Please help me get over the anxiety of last minute Friday meetings

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Last minute meaningless friday afternoon meetings are a power play and their purpose is to make you feel bad and anxious. It is very normal to feel the way you do.

Your boss sounds horrible, I would look for a new job.

I am new poster and my boss does this too. 4:30pm on a Friday. No context. It does make me anxious. I am looking for a new job.

In theory though I have no problems with Friday afternoon meetings. Just let me know what it is about and like all meetings hope it is productive.

[Anonymous]

Note to managers. Mental health resources are less available over weekends. If a person is let go, a promotion denied, or similar bad (perhaps devastating) news is delivered on a Friday afternoon, it demonstrates a callous lack if regard for the recipient's well-being.

Management 101.

[Anonymous]

At my company you get about 2 hours notice if you’re getting a call about being let go and it happens on random days of the week. Anyway I think OP needs to better manage her anxiety.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP this sounds like a you issue not your boss.

Not at all! DCUM has a number of undertrained middle managers who think a$$h0lery substitutes for personnel management skills.

Fridays are a terrible day to schedule sudden, unannounced meetings. Particularly of a punitive nature.
C'mon people. The supervisor here has a history of being a jerk at these meetings. Yet some of you have the gall to blame OP?

Except so far OP hasn’t really offered any examples of being a jerk beyond asking a question about a three day weekend that could have been an innocuous conversation starter for all we know. OP’s alarmist reaction to the meetings doesn’t give me confidence she accurately perceived the impetus for the question.

OP, besides the question about a day off, what are some concrete things that have happened that made the meetings “not good news”?

+1 so far there is no evidence it's the manager.

[Anonymous]

Any unexpected meeting with a vague title / no context makes me a little anxious. Like “quick check in” on what? What are they going to tell me that they can’t write in the outlook invite? So if that’s what OP’s boss is scheduling last minute on Friday afternoon, I understand the anxiety. Rather than asking not to schedule meetings on Fridays, I’d ask the boss to include context/agenda items in the invite so you can come prepared ahead of time.

As a boss - if I schedule something vague last minute I usually clarify “don’t worry, you aren’t in trouble!” when I send it.

[Anonymous]

Sounds to me like OP is slacking on WFH Fridays, her boss schedules random meetings to make sure she is there, and OP is understandably anxious about being fired because she doesn't actually work on Fridays.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds to me like OP is slacking on WFH Fridays, her boss schedules random meetings to make sure she is there, and OP is understandably anxious about being fired because she doesn't actually work on Fridays.[/quo MAGA has entered the chat.

[Anonymous]

OP what’s the update?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yesterday afternoon my boss put a 10 a.m. meeting on my calendar for today.

Ever since July she's been occasionally putting these 3 p.m. Friday meetings on my calendar at the last minute.

I literally had to contact an EAP program therapist, who said I'm experiencing "anxiety." The meetings are never good news.

I am literally sick to my stomach right now. I've asked my boss not to schedule these meetings on a Friday, because I literally FEAR that I'm going to be fired.

What in actual f$$k is wrong with people that would want to make someone feel this way? And before a weekend?

I know my portfolio better than anyone. Any face time with the boss is a good thing as I shine. Knowing there are people like you gives me even more confidence.
You must have a reason to fear you might get fired and I would say you already know that you’re on the line and probably not performing well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yesterday afternoon my boss put a 10 a.m. meeting on my calendar for today.

Ever since July she's been occasionally putting these 3 p.m. Friday meetings on my calendar at the last minute.

I literally had to contact an EAP program therapist, who said I'm experiencing "anxiety." The meetings are never good news.

I am literally sick to my stomach right now. I've asked my boss not to schedule these meetings on a Friday, because I literally FEAR that I'm going to be fired.

What in actual f$$k is wrong with people that would want to make someone feel this way? And before a weekend?

I know my portfolio better than anyone. Any face time with the boss is a good thing as I shine. Knowing there are people like you gives me even more confidence.
You must have a reason to fear you might get fired and I would say you already know that you’re on the line and probably not performing well.

Yes because there are never ever people which over inflated senses of self who also aren’t actually great performers. Anyway.

OP, absolutely work on managing/medicating your anxiety. It will make life (and work) so much better. Highly recommend.

At the same time, managers who want dedicated and motivated employees would do well to be considerate of employees and having good hygiene around meetings — agendas, clear purposes and next steps, etc — are a pretty basic next practices that it sounds like the manager is lacking.

Both those things can be true at the same time.

[Anonymous]

Who cares. You still have J1, J2 or J3.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I was laid off, let go, canned. Yes, I feel sick to my stomach at what they did. I knew it when the HR Lady signed in, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I was laid off, let go, canned. Yes, I feel sick to my stomach at what they did. I knew it when the HR Lady signed in, too.

So sorry

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I was laid off, let go, canned. Yes, I feel sick to my stomach at what they did. I knew it when the HR Lady signed in, too.

Kinda sounds like you knew it was coming. What do you think contributed to your dismissal? Telling the boss no calls on Friday didn’t help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I was laid off, let go, canned. Yes, I feel sick to my stomach at what they did. I knew it when the HR Lady signed in, too.

I am so sorry to hear this but good riddance to a terrible workplace. Onward and upward OP!