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Work

Ladybird
over 4 years ago

There is my work situation.

I don’t know how to solve this and I hope someone could help.

  1. I work as a lab tech - it’s a very small laboratory (20 people in total, therefore no HR)
  2. There are 3 lab technicians
  3. I’m the most senior lab tech because I’ve been working for this company for over 5 years (the rest under a year)
  4. There is high staff turnover (lab techs usually stay for about a year)
  5. I’m supposed to train and supervise the new staff - since the most senior lab tech left 2.5 years ago (I was fine for a first year as I had really supportive coworker but she left over a year ago and since then I’m struggling)
  6. I don’t know how to supervise people and I don’t know how to manage other people’s time and workload (what they need to do and when and what next)
  7. I’m fine with organising my own workload.
  8. I don’t know what to do when someone is refusing to do something, pretending they’re busy even though they’re clearly aren’t (my manager told me to be more confident - but how? Am I supposed to yell at people or what? But I don’t want to create a war zone at work)
  9. I don’t know how to solve this problem other than leaving the job. 
  10. I find this situation really stressful
  11. I like this job because it’s quiet and I don’t have to be in the same room as everyone else if I don’t want to and it’s quite relaxed environment so I don’t really want to leave (I don’t do well in interviews anyway)

There might be a simple idea how to solve my problem but I just can’t see the solution.

Parents
  • over 4 years ago

    I’m not diagnosed yet but my manager knows I’m on the waiting list. Nobody else knows. I’m not sure my manager knows what to do with that information and honestly, I’m not even sure what would help and what exactly I could ask for.

    There were problems in the past when I trained and signed someone off as competent and later they did something wrong (I don’t know if it was intentional or not) and I was told off as responsible because I signed them off. But they did everything right when I watched them. 

    Another issue is telling someone to do something. 

    Situation that happened today: one of my technicians complained that she had nothing to do so I told her what she could do (let’s call it thing A) and she agreed. 

    Later today I overheard my 2 technicians talking about what to do and one of them asked the other “what would you like to do?” and she picked something, let’s call it thing B, and he decided to do thing C. 

    Of course nobody did the thing A and probably I will do it tomorrow. 

    I don’t have anything against thing B and C being done but  I can’t get my message through, no matter how I ask. 

    I’m not even sure what exactly I’m doing wrong but it wasn’t the first time - I had the same problem before with different people.

    I’ve tried writing to do list on a whiteboard but it got pretty much ignored and I ended up writing lists for myself.

    But as a senior lab tech it’s me who is responsible for everything that is done or not done in the lab.

  • over 4 years ago in reply to Ladybird

    Hello 64395, you sound like a considerate, thorough and nice colleague.  So often good workers are promoted to the "first level of incompetence" , meaning the point where they can no longer be as wonderful.   I read your description and I admit i would probably fall apart if I had those responsibilities. So I am not here to offer any practical help. However, you are among friends here so if you want to chat about something else to balance your anxieties or if we can cheer you up, feel free. 

    by the way - nothing you wrote sounds remotely silly.  

Reply
  • over 4 years ago in reply to Ladybird

    Hello 64395, you sound like a considerate, thorough and nice colleague.  So often good workers are promoted to the "first level of incompetence" , meaning the point where they can no longer be as wonderful.   I read your description and I admit i would probably fall apart if I had those responsibilities. So I am not here to offer any practical help. However, you are among friends here so if you want to chat about something else to balance your anxieties or if we can cheer you up, feel free. 

    by the way - nothing you wrote sounds remotely silly.  

Children
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