Missed 3 deadlines

Anonymous

March 12,2023 at 9:17PM UTC

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Missed 3 deadlines

First deadline was missed because brief was provided at 2 hours near the end of work day. Deadline was the next day morning. I have urged my supervisor to brief me early, however they still briefed me late. I was not able to stay up the night to complete the task. Bear in mind the task requires at least one full work day including feedback for refinement. Deadline 1 missed.

Second deadline was missed due to the same reason. I stayed up whole night to complete the task, however I didn't have enough time to address the comments that came back before presentation. Deadline 2 missed.

I don't just work on one project. I like my job enough. I have no issues with the deadlines for other projects. I just feel very frustrated that communication is not working out. I tried to communicate to find a solution, however they just point everything back to me. I also feel accused when I am blamed as the reason that the company reputation is affected by this project that keeps missing deadlines.

Deadline 3 is an internal deadline. I was forced to work during the weekend however I couldn't take working weekends anymore after continuously work weekends for 3 , 4 months (not able to keep track anymore). I have tried to communicate with my supervisor but they tell me to 'make it work'. There is no compensation or incentive for those extra hours. Not to mention, I work 18 hours a day. The hours in my contract is 9 hours.

However I didn't work on it this weekend. I feel guilty towards my family for not spending time with them in the past few months. I feel fulfilled this week with family time but I fear what I am going to face today when work starts. Deadline 3 missed.

This is starting to affect me very badly. I am starting to hate the job, I don't get enough sleep and I have lost faith in this field (architecture). Colleagues are advising me to either obey or leave but I don't want to let go of my job just because of one project. I still love the other projects.

As a remark, I took over this project from an ex colleague.

Could someone kindly advise?

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AnonymousMarch 12,2023 at 10:25PM UTC
So, there are a few things going on. First of all, there does not seem to be a clear understanding of your work hours. If you are available M-F 8am -6 pm then the bulk of your working hours should be then, not weekends or over night. I understand that emergencies happen and some late nighters are expected in some industries, but it sounds like your supervisor and you do not have the same idea of when you can be expected to work.
A second issue may be a lack of communication about how many hours a task will take and what 'done' looks like. If your supervisor is handing you a task at the end of the day and expecting to see it done the next morning, then the bulk of the work should be able to be completed during your normal work hours. But what it seems like is happening is that your supervisor is giving you a brief so that you only have 2 hours to work on it until the end of your workday despite it taking much longer. This suggests they either don't understand that the task will take much longer than 2 hours you have available or as I said above, they don't understand the limits of your work hours.
A third issue that I am reading from your post is that you are regularly working twice as much (18 hours a day) even though you are paid for 9. This hints at the same two problems. Either your supervisor does not realize how long the work actually takes (they think you can reasonably get it done in your 9 normal working hours) or that they do not understand the limits of your day do not include nights and weekends. The fact that they are telling you 'make it work' makes me think even worse than not understanding the limits of your working hours, the supervisor may simply do not care.
My suggestion is to document the three missed deadlines as a post-mortem. For example, "I received the brief at XXX pm on DATE and the task took me XX hours to complete. As a result of only having 2 regular working hours in my day, I was unable to complete the task despite working XX hours beyond my normal work hours." Then, I would document your working hours and what you are actually doing. If you are working 18 hours a week, you are doing the work of 2 people. But the best way to prove that is to show them.
Finally, I would then request a meeting to discuss it and bring your documentation. Let them know that you are interested in not missing additional deadlines but that you feel with your current constraints, that it may happen again. The part of your post that I would leave out is any emotional language. Don't say you "couldn't take" working the weekend because you worked every weekend but rather you are contracted for 9 hours a day and you are already working 18 hours every day. Lead with facts and a spirit of problem solving and keep emotions in check.
Honestly, it could be that the project lead/supervisor thinks working 18 hours is what everyone should do and if you don't, you are a slacker. If so, know as long as you work with that supervisor, you are going to miss deadlines because they do not care to be reasonable. If that is the case, then if you can get off the project, please do.
But, it could be that the supervisor does not realize how much you are working and what they are demanding. In that case, communicating your needs clearly and in a way that advocates for making the company look good (no more missed deadlines) may help.
Good luck.
Christi LopezMarch 16,2023 at 11:08AM UTC
This! Excellent response. :)
AnonymousMarch 13,2023 at 1:16PM UTC
Outline in a memo all the details that have resulted in the failed deliverables. Dates, assignments and challenges must be included.
Then outline your hours committed beyond those outlined in your contract.
Finally, offer ideas, solutions abd changes for improvement along with a timeline for implementation.
Since you do not want to leave, it is imperative that you document your experience and offer solutions to improve your performance.
AnonymousMarch 13,2023 at 3:15PM UTC
You mention you are under a contract that limits your work to nine hours daily. Does the contract also specify deliverables and timelines? If it does, can the work be done in the set timeline if the briefings happen promptly? It sounds like many things need fixing here. I realize you took the contract over from an ex-colleague. Did they have the same problem? I'm not sure I see a graceful exit here. Are your other projects you mention with the same company? Too many questions to get a good sense of what needs to happen here.
AnonymousMarch 16,2023 at 12:58PM UTC
You need to ask that person what their expectations are and tell them how much your overtime rate is. Also let them know that your working hours are # - # . Poor planning on their part is not your problem and you need to keep notes ON THE PROJECT about when you receive instructions and when the proposed due time/date is. Don’t let them throw you under the bus by blaming missed deadlines on you. When you receive the next brief, your immediate response to the sender as well as your boss and whoever higher up, that “I received this at 4:15 pm, I anticipate that this will take 6 hours to complete. My working hours are 8 am - 5:30pm. Based on my current workload/deadlines, I anticipate that this will be completed and submitted to you at. ___ p.m. tomorrow.” Not everything is an emergency. It can’t be and if it is, then someone somewhere is dropping the ball - that is not your problem. Emergency is life/safety not “I got busy and forgot”. You have to re-train people sometimes.
We are dealing with this in my department right now and pushing back hard on the people who wait until the last minute and then try to make it my problem. Our first question is why is this an emergency and how long have you known about it? When they insist, I go to their supervisor and say “blah just gave me this and said it is an emergency and needs to be done now. I am working on 1,2,3,5. 3 cannot be bumped. Please confirm that you are authorizing me to drop 1, 2 and 5 so that I can take care of blah’s emergency”. To date, I have always been told, oh no, don’t bump anything, get to it when you can. HA!
IF everything is an emergency you need to meet with your supervisor and have good suggestions on how they can be avoided, or the work spread more evenly, or have a position dedicated to “emergencies”
Rebecca MillikenMarch 16,2023 at 1:42PM UTC
There is some great advice here. My own advice would be the same--let them know your work hours, when you received the brief, and how long you expect it to take. Do it every time. But also, get your resume up to date and look for a new job. This one sounds disorganized and poorly managed. I understand things happen and sometimes there's a rush to get something done on a deadline. At the same time, if this is consistently happening there's more to it. You won't be happy working all the time and not spending time with family. There are other, better run places in your industry and area, I'm sure.
Georgia ComptonMarch 16,2023 at 2:43PM UTC
Great responses here! I am dropping a link to a great article I read recently on how to set boundaries at work:
https://www.atlassian.com/blog/teamwork/how-to-set-boundaries-at-work?utm_source=newsletter-email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=work-life-blog-mar-15-2023_EML-14804&jobid=105972068&subid=1524429697
I hope this helps you set some boundaries!
AnonymousMarch 16,2023 at 3:47PM UTC
I think you're in a no-win situation. If you were given a brief on Thursday morning, and told to present on Monday, then you'd have two full days to do the work, refine over the weekend (a few hours for tweaks and sanity checks), and then present with confidence on Monday.
However, you're being asked to do the impossible, and you're already overwhelmed.
Twice, I've been tossed into situations where I had to scramble and work like a crazy person, but there was sufficient time and I was the person who created the workback, defined the final deliverables, and had the freedom to swizzle what I did.
In one instance, I was hired by a prominent agency to coordinate their participate in a trade show and organize an industry-wide auction that would take place at the show. The previous marketing manager had tumbled out of the bathroom with cocaine residue still on her nose. Not good!
The next day, I was begging the trade show company to let me secure booth space, order carpet, etc. because the deadline had already passed. It was a two-month scramble with me creating bidder numbers, displays, signage, booklets, and a myriad of other stuff for the auction, but once it was over, my job bubbled along at a reasonable pace.
If your management sees that you're willing to work long hours, evenings, and weekends, then they're going to continue to take advantage of you, instead of getting their "act together" and doling out work at a reasonable pace. There's always going to be "rush" jobs, but it shouldn't be a weekly occurrence.
AnonymousMarch 16,2023 at 5:03PM UTC
Are you a contractor? if you are a contractor then you work hourly or on a project and are expected to do things within whatever hours the client/company demands. It should be listed in the contract. Now if you are an employee, you should have when employed sat down with your manager and sorted out the working hours. If you are salaried there should be an expectation for the working hours of the week generally most full time employees work a 40 hour work week. If you are hourly you work only 40 and overtime is paid above that time period. If you are consistently being asked to work overnight shifts then ask for an adjustment of time off during day hours in exchange for the time you worked overnight. If this cannot be remedied the only solution is to sit down reset expectations on both sides without blame and fingerpointing and let them know that you need more balance between work life and family life to be able to complete the things that they expect of you and that you have commitments to in your outside of work hours. Burn out is a real thing. Don't let them burn you out because then you are no good to anyone. Set realistic expectations for both.
AnonymousMarch 16,2023 at 8:39PM UTC
Document everything. If you are given the item two hours before the end of the work day and it is due the next day, document it and relay this to your supervisor. Everyone else in the process seems to be taking the amount of time they need for their portion. If you are the last stop and do not have time left to complete the process then a new process needs to be made. There should be a reasonable timeframe for each person, including you.
IntentionGirl299847March 16,2023 at 10:48PM UTC
Just say NO? That's what I do when my place tries that crap. Not my problem they can't get their shit together. I let them know that this will take a week (in an email that I print out of course) due to their not getting it to me in a timely and appropriate manner. Then I keep the labor board and the EEOC on speed dial. Document everything and keep emails (do print them out). And look for a new job that respects your time.
AnonymousMarch 18,2023 at 1:48PM UTC
I forward important work emails to my personal email. I had a volley who was fired and only printed emails they needed but left in their desk drawer. When let go, they were not allowed back in to get it.