Welcome to “Where are you now?” month at Ask a Manager! Throughout December, I will be sharing updates from people whose letters were previously answered here.
This week, there will be more posts than usual, so be sure to check back throughout the day for the latest updates.
Do you remember the letter-writer whose boss was blocking their move to a new team (#5 at the link)? Well, here’s the update.
I have a very happy update to my question from almost exactly a year ago.
Things got much worse before they got better. They promised me a promotion, which was approved by the VP, but then blocked by my immediate manager (let’s call her Broomhilda). I transferred to the other team, which was great, and the new boss was a wonderful ally. However, she was also blocked and eventually pushed out of the company. The promised promotion was repeatedly delayed despite my stellar performance reviews. When I pushed back on this, I was told it would happen for me at some vague time in the future, but not now. The last straw was when they told me I would need to start coming back full-time to the office, which I couldn’t do as a primary parent with two young kids. I continued to work from home and eventually received the promotion I had been promised a year before. However, my lackluster response led to me deciding to move on from the company.
The severance they gave me was enough to fund a few months of freelancing, and to my surprise, I quickly secured multiple contracts. I am now working 25-30 hours a week, booked 4-6 weeks out, and making more than when I was employed full-time. My career mojo is way up again, and I am happier and more fulfilled than I have been in many years!
The satisfying ending is that my old boss called me and offered me my old job back, fully remote. However, I declined, as I was making too much money and having too much success to consider going back. I now have my own company, and my boss (me) treats me like a superstar. I have been nominated for Employee of the Month every month since I started!
