What to Do When Your Dream Temp Assignment Turns Into a Nightmare Permanent Job
When I temped for my current employer, everything was great. I had plenty of fun and interesting work to do, my own workspace, help whenever I needed it, and everyone was friendly and supportive. Since I became a full-time employee two weeks ago, all of that has changed. My workload - which is now mostly data entry and filing - has doubled, my workspace, which is one of the largest, is now being shared with a new temp, I practically have to make an appointment to get help and the friendliness and support are nowhere to be found. What's going on here? What should I do?
Your situation is confusing, to say the least. It sounds like you had a very nice Honeymoon period with your boss when you were a temp, and now that you've become a full-time employee, your employer sees you differently.
This is NOT about you. It's strictly about your boss. Some people are only able to value people and things when they are new and shiney. Once the novelty wears off, they take those same people and things for granted.
I recommend two things:
1) Accept the fact that the honeymoon is over. You are now in stage 2 with your employer which means you have to forge a different kind of relationship.
2) Start Managing Up. That means you schedule brief weekly meetings with this boss, bring an agenda of the things you're working on, and get direct feedback in terms of what needs to be done and what his or her current priorities are.
Sorry for the turn in events. Take good care of yourself, and stick to creating positive results for the company.
Set up a confidential meeting with your manager or the HR department. Be careful not to be confrontational. Indicate that you have a question about the change in the conditions of the job and you are curious about why it's happened. Keep in mind that it could be a temporary situation because of the economy and the company being understaffed. Be open to solving the problem in the meeting.
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