When is an Asshair not an asshair? (Asshair#5) the latest in a 20+ year saga...
Background... I hit my FIRE number back in April 2018. Since then, I've continued to work (one-more-month syndrome, because... hey, it's good money) to pad out my taxable account, and generate down payments for new rental properties for long-term cash flow.
I'm a tech-whore - contracting for technical companies who pay me by-the-hour, the contracting firm is my 'PIMP', and the company I'm helping with their 21st century technical needs is the 'John' (and they screw me whenever they can).
One director @ the firm I'm contracting for has a different project management style from most others here - expressing this as a need to have a 'Squeezable Neck' for each project. Normally, these neck's belong to FTE's, but our current project is entirely staffed by contractors. Naturally, my two co-contractors and I work under this director. Asshair#5 - a co-worker who *thinks* he's my boss, but isn't my boss - has self-elected himself 'Squeezable Neck' for our project.
Two weeks ago, asshair#5 met with me for a one-on-one, and let me know he'd essentially thrown me under the bus with our "client/John". Ironic, really...
Earlier, I'd let this asshair (really more 'ass-stubble') know that 'sometimes at the company we work for, it's politically expedient to have someone formulate an outside-the-box solution to problems, then "throw that person under the bus", give them a "good talking to", "adopt the idea as your own", and "move on". Inevitably, the outside-the-box idea is adopted as the "client/John's". I expressed that of all the people in our team *I* should be the one to use as a 'body under the bus' because I'd reached FI. BUT... somehow I didn't expect to get the under the bus treatment without warning. Just as a courtesy.
Oh yeah... Thrown. Under The Bus. No warning. At first I was upset by this, then just laughed and laughed.
My response, I did two (2) things:
1) Met with my account manager (my *actual* boss), and let him know I would be rolling off the current contract by the end of July. I encouraged account manager to find someone with additional skills that I don't possess (namely Salesforce experience) as my back-fill for this role, and I would be happy to handoff my work to this back-fill person. The Account Manager agreed, congratulated me on FI, and asked if I would give him advice on building his own rental property 'fleet'...
2) Met with Asshair#5, expressed that I understood his dilemma, but that he should have at least told me he was going to throw me under the bus BEFORE doing it. I said there are at least three (3x) squeezable necks on the project, and that if it helps him to do his job better, when he feels he's being squeezed, to use his two free hands to simultaneously squeeze the other two necks. (mine and another co-worker's). I asked him to delegate more of the work he's taken on himself. AND to better communicate what he wants the two of us to work on. But he continues to sit separately, worry, and fret over his laptop, and not tell us anything until our twice weekly team stand-up meetings.
Normally, this would be a frustrating situation, but since FI, I have No More F**k's To Give. (I should get a T-shirt: NMFTG)
All the best! MFB