How to deal my boss like this?

[salmon2]

Guys, need your advice.

I came to this company about 2 years ago. Two employee left and their work are on me. I have to say I was very proactive when I just joined because that time my boss did not have specific work to me. I was assigned to help both of them and then proven to be better than them. So they left and their work left for me.

I am doing the jobs perfectly I think. Any question I can just turn them around within seconds because I received a lot of education and try to educate myself all the time. So I got a lot of free time.

Since beginning of this year, my boss lended me to engineering manager, let me functionally report to him because our group is manufacturing and there is nothing technical left in our group. It is all right even though I did not receive any benefit or salary increase.

But your know what I still got a lot of free time. Could not find enough excuses to bug my boss to show him that I am fully loaded. So my boss kind of found this and is kind of irritated by the fact that I am not fully occupied while others are - do not know if that is true though. But he does not have anything to give me and started to talk like a XX saying that I need you to know everything about this and I want you to be my one stop source. While I can do that if he give me a project manager tile or I have to stick my nose into other's territory.

So anyway, I am irritated by that he is irritated by me since I am already unhappy with my salary increase during these 2 years.

Is "too good" really an excuse to be blamed?

 

[KENAT]

Sorry Salmon, had trouble understanding some of the finer points of your post.

Not sure what a job title has to do with being able to be a 'one stop source'. A rose by any other name...

Why can't you be his one stop shop, do you lack experience or need training or what? Maybe come up with a plan of what would need to happen for you to be his one stop shop.

You say you have free time but that others may be fully loaded, have you asked them directly if you can help them?

Maybe I'm having trouble relating because I've never 'had nothing to do'. If I don't get the work direct from my boss I'll find something that needs doing and do it. Be it lending a helping hand to someone else or seeing something that could be improved and working on it off my own initiative.

So long as I'm getting the tasks done that I am explicitly being given, I've never had a boss who minded me finding other things to do as well. You may need to be a bit careful of politics, not to tread on anyone’s toes but if you're as good as you say you should manage it.

Or if you're really unhappy start looking for another position that you think will stretch you.

If nothing else, and if it's of use to your job, maybe you could find some way of working on your English. No offence (I'm sure your English is better than my attempt at your native tongue) but your post is difficult to understand so if writing in English is something your job requires you could certainly justify spending time on it.


KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[HgTX]

Call your Eng-Tips participation "continuing education for continuous improvement".

Hg

Eng-Tips policies: faq731-376

 

[TheTick]

If what you say is true, you are overqualified. Why not find a more challenging job?

 

[salmon2]

Kenat,

Thanks a lot for your post.

Sorry about my English, I did not pay much attention. If I do, I think I can do a better job, but I did not and you probably can see I am a foreign. I published many papers, but indeed you are right that my spoken English and communication are very poor.

My title is manufacturing engineer or metallurgist or mechanical engineer whatever you call it, I am doing all of them. But I am in manufacturing group which I personally think should be called "purchasing group" because majority of persons in our group are buyers.

We are a huge company and our group got many products. I am the manufacturing engineer for one product family. So anything technical will belong to me. I have covered all of them.

The scenario when my boss said I need you to be my one stop bus(?) (forgot what he said) is that he asked me what is the status of order of one material, I said I do not know but I have finalized the Spec with the vendor and now it is in buyer's hand who also reports to the same boss.

I am not whining that I am too good. But really our chief engineer once said that "you already know 95% of our products". I am very technically strong, but not good at communication.

I do not want to ask if other people have anything I can help with because I not a junior engineer and I think this is my boss's responsibility to assign work to me with proper credit and salary. I have to admit that I don't want to be a helper which I think is for junior in most cases. I am reviewing, qualifying more than 30 million worth raw material right now and one of three members committee to review any new supplier globally. Other two members are our chief engineer and engineering manager.

I am hunting for a new job - actually already for a year. But no success either because I did not really work on it because I have not bad job or lack of luck.

 

[HgTX]

You shouldn't go asking other people if they need help without your boss's consent. But if your boss tells you part of your job is to do what you can wherever it's needed, regardless of formal line of command, then that's what you do.

I've had the reverse problem, where I see something else I want to be doing and I can't do it because it's not part of my boss's turf.

Hg

Eng-Tips policies: faq731-376

 

[salmon2]

HgTX,

Thanks and I am with you.

When I just joined, I was like that because I did not have any specific work. I spotted questions, ask other people, and discussed with my boss. That is why the other two employee left one after another I think. But really I did not mean to do that because I just wanted to secure my job and progress.

At the beginning, my boss liked my attitude and gave me pretty good review even though it didn't connect to my salary increase perfectly.

But the thing is that I don't want to be like that anymore either because there is no much technical left unless I want to make buyer a career and he never gave me credits or support when I spotted problems. He basically will say since you already come up with this question, why don't you solve it. Really if I do that I will be treading other's toes.

 

[Helicopterjunky]

I once or twice worked at a place like you describe. I left when the buyers took over engineering. At one time when engineers controlled more of the operations support much of the work was technical and progressive. Now that bean counters and purchasing control more of the functions, much of the work is mundane and non-technical. I have found two types of jobs in my career. Jobs where you run from the minute you get in till you leave (with your ulcers) and jobs where you have many hours of inactivity. I prefer the later as I get older. Much of the work is non-technical paper pushing but why should I care as long as they pay well. You may just need to relax and take the assignements as they come. Try to perform your tasks to a little higher standard than your teammates and that alone should distinquish you. Be careful around the buyers, all they care about is checking boxes complete not whether items function correctly. Their agenda is usually much different than that of the engineer. Ignore the boss attitude and stay with your own game plan. If all else fails and you just have to have an engineer focused high energy technical job start looking for one of these and move on. Good Luck!

 

[salmon2]

I have to agree with you Helicopterjunky that our buyers are super busy - standing out in the peers easily because they are late on quote and PO all the time. Engineers have to follow or push them for every bit movement like they are doing engineers favors.

I am in a passive mode. When they received POs, I will review the material testing report, schedule testings accordingly, give approval, etc. But my boss wants me to be proactive and a pusher which is his job IMO. Actually, I think he agrees that I am doing a better job than most people. But as a senior manager, probably with his current title till retirement, he seems not want young engineers like me progress too quick even though I am very technically competent which he admitted once because he said you are my go-to guy on technical issues.

I do not mind to be relaxed since the pay is not bad (not good either). I can spend time to improve myself. But it is my boss who has a problem with this. Maybe I just show read one sentence of testing report and submit or answer a thread here. That way, he will think I am fully loaded and pulling my weight.

I guess my best odd is to find a new job, at least I can potentially get a much big payrise.

 

[TenPenny]

Let me quote a couple of things you've said: But my boss wants me to be proactive and a pusher which is his job IMO.
...But as a senior manager, probably with his current title till retirement, he seems not want young engineers like me progress too quick even though I am very technically competent which he admitted once because he said you are my go-to guy on technical issues.
---------------------------
You seem to be saying that your boss wants you to be more pro-active, and yet you're also suggesting he's holding you back and not letting you progress.

I think the solution is to be more pro-active. Prove that you're capable in EVERY aspect that YOUR BOSS wants you to do, and then he'll give you more. After all, he is your boss. Isn't it your job to do the work he wants you to do?

 

[rtmote]

How many years' experience do you have?
I find if you hit the seven year mark, life gets better.
Do you know what you want to do? If you are not junior and you want a new job, you have to think about what it is you want to do and find the companies that need your skills.
You sound bored but keen and slightly resentful of the situation.

I am projecting now, but it seems your boss is looking for independence and self-motivation in you but you are still seeking praise and instructions from him. Often times when you are good at your job people stop saying so or even commenting on it. They expect it and more of the same. That's a compliment in itself because you are now an integral part of the team.

If it is 'payrise' you are after, then you will find you start at the bottom again, in a new team, with a whole new set of challenges and issues and maybe your current boss isn't so bad! Change your job if it is a new challenge altogether or a promotion. But not if it is just sideways with more money because this means you will continue to live in 'comparison' mode, wondering and you will not be any further ahead.

The question is and will always be, are you happy? Happy to stay or happy to change? Is there something else you want to do? Be sure if it is money, knowledge, appreciation or motivation is the core issue.

It will get better, but you have to change first. Always.


Robert Mote

http://www.motagg.com

 

[salmon2]

TenPenny,

Thanks for the comment.

He wants me to be proactive in others' field, for example, if and when the buyers placed POs. But I think I am just the guy downstream next to them in the whole process. I have been performing very good in my specific spot which I mean for any technical questions I will answer them within hours either approved/rejected, passed or failed, OK or not, or what additional tests needed. No delay ever on my desk. My boss should give me a project manager or lead title if he wants me to go beyond my current scope because otherwise nobody wants me to be over their shoulders all the time. As a matter of fact, I have been working as a manufacturing engineer in my group and mechanical enginner in engineering group. So my boss do not have to interact with engineering because I will do all the work supposed to be done in engineering for him. I think that was why he wants me to report functionally to engineering manager. Reversly, I will do the same thing in our group for engineering.

When I say he is holding me back is on the salary and promotion. I have been here 2.5 years - only got one average pay rise and no promotion. Before you said it is normal I want you know two of my achievements. We got > 5 millions worth raw material - several years old before when I joined, sitting in our warehouse forever, nobody wants to sign off them because they are all below our specifications. I did a bunch of tests and assigned suitable usages to them with <1% scrap rate. This not only saved the capital of the raw material and also released our warehouse space. Second, I was the main coordinator, technical support, tester last year of developing a new supplier in China. The material bought passed all the tests and resulted in 3 millions of saving. I did not get anything extra on bonus and I just got just the same bonus with hundreds of employees in this facility. I just could not help to be disappointed.

You said that my work is to do what my boss wants me to do. My answer is yes when I just joined and tried to secure my job and not for now when I want to be appreciated in term of salary and promotions.

 

[salmon2]

rtmote,

I have 3.5 years of US working experience and 1 year outside US and a master and PhD. I put my master and PhD separately because I spent 3 and 4 years for them in different , respectively. Do not know if I am qualified for 7 years experience. Certainly my life is not better than before - about the same.

Your observation is very keen - I do feel resentful as my last post. I just do not feel I am appreciated and my boss wants me to do more unreasonable things. It is not self-independence that my boss wants to see me. We never have group meeting and everyone's jobs are tangled together. No clear line between everyone's responsibilities. That is why he had perfect excuses to turn down my request for salary rise. He always said this is team objective - if it failed, everyone got nicked no matter how hard I tried to say there is no delay or mistakes on me. In summary, he did a terrible job to motivate ambitious employee like me and too generous for slackers.

Interestingly, actually I do not want to discuss my technical work with him as before because he will give out all the incorrect decisions which I have to follow. I can not argue with him even though it is my job and I am much more technically stronger than him. So I decided sometime ago that I will just process my work without involving him until the final update. I do not need his instructions, but it seems he missed the days when I just joined and he could give me all the instructions because I was new to the company.

Actually I like what I am doing in except of pay. But the problem is that my boss does not like the fact that I have a lot of free time And he also does not have any more work for me. I told him several times that I do not mind more work, but I do not like the vague instruction like I need you to know everything about raw material. I told him I already know all the technicals of raw material that we are using and do not mind to be challenged if he wants. But I do not want to be after buyers and planers all the time because they do not need me to and I am not supposed to, unless he made me project lead or manager. Actually I know all the tools that buyers and planers use, which I think I am the best among our engineers. I spent fairly amount of time when I was even free-er. If needed, I do not have to bother buyers as long as the info is in our system, not in their heads or emails.

Your comment made me ask myself what I really want. I think what I want is higher salary and enjoyment. But if only one is allowed, higher salary because I got a family to raise.

 

[salmon2]

One incident happened early this year that we had one shipment from one supplier failed our test - meaning that we can not use it for anything, maybe 100 thousands worth.

The background with this supplier is that they only agreed to some portion of our specifications, not the full version, for more than 10 years with > 10 millions annual spending. The items in our Spec without supplier's agreement are actually equally, if not more, important compared to the items with agreement. So you know it is absolutely natural sometime the material fails our functional tests. The reason why we keep doing business with this supplier is because of its cheapest price in US, I guess. I do not decide these things. Also they are the sole supplier and developing a new supplier for us is a long process, at lease one year. That is why I said in my previous post that we had > 5 millions material without approval sitting in our warehouse.

Anyway, I updated my boss on the failure of this shipment and he got made with the supplier at first because it is $100k, demanding me to solve this. I said since the material has met the agreed portion of Spec, So I do not think I can not do anything about it. He heard it and began to be mad at me, saying you are manufacturing engineer and I need you to solve this and if you can not solve this and you are no different from a clerk. I argued back that I just do not have any evidence to order the supplier to take it back and the only thing I can do is to beg the supplier "if you please take it back" even though this is buyer's job to me because I do not talk to them directly. He said "NO, I need you to solve this because you are manufacturing engineer of raw material and this is raw material issue". I said we have planers and buyers for raw material, several more people who are the direct contact with suppliers, and why all of sudden it is on me only. We had a fight so loud that everybody heard us because our working environment is cubicle.

The buyer later told the supplier about this and the supplier was nice enough to take it back. So the problem diminished. But I was so angry, especially on his comment that I am no different from a clerk, that I sent an email to my boss's boss. The boss's boss was too busy that he only replied to me saying we will talk about this, but he never did. I guess he never got time to read through my long email. Several days later I managed to suppressed my feeling and decided to move on. But if I had a job offer elsewhere at the moment, I would have quit right after the fight. I am a foreign people, only given 30 days to find my next employer if I end with my current. So I have to be super careful.

 

[HgTX]

Start looking for another job last week. Regardless of whether you could have handled things better, you're in a dysfunctional environment.

Hg

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