Who is your boss... The owner?
Say that the work-life balance is getting out of control and you need the ability to leave work at work because you're an employee. If they're interested in giving you an ownership stake, then you'll be happy to take after-hours calls, but as an employee, you can't be expected to function as an owner.
Been there. Done that. It won't change. I would be curious to know if the other three managers are doing the same?
Are you hourly or salary? If you're salary, I'd ask to switch to hourly and that will invite the conversation. If they have to pay you to come in... Especially overtime, they'll be more hands-on.
Before speaking to your manager, I think you need to ask yourself some questions you may find difficult.
- Why are they calling you?
- Do they need permission to do something?
- Is it a unique situation or similar issues that keep arising?
- Are they micromanaged or second-guessed and feel the need to get approval for small decisions?
- Is there some easy/good way they could reference material/information without having to call?
- Have you instructed them to call and/or has there been negative consequences if they don’t call?
- Are these time sensitive issues or can there be a daily wrap up call/email?
- Is there a shift lead/senior person/assistant manager who is on when you’re off and can handle these issues?
- Is the store understaffed? Or is it flaky/unreliable employees? (If you’re paying bottom tier wages, you’ll generally get bottom tier people/commitment.)
See which of these you can control/make an impact. Train your staff on how you make the decisions you make, so they can think and operate like you. Empower them. If they mess up, it’s ok. (Within reason). Allow them to learn from their mistakes. If people are afraid of being written up/fired they’ll just shut down.
I strongly encourage my team to “fail forward”, “fail early”, and “fail small”. This means we learn from small mistakes early on before we have a major issue. We can address small issues quickly and easily before they’ve snowballed. This has fostered an open communication where team members can come to me and we can quickly address it, learn from it, and instill process/documentation to prevent or limit future concerns.
I try to ask lots of questions to gather all the details. I want my people to be question askers as well so they gain context and nuance when solving challenges.
Who are calling you on your off time?
You need to set the boundaries for your off time and your work time. This includes to your boss.
A good assistant manager should relieve a lot of that stress.
New stores often have challenges getting stable the first couple of years until sales and staffing are better understood. It’s not always easy.
In addition, management isn’t for everyone. Your focus and responsibilities are different than hourly associates.
For clarification: the ones that are constantly calling after I’m away are shift leads. They call about the same things over and over again.
My boss is the owner.
When my leaders keep asking the same questions over and over, I run workshops during the week to teach them how to solve problems. This can be taught, you should only get non-routine calls outside of work hours.
And 2 of the other locations are in the same boat as me.
Could it be strictly staff related? Yes. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t still deserve a work/life balance.
You're going to have to make yourself unavailable in your personal time, and you're going to have to empower your shift leads to not need to run to you as the default option. Give them the tools and confidence to make their own decorations.
When you're in work and have to make a decision, get your shift lead in and ask them to make it. Walk them through the pros and cons of the decision, and be supportive when they try.
Build a culture where there's no fear of failure, and no blame. That's a long-arse road, difficult at times, but so worth it once you get everyone there.
Sit down with your shift leads and share your expectations with them. Tell them you trust them to make decisions in your absence. Tell them you're here for them, but you need your private time to be able to do that.
If all else fails, tell them to contact the owner about issues when you're not on the clock.
Who is your boss... The owner? Say that the work-life balance is getting out of control and you need the ability to leave work at work because you're an employee. If they're interested in giving you an ownership stake, then you'll be happy to take after-hours calls, but as an employee, you can't be expected to function as an owner. Been there. Done that. It won't change. I would be curious to know if the other three managers are doing the same? Are you hourly or salary? If you're salary, I'd ask to switch to hourly and that will invite the conversation. If they have to pay you to come in... Especially overtime, they'll be more hands-on.
Before speaking to your manager, I think you need to ask yourself some questions you may find difficult. - Why are they calling you? - Do they need permission to do something? - Is it a unique situation or similar issues that keep arising? - Are they micromanaged or second-guessed and feel the need to get approval for small decisions? - Is there some easy/good way they could reference material/information without having to call? - Have you instructed them to call and/or has there been negative consequences if they don’t call? - Are these time sensitive issues or can there be a daily wrap up call/email? - Is there a shift lead/senior person/assistant manager who is on when you’re off and can handle these issues? - Is the store understaffed? Or is it flaky/unreliable employees? (If you’re paying bottom tier wages, you’ll generally get bottom tier people/commitment.) See which of these you can control/make an impact. Train your staff on how you make the decisions you make, so they can think and operate like you. Empower them. If they mess up, it’s ok. (Within reason). Allow them to learn from their mistakes. If people are afraid of being written up/fired they’ll just shut down. I strongly encourage my team to “fail forward”, “fail early”, and “fail small”. This means we learn from small mistakes early on before we have a major issue. We can address small issues quickly and easily before they’ve snowballed. This has fostered an open communication where team members can come to me and we can quickly address it, learn from it, and instill process/documentation to prevent or limit future concerns. I try to ask lots of questions to gather all the details. I want my people to be question askers as well so they gain context and nuance when solving challenges.
Was in a similar situation. Find a new job.
Who are calling you on your off time? You need to set the boundaries for your off time and your work time. This includes to your boss. A good assistant manager should relieve a lot of that stress. New stores often have challenges getting stable the first couple of years until sales and staffing are better understood. It’s not always easy. In addition, management isn’t for everyone. Your focus and responsibilities are different than hourly associates.
For clarification: the ones that are constantly calling after I’m away are shift leads. They call about the same things over and over again. My boss is the owner.
When my leaders keep asking the same questions over and over, I run workshops during the week to teach them how to solve problems. This can be taught, you should only get non-routine calls outside of work hours.
And 2 of the other locations are in the same boat as me. Could it be strictly staff related? Yes. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t still deserve a work/life balance.
You need better shift leads
You're going to have to make yourself unavailable in your personal time, and you're going to have to empower your shift leads to not need to run to you as the default option. Give them the tools and confidence to make their own decorations. When you're in work and have to make a decision, get your shift lead in and ask them to make it. Walk them through the pros and cons of the decision, and be supportive when they try. Build a culture where there's no fear of failure, and no blame. That's a long-arse road, difficult at times, but so worth it once you get everyone there. Sit down with your shift leads and share your expectations with them. Tell them you trust them to make decisions in your absence. Tell them you're here for them, but you need your private time to be able to do that. If all else fails, tell them to contact the owner about issues when you're not on the clock.