Recently, I obtained a promotion in a decent organization that pays well (all employees are paid decent) and offers good benefits.
My previous, nonsupervisory job was ok and I was one of the top performers in quality and production. Sometimes it was stressful, but overall not a bad gig.
Now I have become a supervisor. While the pay increase was substantial, I don't see myself staying in this role. I actually ended up with a pretty good team. There are a couple employees who are hovering just below the production standard that employees are expected to meet.
I already know that I'm not going to be the supervisor that upper management wants. To me, if these employees are coming to work and getting somewhat close to the production mark, that's good enough for me. To get rid of fully trained employees who are slightly “underperforming” would be a collosal waste of resources in training and overall hiring process. Management is already on me about getting their numbers up. But I don't care.
We have had management meetings with all the supervisors and done all the team building BS where it was made clear that this group of people was to be my new friends at work. I have seen other people get the supervisor role and break off friendships with nonsupervisory workers.
I am rejecting this and have maintained my friendships. I have been told that I am the most approachable supervisor at work and I can tell that the staff trusts me. But I don't see me doing this for long. There will be opportunities for remote work in the near future in my organization. When that comes I plan on going back to my old role, but working from home.
However, I do have this guilt in the back of my mind for leaving the workers who find me approachable. Have any of you had similar experiences in switching to a supervisory role?