I feel like I’m on a seesaw, and that my readers may start to think I’m unstable, or at the very least, wishy-washy. You see, I have made the decision to start semi-actively looking for a new position.

Given everything we have going on with the adoption and the possibility of C applying out of state for a graduate program that would start fall of 2014, it seems like not exactly the best time to be doing this. But the truth is, everything is up in the air right now except for one thing- I’m starting to not like my job.

I am not happy at work. I really should not blame the job. My job is the same as it was before. I still like the work. I am still good at the work. What has changed? Who my boss is. That’s not a surprise. The executive director who hired me into this position was let go during budget cuts in 2012, and his last day was December 1. The VP of our department decided that I should now report to our Project Director.

Who I report to does not matter to me. What does matter to me, however, is how I’m treated. And with the new boss, it’s like I somehow got a demotion. I am fully aware that my position does not need to be staffed at the manager level. It could be staffed competently at an Analyst I level, and more fully (though not to the level I perform at) by an Analyst II. I know that. But that does not change the fact that I am not an Analyst I or II. I am a Manager, and silly me, thinks I should be treated as one, not as a high level administrative assistant, and certainly not by someone who was essentially my peer up until two months ago.

A little more background on the situation. The Project Director I report to was hired in as an Analyst III. It was decided over a year after she started that the work she was doing more closely resembled that of a Project Director, so we had her position re-rated, and she received the new title and a nice raise. But she was hired as an Analyst III.

I also applied for that position, and was the second choice after her. In fact, she was only given the position over me because she had specific contract analyst experience whereas my experience was more general. But we have the same educational and general job experience. Our former boss liked me enough from the interviews for that position that when he called me to tell me I did not get it, he said “I have another position opening up in a month. I hope you apply for it.” And that’s how I got the current job.

So while her title is now director, and I don’t mind reporting to her, I do, in fact, have a problem with being treated as something “less”. (Maybe I should add MBA after my name in my email signature, like she does, even though we were specifically told not to do that when the company wide signature standard was developed.)

Am I sure I don’t mind reporting to her? You may wonder what it is that makes me feel like I’m being treated differently than before. After all, it’s possible that it really is just me being secretly unhappy about reporting to this person. (It is a question I asked myself when I started to feel this way.)

I have to admit that part of the problem is that our previous boss was a great boss. He was not just my boss, but also very much like a sponsor. He talked to other people about the great work I did. He had no problems handing projects over to me, with the assumption that I would do them and do them well. There were many things we worked on together where his name had to be involved, but I was the lead, and he trusted my judgement.

With my new boss, pretty much from the beginning, she has simply looked at the work I do and told me to change things, without any discussion about why things were being done the way they were. At first, it was simply that she did not want the budget graph I had up on my visual display board posted anymore. She felt it just confused people and it should come down.

And when I sent out 2012 year end budget reports, she responded with an email pretty much telling me I should never send out reports that way again. (It was the reporting process that had been developed with our previous boss, and she simply had not been included in the reports before, because up until December, she had not been responsible for a budget.) She included on the email the two main stakeholders (but not the only other stakeholders for the budget reports), but also did not ask them what they wanted- just told me to do it differently.

I responded, explaining why the reports had been done that way, but also saying I had every intention of working with the stakeholders to make changes for the upcoming year, since we’ve gone from being a cost center to being held to a budget again. I got responses from the two main stakeholders about what they wanted. And somehow, I thought that was that.

Yesterday, when I went in for my annual review (which was a good review), I found out that my new boss had had either a meeting or an email conversation with the two main stakeholders about the budget reports and here’s the way I’m to do them now.

These are my reports. I am supposed to have ownership of them. And yet, my new boss has decided that I am not to be included in conversations about how these reports are done and distributed. Instead of being allowed to take the lead on new projects, I am no longer even being allowed full autonomy to work with stakeholders on my standard work.

This is new to her, too. I know that when she was hired into her position, my new boss never expected to have any direct reports. I also know she’s never had a direct report at the manager level before. (I’m not actually certain she’s ever had any direct reports before.) So I’ve tried to mentally give her some leeway. I mostly shrugged it off when I got an email reprimand for something that I didn’t do and wasn’t actually done wrong anyway. (I did send her a quick email explaining that it wasn’t me, and that it had been done correctly by the person who did it.) That was annoying, but it certainly was not enough to make me consider leaving my job. I accept that there is a learning curve to being a people manager. But learning curve or not, I expect to be treated with a certain level of respect, at least for the work I do. Because I am good at my job- very good.

So there we have it. I am going to start looking for a new position. I am going to be picky. I am not looking for the first thing to come along. I want it to be the right thing, and I want it to be a step up. I will look for positions here at my current company and a few select others.

I like my boss as a new person. But I have been there, done that before. Just because someone is a nice person does not make them a good boss. And I am employable enough that I do not have to put up with it.

I am one of those people who rarely thinks about their breaks at work. Unless I make specific other plans, I eat my lunch at my desk. I forget that I’m supposed to take breaks during the day. I just stay at my desk, working on whatever it is I’m working on, until my stomach tells me I’m hungry or I realize it’s time to go home.

Or, at least that’s how I’ve been for the last few years. I did take my lunches while I was in my MBA program, because it was prime studying time. But since then- I eat at my desk.

However, this last summer, I made a conscious effort to make a change. I now take my morning and afternoon breaks whenever I can. (And I’m actually more likely to make sure I get them if I’m really busy.) Instead of getting up and going to the cafeteria, or even going to sit in the lobby for 15 minutes and read, I have decided to go walk.

Every morning and afternoon, I take a 10-15 minute walk around the block my building is on. I even have a poncho hanging in my office at work so that the rain isn’t an excuse. (If I let it be, I’d never walk during the Seattle winter.)

And to be honest with you, those walks make me a better employee. I am able to work smarter and faster by simply getting up twice a day and walking around the block. I don’t think of this as exercise so much as stress relief.

Walking not only relieves stress on it’s own, it gives my brain time off from thinking about whatever spreadsheet I’ve been staring at all day. I don’t necessarily direct my thoughts during my walks, I just let my mind wander. And if I’ve been struggling with something, chances are, during the wandering, I’ll actually come up with the solution.

I know a number of people for whom the fact that they never take a break is a point of pride. It shouldn’t be. They are actually working less effectively by refusing to take some downtime.

When you’re a professional/salaried employee, no one is going to be standing over you insisting you take your breaks. In fact, bosses and co-workers love that you’re always at your desk, because you’re always available for them when they need you. But you don’t do your best work sitting in a cube or office with no breaks. Our brains need down time, and our bodies need movement. It’s just the way things work.

And on the stressful, balls to the wall days, I make less mistakes and get my work done faster if I remember to take those walks. Someone may have to wait a few minutes to get an answer from me, but no one has to wait any longer to get the finished product. I am more productive by giving myself some non-productive time.