I am a manager at a tech “startup.” Our team was hired to come in and spin up a specific process to help the company grow.
Our workload has been about 5x what was projected in the interview, so I’ve been asking my boss, HR, leadership (everyone in the company) for another worker on my team. My friend who works at a similar company has more than 10 people on their team; we have three.
I raised alarm bells about the problem a month ago, but my bosses didn’t believe me, and now we’re in deep sh%t on our projects.
I’m working 12, 13 hours a day with no lunch or breaks to keep my team from having to burn out.
My house is a mess. I’m eating trash fast food. No time for any hobbies or relaxing. Just sleep and work. I’m not sleeping well, though, and my gallbladder is acting up from stress. My period has also been late every month I’ve worked there bc of the stress.
I’ve only been in the job about six months, and I’m already flaming out and looking for new work, even though this is the highest paying job I’ve ever had.
But everyone is so quick with the verbal compliments of “you’re doing such a good job” and “we’re so glad you’re here,” which are obvious hooks to try to get us to stay.
It’s like trauma bonding with your coworkers. It’s SICK.
I don’t need compliments. I need more staff. But “that’s not possible, we need you to make do,” even though my team is managing more than $70 million in high-stakes deals for the company, hiring a $70k worker for my team is “too much” and “we don’t think you could keep them busy.”
I’ve been doing my job for 15 years. I know how to staff a team. I know the resources we need to get the job done. I’m so tired of having to effing fight every step of the way to justify my requests, despite being a regarded expert in my field.
They don’t care about your well-being. They care about your ability to generate profit.