The amount of stress (kinda long)

101709lovey

I will be forced to take on within the next few weeks is starting to freak me out.  I can't post this on my local board yet, but the long & short of the story is I work for a pretty small company (about 16 total employees).  Most of us have been here for eons, and we only really have 2 people that work f/t in the office; myself and another guy.  He's been here over 12 years and over the course of the past year has been researching, planning, and preparing to start his own business.  Its finally all done and ready to go.  He is planning on giving his 2 weeks notice when he does his closing on 4/12.  Our boss historically does NOT let someone work out their 2 weeks; even if they are super critical to the daily operations like this person is.  We are preparing for him to be told to go home the same day he gives his notice.  I'm starting to internalize the whole situation b/c there are only 3 people (myself included) that know this is going to happen.  Two of the people are planning on looking for a new job asap b/c they don't want to be here when my coworker is gone (they are field techs).  I'm happy for him to be doing what's in his heart and all, but I'm also freaking out and I can't help it.

We are already extremely understaffed and have been for the entire 11 years I've been here.  My boss knows it but doesn't care, thus the reason he won't hire anyone.  He thinks every person in this company should do everyone's job, and its not realistic at all.  Not having this other person in the office leaves me.  By myself.  All week.  It also means I'm going to be picking up every other Saturday, too since him leaving will put us down to 2 total people in that rotation.  My boss is the kind of person that doesn't ask you to do something, or to stay late for example; he tells you or just expects you to.  I can't afford to be too terribly defiant (I know my limits w/ him) b/c this job is H & I's livelihood until we sell the house.  I'm going to be forced to just suck it up and work a ton of hours, plus every other weekend, and its a LOT of work already on my plate before this change happens.  Add the fact that I will now be doing 100% of the office work means I'm going to overwhelmed x's 100.

Really, I just needed to vent.  I can't talk about this to anyone right now b/c the info isn't public knowledge for another 2 weeks or so.  I wish that I could honestly express the amount of stress already on everyone's plates here; I can't fathom at this point how sucky life is going to get soon.  I don't even know what do or what I'm going to do.  *Sigh*

kelnyc

That sounds awful. I think as soon as the word is out, you need to frimly tell him that you have other commitments and cannot work Saturdays. That way at least if you are swamped all week, you'll still have your weekends. I would also be proactive and divide up this guys work to some of the other staff. Any little piece that someone else can handle is less on your plate. GL and I hope it's not as bad as you expect!

jlk0219

Oh, man do I feel for ya.  I used to work for the same type of boss- it was a small office and everyone was ALWAYS way overworked (except for the owner's family members who all worked for her and did absolutely nothing).  Yet she would never hire more people because she didn't want to pay for more employees (she was able to swindle a couple of employees to work overtime but not receive overtime pay, by convincing them that they were working a "separate" job because it fell under a "separate job description", even though they were doing exactly the same work they usually do.  Hello, illegal!)

I know it seems like you HAVE to do what your boss says, but I agree with Kel.  Yes, you would be miserable for a while if you had to find another job, but believe me you will be much more miserable if you let him overwork you for god kns how long.  And if you let him do that to you, I can guarantee he won't be in a hurry to find a replacement for your coworker.   Why bust his a$$ to find another employee when you will do all the work?  You are worth more than that, and so is your personal time- with your hubby and just for yourself.  Remember, it's not your fault that this coworker is leaving, causing your office to be understaffed.  Employee turnover is a normal part of running a business- it's not your responsibility to pick up all the slack.  It's your boss's responsibility to find a replacement- simple as that.  A good boss would know not to overwork his employees and take them for granted.  Good luck and be strong   Hopefully it won't be as bad as you think.