why am i wide awake at 4AM?
 

so in a nut shell i changed jobs about 7 months ago, it was a hard adjustment from a field inspector for a public agency to working as a purchasing agent for a large home builder's off-site development division. at 1st i did not care for my boss one bit but after 5 or 6 months we had hit a common ground and i had learned the job after a quite a bit of personnel struggle with it. things were real good about the 1st of the year, i was continuing to learn a lot, figured out how to deal with the bossman, really like the people i worked with and was actually enjoying my job.

so about two weeks ago they fire my boss, seems good right? not so much. his position was "eliminated", a guy that worked 50+ hours a week position is eliminated with no replacement? he was the civil engineer guy that had all the nuts and bolts of each job committed to memory and was meticulous. me not so much. the guy that took over for him is a VP, his old boss and a guy that now wears too many hats being in charge of two departments. he is a sharp guy, yet i am not sure if he realizes the scope of the nuts and bolts. you know the devils in the details.

i recognized that my responsibilities were about to increase, looked forward to the challenge. i had just gotten to the point of what i knew revealed to me what i DID NOT know, not entirely confident but was ready for the challenge. the last few weeks i have noticed things changing a bit, things not being done as thoroughly. i no longer have the resource of the old bossman's knowledge and i am making more "calls" w/o his guidance. the new guy operates more from the hip and gut and i am seeing old guidelines that represented order being tossed aside. now absent i am concerned this lack of attention to detail i had come to expect from my old boss may cast me as a fall guy at some point when the house of cards comes down.

did i also mention that i was just handed another field assignment job that is the problem child job in a real problem city? this additional work of field management was something i had coveted when i first switched jobs, but right now it seems like bad timing to me. i am not one that can do two jobs half assed and sleep at night. i feel that both responsibilities may suffer with the workload, figure field work = roadtime. i know i am not sleeping well at night.

should i talk with this VP and voice my concerns, telling him i need to concentrate on my increased responsibilities in my current position and leave the field stuff for another time? thing is reviews and bonuses are due in a matter of weeks so its not a "can't do" time of year. but really if i fail so does this VP guy.

i have been obsessing on work to the extent that i am losing sleep and its consuming my being. not talking to the VP guy, but not being efficient at either job. i run over laundry list of work stuff all hours of the night, this weekend it was crippling.

thanks for any ideas on how to approach the discussion with management, dealing with the stress, and what i might be best served doing.

T$

PS- did i mention i knew this VP socially a bit before i took the job?

In a nutshell? Yes, you are seeing corners being cut and it is a matter of time before it bites everyone in the ass.

Discuss this concern with the VP. Also, come up with a solution, coming to the VP with a problem and a solution is much better than just pointing out a problem. Coming at him with a solution will make you a huge asset to the company.

It is your responsiblity to talk to the VP. You have to explain things to him so he understands your situation. If you don't explain it, he has no reason to know your situation and no reason to give you any help because he doesn't know you need any.

But you have to do it in a way that doesn't sound whiney or like you're putting a burden on him. See if you can schedule lunch with him or get an hour of his time. What you are pitching to him is that the two of you need to meet to set expectations for your new responsibilities and establish lines of communication. He'll appreciate it.

This job is defnitely not doing wonders for your well-being. I was in a similar situation such as yourself. Thinking about work after I got home, couldn't sleep at night, always having it alive in my head. A job that you can't forget about after 5PM, that you can't turn off like a valve, that keeps you up at night, is not worth it.
Stress is bad, both physically and mentally. At the end of the day, it's only a job. Not a big deal. Take care of yourself first, then worry about the job. Take some time to relax and forget about it. Try doing Yoga to escape for a little while.

Make sure you include a plan in your solution that makes the VP look good, even at your expense. Now, I have no direct knowledge of how to survive in the corporate world, nor do I care at this point. But, just human nature dictates what I suggest.

And, if he's a good manger, he'll make sure you get better sleep because he will get more out of you.

Go for a drive. The roads are clear at 4am. :)

T$ - Milt makes a good point. It's always good to make the boss man look good.

Another good point was have a solution to recommend and make sure VP guy knows what's going on with stuff on your plate. Full disclosure, but with a recommendation that makes both of you sucessful.

Oh, and finding a subtle way to reiterate what you discuss in an email is good for CYA. Small exception being for the "conversation that never happened" over lunch.

Good luck. You've got my number if you want to call and discuss.

Two good points. Never go into a meeting or discussion without having both a solution and hopefully one that makes your boss and hopefully yourself look good in the process.

Anyone can find problems with many projects or jobs but a professional figures out the problems and comes up with a solution that works and makes everyone look better at the same time.

Agree with those comments above - one thing I would add to the meeting is to get agreement with your boss on the order of priorities of the work set - you only have so many hours per day - use them effectively on the real priorities for the business. Communication via a monthly report is an effective way to raise and record issues - not a multi page essay - a short one page list with summarised achievements, plans for next month and the red flag items which need to be addressed.

Try to schedule a meeting once a month to discuss this report - it establishes a dialogue between you which will remove the possibility of you being too distant and below his radar - and you will have had the opportunity to brief him of issues that would be a nasty shock to him if they dragged on too long - always get in first with bad news and suggest a solution.

It is important also to set up your sleep time and stick to a regime - hot drink, bath, bed at the same time so that you are relaxed. Lay off the booze. Ask me how I know...

I'm awake at 3:35 AM right now. I don't sleep when I'm on the road - maybe 2 hours a night. At home it is around 6 to 8 now that I'm on Lexipro. Before, maybe 4 tops.

What company did U say U worked for?