In early 2025, I got promoted at work and became a manager. It's been a blessing because my earnings increased and well, life got better financially.
I've since adapted to the job and become a much more confident person. Managing people means that I get to talk with them about their lives and you'd be surprised by just how much people are willing to tell their managers at work.
I don't know if it's because I'm a foreigner or I'm approachable but all the people that work under me share quite a lot about their lives. Honestly, I think they tell me a lot more than necessary but well, I am a good listener, so I listen.
It depends on how you look at it but being a listening ear can be a hassle. I mean, on one end, I get to understand humans a bit more and see how their mind works. However, a cynical view is that people are just looking for ways to gain sympathy in the workplace.
Based on my interaction with my agents, I can see that it's a bit of both. Some of my agents actually treat me like I'm a part of my life, telling me stuff, not just because they want workplace sympathy but actually because it eases the burden.
It's weird to be in that position where my job involves taking on some level of emotional weight placed on me. I don't fix issues and still focus on getting people back to work but I still have to be human and therein lies the problem.
The human aspect of managing isn't on paper. There's no documentation or cheat sheet for that. You simply have to apply emotional intelligence and ironically, if you don't have some of it, you might find yourself dealing with HR.
In over a year of management, I've learnt a lot about myself and the people I have managed.
So fresh after becoming a manager, I was transferred to a new team but my agents didn't feel it, only I did. That's because my entire team moved with me to my new manager.
Today, I'm officially moving to a new team but this time, it is more of a sideways movement. I'll be managing a completely new group of people while my previous agents moved to a different manager.
People seem to take business restructuring hard emotionally. Interestingly, I don't. I simply just take it as part of my job and only dwell on the operational impact.
When I broke the news to my agents, there was a wave of emotions and I'll admit, I got caught up in it. At least three of my agents cried for a hot minute while others wore the face of betrayal or maybe it was defeat, I can't tell.
Overall,the emotional impact of moving teams took me by surprise. I honestly thought it would seamless but alas, it wasn't and my agents are sad. I guess I understand where they're coming from, to an extent.
They have spent the past year telling me about their lives and I've been the voice in their ears. Today, it all changes and they have to meet someone else for all their issues. They also have to realign with a new person, adapt to their ways and all of that.
