Thursday, July 24, 2008

Switcheroo

On Tuesday I found out that I'm switching bosses. I was supposed to find out on Monday, but I kind of missed the memo. I had a meeting with my former boss and his boss to discuss the formation of a new editorial team in the department, and I was told that I'd be on a team that was run by another coworker of ours, but I'd still be working closely with my former boss. So I guess I was supposed to infer from that conversation that the woman running the new team would become my boss, but like I said? I totally missed that.

Until Tuesday, when I went into my former boss's office to request a vacation day next month and he made an offhand comment about how as I transitioned into having this other woman as my boss, I should make sure to let her know my vacation schedule. And I was like, "What?"

Because the thing is, I adore my former boss. He is essentially the perfect boss. He's really nice, very supportive, totally laid back, and extremely professional. He's reliable and consistent and has a friendly, open management style. I know that I can go to him with any question or issue, but he doesn't breathe down my neck at all. He trusts me to do my job and he lets me work independently. He's also just a really great guy. I always used to think that he was spoiling me, because I'd never be able to have a boss as good as him again.

But actually? I think I'm okay with this switch.

For one thing, the switch is happening because we developing a real, formal editorial department. Before, I was the informal, go-to editor. Editing and writing were only supposed to be a small part of my job, but I let people know when I started that I had a background in it, and there was such a strong need for it that people started coming to me with editing requests for all different projects, including ones I wasn't even supposed to be working on.

And really? That was great. In my last job, I was hired as part of a formal editorial department, and since I was the lowest on the totem pole, I had to struggle to establish myself, and I never really got to do much editing on my own. I got to do the occasional proofread, and once when everyone else from my department was out, I was able to actually edit an urgent document on my own, but that was it. Mostly I was stuck formatting, and sort of informally proofreading as I went along.

So being the only editor in a department that desperately needed that kind of work, I was given the opportunity to do quite a lot of editorial work that I probably would not have been able to do if I'd been hired as a junior editorial member. I learned a lot, and people in my company have also come to see me as a talented editor. I've been able to readjust my career path in their eyes to move along the editorial track, which is what I've been wanting to do all along.

So I'm really glad that they recognize that, and that they are making me an integral member of this fledgling editorial team. I know that being moved in this direction is an honor, and also a step toward moving up and hopefully being promoted at the end of the year. And I'm super excited to get to be part of an editorial team where I actually get to edit, instead of just formatting other people's edited documents.

And another thing? I would never have wanted to change bosses? But if I had to, I would have chosen my new boss to replace the old one. She is also really nice, and very professional, and laid back and supportive, and we have a fantastic working relationship. Yesterday we had a check-in meeting that lasted two hours and involved a lot of work related stuff, but also a lot of chatting about kids and in-laws and the New York Times and other very interesting stuff. It was a great conversation and I felt like we really bonded. I'm very lucky, I think. I know a lot of people have nightmarish bosses, and so far I have totally avoided that.

So, what's been going on with your jobs recently? I know that a lot of people don't like to talk about work on their own blogs, but if you think that my blog is safe from prying eyes, let me have it! I find work talk fascinating and TOTALLY want to hear the real deal about your own jobs.

36 comments:

  1. I could go on and on about the good and bad of my job but it would be a really long comment. SO I'll say this, I have the perfect job, my dream job really, aside from the amount of work I do for the amount of money I get paid.

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  2. I'm glad you at least like your new boss, even if it was a bit of a surprise for you!

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  3. I'm liking my job a lot lately. I've been there a year now and am developing friendships with the people and actually feel like I know what I'm doing some of the time. Being a lawyer isn't as glamorous as people make it out to be - especially when you work for the government. But I love what I do and see myself staying put indefinitely. :)

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  4. I don't talk about work much on my blog so...I work in an art library at a mid-sized university. My boss recently left and I'm a bit nervous about who will be the replacement. We got along really well and I liked that we could talk about celebrity news and Project Runway. I really like my interim boss who is the other full time staff member here. Both of them came to my wedding, that's how much I like them!

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  5. I like my job a lot (they've been very flexible, especially with my school and vacation schedule), but it's also sort of a disaster - people keep quitting and I'm doing my old job and my new job but only on the days I'm there, which means I never have enough time to get it all done and end up working 10 hours or so on the three days I do week.

    I love my boss - he's a really nice, friendly guy.

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  6. Congrats on the new position!

    Work is iffy lately. We had a big proposal fall through that we were convinced we were going to get and when we didn't, we had to let 3 talented people go. If we don't land another decent client soon, I think more cuts may be coming.

    I really struggle to get writing assignments. I'm the only proofreader/editor, and I also do project management work for our largest client, which is fun, but I really want to do more writing. Because the work's not there and I have the least amount of experience (at 8 years!), it's been hard. I'm heavily considering freelancing, but I don't really know where to start. Blah.

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  7. i'm a teacher, so the "office" (really cafeteria/teacher's lounge/classroom) dynamic is a little odd. i didn't start out as an educator, i worked for three years in an actually office setting and teaching is SOOO different. i can spend an entire workday with only about 30 minutes of contact with grown ups. its weird.

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  8. Ugh, I can't talk about my job on my blog but I allude. My supervisor has communication ISSUES and there is seemingly no room for me to go up at the agency. Two reasons I often think of leaving. BUT I really love what we do and how we help kids so that's hard to abandon.

    I hope the new boss situation is a good thing!

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  9. I don't talk about my job on my blog a lot because I'm afraid my boss will find it - not that I think he would care about what I write for the most part, but the things I want to talk about mostly involve how I don't want to stay in this industry (insurance), and how I want a job that utilizes my 4 year degree and has room to move up without becoming a sales person. But that would mean quitting. Which I'm not opposed to at all, but you can see why that might make me nervous about my boss finding my blog.

    Also, I often feel like strangling my co-workers because some of them can't do ANYTHING technology related on their own. They don't even try. It drives me CRAZY!

    Sorry for the long comment - this has been on my mind a lot recently.

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  10. I've been feeling really bored at work lately. Like, "Oh, there's my work, but I don't want to do it." I have no motivation. I don't really know what the problem is. I like my job, for the most part. Maybe I just need a vacation.

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  11. I used to love my former job, then the nightmare boss from hell burned me out. Big time.

    I'm back to being a SAHM, although with all the crap that's been going on lately (cleaning the garage, and soon there will be sheetrocking, plumbing, electrical, and other fun duties) it's not been all that great here, either.

    I need a vacation.

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  12. i have been away from work for about 3 months in training. so ready to get back into a routine!

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  13. I really want/need a raise, but every time I bring it up, it gets pushed aside. There's only 6 of us here, so my needs are not very urgent. Also, totally knocked up and that works against me.

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  14. I really want/need a raise, but every time I bring it up, it gets pushed aside. There's only 6 of us here, so my needs are not very urgent. Also, totally knocked up and that works against me.

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  15. My job? Some days good, some days bad - it depends on how much my Employee has slept the night before. ;)

    I'm glad you're happy with your new boss. Having such a great supportive boss makes any job so much more pleasant.

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  16. my job is stressful, but currently pretty perfect. really flexible, one of my best friends is my manager, like the people i work with, get paid well, etc. clearly the other shoe is going to drop any time now... :-P

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  17. Um, since we talk all day, every day, I'm pretty sure you know how I feel about my job and the fact that I can't WAIT TO LEAVE IT. But I'm also really happy that things are going well for you at work! You deserve it!

    :)

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  18. That's really great that you have another boss there for you who is really helpful and such. That's always a very imporant part of any job.
    I've been out of work for some time now (interview today, yay!) but I'd have to say the best job I've had was with a small candle shop. I worked one on one with the owners from the very start of the business, and it was a lot of fun helping figure out ways to build it and make it grow into something that people would actually know. Loved that job.

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  19. I don't have kids and I'm not going to have kids, so my job is ... ME.

    I've had some problems lately but I think they're all cleared up. It tends to happen when one is in a department full of women.

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  20. This sounds like a great opportunity! I hope it works out as well as you are anticipating. Editorial work is fun and frustrating. It is nice you have a real department now; you guys deserve the respect and credit that comes with having your own department.

    My work is exciting and busy right now. I get to design another cookbook from scratch, as well design an entire new set of cartoon characters (first time ever!)to go along with the new children's curriculum I am designing. Tons of work but a great opportunity! Thanks for asking - I never want to talk about work over on my own blog.

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  21. Oh, I love my job. My only problem is taking it home and constantly fretting over how to accomplish more.

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  22. A week after starting my current job they fired my immediate superviser and asked me to take the job. Promotion, raise, small support staff to manage, etc. Thought it was awesome, and loved doing it. A month ago I was demoted so they could hire a friend of the owner to take my position. This is a woman who has no experience in our industry, has never used our software or even something comparable... and in 90 days I'm supposed to have a review in which we'll be discussing if I get to keep my raise. And she'll be sitting in and participating in this review! So far my job has consisted of correcting her mistakes and taking up the slack, in addition to the work I have to do on a daily basis. Talk about suck. How do I say that nepotism, rather than performance, was the driving force in their decision without getting fired?

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  23. Congrats on your new position in the company! That must feel really great.

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  24. I work for my parents, doing bookkeeping, which is something that I don't really like. My dad is my boss, and it's really hard. Sometimes I feel like we don't have a relationship other than a boss/employee one, and on top of that, even our work relationship sucks.

    I feel like he manipulates me, and that makes me resistant, so in the end neither of us are happy. I don't know what to do about it... I think he feels frustrated because he feels like he could get a lot done and be a really good boss if everyone would just climb on board and do what he tells them, but what he doesn't realize is that sometimes he asks me to do things that are outside of the scope of my job, or could be done a better way. So he's not really open to any sort of dialogue about anything, and if I try to explain, he thinks I just have a bad attitude. Which, to be fair, most of the time I do. But it's a preemptive bad attitude, because it doesn't matter how respectfully I bring something up or ask a question... he doesn't want to hear it.

    It's really hard to work at home and never be able to escape it. And my dad is the type of person who likes to work on things as soon as he has time, so he'll want to check something at like 9:30 or 10 at night, when I am so done with work for the day. So he'll come and ask me something and if I ask if we can talk about it another time, since it is not work hours, he gets all defensive and goes off on how he has to work all the time (which he doesn't... he works a lot, delivering cookies in the morning, but it's not like he doesn't have all afternoon, every day, to get stuff done) and how he just needs to do stuff when he has a free minute and could I just help him out because he doesn't know how to find the information he needs, because what am I doing that's so important anyways? And then I feel bad, because I'm usually not doing anything important, but then I'm mad at him for manipulating me.


    One time we were having a family meeting, and my parents said that we should bring up any grievances or complaints or compliments or whatever so we could talk about them, and I said, "It would be nice if we could contain work conversations to work hours" and my mom thought that was a great idea, but my dad went off like he does and told me "I can't do that. I WON'T do that. I WILL come talk to you whenever I need to." He went on to say that I could tell him I couldn't talk right then, but that he wasn't even going to try not to talk about work stuff at night. And then he said, "You just want to separate your work from your personal life," in a really mean tone, and I was thinking, "Uh, exactly. That's what I was asking." I didn't know what to say, so I didn't say anything, but it did make me cry. And then he got up from the table and left the house, and drove around for like 4 hours.

    I don't know what to do about it. My dad is a good man, and I love him a lot... I know it probably doesn't sound like it from what I just spewed, but he really is, and I really do. We had a much better relationship when I lived on my own and had somewhere to go where I wasn't available for work. But I have hope that we can have a good relationship again if we can come to an agreement about boundaries.

    This is super long, but I definitely can't write it on my blog, and it's so nice to get it out! Thanks, Jess.

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  25. I mostly don't talk about my work for privacy issues- do I need people finding me?

    My new job is at a University - my office is kind of in the library which is cool.

    I actually (now) have the same kind of scenario as you - a nice, supportive boss (she just told me how well I'm doing & fitting in today- yay!) and I'm left alone. It's fab- but a real switch from my former micro-managing situation.

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  26. Don't like my job, at all. I work for a university that is notorious for overpaying its higher-ups (our president is the highest-paid state-university president, uhh, ever) and underpaying its peons. I'm a peon. I either have nothing to do for days on end or tons of stuff that has to be done! immediately! My boss is kind of an alarmist and wow that is so annoying. But I'm quitting in five weeks to go to grad school (shhh) so I can handle it until then. Congrats and good luck in your own endeavors!

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  27. Good luck with the new boss...

    I'm wrapping up teaching a small summer class of 7 students. 3 of them are going to fail. At least I'm above 50%, right?....

    ;)

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  28. How funny that you write a post today lauding your bosses while I was simultaneously ripping mine a new one. I'm very happy for you that you have a comfortable working environment. It's so healthy for you.

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  29. I think this sounds like a fabulous opportunity for you! I don't really mention my job on my blog for fear of being outed, but it's a decent job. I'm a contractor, so I get paid a lot more my work than I should, and that is a good thing!

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  30. Oh I would love to write about my job on my blog, but I wouldn't be able to stop. In my job lately, I'm managing a strange mix of things that I absolutely LOVE to do and things that make me TEETER ON THE EDGE OF INSANITY. I'd love to be a SAHM at some point, but I would never, ever again find a job like I have if I quit it.

    Hey, good luck with the new boss. It sounds like you have a really great attitude about the change, which will probably go a long way to making it a positive thing.

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  31. Eh, my job is kinda boring. I work in government, and I do admin stuff.

    I wish i could be doing something a bit meatier but I'm not qualified for it yet... just one more year of Uni and I get my (i'm being really hopeful here) dream job.

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  32. That can be a hard switch. I'm happy to hear you are okay with it. :)

    My work... is busy. I need a break from my coworkers and one of my bosses :P

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  33. I got a new boss and it makes me want to die. Glad your situation is better.

    Also? They are cracking down in on internet usage, which is why I am commenting at 10:30 pm. SUCKAGE.

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  34. I have the perfect dream job with a wonderful boss, but slackers for employees and that pisses me off.

    Congrats on your new gig!

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  35. I had a bad boss before, so now that I have a good, laid-back, yet professional boss... I love it. You really appreciate a good boss after you've had a bad one. My boss is someone that I can ask any question to and while sometimes he may say "I'm not going to answer that", he usually answers honestly and straightforward, which helps me understand the workings of upper management. (For example- I'm always asking him "Did you want to hire this person?" or "Why do you think your boss did that?")

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  36. I'm glad you think this change will be positive, that's a great attitude!

    My boss who has been my biggest advocate just announced she's pregnant and will be gone during my review. I'm having some anxiety that if she returns she won't be around as much and I'll fall by the wayside. I'm likely overreacting, I hope.

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