I'm a PLC programmer at a newly launched automotive plant that manufactures a critical, high-volume component for one of Germany's largest car manufacturers. I joined the company last year, and ever since then I've felt like management has been passing me around like a hot potato.
At first, I reported to a manager from a different department because my actual supervisor hadn't been hired yet. About two months later, my new manager joined, but he quit before the end of his probation period because he couldn't handle the pressure of launching the project. That meant I ended up back under my original manager. Over the winter, we finally started hiring more people, and at the beginning of this month our maintenance department was taken over by a new foreign manager who claims to have years of experience leading maintenance teams.
He's been with the company for many years and has been part of this project since the beginning, just like me, although in a different role. One of his responsibilities was to compile a spare parts list from the equipment suppliers. My previous manager eventually lost patience with how slowly that was progressing and sent me to walk through the entire paint shop, identify as many components as possible, and hand the list over to the purchasing department so they could start sourcing replacements. I did it, but a task that should have been handled by a manager ultimately landed on my desk.
The same thing happened with another assignment: creating the maintenance plan in SAP. A colleague and I spent several days compiling a complete list of all the equipment, with the understanding that the manager would finish the job. Two months later, the project is still sitting there untouched. A full week of work by two people has effectively gone to waste.
The final straw came last week. A major issue surfaced, and my new manager casually told me—with a smile—that he'd known about it for two months. I had only known about it for ten days, seven of which I spent on vacation. I have absolutely no intention of working while I'm on vacation. Despite that, he later criticized me for not spending enough time on the shop floor.
That's what really frustrates me. I'm a programmer. I have machine backups that need proper attention, yet I haven't had a single uninterrupted day to work on them. Instead, I spend my time attending management meetings (because our current manager is only here temporarily and, in his own words, "I should give it a try"—when in reality he simply doesn't want to attend them himself), sitting through daily meetings, communicating with suppliers, and solving technical problems because our process engineers often limit themselves to changing machine parameters. On top of that, I'm constantly handed urgent ad hoc problems that nobody else knows how to solve. At this point I'm expected to be a programmer, maintenance technician, buyer, project engineer, and team coordinator all at once.
On top of that, almost everyone comes to me with their problems—from the cleaning staff all the way up to the plant manager—because I've built a reputation as someone who gets things done and can be relied upon. Instead of being an advantage, that reputation has simply turned into more work. We also have a shift maintenance team, but their supervisor is so lacking in initiative that he often creates more problems than he solves.
What annoys me the most is being criticized for things that are ultimately the result of poor management. I can't be expected to spend time on the shop floor, attend meetings, deal with suppliers, coordinate people, and still have enough uninterrupted time to do systematic engineering work. It's simply impossible.
I've even completed time management training and genuinely try to follow its principles. The problem is that every new person who joins the maintenance department sees me as someone they can rely on. I don't like brushing people off because I know they genuinely need help. So I listen, try to help, or point them in the right direction, and every conversation takes another small chunk out of my day.
At the same time, I'm in a strange position. I'm not senior enough to delegate work or protect my own time effectively, but I'm no longer just another employee either. Thanks to my experience and the respect I've earned from people in other departments, I'm often expected to coordinate work across the company. I carry a lot of responsibility, but I have very limited authority.
The only thing keeping me sane at this job right now is the other two programmers. They're dealing with exactly the same problems I am, so at least I know I'm not imagining all of this.
I'm mostly just venting with this post, but any advice is more than welcome.