Ask Ash: Piling it on

I have been working non-stop lately and feel like I’m on burnout, but my manager keeps piling on the work. She claims I need to prove myself after the pandemic as she feels people have been slacking. I need my job and don’t agree that I have been lazy; if anything it was really hard trying to juggle home life with working from home. My manager just seems to become increasingly unreasonable and has now made clear that parents should not be working from home unless their children are at nursery or school.

It seems your manager is acting somewhat irrationally as perhaps she too is under pressure after the pandemic. However, you need to stand up for yourself and your own wellbeing.

In my younger days, I too experienced times when a team leader found it difficult to address their own stresses, and essentially filtered down such pressures onto their staff. This is not only unfair but creates a tense and eventually unmanageable working environment. 

I appreciate you need your job, but if you carry on like this you risk potential burnout in any case.

In regard to the childcare issues, employers are offering increasing flexibility for parents. Therefore I suggest you speak to your manager and confirm you are willing to provide regular updates on your work to provide assurance about your progress and level of commitment. Such assurance is sometimes all that is required to help put your manager’s mind at ease.

However, if your manager is not willing to compromise, you may have to look at alternative opportunities. The pandemic has in many ways been a force for positive change in terms of work-life balance and your manager needs to understand that the horse has now bolted in this regard and she needs to adapt to this. Adding unreasonable restrictions and discriminating against parents will just push away good employees in the long run.

“Ash” is a solicitor who is willing to answer work-related queries from solicitors and other legal professionals, which can be put to them via the editor. Confidence will be respected and any advice published will be anonymised.

Please note that letters to Ash are not received at the Law Society of Scotland. The Society offers a support service for trainees through its Education, Training & Qualifications team. Email legaleduc@lawscot.org.uk or phone 0131 226 7411 (select option 3).