I work for a government agency that helps young people. I am earning 50% of what I could earn with my credentials and experience. I am choosing to work here for at least another year to accomplish my goals in this department. These goals include establishing this new program and setting it up to help the maximum number of folks. I love these folks very much and want to help them. So far I have done many good things despite struggling with the internal politics of the organization and the resistance to change.

My organization hired a new executive in my department. I like her except for we are struggling with her directives. Right before I left for winter vacation I lost my cool. She had edited a document I created and according to my direct boss, demanded that we put two spaces after a colon. according to my boss said that she used to teach english and that she knows that is how it is supposed to be. She edited the whole document (18 pages) and I disagreed with much of her edits. I have two master degrees and brought in someone with a masters degree in english to proofread the document before so I knew that it only needed minor proofing. I told my direct boss that she was wrong, He said it didn’t matter, her opinion was the one that mattered. I lost it with my direct boss. According to the style guide I use, and most of the style guides, only one space goes after a period or colon. I am frustrated with my direct boss, and told him I am tired of this indirect micromanaging, especially because they are wrong. I wanted to write the executive an email explaining that the correct spacing is one space, not two. My boss told me to wait and don’t sabotage my career over something so trivial.

All this is silly, and I normally would shrug this off, but I was beyond stressed with grief as well as frustrated. My sister in law had just died a few days earlier, I was feeling overwhelmed and time crunched with the holiday one day away and didn’t have time to do what I wanted to do. I have been off for the past week since then, and it has been a very difficult time with traveling 18 hours in the car, the funeral, being sick, and extremely tired. Today I was supposed to go back to work, and was so tired that I took today off to try to get better.

I will get better physically, but I am concerned about working like this. I don’t want to deal with such a difficult situation. I really don’t want to go back to work if I am going to be micromanaged through two people, and not able to speak up when something is obviously wrong. I don’t want to release documents that are wrong.

C: My direct boss told me to put two spaces after a colon, and said there is no discussion about this because this is direction from our executive. This direction contradicts our style guide.
T: This micromanaging will never end. They want me to do something that is wrong, I can’t work with this sort of management.
F: Frustrated, anxious, fearful, Exhausted
A: avoid working, avoiding new projects
R: Using sick time, putting off confrontation.