Ok, so today's post is going to be at least somewhat out of frustration at what transpired at work today, when a person I work with in a position of authority, making it difficult to refuse them, waited until 30 minutes before I was supposed to leave to ask me to proofread something they had written. Ok, fine, sure, until he handed it to me...30 pages. I'm happy to proofread something for my bosses, but give me time to do it within the timeframe that I've been hired to do it. I was there for an hour and a half longer than I'm supposed to be there, and I had a test at 6, which I subsequently did pretty poorly on.
On top of that, the document really didn't have anything to do with my job, so it was my time for something that doesn't benefit the organization. I hate people that say "That's not in my job description", and in fact, it's in this article of "Things to not say at work." This article, right here, this one! However, when it's completely irrelevant to the company as a whole? I think that just might cross the line. Not only did I have work that needs to be done for the company that I was taken away from, but I was doing this work that benefitted one person.
Ok, my question for my faithful reader(s)...What do you guys do when something like this happens? Has it happened to you? Do you just suck it up and do it? Do you try to rationalize why it's a bad idea with them? Do you just refuse to do it based on the "Not my Job" argument?
I'd like to hear from you guys on this, it really bothered me when I kept looking at the clock and seeing minute after minute of my free time passing me by...
I think there are two arguments here. The request being made at the last hour, falls back on your boss is most cases for failing to plan time properly. The old a saying, a failure to plan on your part doesn't create an emergency on mine.
ReplyDeleteFor doing non-work related work, if the time exists, is a more fuzzy issue. I'm sure each of us has taken pens, photocopies, and faxes there were un-related to work. You just happen to the resource that is tapped. In an odd way, it's a compliment to the trust they place in your proof-reading skill, but I have no easy way on how to approach telling them "it's not my job". I saw a supervisor hand out hundreds of envelopes and had employees hand-write addresses, because people are less likely to throw away "junk mail" if it has a hand written address. It was for a sales campaign / demonstration of products in the home (like Tupperware).
If the request to proof-read was a one time event, I'd just let it go. I don't think they planned to mess up your scheduling on purpose.
I agree with Gary's last statement. If it is a one time deal then just suck it up and move on with life. On the other hand if it becomes regular issue then talking with the person is probably the best option.
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