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  • 7 things you shouldn't say to your boss

    http://finance.yahoo.com/news/7-Thin...52592.html?x=0

    I take issue with "it's not my job". If my boss asks me to blacktop the parking lot, repaint the walls of the store or get in the dumpster out back to try and find something, I will most definitely refuse because that's not MY job!

    Also the "It's not my fault" thing. I don't usually say this, moreso if the boss is asking about something I was not involved with I will usually say "that wasn't me" or "I didn't have anything to do with that" because it's the honest truth. My boss knows I'm not a liar.
    "If we refund your money, give you a free replacement and shoot the manager, then will you be happy?" - sign seen in a restaurant

  • #2
    I take issue with at least half of them. It reads like it should be titled "How to Be the Office Bitch"

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    • #3
      I have issues with every one of those statements. There are situations where they can give valuable feedback to management. You shouldn't hammer them, but yeah, you may want to say so while submitting your resume elsewhere instead of keeping it bottled up.

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      • #4
        Yeah, I'd be annoyed too with any employee telling me this. Not your job? Well how 'bout I just gave an order and not a suggestion?

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        • #5
          I can only do one thing at a time.

          Well, maybe you shouldn't phrase it that way, but it's true. If you have too much on your plate, you need to let the boss know, and ask what is priority #1, #2, etc. If you truly are overworked, you need to find a way to either prioritize everything on your list, drop what's less important, or get some help. The only way to do that is to communicate with the people who can help you do that.
          I don't go in for ancient wisdom
          I don't believe just 'cause ideas are tenacious
          It means that they're worthy - Tim Minchin, "White Wine in the Sun"

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          • #6
            "I can only do one thing at a time." News flash: Complaining you are overworked will not make your boss feel sorry for you or go easier on you. Instead, a boss will think: (1) you resent your job, and/or (2) you aren't up to your job. Everybody, especially nowadays, feels pressured and overworked. If you're trying to be funny, please note that some sarcasm is funny and lightens the mood. Some just ticks people off.
            You know sometimes your boss needs to know you're already doing a huge list of things to do, and that they should probably get someone else to do it. If you don't communicate with them they think you'll do everything and get mad when you don't.

            Last words: When in doubt, remember that silence really is golden.
            No, just no. Again communication with management is very important. How can they know something is wrong, or that you have a problem with something if you don't tell them? Sure you shouldn't word it a certain way, but almost everything on that list can be important feedback that the bossman needs to hear. If you don't give your boss feedback then he's just going to assume everythings fine or that you're doing everything wrong depending on the situation and their perception of everything. Again communication!

            Sure some boss people aren't going to listen, but you know with, if enough people voice the same concerns or praise he might catch on to any trends.

            Silence just gives the boss a false impression on how his business is being run on the front lines.

            I'll step down from my soap box now.....

            Comment


            • #7
              Quoth Hobbs View Post
              Yeah, I'd be annoyed too with any employee telling me this. Not your job? Well how 'bout I just gave an order and not a suggestion?
              That's cute and all, but, see, people apply for and take specific jobs with specific duties, and it's not cool for the employer to start adding in every little side job under the sun -- unless they want to send a raise along with it. There are some things that are very much not my job. I don't get paid to do them and I don't feel the need to take responsibility for them until I do.

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              • #8
                Sorry, but I'm with the majority of people on this thread. If it's not in my job description, it's not my job. I used to think the way the author did that if your boss tells you to do something you do and it came back to bite me in the butt big time.

                I had a manager who gave me a task that was not in my job description. I though ok, fine, whatever--I've got the time and the skill to do that, no problem. The task became part of my workday (although not my job description) for three years. Got a new manager who decided that she wanted to be the one who did that task. I was called in front of her and her boss and requested to explain and justify why I was making her "look bad" by taking on responsibilities that were not mine.

                So, moral of the story...if it's not in writing it is Not. My. Job.
                My formula for living is quite simple. I get up in the morning and I go to bed at night. In between, I occupy myself as best I can.---Cary Grant

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                • #9
                  I often have to say that something isn't my job. If it's not part of my job description, someone else has it as part of their job description and I would be stepping on a lot of toes if I started trying to do everything myself (not to mention I'm not trained to do stuff outside my job description and I would never have enough time to get it done).

                  It's not my fault--also something I say a lot. It's not my fault the software had a glitch. It's not my fault you decided to overload the server and now it takes twice as long to pull reports. It's not my fault someone in a different department at a site I will never visit cut the wrong wire. To be fair, I rarely say "It's not my fault" but usually phrase it as "Well, this happened because of x, y and z, which are controlled by people/departments a, b, and c." I do admit when something is my fault.

                  And it can't be done? Man, I say that all day long. Normally I try to phrase this in different ways, like "Well, we could do that but it would cost a gazillion dollars and take umpteen man hours of OT to do. Which department is covering the cost?" Sometimes it just can't be done! Last week I had to conference a boss in with the manufacturer so that boss could hear from the manufacturer that what he was asking was not physically possible.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Quoth Jack View Post
                    That's cute and all, but, see, people apply for and take specific jobs with specific duties, and it's not cool for the employer to start adding in every little side job under the sun -- unless they want to send a raise along with it. There are some things that are very much not my job. I don't get paid to do them and I don't feel the need to take responsibility for them until I do.
                    You're employed with the company. So if you're told to do it, you damned well are being paid to do it. And should do it.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      It's just so situation dependent....when I was the Admin Coordinator at a retail store, I did a lot of crap that was on the fringes of my job description. But only if I had finished my actual duties first. However, I drew the line at the bathroom. The first time a manager asked, I made it very clear that while I didn't mind helping out in a lot of other ways, I am NOT scrubbing up a customer's poo. I wasn't getting paid nearly enough.
                      "Even arms dealers need groceries." ~ Ziva David, NCIS

                      Tony: "Everyone's counting on you, just do what you do best."
                      Abby: "Dance?" ~ NCIS

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Quoth Hobbs View Post
                        You're employed with the company. So if you're told to do it, you damned well are being paid to do it. And should do it.
                        understandable if you're paid to paint the wall blue and they want you to paint the ceiling blue as well. but if they want you to paint the wall blue, the ceiling red, rip up the carpeting and lay down hardwood floors...there's gotta be a line somewhere.
                        If you want to be happy, be. ~Leo Tolstoy

                        i'm on fb and xbox live; pm me if ya wanna be "friends"
                        ^_^

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                        • #13
                          Quoth Hobbs View Post
                          You're employed with the company. So if you're told to do it, you damned well are being paid to do it. And should do it.
                          People who make such statements tend to feel that they are employed by their managers, and that is the end of it. They tend to forget that employment is conditional on two things, and two things only:
                          1. The managers in the company wish you to remain employed with the company.
                          2. You wish to remain employed with the company.


                          If and when either of those items changes, so does your employment status. You might see some fudging around the exact date (you give two weeks notice, they begin building a paper trail to fire you, etc), but make no mistake: Your employment status changes when either of those conditions changes.

                          As such, you are very much allowed to say "No, that's not my job," as long as you are willing to face the consequences. If you are willing to no longer be employed, rather than do something you feel is not your job, then yes, you can say it's not your job.

                          In fact, this particular statement is at the heart of why raises occur. You are not being given more money simply because they like you. You are being given more money for the express purpose of getting you to keep feeling that this is your job. If they don't provide some form of monetary incentive, you will look elsewhere, and your feeling of "This is my job" will diminish.

                          People forget that simple fact entirely too often. You are employed by a company. They chose to pay you. You have to choose to accept the payment. Forget that fact, and you will get the shittiest jobs imaginable, simply because you are the one who feels he has no choice.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Quoth Pedersen View Post
                            People who make such statements tend to feel that they are employed by their managers, and that is the end of it. They tend to forget that employment is conditional on two things, and two things only:
                            1. The managers in the company wish you to remain employed with the company.
                            2. You wish to remain employed with the company.


                            If and when either of those items changes, so does your employment status. You might see some fudging around the exact date (you give two weeks notice, they begin building a paper trail to fire you, etc), but make no mistake: Your employment status changes when either of those conditions changes.

                            As such, you are very much allowed to say "No, that's not my job," as long as you are willing to face the consequences. If you are willing to no longer be employed, rather than do something you feel is not your job, then yes, you can say it's not your job.

                            In fact, this particular statement is at the heart of why raises occur. You are not being given more money simply because they like you. You are being given more money for the express purpose of getting you to keep feeling that this is your job. If they don't provide some form of monetary incentive, you will look elsewhere, and your feeling of "This is my job" will diminish.

                            People forget that simple fact entirely too often. You are employed by a company. They chose to pay you. You have to choose to accept the payment. Forget that fact, and you will get the shittiest jobs imaginable, simply because you are the one who feels he has no choice.
                            It seems like you disagree with me at first, but then prove my point...

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Quoth Pedersen View Post
                              People who make such statements tend to feel that they are employed by their managers, and that is the end of it. They tend to forget that employment is conditional on two things, and two things only:
                              1. The managers in the company wish you to remain employed with the company.
                              2. You wish to remain employed with the company.


                              If and when either of those items changes, so does your employment status. You might see some fudging around the exact date (you give two weeks notice, they begin building a paper trail to fire you, etc), but make no mistake: Your employment status changes when either of those conditions changes.

                              As such, you are very much allowed to say "No, that's not my job," as long as you are willing to face the consequences. If you are willing to no longer be employed, rather than do something you feel is not your job, then yes, you can say it's not your job.

                              In fact, this particular statement is at the heart of why raises occur. You are not being given more money simply because they like you. You are being given more money for the express purpose of getting you to keep feeling that this is your job. If they don't provide some form of monetary incentive, you will look elsewhere, and your feeling of "This is my job" will diminish.

                              People forget that simple fact entirely too often. You are employed by a company. They chose to pay you. You have to choose to accept the payment. Forget that fact, and you will get the shittiest jobs imaginable, simply because you are the one who feels he has no choice.
                              There's a reason every job listing includes "duties" or "responsibilities". That's because all jobs are supposed to have defined limits and obligations.

                              Lets say you work as a lawyer for a big firm. Your boss comes in and tells you he wants you to clean and wax all the floors. Yes he's your boss, yes he told you to do something.

                              BUT...when you were hired on, you accepted the job on the basis you were expected to only do certain things and waxing floors is totally outside the realm of what both you and the company agreed you would be paid to do.

                              In an instance like this I think it would be fair to say "that's not my job, I was hired to work legal cases, not clean floors."
                              "If we refund your money, give you a free replacement and shoot the manager, then will you be happy?" - sign seen in a restaurant

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