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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Cant stop crying, boss will kill me

52 replies

LadyFailure · 24/09/2014 00:29

Im working on a task that should have been done by 5pm when I left the office. has to be done by morning at the latest and i cant do it. It isn't part of my regular job, using a skill I just don't have, so I'm really slow and so exhausted and am in serious shit if I don't produce the work finished. I estimate I need another ten hours and it needs to be in for 9.

Dunno what to do, I love my job but this kind of shit is awful.

OP posts:

memememum · 24/09/2014 00:35

What do you need to do?

BettyMoody · 24/09/2014 00:35

Sounds like me last weekend with some data analysis. I had a tear. Then told boss I can't do it.
It's late. Go to bed.

SqueegeeBeckenheim · 24/09/2014 00:36

Gosh, that sounds quite awful. Why are you expected to do it if it;s not part of your regular job and you don't have the skill to do it? Maybe a coworker could give you a hand in the morning?

RedLentil · 24/09/2014 00:36

What a rotten situation you have been put in. Is there anything practical we can help you with? Is there a section of the job you could get done to the right level?

You'd be absolutely entitled to stop now and explain you couldn't have been expected to do the job but if we can help you avoid that situation we will

Delphine31 · 24/09/2014 00:37

I don't know that I can be much help, but don't want your post to go unanswered.

If there is no way you can get this done by 9am, you'd be better off cutting your losses and trying to get some sleep now. Be in the best possible state you can be to go to your boss first thing in the morning. Apologise for missing the deadline, explain the reasons and ask if there is someone who does have the skills and could help you get to grips with it.

If you could possibly get it done, and do it well (this is important) by 9am, it's worth doing an all-nighter.

This doesn't sound to me as though it's your fault. If you don't have the experience necessary for the task, your boss should have offered training or at least more support in getting it done.

Good luck, and try not to get too worked up about it (easier said than done I know).

Original poster

LadyFailure · 24/09/2014 00:39

I have to produce a document using stuff I'm not familiar with. It's taking me hours and needing very focused intense concentration so i keep having breaks because I can't handle it. this is why it's still not done at nearly 1am. It's not difficult, but very fiddly.

I can't go to bed, I will get a written warning and I cannot lose this job.

OP posts:

emotionsecho · 24/09/2014 00:42

OP if you don't have the skills to do the task, you can't do it, and shouldn't have been asked to. At what time were you given it and by whom?

Go to bed and get some sleep, go in to work tomorrow and just be honest and tell your boss you tried your best but you don't have the necessary skills for the task and nor have you received any training for it.

The task should never have been given to you, better to stop trying to do it now and possibly/probably making a complete mess and/or critical error.

Original poster

LadyFailure · 24/09/2014 00:42

Thank you so much. It honestly feels like it's killing me, I feel like i need a something to calm me down like a Xanex to stop shaking but I can't take one because then I'll get no work done.

I am quite pissed off at being put in this situation, but there's nothing I can say.

OP posts:

Original poster

LadyFailure · 24/09/2014 00:44

I can't. I have to do it. I don't have the skill acquired to do it within reasonable time, but what I have done is good quality so I'm not making a mess of it, because I've gone painstakingly slow.

OP posts:

tazzle22 · 24/09/2014 00:46

Why on earth a written warning.... has this task already been discussed and this the end deadline of other completion dates you are oerceived to have failed. If its been dicussed have you asked for appropriate training or support from whoever normally does the job ?

Original poster

LadyFailure · 24/09/2014 00:49

Everyone else was busy so I was given it.

I'm just too slow and feel so stupid, I know realistically it takes everyone a while to learn something new but I feel so overwhelmed. Like right now Im here when I should be doing it, but I can't face touching it, it seems like I will never get it finished.

OP posts:

emotionsecho · 24/09/2014 00:56

If you can't do it in the allocated time because you don't have the acquired skill to do it then you can't do it and shouldn't be expected to, I can't see how they would have grounds for a Written Warning in these circumstances.

You say you estimate another 10 hours of your time is needed, you don't have 10 hours between now and 9.00 am so stop now, get some sleep, and produce what you have done and explain why you could not complete it. If you try to stay up and do more you will slow down, your periods of concentration will become even shorter and you will become more stressed and shaky and mistakes will creep in.

Please go to bed.

emotionsecho · 24/09/2014 01:03

The fault lies with them OP, they gave you something they knew you didn't have the experience or skills to do in the required time frame because others were too busy, you have done what you can, and gone above and beyond to try and finish it.

tazzle22 · 24/09/2014 01:07

Have you actually been told you will have a written warning if its not completed ? To reach written warning status you boss will have needed to have discussed any issues with you. Proven unsatisfactory work therafter eould neef to hsppen before boss could fire you without risking you unfair dismissal claim from you I would think. Echo others... if its not doable then go to bed so you can work on it tomorrow. If its something vital to the company that it had to be in place 9 am the boss should have ensured that the most skilled for thst job person did it !!!

NeedsAsockamnesty · 24/09/2014 01:08

I'm a boss.

It is my responsibility to make sure I utilise my staff skills effectively. This means when I give them stuff that is not usual for them to do or not in their normal role then its down to me to check they can do it.

If I give a staff member a job to do that is outside of their normal role and they can not do it then I have failed to instruct or support them correctly,I would have fucked up not them.

Bulbasaur · 24/09/2014 02:25

Take a deep breath. :)

What exactly is your job description? Does this task fall into it?

Also, how were you given this task? Was it discussed with you and you impulsively said yes? Or were you given no choice in the matter?

They obviously didn't prioritize the job if they a) gave it to you last minute b) didn't give it to someone that had the correct skill set. That's on them, not you.

As for the write up, it's not the end of the world if you get one (and in this instance I doubt you will). You will be given the paper of what happened and you are allowed to dispute them. All signing one means is that you got it, not that you agree. From there you can take it up with HR and higher management, where you can ask questions such as "Why wasn't this given to me earlier?" "Why wasn't this given to someone with the correct skill set" and "Why is my manager unable to properly schedule tasks in a realistic time table?". As long as this task isn't in your job description, no training has been provided, and the skills weren't listed on your resume/cv they can't discipline you for it.

Log your hours. They need to be paying you for this time you're. Unless you're on salary, in that case fuck it and get some sleep.

But if you complete this and pretend that it was no big deal, they will do this to you again. Make sure they know that this was an incredibly unreasonable task, and next time they want to give you an assignment outside your job description, they need to provide the proper training.

Bulbasaur · 24/09/2014 02:27

Another thing. If this boss did threaten a write up, still talk to a higher up or HR. Threats are no way to manage and boss needs to be reigned in.

MsAspreyDiamonds · 24/09/2014 04:48

It sounds like your boss is purposely setting you up for a fail, knowing that you dont have the skills base to do it. I would speak to ACAS in the morning and get proper advice.

m.acas.org.uk/

FindoGask · 24/09/2014 05:40

This is absolutely not your fault. Bulbasaur has it exactly.

chilephilly · 24/09/2014 06:00

Are you in a trade union? If not, join one! This is no way to treat employees.

FergusSingsTheBlues · 24/09/2014 06:02

What a nightmare for you, OP. I was put in a similar situation just after graduating and remember clearly crying my eyes out walking over London bridge cos I couldn't get to grips with PowerPoint.....

I'm not sure who has set the deadline but unless it's a legal or otherwise immovable deadline, it's been set arbitrarily by the boss and the world will not end at 9am when you haven't got it done.

Go in head held high and tell them what you've told us. I hope you're in bed.

Trapper · 24/09/2014 06:23

Hi OP, Difficult to advise without knowing what it is that you are working on. Not clear on what impact inaccuracies in the output would have (eg if your work is medical, or life-critical). Assuming it isn't, and If the work simply has to be done by a fixed time (2:45 hours away now), and you are still working on it, you have to reduce the quality of the work you are doing on this occasion - I don't see you have any option. Time-box, put it together the best you can and submit. It is better to submit something, than nothing at all.
Set up a meeting with your boss to discuss the situation urgently. It is important that they understand the work is not to the level of quality you would like because of (what turned out to be) an unrealistic deadline. Decide on what you want the outcomes to be before the meeting - recognition for the effort you put in - additional training - more practice on similar, but less critical tasks.
Sorry you ended up in this situation.

Mouthfulofquiz · 24/09/2014 06:38

What I would say is that it is a little bit your responsibility to tell your boss if you don't have the skills.. I would be a tad annoyed (but ultimately understanding) if I gave someone a task, and then they didn't ask for help, or tell me they couldn't do it and then told me after the deadline. Communication is a two way street.
But - I wouldn't say its worth a written warning. Just explain yourself, learn from it and move on. It doesn't sound like a big deal.

ithoughtofitfirst · 24/09/2014 06:47

This reminds me of a job I eventually had to quit because of stuff like this. One time I really really messed something up because I wasn't the right person for thd task and the feeling of oh god what have I done made me feel like I was going to have a heart attack.

I hope you slept as pp were advising OP. This is not your fault and you tried your best. They delegated a task to an employee who would struggle to complete it. Which Is completely unfair. That should be good enough of a reason for them.

Stealthpolarbear · 24/09/2014 06:53

Oh op :( are you still up? Let us know how it goes.
If it needed to be done by 9 and was given to a member of staff who didn't have the skills to do it in time then it's your boss's failure. I bet he or she surprises you. Either way - rest of day off and sleep!

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