Got a message from my boss today asking if I could call her urgently. Yikes, what would necessitate a phone call rather than an e-mail or instant message. So got on the phone with her, and sure enough she told me she had some important news. And...... found out that one of her other direct reports had quit, who had lots of direct reports of his own, so she was thinking she could assign me a direct report. As this distinctly anticlimactic and underwhelming news sunk in, so did the realization that this wasn't something I asked for or wanted. But my boss seemed remarkably positive about it all, calling it a great opportunity that I couldn't possibly say no to. So I didn't say no. But I think she picked up on some of my very obvious lack of enthusiasm, and so I've got the weekend to think about it now. She said she'd be happy with whichever choice I made, but I don't believe that for one second. However, I don't need the weekend to weigh up the pros and cons. I'm not interested. Yes, it might hold me back promotion-wise - but I've been thinking about that, and I'm happy with the level I'm at and I'm not ambitious to improve it (I think the next level up is Associate Director, and that is something I don't want). I also don't want a direct report who is not located in the same office as me (admittedly, something that is totally meaningless when everyone is working from home now), a direct report that isn't in my career goals, a direct report that will only cause me more stress, and - just for the record - a direct report who is, naturally, Chinese. Sorry, I'm not even hiding my racism here - but obviously I won't say that to my boss. I don't think this decision is going to go down well, but I don't care.
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