Those who are organized - cursed!

[Greg44]

Maybe I need to remove my avatar...!

I am not super organized, but more organized, dependable than most - at least in my work place.

But with that said, I have noticed I get more work dumped on me than my co-workers. It just burns my butt. Others whine because they don't have time to do something, so it gets passed over to me.

I just get tired of it. My rant this a.m. fell on deaf ears, so I just thought I would dump here! Thank you!!

[shadowmoss]

Not deaf, just don't hang out here as much lately. Can you get creatively busy? So you look (and hopefully really are) as busy as everyone else. Maybe study for certifications you need to become a better employee or something?

[Mrs-M]

Remove your avatar? Bite your tongue Greg44! :) Don't be talkin silly now... :laff: Maybe you are just way too efficient. Time to scale back a little and conform with the rest???

[janharker]

If the extra work is coming from your boss, ask why the other people aren't pulling their fair share. Suggest that maybe the boss should schedule workshops on organization skills. If everyone is more efficient, the boss will look better to his/her boss. Win, win, win.

[Greg44]

Mrs-M: remove my avatar so I can speak more "openly" if you get my drift!
Shadowmoss: my rant didn't fall on deaf ears here - at work!
Janharker: In an ideal world that would be great. I have had co-workers ask why I do so much extra - and to just let it go - but it is just to engrained in me to let things slide. I am the one who works late or who comes in early, while others you can set the clock by when they come and go!

[fidgiegirl]

I am the one who works late or who comes in early, while others you can set the clock by when they come and go!

Don't do it, Greg! :) I do it, too. But also, when it is getting to be too much, I speak up. I think because I do work my hardest I am (thankfully) heard when I say that something is too much. Are you hourly or salaried?

[Greg44]

Are you hourly or salaried? Salaried of course!

[Miss Cellane]

Ah, yes, the curse of our work system. Give the same job to A and B. A does a great job quickly; B struggles. So you "reward" A with more work and you "reward" B with less work or less difficult work. It really isn't fair.

Greg, what I'd do in your shoes is write up everything that you do. The first part of the list is your assigned job duties. The second part of the list is the things that have been added on, whether they have now become regular job duties or were one-time special projects.

Then head in to your boss and ask for a raise. Or for some of the work to be given to other people.

If asking for a raise would be a Really Bad Idea at this point, show your boss the list and ask what your priorities are now that you have all these new responsibilities. Feel free to point out any that conflict with each other or that add 10 or 15 extra hours to your week. Or ask for an assistant to help you get everything done. Approach this from the point of view of not complaining, but seeking guidance as to how to handle a massively increased workload.

And if you get a new project that is just too much, do speak up. Tell your boss she needs to decide what you have to do and what needs to be assigned to someone else.

Or you can just go on a two week vacation, leaving copious notes and having assigned various fellow employees to look after all your projects, in short exactly what any good employee should do. And "accidentally" leave your cell phone charger behind. Then return to find total chaos, because no one could handle their work plus yours. And get a promotion. And a raise. (It happened to me; it might happen again.) What people were really upset about what that there was never any toilet paper in the bathroom because I was the only one who ever went and got any from the supply room. I think that opened the owner's eyes to a lot of what was going on in her company.

[Amaranth]

You can also put up a prioritized list of current projects in your office. Strips of white board on a metalic calendar board work well for this as they are most efficiently moved. But index cards on a corkboard calendar work well too. ( Or if you have some automagic project management software where you can easily adjust things that can work too. But sometimes seeing all the projects physically moved around is more effective.} Place the projects on the calendar to coincide with a 40 hour week. Then when you are given a new project, ask if they want it done at the end of the current work list or if some other projects should be bumped down the priority list. If the priority list gets changed, shift the other work projects accordingly keeping the 40 hour work week intact. Alert your boss to any potential scheduling problems that are likely to result:

"If we add in the Johnson-Smythe project work to begin on Thursday afteroon as soon as the Green project is finished and all goes well with all the projects, then the earliest we could start on the Wells-Jones project would be 10 days from now. That is two days after we had scheduled to have the next module of the Wells & Jones project finished and for you to give your next presentation to Wells & Jones. How would you like to handle that?"

[Tenngal]

this is a never-ending cycle in my workplace. I get more and more dumped on me until I blow (it does take quite a while) and then they back off for awhile. I work with career local gov people who have decided over the years if they never learn anything new, they never have to do it. Anyhow, after much reflection and sometimes refusing to take on more, I have really decided that I am a happier person when busy most of the day. Also happier when pushing along to have new software and updates to our old way of doing things. We have GIS coming later this year after 7 years of my pushing for funding and support. I have a background in GIS and am excited for our co gov. Guess my advice is to do what makes you feel good about yourself. You know if you have time to take on anything new and if you are interested in doing it.