A former colleague of mine contacted me today to ask for advice.
Basically she told me this;
She started a new contract a month ago, there's no resignation clause. Team comprises of a hands off test manager, two senior TA's, and two TA's of which she is one. Her colleague has less contract TA experience.
She said she didnt think much of it at first but its become clear in the last week that she is being marginalised within the team. There are no personality clashes or anything like that but its become obvious the two STA's give all work instructions to the other TA who then tells her what work there is to do.
My former colleague doesnt see why this should be so. She has comprehensive knowledge of the work subject matter and processes etc having worked on similar work before.
She said she first noticed something strange in the 2nd week of the contract when she was effectively being given work to do by the other TA. At first she didnt think much off it but its got to the point when its really starting to bug her.
Virtually every time she glances up, the other 3 are gathered around a pc so she started getting up and asking what was being discussed which, always turned out to be work \ task related.
Last week she said she was getting put out about it that she said in passing to the other TA why arent the STA's talking directly to her. The response she got was non committal.
The way I see it, she has a couple of options. The first is to accept the situation and just get on with it. But, a do nothing scenario wont resolve anything. The second option is to sit tight until the end of the contract then look for something else. However, she says the rate is good and work could stretch ahead for 2 years or more making it a nice little earner. The third option is to bring the matter to a head and speak up. This could either resolve the situation or make things worse in all manner of ways such as possibly causing ill feeling within the team.
I told her to see how things go this coming week and if she's certain she is being marginalised she should decide whether the money is worth the hassle or start looking for a new contract.
I wasnt certain how or what she could say to the STA's other than outright asking why she seemed to be the last to find out what work was to be done. Should she tackle the STA's or the Test Manager and if so, what should she say?
Basically she told me this;
She started a new contract a month ago, there's no resignation clause. Team comprises of a hands off test manager, two senior TA's, and two TA's of which she is one. Her colleague has less contract TA experience.
She said she didnt think much of it at first but its become clear in the last week that she is being marginalised within the team. There are no personality clashes or anything like that but its become obvious the two STA's give all work instructions to the other TA who then tells her what work there is to do.
My former colleague doesnt see why this should be so. She has comprehensive knowledge of the work subject matter and processes etc having worked on similar work before.
She said she first noticed something strange in the 2nd week of the contract when she was effectively being given work to do by the other TA. At first she didnt think much off it but its got to the point when its really starting to bug her.
Virtually every time she glances up, the other 3 are gathered around a pc so she started getting up and asking what was being discussed which, always turned out to be work \ task related.
Last week she said she was getting put out about it that she said in passing to the other TA why arent the STA's talking directly to her. The response she got was non committal.
The way I see it, she has a couple of options. The first is to accept the situation and just get on with it. But, a do nothing scenario wont resolve anything. The second option is to sit tight until the end of the contract then look for something else. However, she says the rate is good and work could stretch ahead for 2 years or more making it a nice little earner. The third option is to bring the matter to a head and speak up. This could either resolve the situation or make things worse in all manner of ways such as possibly causing ill feeling within the team.
I told her to see how things go this coming week and if she's certain she is being marginalised she should decide whether the money is worth the hassle or start looking for a new contract.
I wasnt certain how or what she could say to the STA's other than outright asking why she seemed to be the last to find out what work was to be done. Should she tackle the STA's or the Test Manager and if so, what should she say?
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