Welcome to Working Wednesday
Working Wednesday is a compilation of stories from various working environments. We tend to spend a large portion of our lives doing it and we can learn a lot from each other's experiences, good and bad alike.
For those that have been following along on my journey, you'll recall that I recently started a new job. I've been there for less than a month now and it's been interesting to get back into a semi-corporate environment. I say interesting because it hasn't been all bad or all good; as with most things in life, there will always be the dichotomy. Every rain cloud has a silver lining and so on.
The parts that I like are that I get to interact with people. I can bounce ideas off them, we can talk out strategies and many heads tend to be better than one as we all have unique strengths, weaknesses, insights and experience.
I like that my manager can hand over work at a pace that isn't too hectic although I feel this will change as time goes on and I get to grips with the intricacies of the position and all the moving parts.
There are of course draw backs though.
I've been contracted to this position not as an employee but they've essentially hired my company (ie: me) to fulfill a particular function. The part that I'm having trouble with is where the line is drawn. I have not received a job specification per se and my SLA (Service Level Agreement) has not been compiled and signed off even though I've been reminding them each week.
@Bozz wrote a post recently about the level of expectation in the workplace and how difficult it is to fulfil specialised functions and retain the people with the inclusion of the clause "And any other duties as assigned" in the contract. This is a very broad statement and one that could be stretched to however a company wishes to use it.
Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with putting in extra effort and pulling together during crunch time when the team requires it, but there has to be a line somewhere or it borders on exploitation. Where is that line?
Today I got handed an assignment that is normally outsourced to a design company. I think that my manager was testing me to be honest. At the time I felt rather uncomfortable about it because she is now handing me work that normally is paid to a separate company. She explained it as such "The more we can do in-house, the better because then we don't have to wait on xyz (name of company redacted) as they take too long". See this is where the tricky part comes in. I was hired for this position as a copywriter - not as a designer, but my manager has cottoned on to the fact that I enjoy design work so she's killing two birds with one pay checque and saving the organisation a whack of dough at the same time.
While I'm using the position as a way to improve my CV and extend my experience as well as getting a (hopefully) nice reference, I also don't know where this blurring of the brief will stop and I fear that it won't stop until I say no. Then I have to deal with any kick-back that there may be and that could potentially put all of these things previously mentioned in jeopardy. It's an interesting predicament to be in because while I have no problem helping the company out where I can, I also need to have some parameters in place where I can draw the line.
What would you do in my position and how do you feel about situations like this?
Feel free to tell me in the comments.
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She's right, it's just that this is where most of the companies take advantage of the employees or in your case, partner companies (may not be the right term, but you know what I mean). Been there, done that, they claim that it's for the greater good and you all benefit from it, but in the end they are benefiting from it as they don't pay for the extra work.
I agree. Obviously it's your decision but they won't stop till you say no, or ask to be paid for the extra job. Why would they if they can get the job done for free, right? Sad, but true.
That's what they are counting on, hoping you won't say anything.
It's not an easy situation and I don't envy you, but letting them use you this way is also not a solution.
Oh yes, you are so right, they will push it as far as they can.
The funniest and sadly ironic part about this is that my manager just had a fight with a sponsor because they are trying to get extra value without paying for the sponsorship into the event...hmmm she told them a big fat NO, so the parallel is uncanny.
It will come to a head at some point and I'll have to then stand my ground and simply show them that the hypocrisy is ludicrous.
See? Thar's a good weapon you have there. Remind them of that conversation. 💪
Interestingly enough I have a comparison. My stepson just called me earlier today to fill me in on a job promotion at the hospital..this is what happened:
For the past week or so during his shifts new hires were coming up to him and stating they were told he was supposed to train them. The first few times it happened he shrugged it off, even though it meant that he was spending an extra couple hours or more completing his rounds and paperwork. But when he realized it was a pattern he called a meeting with his supervisor and basically said while he was happy to do it once in awhile, if it was going to be added to his list of everyday duties then he needed a pay raise. So now while he's training he makes an extra $10 bucks an hour and gets overtime-time and a half-when he stays past his shift because of it.
People will take advantage when you don't draw a line unfortunately.
That is horrible that they tried that but I'm so glad that he spoke to them and they accepted it, at least they were adult enough to see his side and agree to pay him extra which seems only fair.
It also probably stood out as a good character trait to management.