I am needed advice from managers!

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Aurora Jacobins

10/31/20 at 2:11PM UTC

Career

I am needed advice from managers!

Last Monday I was notified that I’d begin on another project- on top of already having projects to work on. I am new - have been with the company 1yr and 5 months. There was a change in management and many tasks/responsibilities have been realign. As with other small companies, our company is having a hard time keeping afloat. Many of our benefits, matching 401k, bonuses,raised, etc are replaced with longer hours ( we now work remotely- duration to be determined), limiting outsourcing ( we now have to do the jobs). As a small staff (10) we rely on each other or ourselves for many things. Often times waiting on someone ( who is known to be slow w response) or with others ( like myself) who tends to want to get things done. Being fairly new has been interesting especially because there has been a lot to learn- all good! I have had my ups and down- especially with a co-worker who is precise and quick to point errors. Again, it’s good learning. However, this same individual ( before new hires) was tasked to do what I am now doing. They eventually ( after training me) moved on to other projects. In the when being trained by them, I had various issues- they were in essence drowning with tasks and in need for me to learn as quick as possible to relieve them. This was never conveyed to me- I came to find this out later! Naturally I tried to pick up but made mistakes. Management got involved and volunteered they started on the wrong foot without a plan to train me- they just expected me to pick up. All was resolved with plan and weekly check in’s. A year later - after being thrown outsourced tasks I am now tasked to work as backups in other projects along with being responsible for their sub- tasks- following up on publication, sending emails, etc. In the last few weeks I have been working long hours, 4 hrs past my clock out time, stressed, unable to enjoy my fiancé or home life. I am trying to breath and finish strong but I am making mistakes down the line. A supervisor spoke to me the other day and he said that I need to slow down. Take a breath and re-read, formulate my strategies for email and so forth —-and not rush into things- just his advice, he added. Now, this same supervisor is the one who has me working on side tasks every week: research this, follow on this , etc. Worth to say that he has also the reputation of taking his time with tasks and people are always waiting on him. In the past other staff members questioned if he was shifting his work over to the co-worker who trained me. Long story short: I need advice! I would love to hear how to handle this- when to push back and when is a good time to speak to my boss? How can I express to them that I am at my limit without them coming back with : well, didn’t so so have this before? They did it with other things as well. Or they bring up my mistakes Please help

11 Comments

Michelle McGuinness

125

Leading with grace and gratitude.

10/31/20 at 2:24PM UTC

I’m sorry you are experiencing this intense work stress. It can be really frustrating when you feel like your drowning in work and there doesn’t appear to be a way out of the situation. Breathe deep. You’ve got this. Good news! It seems like your supervisor acknowledges your situation. Follow their advice and slow down. Slowing down now will help you get a better handle on things. Create a table containing all of the tasks on your plate, the due dates, the priority level and the amount of time you need to properly complete the task. Schedule a meeting with the supervisor to review the task table. Work with your boss to carve out a reasonable task list for the next week (assuming a typical 40h work week). Non priority items will need to be consciously dropped. Be prepared to recommend meetings that you can skip and low value/priority tasks that can be dropped, delayed or diverted to someone else but ****let your boss make the decision as to what gets dropped/delayed/diverted. *** After the meeting, send a follow-up email to the boss with your weekly task list and ask for confirmation that you have captured the tasks and priorities correctly. If new tasks are added, ask the boss to decide which of the older tasks can be delayed/dropped/diverted/deprioritized. Best of luck, Michelle

User edited comment on 10/31/20 at 2:25PM UTC

1 Reply

Beth Fisher

I love all things Digital Marketing & Analytics!

10/31/20 at 4:53PM UTC

I couldn't agree more with Michelle! She literally outlined what I would recommend as well...and I do love having a table of tasks at hand. Aurora I commend you for asking for help, that is the first sign that tells me you are a professional who wants to grow the right way. I am someone who also has been told in the past to slow down. It was some of the best advice I received. Give yourself time to think, reflect and focus. It will only make you a better professional as you move ahead. Good luck!

1 Reply

Jennifer

11/04/20 at 3:03PM UTC

I agree as well. If you lay it all out there and the time each tasks actually takes, it might help. Plus it could be very eye opening for the supervisor. AND it shows that you are making good use of your time and have a plan. As a manager, some times I don't know how long a task actually takes! Knowing really helps! It keeps everyone informed.

Aurora Jacobins

10/31/20 at 6:34PM UTC

Thank you both. For the oddest reason I have a feeling his advice was more managerial talk- as in stop making mistakes and slow down. Which is great, thank you! But at the same time why are you giving me more to do?

Janna

Director, Corporate Compliance

11/02/20 at 2:37AM UTC

That is a very difficult situation to be in let alone understand the reasoning, as it seems to go against all common sense when you have a leader/boss recognize the over-burden of current project load while at the same time assigning additional projects or tasks. I have had direct experience with the same situation. It sounds to me like there are some constraints that your boss may have that are out of their control. Or they are leveraging your ability and expertise to meet expectations from higher ups. Michelle laid out an excellent plan along with Beth encouraging you to slow down. 4 hours of working past your official stopping time is not sustainable. Take some time, 30 minutes or so and give thought to what you have been tasked to accomplish. Document the tasks it will take to complete each project so you can set up the plan as recommended by Michelle, above.. I was in a very similar situation and took the same approach. It took a couple of weeks for my boss and I to get into a cadence of decisions of defining and prioritizing project tasks and deciding on those which need to be dropped, delegated or delayed. Through my persistence of weekly meetings with my boss to talk through these situations, decisions were made at a higher frequency by my boss and the task load became more manageable. Basically stated, structure is key when trying to tackle multiple beasts at one time. You definitely have got this especially if they are trusting you with these projects, they know your strengths. Mistakes or not. Good luck and all the best!

User edited comment on 11/02/20 at 2:42AM UTC

Libby

Marketing, Sales and Product Management Director

11/04/20 at 2:36PM UTC

I want to commend you for recognizing the need to do something different for yourself and your work situation. Absolutely agree with all the prior comments and recommendations. The one thing I will add is using a free platform such as Todoist, where you can not only keep your project list/tasks/etc for yourself, you can create a shared board with your boss for real-time visibility. When he decides to add more to your plate, you can quickly use this as a tool to point him to make decisions as to how important it is. As well, if you want to keep better track of your time and where you are spending it, a tool called Clockify, which is free too, allows you when you start a task to start the timer. Therefore, you can see where your time is going and how to quickly reduce working extreme hours everyday. It isn’t sustainable and going to lead to burnout. Best of luck!

Mary Brodie

159

I help companies build customer relationships

11/04/20 at 3:38PM UTC

I'd suggest you need to learn how to say, "no." Put time limits on you day. Unless you are getting some monetary compensation, don't do it. I agree with many here - ask your manager to prioritize your work for you. So track what you are working on and when you get a new assignment, ask where it falls on the priority list. You are getting work because you get it done. And that is not getting you any points or favors with management (they told you as much). You need to put you first and push them to prioritize or say you are too busy. Start saying no. No one else will put you first or say no for you. It sounds like a highly dysfunctional work environment, so putting yourself first is going to be key to your success. Hope this iss helpful.

1 Reply

Annika

11/04/20 at 5:27PM UTC

Not remembering to say 'no', or even 'not yet' is one of my chronic problems. If I'm asked to do something, I'll usually jump right in, despite the already full workload. I've dealt with this two ways - bounce the question back to the person giving it to me, to find out where it fits in prioritization, and ask when they need it back by. It'll help make sure you are getting things done when they need to be done, and also convey what else is on your plate.

Karisa Karmali

770

Founder of Self-Love and Fitness

11/04/20 at 9:45PM UTC

Ask what the deadlines are and make a map of the "framework" of role responsibilities, operational tasks, and ask for project metrics. If deadlines are conflicting, ask them what can go on the back-burner etc. This is less direct to start the conversation and then you can ask which project comes first if more is added on, or what parts are due at what point in the timelines. But show initiative by mapping it out yourself and you can suggest the deadlines if they will allow it, go for solutions oriented leadership approach rather than telling them about problems without having thought of a solution regardless of which "level" you may be at.

Anonymous for a day

295

11/07/20 at 3:59AM UTC

The good news is they see you as a go-to person who gets the job done. If you continue to say yes to everything though you will get assigned everything, especially if your company is busy and short staffed. If you don't voice concern over working crazy hours, your manager will assume you're fine with working them. Make a list of everything you're responsible for along with deadlines. Then you can go to your manager with the list and ask what's the priority because while you're good, you're human and you don't want to fail. Also, if you're asked to do a task that you know you can't get done within the timeframe they want it, don't be afraid to say so and/or ask which is the priority. Hope this helps. I'm in the opposite situation. I just started a new job working from home and often feel like they forget I'm there to help. I'm constantly having to ask for more responsibilities.

Carpe Diem

11/12/20 at 12:57AM UTC

Let us start off with good things: 1) They know you can do it because you make things happen 2) You are self-aware of your capabilities, your sense of fulfillment and know when you are already at your limits 3) You have a sense of pride with what you do because you want to minimize your errors and mistakes 4) You know what matters to you- yourself and your relationships, your time Push Backs: You can always do this at any given time. It takes a lot of practice. Best quick response when someone gives a task is " when do you need this? because I am working on a time frame and priority list" This might sound too strong, but this conveys a lot of message. That you are in total control of what you do and that you value your output because it shows your credibility and when you say you will deliver, you will really deliver because you are working on framework and right mindset Best time to talk to your boss is already have a laid out plan as your recommendation. There are great advices on tools and on how to show it to your boss in the previous comments of others :) The rule of the boss is to always clear the pathway. So i am sure he or she will. He or she just needs to know what is happening because there will always be blind spots. How can I express to them that I am at my limit without them coming back with : well, didn’t so so have this before? They did it with other things as well. Or they bring up my mistakes---> Rather than thinking of these as a weapon against you, capitalize these instances. "Exactly my point, what happened at that time, is there were errors, and so we need to re-do things, instead of accomplishing more, time is wasted, people get frustrated, and I do not want that because I value my output, and most likely you and the project leaders and functional managers do not want that too, thus this proposal " So make use of the previous instances as your leverage. We've seen this before, now we need to reduce the errors and have to make things more efficient.