good job is Slate’s advice column about work. Is the workplace problem big or small? Send it to Laura Helmuth and Dori Schafferer here. (It’s anonymous!)
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dear good job,
I work full time for a company that is 100 percent remote. My job is mostly independent—I have a few team meetings a week and a weekly meeting with my manager, but other than that, my work is project-based and individual. I am writing because of slow stress.
Because the entire company is remote, Slack is very important to the company’s culture. The “People” division launched several channels for various interests, including animals and children and TV shows, and then of course there are also channels for projects and teams. The team leads posts about new projects in team channels, project channels, and company-wide channels, and many posts per day describe projects that different people are working on. It’s nice to have that much transparency in what the rest of the company is doing, but it has no bearing on my actual job.
Most of the time, I find Slack to be a scary distraction. I really don’t understand how people read this stuff all day, much less post it. Maybe once or twice a week I really need a message with someone.Many of my contacts with my manager are saved for our weekly meeting. Sometimes, he will message me on Slack, but never urgently. All that said, I find myself afraid to leave my computer even for a bathroom break because it will make me look “away” on Slack. I always think about it when I’m working, worried that if I ignore the app so long I’ll look “away”. I just feel chained to my computer in such a way that I don’t really need to except to be on Slack. I don’t even know if anyone even notices when I’m “online” or not, but it really stresses me out. How do other people navigate this?
– Laziness
dear slow down,
Isn’t it funny that all these tools that were meant to help us be more collaborative and productive are largely just bigger distractions? I’m a freelancer and I still find myself confused by the (multiple!) Slack channels I’m on. My recollection of Slack from when I worked full-time in an office was what you describe: dozens of active channels, only a few of which were actually work-related. There were definitely people who seemed to be on Slack all Day – Did they ever get their work done? Uncertain! I think some people can really multitask and have Slack open while they’re working too, but for most of us, it’s really hard to stay focused when Slack’s notifications go off every three seconds.
All that to say, I really sympathize with your situation here, and yet, I wonder if you imagine an obligation for Slack in your workplace that doesn’t necessarily exist. You say that your manager doesn’t really communicate with you on Slack, and it seems like he’d be the most important person there to care about – if he’s constantly messaging you and you’re not responding, that might be cause for concern, but it sounds like he has a pretty healthy relationship with Slack. It seems like he doesn’t expect you to be that active on Slack, so I’m wondering where this pressure that seems to be present all the time is coming from. The fact that you describe yourself as “terrified” to even leave your desk to go to the bathroom because you’re worried you’ll look like you’re gone. I’m wondering if you have any concerns about the work you’re submitting entirely on Slack. I would try to have an honest conversation with your manager (who then seems like he has a healthy opinion about using Slack!) about what his expectations are for you in Slack. I can’t imagine that he expects you to weigh in on a regular TV channel, so just what does he expect from you and your lazy presence?
No one – and I mean it no one– Always be on slack, and of course everyone takes bathroom breaks! I hope you can find a way to have a healthy relationship with Slack at work, because the way you think about it right now feels very stressful. I will be thinking about you!
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dear good job,
My current position is “Senior Manager”, but I don’t manage anyone. I am an independent contributor. I manage projects, and I keep cats on the trail and manage people’s contributions, but I’ve never reported directly to me. There is a job I want to go to in another organization that requires experience as a people manager. Do you think my project management experience and use of my “Senior Manager” title is sufficient to apply? Or will I look stupid when they find out I’ve never managed a team? And if it’s the latter, how can I get that kind of experience? How do you manage people when you never manage people?
– “Manager”
Dear “Manager”
I say go! The worst case scenario is that they decide your experience doesn’t match what they’re looking for, but you’ll never know unless you actually ask. I would also write a script for a potential interview where you make the case for how your current role requires managing multiple people, even without any direct reports.
In terms of how you can get that kind of experience, I think the best place to start is at your current workplace. Talk to your manager about your career path and explain to them that you are interested in becoming a manager. I’m guessing they’ll be happy about it, because great managers (and people who are passionate about management) are a bit underwhelming in my experience – often, people are motivated to manage people because it’s the next step in their career, whether they really want to manage people or not. If your manager says they don’t think you’re ready, ask them what it would take for them to feel confident in taking on a direct report or two. Is there a course you can take? Can you shadow any managers at work? I hope that you will be able to transition seamlessly from your current job to the new role, which will make it much easier to apply for the next role in your career. Good luck.
– round
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