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Are you considering opening your own business? Have you received a major promotion at your job? Have you been made partner at your firm? Have you or will you be elevated to a position from which you will oversee and command employees? If this is the first time, the change can be quite a shock. As an employee, you always craved more freedom and power. Oddly enough, having more power as an employer can sometimes feel like you have no freedom and being in charge of so many people who look up to you can leave you feeling helpless. Being an employer does have its perks, of course. The mere fact that you’re in that position means that you made some bold and smart moves at some point. But if you’re used to always having a supervisor rather than being one, and simply doing your one, clearly-defined job to collect paychecks, then being an employer can jolt you. Here are the realities of transitioning from employee to employer.
Blocking out personal life
You have to block out the personal life of your employees. If you don’t, then you’ll be too forgiving when they slack off at work, do a bad job, show up late, and generally do sub-par work. They need to learn to leave their personal work at home, just as you do. And you have to ask them to do that—which can be awkward.
Being tougher on mistakes
You’re in a results-oriented position now. Before, as an employee, if a coworker messed up, you could comfort them and say, “It’s okay. It’s not your fault. Anyone could make this mistake.” Now, as an employer, you can say, “It’s okay” but then you also need to say, “It just can’t happen again. Please fix this ASAP.”
