Worker resents losing interesting tasks

Several months ago, the university where I work hired a new dean who has completely changed my job. During my 20 years as the former dean’s assistant, I performed a wide variety of duties, which I liked and handled well. But after “Dr. Jordan” came, my more interesting responsibilities were given to other people, leaving me with boring clerical tasks.

Because I want to do more than schedule meetings and make travel arrangements, I am now applying for positions in other departments. However, I feel quite resentful about being pushed out of a job that I enjoyed for many years. I am tempted to share my feelings with Dr. Jordan, but I don’t know if that would be a good idea.

Turnover at the top almost inevitably results in operational change. For longserving employees, these alterations in policies, procedures and positions can feel like an earthquake, so your reaction is certainly understandable. The present and previous deans clearly have widely differing views about the role of an assistant.

Watching your job description shrink must have been sad and frustrating, so seeking a more rewarding position is a wise move. For your own benefit, however, you should still maintain a pleasant and positive demeanor with your current boss. If those other departments ask Dr. Jordan for a reference, a negative review could kill your transfer prospects.

Although resentment is a natural and expected response in this situation, you must make a concerted effort to get those feelings under control. Resentment is one of the most destructive emotions at work, because the recipient will eventually sense the hostility and react accordingly, sending the relationship into a downward spiral.

So while venting those angry feelings might feel good at first, doing so could easily jeopardize future goals. After the arrival of new management, employees can choose to be contentious or collaborative. I’ll let you guess which group has better career prospects.

A new supervisor who reports to me seems to spend a lot of time listening to his team’s personal problems. I believe he is just trying to show compassion and concern, but he needs to learn that managers should not try to act like counselors with their employees. How can I help him recognize appropriate boundaries without being too critical?

Any strength carried too far can become a weakness. When talking with your overly empathetic supervisor, explain that while you encourage friendly staff relationships, personal counseling can easily become problematic.

For example: “One of your strengths as a supervisor is that you really care about your employees. However, you need to be sure that you don’t get too involved in their private lives. Lately, you and your staff seem to be spending a lot of work time discussing personal issues, so I need for you to limit these conversations in the future.”

Suggest some specific strategies for politely and appropriately ending such discussions, and then schedule a followup meeting to review progress. If you continue to provide feedback and coaching, he should soon begin to figure out where that boundary lies.