Handling someone elses jobI am in charge of managing a customer service rep. The rep stopped coming to work for a family emergency reason, the position was vacant for awhile now. I requested HR to hire another person, but they are taking long. In the mean time, my boss is expecting ME to handle the rep's job because things are piling up. Do you think I have a right to ask for over time hrs. pay to handle this job? or is it too much? (My company normally doesn't pay over time) Besides money, i'm more aggravated about the principle of it. I don't think I'm here to DO that job, I'm just here to manage. I don't want to handle this job but i feel like i have to do something about it. :( So, the conclusion i came up with was.. I would do, if i at least get paid for the time. what would you do, if you were me? anyone?
I'm always willing to help out my coworkers when they are in a bind, hoping the would do the same for me. Too bad you have a bad attitude. Maybe your employer thinks it's up to you to 'manage' to get the job done. Let me put it to you this way. I'm an AVP. My boss is a Senior Vice President. She has close to 100 people under her. Last year around this time, I went out on maternity leave. 2 weeks later, due to unforseen circumstances, they had to fire my assistant. My assistant and I are the only two people in our division of 8000 employees that do this job. At least some parts of this job are critical and have to be done from time to time. My boss "borrowed" some staff from another division to assist, but essentially spent 4 months "doing my job". Do you think she went whining to her boss (second to the division president) that her job is to manage and not to do mine? Do you think she went whining that she wanted some extra pay? Suck it up and fill in until someone is hired. THAT is your job. And if you came whining to me over it, I'd let you know in no uncertain terms that's not the way things work. If you're an hourly employee and you can't get all the critical things from both jobs done in a day, then go to your boss and ask him how he wants you to deal with that. Lay out a choice of plans (divide some up among others, stay and do overtime, etc.). Don't go to your boss with just problems. Give him a list of solutions and ask for his help in picking one.
Tess You are kidding? Right? Your job is to ensure that the work gets done! If that means delegating the work to others in your department then great do that and authorize their overtime. If that means doing it yourself and prioritizing work so that all critical work gets done then do that instead. You were hired to manage 1 person? Doesn't sound like you are actually a manager. Also doesn't sound like you have much experience as a leader. Get a grip. How long have you been without a person, and how many people do you have to help cover this work? At some point you have to expect to be compensated for your contributions to the company, but you have to make sure HR has had enough time to fill the position. Your job as a manager is to "get the job done," but that is conditional upon having the resources to do so, or the authority to obtain more resources should yours be lacking in adequacy. You don't send construction workers to a site with a bag of nails, take away their hammers, and tell them to suck it up and do without. Not if you're any good at what you do. You have to consider it part of your job, and of your subordinates, to put forth the extra effort under times of standard employee turnover. You do not have to consider it part of your job to put up with doing the job of more than one person merely because HR (or your management) is dragging their feet and/or wants to go cheap and save a few dollars on labor at your expense. However, as you can see from previous posts, there is plenty of outright hostility available for people in your situation. How much of that will you face in your company? Sounds like HR might not be "getting the job done" for you. I bet they expect more from you than they are giving. Perhaps comments like those from LVal are more appropriately aimed at your HR department than they are at you.
IHR's job is to take care of themselves. They can't just go hire someone, they have to make it look hard. Interview a lot of people, jerk them around for a while, hold meetings to discuss the applicants, etc.
Not true sorry. If this person is hired as a manager then it is this persons job to figure out how to get the work of the department done. If they have a person out on medical leave then it is the managers job to figure out whether this is an extended leave, a short term leave, or a permanent situation. It is next this persons job as a manager to determine what needs to be done to get the work done. Whether this means re-allocating the work for the short term, including taking on some additional work themselves; hiring temporary help to fill in while the employee is out; or finally hiring a replacement. If this person is indeed a manager then their job is determine the requirements, communicate the need to the correct level of authority above them and then follow through. A manager does not question whether they can ask for more pay. " If this person is hired as a manager then it is this persons job to figure out how to get the work of the department done." False. It is only the case when they have access to adequate resources, or the ability to acquire them. "If this person is indeed a manager then their job is determine the requirements, communicate the need to the correct level of authority above them and then follow through." It appears this person already has, and is now stuck waiting for HR to do their job while the boss is doing nothing. "A manager does not question whether they can ask for more pay." True. They know they can at any time. Nobody gives up the moral high ground in pursuing fair compensation when they move into management. Now, if this person is working off a budget, they may be in position to spread part of the salary that is no longer being paid to the people that are now doing the work. " If this person is hired as a manager then it is this persons job to figure out how to get the work of the department done." False. It is only the case when they have access to adequate resources, or the ability to acquire them. In this case, the poster DOES have the resources. Themselves. They can do at least some of this task, but based on their post, they just don't want to because they feel they are somehow above doing the actual work of their department. That's where the hostility comes in. "If this person is indeed a manager then their job is determine the requirements, communicate the need to the correct level of authority above them and then follow through." It appears this person already has, and is now stuck waiting for HR to do their job while the boss is doing nothing. First off, I wouldn't assume that HR is all by themselves holding this up for no good reason. If the employee is out for a family emergency he is probably on FMLA and the company is probably holding his spot for 12 weeks before firing him and refilling it. People complain every day on these boards that companies don't treat them right. This company is probably doing the right thing by the employee. However, that has an impact on the rest of the department. So, this poster's boss has directed the OP to get off their duff and get to work. It IS the OP's job to handle this. There are several options as to HOW the OP handles it, but whining about it not being his/her job is the worst choice of the bunch. And for the record- no, you don't get more pay for doing an extra job for a small period of time- even if that's 6 or 9 months. You don't get extra pay for taking on a special project now and then. You get the recognition that you'll roll up your sleeves and get the job done. You get a good reference when you go elsewhere. You get offered the ability to apply for the promotion that no other company would hire you for because you don't have that experience yet. There are lots of benefits in the World of Work that aren't immediate and aren't instant cash. Don't be short-sighted. Tess | |
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