What Can You Do When You Discover Countless Problems at Your New Job?

After submitting what can feel like hundreds of resume submissions for job applications with no response, going through multiple interviews that lead nowhere, undertaking skill tests or strict application processes, and having reference checks, the moment you get past all this and finally land a job, you can start smiling. You’ve done it!

However, unfortunately, these smiles can quickly fade for a lot of people the moment they actually start the job. Problems, from the smallest to the largest, start to pop up everywhere, toxic environments start to shine through, workloads get piled on you, and utter chaos reigns. The question is: what do you do when this occurs? Do you keep wading through problem after problem, or do you take action? This blog might help you determine just what your next steps involve.

Problem: They Are Not Paying You Correctly

When a job application goes out, they will have listed a salary alongside the job role and what is expected of you if you were to accept. During interviews, negotiations might occur, particularly when they have offered a salary band. While this might be tricky, you are perfectly within your rights to do so. They can either reject or accept your suggestion, just as much as you can reject or accept their job. If you accept, you won’t likely face problems with them paying you this base salary once it has been determined.

However, this doesn’t mean you can’t run into problems with overtime disputes or sales commission. If you have been working over your hours, clocking in early and out late, under their orders, but aren’t receiving the pay, you absolutely need to take action. Likewise, if you were told about a commission plan during your interview that is going on and you work hard when you get here to secure this and then it changes mid-to-late quarter, you can’t sit back and let this happen.

Solution: Whether you are experiencing issues with overtime payments not being made or you are struggling to know how to approach commission issues, get in touch with employment lawyers like Baird Quinn. Lawyers at a firm like this are highly skilled in being able to navigate aggrieved employees when it concerns being paid correctly.

Problem: They Haven’t Provided Proper Training

You will have worked really hard to get to this point by demonstrating and explaining your current skill set, but that doesn’t mean you don’t still need some form of training to help you get settled in. You may be using different software or systems than you are used to or doing tasks that are completely new to you for the first time. You would expect in this case to have some formal training take place. However, if you’ve been thrown into the deep end, being handed tasks as if you’ve been here for years, what do you do? Do you try your best and risk getting it right? No, you must do the following.

Solution: If you haven’t been given training on your first day, don’t be afraid to ask your direct manager to determine whether you will receive this at any point. If they say no, but the interview implied you would, seek out any documents that would back this up, find out whether there is a reason (budget problems or a busy season could be the reason why), and see if there are alternative tasks you can do while you wait for the formal training. In the meantime, try to learn from colleagues around you.

Problem: Poor Management is Making Life Hard

There is often one thing that drives good employees away from great job opportunities: managers. Poor management causes more employee turnover than anything else, and it often isn’t spotted until someone accepts the job. Very rarely is it picked up in an interview. It can be disheartening to have found your dream job but have to put up with poor management every day. They might start small by micromanaging your day before you clock that they have poor communication skills, blame you or other team members when mistakes occur but take credit when it goes right, provide little-to-no feedback unless it’s negative, and ignore signs of burnout within the team. Soon enough, they might have unhealthy expectations, such as sending late-night emails and expecting you to work outside of your allotted work hours. At first, you might put this down to the stress of the job, but if you notice any of these signs, you can bet it is because of the management.

Solution: Whether it’s because of their personas or because of a lack of training, it shouldn’t excuse anyone’s behavior toward their team, so if you are struggling with poor management, consider logging everything they do/say and keeping a paper trail of feedback or incidents that have occurred. If, after raising concerns with them, they call you to discuss, ensure you follow up this call with an email that recaps everything, and ensure you have HR there by your side so you have evidence if required. Despite the difficulties you will face every day, continue to do your very best. Your work should speak for itself, after all.

If nothing changes and you are starting to feel the effects, consider bringing in more senior leadership or labor unions.

Problem: Negative Atmosphere Across the Workplace

While many jobs allow people to work from home, there are still plenty that require you to go into the office or place of work to do your job. It is by doing so that you’ll quickly pick up on the vibe there. For most people, this atmosphere will be one of productivity, positivity, open communication, and supportive management. However, you may notice a toxic atmosphere with high levels of gossip and cliques, low morale due to unrealistic workloads, or even tense interactions between different team members.

Solution: When you pick up on atmospheres like this, make sure you completely disconnect from work the moment you clock off and don’t think about it until you are back there. You should also document any standout issues, if the need should arise at any point. If this continues, you could choose to speak to more senior members of the team to see if any more support could be provided for your team.

No one wants to face problems with their job at any point, but none more so than a person who has just joined a team. However, you shouldn’t accept these problems and move on. If you are finding yourself facing any of the above issues, make sure to take note of the solutions offered to make a positive change.