to the MD of the company, who has built the company from the ground up. Because of this he feels compelled to oversee all aspects of the business, almost down to the emails going out the the new accounts. He is checking up on me 2-3 times aday. His attitude is generally bullish and to the point.

In the first week I have been dumped a large workload and feel like I am chasing my tail already as the MD excels at giving vague briefs.

Some of his statements in the induction went something along the lines of 'You have an hour for lunch, but don't if you take all of it you clearly don't have enough work' and 'I don't expect you to leave at 5.30 at it doesn't reflect the right attitude'. Having gone out to meetings last week he talked over clients and generally displayed a lack of connection. I almost had my head in my hands as I could see the clients become more negative towards his pitch. Having subsequently pointed this out he does recognise this and wants to modify.

Positives for the role are that it is a good career step for me and the 5k increase in pay. My work is very well received and the other chaps working there are top notch. So far I have felt unhappy with the situation and aired my grievences last week directly to him. At the time they seemed to be taken on board, but I suspect a leopard doesn't change it's spots too easily.

I'm normally fairly level headed about these sort of things, but feeling a bit crap about the whole situation, having looked forward to the new role and I need some advice. I guess I'm looking for a more relaxed environment to be creative, but having only worked at one other agency, which was much smaller, I really don't know what to expect...

What would you do? Walk? Stick it out?

TIA.

Posted 2 years ago #
Munqe-chick - Member

You cannot walk out after 1 week IMO, jobs can change dramatically in that time. I would definately stick it out a bit longer and see what happens.

Posted 2 years ago #
flipiddy - Member

You cannot walk out after 1 week IMO, jobs can change dramatically in that time. I would definately stick it out a bit longer and see what happens.

Thank you MC. It's not so much the role that is in question, more the MD's attitude and whether I can work with him tbh.

I would probably say the same but I have a feeling that it is going to be a difficult relationship.

Posted 2 years ago #
TandemJeremy - Member

Have a word with the boss. How many hours does he actually expect you to work? Look at your actual hourly rate?

Will the micromanagement get better over time? Does he micromanage everyone or just the new boy? Can you get him to clarify briefs?

Myself anyone who expected me to work on beyond 40 ish hours would be told where to stick the job. I like to have a life as well as work. Working overlong and without breaks reduces your efficiency especially in creative roles and is macho bullshine

Posted 2 years ago #
flipiddy - Member

Good points TJ.

Trying to get him to clarify briefs but get items fired at me ad hoc. Micromanaging may improve slightly, but suspect not a huge amount.

I was a little taken aback with the work attitude, especially as I don't mind working o/t, just on my own terms i.e. dedication should be earned and not forced imho...

Posted 2 years ago #
TandemJeremy - Member

In the end I guess it comes down to a matter of can you get him to change and will he relax a bit as he gets used to you. Perhaps you can make yourself so useful to him that you will be able to do some dictating back. " I earned you a zillion quid next year, I want this that and the other..........................."

Posted 2 years ago #
iDave - Member

you have to slowly convert him away from micro managing, give him the odd shit sandwich, ie a criticism between 2 positives, and also clearly show how your work is better when he butts out. i've pointed out before that an owner of a co has more reason to work more than 40 hours, employees less so. the phrasees 'am i being unreasonable' or 'that's not unreasonable is it' are great to use, no one wants to be seen as unreasonable, even if they are.

Posted 2 years ago #
genesis - Member

Sometimes it takes someone to point out the obvious for another party to go 'ah I see it now' and it takes time to win people over. A lot of company owners are afraid of letting the reigns slip a little, win him over gradually by showing him he's surrounded by the best in the business.

Posted 2 years ago #
project - Member

20 years ago left a good job i enjoyed in the NHS, due to the negative staff activies going on,(lazy bastards, and back stabbers) and went to work for a so called charity, first day, 30 minutes into the job, i decided it wasnt for me,petty minded,obnoxious woman boss,stuck it out for 6 months,and walked out,told her where to shove her job.

A huge relief off my mind, then large debts, no money, selling everything with a value,eviction notice recieved, but the stress was nothing like working for that woman,lieing sneaky bitch,are nice terms of endearment towards her even after 20 years.

Posted 2 years ago #
flipiddy - Member

TJ - Having spoken to colleagues many of these issues are longstanding and widely acknowledged, so possibly not easy to change.

TC, genesis, project - Thanks for the solid advice guys. All good points and kind of the lines of consideration I've also been on as well.

Going to digest and have a think.

Posted 2 years ago #
daves mum - Member

Wot tandem jeremy said.

Posted 2 years ago #
cynic-al - Member

Tough one. My boss is a micromanagement tool also. Dont think I can get anywhere with it so I am looking elsewhere.

Posted 2 years ago #
thegreatape - Member

Having subsequently pointed this out he does recognise this

and

aired my grievences last week directly to him. At the time they seemed to be taken on board

suggest that he either appreciates your frankness, or at the very least doesn't object to it. I would carry on for a while in the manner that you seem to have done so far - be up front with him about these things, and give him a chance to trust you and let you get on with your job. Sounds like he's a brash character rather than an out-and-out nob, so maybe give him a wee while longer and see how if things change.

Posted 2 years ago #
zaskar - Inactive

Lunch break is lunch break-he's trying it on with you and getting away with it.

MTFU! Staying 10 minutes max if you must after work, no more.

Oh and let him screw up and push away the clients-he sounds like a right idiot.

Seriously don't let it get to you-job hunt while you have a job.

Posted 2 years ago #
DT78 - Member

It's quite normal to feel like you've made the wrong decision with a job in the early days. Stick it out for a bit and see how it goes, don't jump before you have a plan.

Back when I was first starting out I came across a similar type of boss character. All of a sudden he disappeared from the office. Turns out he had a bit of a breakdown....

Pretty sure implying people can't take breaks is shaky ground employment law wise...

Posted 2 years ago #
rubberneck - Member

join a union mate.

Posted 2 years ago #
Saccades - Member

eh?

Piss in his shoes.

Can't help you tbh, I have a new boss who is similar and has managed to get me onto a final written warning. I woulf like to do more than piss in his shoes.

Posted 2 years ago #
project - Member

The woman i worked for,tea breaks where cut short, no outgoing calls, all calls hasd to be logged,reason for call,duration, and time of call, lunch breaks where cut short, staying 30 to 60 minutes was seen as being good for the charity,asking questions was met with,i`ll tell you sometime or why do you want to know that,a chap i worked with was dismissed at the end of the first week i was there, when i asked why he was dismissed, she said,his time was up,end of.
Another member of staff, when asked for advice by a client, was told im that interested, and put her index and thumb almost together and shoved them right in his face,she even counted out the tea bags incase somebody stole some.

Start as you mean to carry on or the rules will be made up to stop you making a go of the job,and streess will kick in and thats not nice.

Posted 2 years ago #
druidh - Member

You're getting an extra £5k per year. Add up a few hours here and there and work out if that's a better hourly rate than you were getting before.

Posted 2 years ago #
oxnop - Member

Flipiddy - Sounds just like what I’ve been going through.

Started my new on 4th of Jan - Micromanaging, vague briefs all sound very familiar.

My boss works 12hrs a day and expects me to do the same, I feel guilty for leaving on time/going for lunch. I have actively been putting off ordering my blackberry and laptop – but today they finally arrived – no escape now.

I also got a good pay rise (circa 10k) plus it was seen as a fantastic promotion by my friends & colleagues; I can’t stop feeling like I took the job for the wrong reasons though.

I’m personally going to stick with it for 6 months and then move on as I don’t want it to start to have an impact on my home life/health & I’m only 25!

Good luck

Posted 2 years ago #
rightplacerighttime - Member

If the other chaps there are top notch then why are they there? Obviously they don't find your boss to be such a huge problem.

I would just keep your head down for a bit and maybe arrange to go for a beer with one or two of the other guys and see what they say about things.

A week is nothing and you really have to give it a chance without adding to the stress yourself.

OTOH if you feel the same way in 3 months, get out.

Also, in my experience, chasing money is often counter productive. See Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Life In the Woods by Henry David Thoreau and Affluenza by Oliver James

Posted 2 years ago #
cynic-al - Member

You're getting an extra £5k per year. Add up a few hours here and there and work out if that's a better hourly rate than you were getting before.

I am guessing no amount of extra hours would have gotten that £5K

Posted 2 years ago #
glenncampbell - Member

Suggest your boss is getting his kxxb out as you're new - it'll settle down once you do and start getting into a routine! Give it 3 months and if this does not change then get out of dodge!

Posted 2 years ago #
M6TTF - Member

What sort of designer - graphics/advertising? I can easily sympathise with you, my old boss had the same attitude. In the end I swapped jobs and now love where I work. However there are still times where we end up working late on a pitch well into the night (post midnight) and it's not paid - we just come in late/ slope off early though so it always evens out. This is just the nature of the industry and if you want to win competitive pitches you have to put the effort in.

Well known agency?

Posted 2 years ago #
flipiddy - Member

Many thanks for your insight folks, even the mtfu ones (trademarked of course by stw).

Rightplace – Feedback from the guys there was general appreciation for the fact that I had been forward with the md and had a frank discussion. The points were ones that several of the folks there had wanted to raise themselves, but had not had the right forum, or preferred to keep quiet for one reason or another. To me that doesn't suggest a good long term relationship with the workforce, sadly.

Overall, 3 months sounds like a sensible milestone, but I value my job satisfaction highly, so it may be shorter.

oxnop – good luck mate!

M6TTF – Established web agency in the South, reasonably well known. Appreciate your comments. Working late is not a problem, it's the method used to motivate staff that I disagree with.

Cheers.

Posted 2 years ago #
TandemJeremy - Member

M6ttf - its one thing to work late for a deadline and to at least get some time in lieu in return ( although it does scream bad planning to me )Its another for the culture to expect you to work an illegal number of hours without breaks.

Posted 2 years ago #
chakaping - Member

You've done the right thing to air your grievances already. You might want to make a note of what you've talked about and when, just in case.

If it were me, I'd give it a bit longer as (like others have said) he may settle down once you've proved yourself in his eyes.

I'd keep looking at the job adverts as well though.

Posted 2 years ago #
cynic-al - Member

Jeez tj you cannot speak for everyone.

Posted 2 years ago #
TandemJeremy - Member

You really think it acceptable to be expected to work 50+ hour weeks every week? With Insufficient breaks? Its stupid, people get sick and grumpy and are inefficient.

Posted 2 years ago #
NZCol - Member

As the owner of a small business I don't expect or indeed suggest that my guys do extra hours or look over their shoulder. Its a hard thing to do when all the sh1t flows to your doorstep but thats what comes with being the owner (unless you buy someone to do that bit for you as well). You're new, he might settle down or that might just be his way. Basically if you are doing your job within your alloted hours then why would you stay ? Long hours does not equal quality output, quite the opposite in fact. Sounds like a few uptight small business owners I know, maybe i just care less or have more of a grasp on reality !

Posted 2 years ago #
user-removed - Member

+1 on Life in the Woods Sorts out the work / life balance. Failing that, try Big Sur by Kerouac (sp?!)

The ability to delegate is rare, especially when ones' business is ones' baby, as is obviously the case here. As others have said, give it time. Trust is a slow developer...

Posted 2 years ago #
gog - Member

As others have said (or implied), have a plan. Sticking the job if it doesn't improve will only make you unwell, mentally and physically. However it is much easier to get another job whilst in a job, so don't just quit, no matter how tempting it may be. And good luck

Posted 2 years ago #
ex-pat - Member

Not read all the replies (will do) but have you got a peer who you can talk to. When I landed 'my dream job' (tm) it turned into hell on earth pretty fast thanks to the company owners being complete ****ts frankly. Talking about to a co-worker (at the same level) did help, but ultimately I lasted just 8 months, long enough to have it on the CV without too much oddness. Talking to someone else there may give you perspective over what's going on.
Good luck!

Posted 2 years ago #
M6TTF - Member

TJ , you're probably right to a point, but creativity doesn't always follow a schedule most pitches are also unpaid too so if 5 agencies pitch then the prospective client gets an awful lot of work and only pays for who they choose to work with

Posted 2 years ago #
druidh - Member

TandemJeremy - Member
You really think it acceptable to be expected to work 50+ hour weeks every week? With Insufficient breaks? Its stupid, people get sick and grumpy and are inefficient.

Another sweeping generalisation there. Has it occurred to you that lots of people in "creative" jobs actually get a buzz from the excitement and pressure? That sometimes, once the juices are flowing, it's all just part of the job? No one ever accused me of being grumpy and inefficient and I've never suffered any sort of long term illness as a result of working longer hours. I mean - have I ever look like the most stressed person in the world?

Honestly, I think there are too many folk looking for a bit of easy money - "gimme more dosh but don't expect me to work for it".

Posted 2 years ago #

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