To try and manipulate my boss

[JungleInTheRumble]

So the job I do basically has 2 types of work (type 1 and 2). I love doing type 1 work but I hate doing type 2. I've asked my boss on a number of occasions whether I can reduce the amount of type 2 work I do in order to focus on type 1 work.

My boss agrees that I am much stronger at type 1 than type 2 but he refuses to agree to reduce the type 2 work he gives me because, according to him, you need to be good at type 2 work to be good at type 1. I disagree with this and can point to plenty of people in the office who do solely type 1 or 2 work (in fact when I started I was told I'd be doing type 1). I feel like I spend so much of my time on type 2 work which, for various reasons, I really struggle with when I could be focussing my efforts on type 1 work which I am much better at, certainly better than average.

The most annoying thing is that I really do enjoy this job (and most importantly can see real career opportunities here). it's just the type 2 work which I hate. I'm applying for new jobs but tbh my ideal situation would be to go to my boss with a new job offer and say "look, I'm taking this other job unless you give me what I want". Would that be really cheeky and unreasonable? Those of you who manage people, would you look very unfavourably on someone who did this?

Sorry if this is super confusing!

If both are in your job description yabu and most managers would tell you to jog on

Maybe that's why they weren't that much valued, mrscarrot?

In fact, when I started I was told I'd be doing type 1

Were you employed on the basis of doing type 1 & 2 or type 1 only? Or did you start on type 1 as it was logical to start with type 1 then do type 2?

Wow thanks for all the responses guys, really helpful to read the mixture of opinions.

For those asking, it's not that I'm trying to palm off "right of passage" work like filing or taking minutes. I don't have too many posts under this name so I guess it won't out me to say that I'm a tax accountant (although I wish it was crocodile wrestling). I love doing tax advisory work but I hate doing tax compliance.

If I refused to do tax compliance it would get passed to the tax compliance team.

My contract doesn't say anything about the type of work I'm expected to do - just when I started I had an informal conversation with the person in charge of allocating staff who said that I'd be doing advisory work.

I guess I need to figure out whether my boss is going to take the attitude of some posters here and be personally offended/question my loyalty to the company if I try and get what I want. Maybe I should take something from the fact that the company has quite a high turnover rate...as I said though, I'd be surprised if he'd fire me because I do have some unique skills which they would not be able to replace easily.

Senua the male option, I like it! Tbh I am bad at the compliance work and I don’t even need to do it on purpose.
PigletJohn wow! See that’s why I’d be really quite reluctant to do this – I would hope that my boss wouldn’t behave like you claim you would but I’d never know that until I’d agreed to stay on and then six months down the line, up the proverbial creek. I guess that’s why it’s so important to get everything in writing.
LyingWitch I don’t expect you to believe me because this is just an anonymous internet forum but I do happen to be very good at advisory work. I get that we’re all conditioned to question our own self-worth and talents (working in a male dominated field I see a lot of this – funnily enough it’s rarely the men questioning themselves). It’s a habit I’ve worked hard to get out of though. I’ve found a job I love and I’m good at. Yay me.

Can you give us more of an idea what the two roles are? I think that's probably actually quite significant before anyone can offer any advice.

people who are not good at compliance do not tend to make good advisors ime. Perhaps if you show an improvement in how you do it and attitude your boss may be more understanding.

Of course the compliance side is dull but it's the bare bricks and it really isn't rocket science

Hmm. Ok.
I guess you need to know about compliance in order to be able to advise.
However, if you feel differently and can keep abreast of the compliance side of things and put your cards on the table as to how you will do this, then maybe approach for another discussion.
It might be best to have an offer lined up though in case it doesn't pan out ( extreme eg but imagine if co was aiming to move entirely to compliance next year you would be useless to them)

TheAntiBoop I agree that you need an understanding of compliance in order to be a good advisor. But it's the nitty gritty preparing the computation which I can't stand; especially because I know that there's a compliance team sat at the other end of the room who can churn this stuff out in a day. It's very frustrating.

What your manager is telling you seems logical, that you need to be good at compliance to be a well rounded good advisor. It's more than just a high level advisory skill set requirement, but encompasses a solid knowledge base one.

Your view differs, you think you can be poor at compliance and still be a good advisor. I doubt uour managers view will change. As such, I think you will ultimately need to leave. They are clearly making you work on compliance for a reason.

Possibly Lying! But that many ex staff can't ALL be wrong.

Jungle, I DO believe you, I have no reason not to but it what your BOSS believes and perceives that is important.

Actually, now knowing what you do and the level that you are at - it makes a difference to my view. I pictured you in an administrative role (wrongly) as I didn't know different. At that level, there is possibly more clear cut 'Task A' and 'Task B' stuff done that goes 'hand in hand', if that makes sense, sort of what myoriginal3 said upthread.

I'm sorry if you thought I meant that I disbelieved you, I honestly didn't.

We all have specialisms and different aptitudes for them - mine would be compliance and not advisory (although I know sod all about tax!).

Can you not have a word with the compliance team and see if there's advisory stuff floating around there that you could 'mop up' in compensation?

I'm sort of having this issue at my work, slightly different in that another dept is currently understaffed (as has been since I started working there) in this time 2 members staf have left, so that it has fallen on me to "help out" this helping went from 1 day a week to 3 days a fortnight and is now at 4 days a week. I have put a time limit on the helping out and asked for more money in the interim as I am "acting up." They have said no, so I am looking for other jobs. Don't be all flouncy about it, you'll regret it.

a lot of people think they are above compliance. Your boss wants a sign from you that you don't as I guess that's how you come across. With a bit of concentration you can churn out a few good comps and then try again. One question advisors often do badly on is 'that's great advice, how do you suggest I disclose that in the return?'

How many years have you been in tax?

Bluntness It seems a pretty common opinion that I need to be good at compliance so perhaps I will have to move somewhere else. A big part of the problem for me is the amount of time that the compliance work takes, which is partly due to me and partly due to the inefficient processes at this firm.

LyingWitch My boss is very happy with my advisory work. Great appraisal, recommended for promotion. Sadly the compliance team literally only do compliance. Thanks though.

Angry I agree, flouncing around probably won't get me anywhere good.

TheAntiBoop I've been in tax approaching four years now so I'm definitely still a newbie and I do have a lot to learn both advisory and compliance side. I think maybe I need to accept that compliance is a necessary part of the job (that does seem to be what everyone on this thread has said since I said what I do). Out of interest - are you a tax advisor? Do you think that the bigger accountancy firms (i.e. big 4) have their employees working on computations?

different firms do things differently but I have noticed recently that a lot of the really good advisors from the big 4 have come in from smaller practices, where they will have had a good few years of compliance behind.

Get a few good comps done and then ask if you can switch to reviewing. I don't know what area of tax you are in of course! I assumed CT

I have my own business and it would really depend on how you made your case.

At the moment, just going by your posts, it all looks a little bit like stamping your foot to me and I'd respond in a similar fashion as your boss.
If you were to come to me with a job offer from a different company I would most likely wish you good luck and prepare your references.
If you would like me to change your work I'd expect you to do your homework. Schedule a meeting with me and make your case. What do you want to do differently? Why? How can the old work still be done without me having to pick up the slack? How does the colleague you want to take on your work feel about it? What's in it for them? What's in it for me?

Very few people are impossible to replace. That doesn't mean you can't negotiate with them, but be careful how you go about it. If you issue your boss with an ultimatum he may very well call your bluff. I would do so in 99 out of 100 cases. Simply because it sends the message that I can be blackmailed.
Your wish to do only one type of work is not unreasonable but just refusing to do this work will create more work for your boss and for your colleagues. That's why I'd recommend finding someone who prefers type 2 work and work out how you can swap duties without it creating more work for your boss and other colleagues.
This might put me but I have a little slogan my colleagues will hear on occasion: I am open to negotiate almost anything, I am not open to threats, demands and tantrums.

Yeah, CT. My favourite aspect of it is OMB work though, so there'll always be an element of personal tax as well.

Having said that, I don't know much about tax accountancy. If both types of work are required to progress in your work it might be beneficial to suck it up if you want to progress.

As you get more senior it is all about winning clients - compliance is a really good way to build relationships - particularly in small companies. Instead of seeing it as a drain on your time - have a look at what you can get out of it. The best advisors can look at the comp and accounts and see things - especially keen when you are looking at the nitty gritty.

Thanks so much TheAntiBoop your posts have been really helpful. I do have a few other issues with my boss so it's been helpful to get an outside perspective.

Good luck!!

No harm in looking for other jobs though - you may well find something you are happier with