I hate

Managing people sucks. Especially taking over an existing team.

Worst work scene I ever had to deal with was my last job. I inherited a team from someone who worked like a dog covering up for their shitness for years. He was actually a good mate of mine who i'd hired and promoted several times over the years. He eventually got to the same level as me and I ended up taking over the department he'd built up from scratch when he left the company. When I came in, it was the fag end of a 6 year framework. All the fun work had been done and people were looking for exit strategies. Morale was fucked.

I came in and told them that i'd support them in any way they needed but that I wouldn't be working weekends to finish off their work like my predecessor had. He was single, lived 10 minutes from the office and was a pathological people pleaser. He'd basically been propping them up for years. I explained that wasn't what i'd be doing. I lived out of town, had a young family and that i needed them to pitch in with me to share the load.

The team consisted of absent one long term sicknote, one HR nightmare who was forever being accused of bullying or going off in tears about something. They were furious because they thought my job should have been theirs. Me coming had denied them a promotion. I had two lazy disinterested consultants and one senior consultant who had basically set up and co-managed the department with my predecessor. It was his baby. There was also one total lost cause raggydoll of a seatwarmer who we just sort of left in the corner because nobody could figure how to get any value out of them despite years of trying. The saving grace was one brilliant young apprentice who I was trying to protect from the rest of the bad influences, but the fifth column senior consultant guy had him well and truly under his sway.

That smarmy cnut would undermine me constantly, keep stuff from me and complain that he was overworked and unloved. Urgh it was a lost fucking cause form the start really. HR nightmare and patronising consultant would be in constant text contact with their old manager throughout the day complaining about me. I once found out that Smarmy consultant had taken my entire team out for dinner and drinks without me. Another time, my boss came over and asked if I was coming out with the team tonight... no I said, what's the occasion? It was my ex-protege and ex good friend's birthday drinks. My whole team was going with my boss and my (by now very much ex) good friend their old boss. I wasn't invited.

At that point I decided I had to go. On my last day in the office, the traditional leaving presentation and card thing was presided over by a random director because my boss had forgotten that was my last day and my entire team, all seven of them were either on leave or had called in sick. My leaving "present" was a brown paper envelope with £32 in loose change in it.