Jenna has been with her organization for two years. Recently, her colleague Sam became her supervisor, and their dynamic changed, taking a turn for the worse. Sam questions Jenna’s intentions in team meetings, reassigns projects to a less senior member, and pressures the team with unrealistic deadlines.
This has left Jenna feeling anxious, working long hours, and neglecting her personal life. Despite loving her job, Jenna finds this situation unsustainable. She recognizes that Sam, as a new manager, is under pressure, possibly influenced by her own challenging manager.
Jenna feels stuck and worried that anything she does to try to improve the situation will just make it worse. So, what can Jenna do? She can do nothing. She can also experiment with a few different approaches and see what works and what doesn’t.
For Jenna’s well-being, she can experiment with:
- Establishing work boundaries to prevent burnout.
- Scheduling self-care activities, like massages, joining a sports or activities team, making plans with family and friends, planning a vacation, etc. .
- Exploring other job opportunities as a backup plan – creating space for options.
For improving the relationship, Jenna can experiment with:
- Considering Sam’s perspective and potential insecurities.
- Starting with small gestures instead of immediate big changes.
- Highlighting aspects that boost Sam’s confidence and align with her priorities.
Jenna can experiment with these strategies for a month to observe any positive changes in Sam’s behavior. While it might require some trial and error, it’s an attempt to create a healthier work environment for both of them.
By Teresa Ralicki, Ombuds Lead at Pinterest, founder of Ombuds Institute, and Co-Editor of Ombuzz