A Boss that I Don't Like
For the last few years, my full-time job has been running a community makerspace at a nonprofit. I have too many things to say about it, but I can tell you with confidence: it's a hard job.
As it turns out, when you're competent, everybody wants things from you. People will come in left and right with projects or requests, without any desire to do the task themselves.
I run the makerspace, order materials, hire teachers, teach, repair machines, do external jobs, and much more. The scope creep is real, and I'm making only $57k a year.
My relationship with my direct supervisor has been deteriorating for a while now. If anything is to blame, it's her lack of emotional intelligence. She is full of insecurity and self-doubt, and each time I try to talk to her like an adult, she wags her finger at me and reminds me that she's my boss (which matters, how?).
I am not a difficult employee. I do everything that is asked of me and don't even push back. Recently, however, we've been having conflict because she interpreted one of my emails as saying "no" to a job request, which is not what I actually said.
This individual seems to think that showing emotion is "unprofessional," and she constantly masks her expression. You are always left wondering what she is even thinking.
So, her interpretation that I said "no" prompted: 1. a meeting where we went over every project I'm currently working on, 2. a log of everything I do for each hour of the workday for the next week, and 3. a list of all my tasks and obligations as part of my job.
She may not feel it, but it comes off as a punishment. I've literally had to start practicing conversations with an AI assistant to figure out how to respond to somebody who, I'm sorry to say, seems to struggle with basic social communication. I don't mean that as an insult — I sincerely believe it.
It seems that I should maintain a neutral expression, never give a flat yes or no, redirect and ask for clarification — all to make sure the scope of my job does not continuously expand. It seems wholly unnecessary, but I guess that's the reality of the situation. I don't like my boss, but I'm trying not to roll over or people-please either.
The difficult thing about running a makerspace is that administration doesn't have a grasp of how much work things actually take. People file in and out with ideas. Some of them are okay, but frankly, I think we should say no to most of them. In my experience with makerspaces, it is always better to do three things well than ten things half-assedly.
All to say, I'm navigating this one step at a time. It's annoying and stupid, and I am not enjoying my job right now. Welp.