How to push back at work

[Lucywilde]

I started a new job in January. School hours and local after not working for 9 years due to caring for my two dc with Sen. One has especially complex needs. The job is part time (20 hours a week). There was a two hour training session with the person who did the job before me but nothing much else. The company have left lost 6 admin staff in the last year or so. It’s not a massive company as it is but It’s ridiculously busy. And chaotic. I don’t think the two bosses realise quite how busy it is and often they’ll ask for things but give no context so it’s difficult to work out what they want you to do. Come September I’ll be managing a client base of 60 which is up from 40.

I’m not very confident and a people pleaser. I’m only admin but a lot seems to fall to me. My three colleagues feel the same. It’s causing me a lot of stress. Any advice would be appreciated.

I have a similar problem at my work. I’ve started giving timeframes around how long something will take me (so I’ll tell my boss that a certain piece of work takes 2hr for example), and that way she’ll see that it’s not possible for me to take on additional work that will take X amount of time.

I’ve also had to work on my assertiveness skills, and learn to say no. I find that if you are genuine about being too busy, it comes a lot easier. I have the courage of my convictions when I say I can’t cope with more work at the moment, as I’m am genuinely busy every minute of the working day!

Have you tried setting out the work with timeframes OP? So if you have 40 clients, how much time does one client interaction take, then times it by 40 to demonstrate the workload to your boss etc. Sorry if it’s not that simple, I’m not sure what your role is ☺️

Start blocking out your calendar. So if you need two uninterrupted hours to finish a task, block that out.

Be honest with your manager. If you’re asked to complete a piece of work that you wouldn’t normally, ask when it will be required for. Then make sure you set expectations by either asking for who you can delegate other tasks to or if he/she is happy for something else to slide.

If you’re regularly being asked to do too much, be honest and don’t use your free time to cover it. It’s fine to do that for a time critical piece of work where it’s all hands on deck and you know you’ll have a bit of leeway tomorrow, but if that isn’t the case, document and bring up early so you can genuinely push back and tell your manager that X task won’t be completed if you also have to do Y task.

I agree with Worry as well, it’s worth spending a bit of time actually plotting your capacity so you can demonstrate that more clients takes you over capacity and therefore you need either suitable compensation or another member of staff to assist you.

If they're paying you as admin but want a client manager they need to pay you for the latter.

Do the tasks they're asking fit your job description?

Set a precedent. Block out your online diary, share it with whoever delegates to you and ask that tasks are booked in that way