Office Drama

November 17, 2006 7:52 AM

I'm transitioning from part-time to full-time at my office and until the paperwork is completed, the director has said that I can only work X number of hours per week and that I must give priority to the (evening) hours when he needs me. Right now, I don't have a regular schedule and each week unfolds according to his needs. However, I am regularly given work by other people in the office and there's the rub...

I spent most of this week working with the director (and used up almost all of my hourse with him) but got an email from someone this morning (Friday) saying a small project they had given me on Monday should be completed by this afternoon. This Friday deadline was never mentioned before but everyone - including the director - expects I will be done. This seems unreasonable. I can work under a deadline, but I need to know what it is! If I had been told on Monday that this was due on Friday, I would have spoken to the director to ensure I had enough time to complete it, but to say nothing until this morning just seems perverse!

My question is this: I can't finish the project by today, so how do I explain this - and my position - without damaging my reputation? How do I assert that this feels unreasonable while not presenting myself as irresponsible and/or lazy. I'm the newest employee and naturally at the bottom of the pecking order, but I think my assessment of the situation is right.

posted by anonymous78 to work & money (4 comments total)

Give the director a choice. He has three options:
1. Move the deadline
2. Cut the scope of the project
3. Assign somebody to help you

Tell the director that you are not psychic. If somebody has a deadline, then that somebody needs to tell you about it. Now that it is too late, let the director help you pick one of the three options above to deal with the issue.
posted by crazycanuck at 8:01 AM on November 17, 2006

This seems like sort of a no brainer. You were not told about the deadline until today, and the director used up all your time for the week. Tell the director that the project will require X number of hours, but you only have Y number of hours left that you're allowed to work this week. Unless they're hinting that you should finish it off unpaid, I don't see how they can possibly expect you to do it.
posted by antifuse at 8:09 AM on November 17, 2006

crazycanuck has a great idea. Don't present the problem, present solutions and let the boss manage your time. Do you have any documentation detailing the start of this project - an email that doesn't include the deadline, for example?
posted by muddgirl at 8:17 AM on November 17, 2006

If you'd like more hours this week — and if "this afternoon" just means "before you leave today" — add

4. Authorize the additional hours you'd need to finish.

to crazycanuck's list. It's hard to call someone lazy when they're willing to stay late on a Friday and you're telling them no.
posted by nebulawindphone at 10:12 AM on November 17, 2006