So I just started my second role at this company. Company is large and each line of business has their own culture, ways of working, and expectations. I really love the company and believe in its purpose. I love the people I work with too.
I’m in a program where I go through 2– 18 month roles and then i will land something longer term. My first role was pretty good. So so team, somewhat connected culture, fully remote, which I loved.
Second role is different. The business moves a bit quicker, they expect people back in 3 days a week. I have one more year in this role and I’m having 2 major issues:
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Old leadership
When I say old leadership I’m comparing it to new leadership. old leadership values when you’re in the office, more of a top down leadership, very yes sir/ma’am, expecting employees to know how to do things without telling them how. New leadership looks like a manager seeing themselves as an equal to the rest of their team and supporting as necessary. It’s guiding people through how to work different processes and fully supporting along the way. My first role was pretty fluid and they were a mix of old and new. This new team is 100% old culture. I don’t jive with it at all. I feel like I can’t be honest with my needs or wants and like I have to play a game with my line manager. The way that she talks to me makes me feel like I’m below her and there’s been several things that she said that have given me a reason to think she doesn’t see me as the strongest performer. It’s a shame because last week I saw an old colleague and he introduced me to a new colleague as “the best employee my old team has ever seen”. -
Expectations:
Since I’ve been on the team I have pushed D&I into our team calls. It’s something I’ve always been passionate about and was able to explore in my first role. So I guess my manager took it upon herself to help us get an team D&I award where each employee won a small prize amount, which is great. She basically had to show how our team was DE&I, which was most of the work I’ve done. The meaning of DE&I means that each employee has different needs and that you accommodate for their needs to get the best out of them. I have alerted my manager that I prefer working from home. My company has a request form that only requires manager approval to wfh full time but she denied it. She said her boss wants to see more people in. So I never got a full reason as to why I can’t perform the job virtually. I was like OK that’s fine is it OK if I come in one day a week? And she agreed to that. One week later she sends a email to my whole team saying what the team expectations are and that it’s expected to be in three days a week. She pulls me aside for a catch-up and reminds me that I’ve had time to get adjusted and I need to be in three days a week. She’s unable to accept me coming in once or twice a week because then she’ll “have to treat everybody the same way”. I’m not agreeing with the working styles and I feel like I have to play a game. Not very DE&I and a bit hypocritical if you ask me.
Am I being ungrateful for the job or is this a reasonable concern? I’m at a point where I’m counting down the days until I get to move to my next role. I’m not enjoying it and there’s nobody on my team that I actually look up to. What would you do if you were in my shoes? How do I make the next year more tolerable if I stay? Should I be looking for a new job?