Are people like this in work really annoying

[MintyFreshBreath]

Just a vent really. Part of my job is I have to book things for senior management and I’m fine with that. Not a problem. Only very occasionally, I have to ask so many questions I just think…Why the hell (on this ONE occasion) don’t you do it yourself? When I say it happens irregularly, I mean two or three times a year. Compared to me doing it two or three times a week. So not a massive thing but it’s frustrating for me and surely frustrating for them.
Rant over!!!

Any other work woes?!!

I work in IT. The next person in my team who starts whinging about having to fix a computer (you know… THEIR ACTUAL JOB) I might scream! Why are you on the team if you are just trying to slopey shoulder everything?!

@GreenTeaPingPong

I had a senior manager email me a word document of a letter, asking me to put it onto headed paper and email it back to her, saying, I'm sure it should be easy to do but I don't know how!!

I copied it and sent it back but also politely gave instructions for the future on where to find headed paper on the shared drive, and suggested that she open the word file, copy in her text, and do 'save as'. She is not 90, but about 40 years old! God knows how she got to her level without being able to do this.

I got sent a draft email the other day from my boss asking me to format the email and make the fonts all the same ... took literally 2 seconds.. I didn't mind doing it but not sure why it's more time effective to send it to me asking me to do it.. she could of done it in half the time it took to send me the email

@Pedalpushers

In my experience senior people are often massively inefficient time wasters who delegate just to feel important.

I worked with a woman who would email you to ask you to email someone else, but to send them the email first to check, she would then correct the email and send it back asking you to redraft it and send it to her for final sign off, before you then send it on to the recipient. These weren't even important emails.

My boss does this.. I get it for important emails but most of them aren't that important, I could just do it myself and it would be fine.. but she's a micromanager so

I also used to work in a company that was all middle aged men, this one guy who was only about 54 or something, every-time he would go off and do something, he'd come back and his computer would have logged off, he would call me over each time he came back because 'his computer wasn't working' .. so I'd then just put in his password for him lmao, he just seemed to panic at the smallest of things technology wise and instantly call me over rather than try and figure it out himself

@Ceebeegee

I understand what you mean, although in a different way. I assist a senior colleague for a task, and they ask me to contact X customer on their behalf. And then they take about 20 minutes telling me what to ask/say in the conversation (probably changing their mind two/three times about what they want out of the conversation). They spend 20 minutes delegating a two minute phonecall. YOU MIGHT AS WELL JUST RING THEM YOUSELF! I don't mind the delegation at all, it's just the nonsensical time wasting that goes with it sometimes.

@Ceebeegee

About 90%/of my job literally consists of tasks like this...I sometimes cry at the thought that I bothered with HE ... I hardly use my brain.

My major annoyance is travel bookings. I work in higher education, we have to use the university-approved travel agent for travel bookings. Unless I tell the agent exactly what I need there is very high chance that they will book me a train or flight that is either more expensive or less convenient than my preferred option. So instead, I usually spend a good hour or so comparing travel options, email the travel agent my preferred option, which they will then book for me at a more expensive rate than if I had booked it myself (because the agent's rate includes commission/a booking fee). It is such a waste of time.

From the other side - I sometimes draft an email and ask for it to be sent to specific individuals as finding checking and typing the addresses wastes time I don’t have. I forward emails to be saved in electronic files for the same reason. I ask for calls to be made on my behalf because the task can be done by someone else - even if I have to explain what it’s about- the dialling, waiting, calling back and remembering are off my to do list. I have far too much to do and have to delegate where I can. Sometimes this requires an investment of time for initially small returns but with hopefully increasing efficiency over time.
I rarely ask for drinks to be made (usually provided before I ask) but sometimes I have no choice. I will return the favour when I can though.
Re - unnecessary questions things like: can you get me a quote for this? When do you need it, what is it for? have you got enough budget, does this need approval for someone else, which account am I charging?
I just a want a quote and then I will decide on the next steps. I was once waiting for ages for a quote and when I finally got chance to chase it up, it hadn’t been processed because the old account I used to use was now closed so they didn’t see the point getting the quote as I couldn’t afford it anyway! It was from a totally different account in a different financial year! They could not understand why I was frustrated.

It's not that. I have switched jobs now so haven't got a PA in the same way but it just enables you to get on with your correct job and keep focus on what you are meant to be doing. And some is junior development.

Please print these docs (often sent when I'm on the phone to someone else) means please print, deal with the printer running out of ink / paper /, hole punch or staple them how you know I like them. Ideally put them in a file for me (again how you know I like them because we work together). Often I might ask for something to be saved to the system with the correct protocols and links sent back to me. Because that's what I need with all metadata stripped because you know that's how I want it.

Please book a train ticket. Means do it in accordance with company policy. If you use my card fill out my expenses claim for me and arrange for it to be submitted. If not, look up the times, arrange for payment, arrange it to be attributed to the correct file. Book me a taxi to the train station. Arrange for tickets to be delivered to my desk or if e-tickets to be sent to my phone. Check with me I have everything I need.

Please call so and so and say xyz. Actually, I might not have time to speak to them because every time I speak to them they want to talk about other things so a 5 minute conversation turns into something else. Maybe I am late on getting something back to them and don't want to have that awkward conversation. Maybe they have asked me something complicated and I don't know the answer yet. Maybe they never answer the phone and I haven't got time to be faffing around trying to speak to them. Maybe I'm head down in something else and whilst I can ask you to call I haven't got time to completely switch focus and call them myself because I can be internal me with you but have to be external me with them. Maybe as a matter of presentation they wouldn't expect me to be the one calling about something trivial.

Maybe it's a way of introducing you to the other party so you can be more involved in the future.

Have no fear though, developments in IT mean that PA jobs are being phased out so everyone will just have to get on and do it themselves and you won't have to do it. I don't agree it makes us more efficient though - just occupied doing something else. My job means I have to record my time and whilst it used to be easy to get 7-8 hours of chargeable time straight day in day out without working particularly long hours it's now much harder as I spend so much time faffing about with stuff like this.

@nomoneytree I feel you. Good grief I feel you.