Feeling down since promotion, am I normal?

[missingu]

I got promoted unexpectedly which means I work a lot more hours than i was before and there's a lot more pressure. I barely see my partner as our hours are opposite and I hate this. Ever since i don't look forward to anything anymore. My partner wants to go out on weekends like we always have , but I Just can't be bothered. Things i normally have enjoyed in the past, I have zero excitement from anymore. I still go but I don't get as excited as I used too. I'm always tired. Stuck in this same damn routine bored out of my brain.

 

How do i overcome this and is it normal for me to feel this way?

[basil67]

Completely normal. I know more than one person who's refused promotion because they value work/life balance more than money.

[Mr. Lucky]

 

How do i overcome this and is it normal for me to feel this way?

 

Do you exercise or work out?

 

I always schedule something at the end of my work week, it takes me to that bubble where stress and preoccupation melt away. Run, swim, bike, tennis - I’ll push myself extra hard and the resulting exhaustion and great night’s sleep leads to a clean slate the next morning.

 

It’s a great way to clear your head...

 

Mr. Lucky

[Lotsgoingon]

Totally normal. You say your workload and pressure has increased--why wouldn't that be stressful?

 

But I think the people who like their new promotion jobs are people who love the new work or feel gifted in that area.

 

Any chance you're working too hard? ... Have you talked about this pressure and time problem with other people at work? Could be you're spending too much time on the wrong things--because it's all new to you. See if you can reach out to people (if there are any) who are new to management like you are ... and get some tips. Approach some people at work that you trust. Don't struggle with this in isolation.

 

Also, there are many people who excel in one job and wouldn't enjoy a "promotion." Most teachers don't want to be principals, for example. A lot of people in sales don't wanna manage a team of people in sales. Plenty of doctors don't want to run a practice of doctors and so on and so forth.

 

You'll have to evaluate your skillset. Give yourself some time to make the adjustment. But also be open to the possibility that your previous job (even with less money) is more sane and satisfying and more aligned with your skillset than the current "higher" job.

 

There are companies that seriously overwork managers ... other companies are more sane and don't ramp up the pressure with each promotion. So you might check into other companies ... might be you could do this job well and enjoy it without killing yourself--but only at a different company.

[BaileyB]

My question - is this something that will improve as you settle in and learn the new job? Or, is this expected to be the new norm? Because, if this is the new norm... depending on what you value and want for your life, you may need to reconsider the decision. Good luck and congratulations on the promotion!

[preraph]

I say find ways to decrease the amount of times spent. I'm sure you're on a learning curve now. Once you get organized, surely you can be more efficient. No one is allowed to make you work a lot of unpaid overtime, though most salaried jobs require occasional overtime.

 

Get into this job and find ways to improve things and make it more efficient. If you can't make it more efficient, make a good case for needing a part-time assistant. Start with requesting you just use someone who is already there for a little overflow so it's not a big leap for the boss to grant this request. Not like he's hiring a new person entirely, just reappropriating one person's time. One of the upsides of doing this that you can use to convince your boss is that at the same time, you are actually cross-training this person so they can be used in different capacities, making them more useful. You might even look around and get an idea of someone who isn't being fully used and suggest that person.

 

Find out if other people in equivalent type positions are actually doing all their own work or if they're farming it out. And also notice if they are taking off to pick up kids or play golf or are working extremely long hours themselves. Know what others are doing. If one person there in an equivalent position is not having to work long hours, you shouldn't either. I know in an old office of mine, there was one guy who always left right on the dot every day while others rarely did. He just wasn't having any of it. But during the day, he didn't talk to people and waste any time. He kept to himself, he kept his head down, and he stayed completely out of office politics. I actually worked under him at one place before this place. No one said anything to him because he was so reliable, low-key and zero trouble, never making waves, always self-contained. There's lessons to be learned from those people who no one touches like that.

 

On the assistant approach, another way to incentivize them to let you use someone to delegate some burdensome task to is to find something you WISH you had time to do that would enhance your job position that maybe you're not able or required to do now that would benefit the company. Let's just take an example. I'm sure your job doesn't have to do with this, but I bet you can see what I mean. Let's say you have client accounts and it would be helpful to the clients to see a summary of their activity or their purchases or anything like that, and it's something you could provide (and in short order, by mostly automating) that's not being done now that would impress the clientele. Then you could say, You know, Client X is always asking me for ___, and I wish I had time to just make a summary for them periodically. I was thinking maybe Joan isn't too busy and I could cross-train her to do the ______ that I'm currently doing, which anyone could do, it would free me up a little to do some more beneficial things that affect the bottom line. Always remember to couch it in how it will make more money for the company, because that's all they care about. It has to not cost them money at a minimum.

 

Good luck.

Edited November 12, 2018 by preraph

[Eternal Sunshine]

It really depends. I was overwhelmed at every new role that was a step up to what I had. Currently working crazy hours and 3 months into a new role. What usually happens is that I become much more efficient and progressively work less or make a case for hiring another person. So consider if this is temporary...