AIBU about job?

[Dhapeer]

I started a new job 6 months ago. I was interviewed by the office manager, my manager and a director. It was casually alluded to that everyone pitches in with taking calls etc.
On my first day, it became apparent that while doing your job, they also have this 'virtual' reception which is where your phone rings every time a reception phone in any of the offices nationally rings. You are expected to take some of these calls.
I can not describe the stress of being in the middle of something and having to answer reception calls.
Ok, so I got used to that and accepted it.
Last week, we had an admin meeting and we were told that we now have to do the following as well:

1. Offer to do incoming/outcoming post when receptionist is on leave
2. Listen out for the doorbell ringing and answer the door if no-one is at the 4 desks behind reception. I sit about 30 seconds walk from the reception door.
3. Make teas and coffees for meetings in the absence of the receptionist.

I have 22 years administrative experience and am supposed to be a Team Administrator for a team of 5 building surveyors. I also have PA duties for my Director.

Would any of you do this? I have handed in my notice to my manager by text and have rang HR and am waiting to hear back.

FFS, they are paying me 28k to answer phones and make tea?

Am I the unreasonable one given that NONE of this was indicated in the interview and is not on my job description?

The phone ringing that frequently would drive me crackers, it's hugely disruptive and not knowing if someone is going to answer it or if you need to is a crap system. It's also crap for the customers. I don't blame you for walking away and I applaud d you for being honest to your employers about why. I think if more of us actively embraced the idea that we have worth, that we're not just there to do whatever the boss says without question, we'd all do a little better. Onwards and upwards :)

I think if more of us actively embraced the idea that we have worth

You can do that without talking about things being beneath you, getting angry at colleagues in meetings, calling people chimps and quitting by text.

I bet your 'rehire' marker will be OMDB with that attitude OP

What a waste of the company’s time, effort and resources in recruiting you. AND you’re now demanding answers from THEM!

Does your job description end with ‘and any other ad hoc duties’?

What a fantastic thread

SillySally Well said.

What a fantastic thread

Indeed. Please return tomorrow OP and let us know in between calls how the letter was received

beneath me

You. do. admin. work.

Admin.

Replaceable in a second

I'm sorry, but if I was a Director and had similar discussions regarding my duties would you be saying that I sound unprofessional? Or is it just because I'm female and an administrator that I can't object to a contractual breach. How fucking uppity of me

No matter how many times people tell you, you still don't seem to get it. It's not what you say, it's how you say it. Not many people are disagreeing that your job situation sounds crap, but everyone is telling you that you have an attitude problem. Think about that. People are saying it for a reason.

A PP made a good post about how you could have handled the whole thing much better when they said

"With your experience and your good relationship with your boss, you could have called a meeting and revealed how stressful/intrusive/time-consuming the phone system was and suggested a few workable alternatives. You could also have gently warned that you would be unable to continue for much longer as the system made it impossible"

'Administrator is such a catch-all term isn't it?

I think I'm a bit older than most of you lot, and in the good old days we had much more descriptive terms:

Office junior
Receptionist
Clerk typist
Supervisor
Secretary

Clerical assistant
Clerical officer
Administration assistant
Administration officer
Administration manager
Office manager

Now everyone is an 'Administrator'. No matter how experienced or senior they are expected to stop what they are doing at the drop of a hat and do the most menial of junior tasks. All in the name of being a 'team player.

Fuck that for a game of soldiers.

Now everyone is an 'Administrator'. No matter how experienced or senior they are expected to stop what they are doing at the drop of a hat and do the most menial of junior tasks. All in the name of being a 'team player. Fuck that for a game of soldiers

Exactly!
Some comments on here being spotty and dismissive of being an administrator.
I was an administrator for a small company until last year....I was keeping the bloody place running. It's not always a menial job that anyone can do.

Snotty....not spotty.

You. do. admin. work.

Admin.

Replaceable in a second

What a revolting attitude. I bet you’re horrible to waiting staff too.

Replaceable in a second

Nonsense, if you have rubbish admin you won't half know about it.

I do sympathise with the OP and phones. I hate phones ringing all the time. It is disruptive. We have emails now, for goodness sake use that and arrange a time to call if your query is more nuanced/you need to talk something through. Half the time the calls to our office are cold callers anyway. Go away.

Okay while I didn't read every post by the OP since most of it was her repeating herself, I have the gist of it.

That system would annoy the fuck out of me too, having my phone at my desk ringing All day every day like a fucking call centre? No thanks. Being expected to stop what I'm doing to answer calls that I can't deal with efficiently because it's not really my job. No thanks.

It sounds like they need about 6 or 10 more receptionists and to stop making everyone's phone ring.

That being said, were it not for your very poor attitude and whiny tone in almost every post you might have received a lot more empathy OP.

Replaceable in a second

If a boss said that to me, he/she would find they would have to do that immediately.
It's an all too common attitude with some employers and bloody arrogant.

Ah well, I'm sure your email will give HR a good laugh, anyway.

If a boss said that to me, he/she would find they would have to do that immediately.

If an employee started talking about jobs being beneath them and calling people chimps, they would be gone.

Something tells me your colleagues will have a party on your last day! ‘Beneath you’ 😂 22 years experience and only on 28k, have a word with yourself love! Good luck getting a reference after throwing your toys out the pram

I think if more of us actively embraced the idea that we have worth...

The issue (or my issue, perhaps) with the OP is that she is not embracing her own worth - she is claiming to be more worthy than her colleagues. She should not have to do these menial tasks - but someone will - someone less worthy than the OP, who is clearly worth every penny of her allegedly incredible salary, and is therefore far too busy and important for menial tasks.

I despise this attitude - I was always brought up to believe that you should treat those around you with respect - whether they are your peers, or those fulfilling superior or inferior roles in the workplace. I can't even see a shadow of respect in the way the OP talks of the others in her workplace.

Some of the comments saying OP has years of experience and she only earns 28k are quite nasty and sneering.

2 million people earn minimum wage in the UK. A lot of them have worked in retail all their lives, would you walk up to them and sneer?

Around 20% of all UK workers earn under the “living wage” which is £10.20 an hour in London or £8.25 an hour outside London. One in five people! I think it’s nasty to be rude about what people earn. Lose your fancy job and you could easily be joining the 5.9 million low paid workers.

Besides, 28k is still over the average UK wage. Where I live now, wages are low. Admin staff here earn 17-24k typically. I was earning around 40k in London as a PA, I would be looking at earring half of that here. But house prices are low here too.

polarbear I think it's less about making fun of what OP earns in isolation and more about pointing out to her that her salary doesn't mean she's "above" these tasks as she seems to think she is. I earn a little bit more than OP (not much!) but I certainly wouldn't consider myself well-paid enough to be above making tea for visitors or answering the phone. People aren't pointing out that she earns poorly, just that covering reception duties is to be expected on that kind of salary, 22 years experience or not.

Wow, MN showing its true colours. Complete faux feminists, kick a woman while she's down eh, don't let a female administrator get ideas above her station eh!

The OP is nowhere near unreasonable. OP, you don't mind helping out, but you're not happy taking on a second job alongside the job you were hired to do. You're right.

You also sound like a good laugh. Good luck!

In an old office I worked in, it took Head Office weeks to get an office cleaner for us. It was suggested that the team (mainly me) could do the cleaning. Ummm no.

Not because I’m above cleaning at all but that wasn’t my job! I wasn’t going to be vacuuming, taking out bins and cleaning the loo.

The actual cleaner we employed was self-employed and charged more than my hourly pay!

Wow, MN showing its true colours. Complete faux feminists, kick a woman while she's down eh, don't let a female administrator get ideas above her station eh!

Nope try again. I didn't realise being a feminist meant that you could talk about people in a derogatory way and calling people chimps. I've been doing it wrong all my life.