I would really appreciate an objective point of view. I have worked for the same small business for over a decade. I like the work, I like the customers, I feel challenged, and my hours suit me. The business itself is doing fine.
However, all of the staff are under immense strain, and I am now wondering if this is a challenge I can rise to, or if I’m on a sinking ship.
If I use today as an example: Of the four other members of the team who were in today, I had all four complaining to me. One was nearly in tears over being asked to make someone a cup to tea. The other three were annoyed at each other for various reasons. I also had my manager complaining to me that she is under immense strain (which is true) and that the boss will be aggressive to her when she tries to take a day off (which he does). However I’m also aware that crucial things the boss asked her to do, like advertising for a new team member, and training the current ‘new employee’ who is no longer technically new, have both been completely ignored.
I also had my boss complaining that certain work wasn’t done this morning. However, we are short staffed, as he is well aware, and we also had a staff member on annual leave, which makes big impact on a small team.
Is this normal working life? Is there a way I can manage all these personalities bumping heads? I want to stay in my job but it seems increasingly intolerable. It’s also worth mentioning that my boss blew up at me last week in front of his partner. The partner actually tried to get him to calm down. There was no substance to his complaint. I stayed very calm and later he cane out and tried to hug me and apologize. I think he’s very good at his work but very immature and lacking people skills. With him at the head, is there any chance I can still make this job work for me? My colleagues and my manager are all pleasant people outside of this strain.
A quick edit as requested: my question is whether you think there’s any recommendations for how I could galvanize the team or create some kind of plan to ‘handle’ my boss or manager... or whether it’s hopeless. The business is genuinely doing well, but the staff are exhausted and increasingly unhappy.