Work gripe - getting chased before a deadline

[Mummy08m]

This isn't a real problem just a little gripe.

I'm a teacher and our report deadlines are usually at 10.30am on a Tuesday.

I always get them in on time. I genuinely can't remember ever being late with them, certainly not in the last 4 years at least, if ever. I have several classes and I pace myself so that I do some on the weekend, some on the Monday, and the last few on the Tuesday morning before 10.30am. I can't do them much earlier, usually, because I need to include up to date info like the latest homework I've marked or whatever.

However, the data manager at my school sends out these chasing emails before the deadline! Today I get this at 8.50am:

Dear Mummy08m,
Please can I politely remind you that grades and comments are required by 10.30am today. We have noticed comments missing for [specific one of my classes]. If you are in the process of entering these comments [er, yes, obviously I am] please kindly ignore this message.
If you are not going to meet the deadline please kindly let me know when you'll complete them by.
[Data manager's signature]

Aibu for being made grumpy about this? Every single time! I always get them in by 10.30am! Sometimes I'm literally clicking submit at 10.25am, but it always gets done.

If you need them in by 8.50am, tell me the deadline is 8.50am. Don't tell me the deadline is 10.30am and then nag me for not getting them in by 8.50am!

I'm going to "kindly ignore this message", obviously. But I'm grumpy. Aibu for being grumpy?!

I better go finish them off now instead of ranting on mumsnet lol. But still. So grumpy.

They're doing their role , you're doing yours. But it's usual not to be finishingbwork two hours before a deadline, editing maybe but whole sections missing sounds very careless

I’d be very annoyed by the overuse of ‘kindly’. Passive aggressive!

I'd always respond with 'Yes, I'm working to that deadline. No need to remind me, I've left some bits out on purpose, because I want the latest information to be in. I've had these in by the deadline every single time in the whole 4 years I've been doing them. I'd of course be doing them now if I hadn't had to stop and read and respond to this message. Please desist from constant reminders which take me away from doing the work I need to do, to meet the deadline. Many thanks.'

It’s a reminder, which lots of people would find helpful if they’ve forgotten as they can probably then still meet the deadline. The email specifically says that if you’ve got things in hand to ignore the message. That’s different to being chased for something ahead of the deadline.

ignore x

YANBU maybe if we fired all people employed to hassle us all about when things will be done by we could afford enough people to actually do them.

A data manager would need to double check data and consolidate all the reports into a single deck for senior management to read. The fact that she is even reminding you is a testament to how much she respects your time. In the private sector she would be in her rights to just escalate (and affect performanc reviews) every single time someone doesn’t meet a deadline.

YABU.

They're just doing their job. If you ever were late and they hadn't chased, then that's partly on them. So just take the email at its word and ignore it if you know you'll be submitting on time, and stop looking for issues where there are none

She’ll look like a snotty idiot if she responds like that. The email says “If you are in the process of entering these comments please kindly ignore this message.” So she hasn’t “had to stop and respond to this message”.

I imagine it takes OP all of 30 seconds to read these emails. HUGE drain on her time.

You get yours in on time but I'd bet that there is others who don't. So, to save time, she will be sending out a general reminder to everyone.

I need to send reminders to my staff to complete their monthly timesheets. I send out a reminder about 3 days before month end and also on the very last working day. There is some people who have theirs in with plenty time who may be annoyed by the reminders (just delete and move on fgs) but there is always others who I'm still chasing on the 5th of the next month. I don't have time to go round ticking people off and sending separate emails. A general reminder to all is practical and inoffensive - so YABU and over sensitive.

I can see this from both sides. Having been managed, it used to intensely annoy me to be chased before the deadline, so when I became a manager, I tried my hardest not to do it myself.

Trouble is, I got let down more and more often, so I started chasing before the deadline. I had to as I had to do work and pass it on up the tree, and I got stick for not managing my team etc etc.

Think of it this way, being in any organisation is like monkeys sitting in a tree. When those at the top look down, all they see is smiling faces looking up. But when those lower down look up, all they see is arse holes 🤣

Just ignore the message. It's aimed at people who've forgotten or are on top of it. You are neither.

*aren't on top of it

As if anyone's actually going to send that. 😄

But yes, no problem saying that you're already working to that deadline, and you normally wait until Tuesday morning to finalise with the most up to date information.

When I was teaching, 85% of teachers would be fully occupied in front of classes between 8:50 and 10:30, so it's unlikely many would be coming in during that period.
It might be a generic email to anyone with missing reports, or they might be concerned that with several sets missing, you'd not realised the deadline. I can understand being grumpy, but it was reasonably polite, and you know you're on top of it. It might better if they waited until 10:30, but possibly the reminder first thing is useful to some who have just forgotten to submit.

It's just a reminder which, as stated, can be ignored as you are working on it.

@Mummy08m im in a different profession but same thing happens. They are just doing their management role. Just ignore.

you can clearly ignore it because it does say that if you're in the process of doing x please ignore message.

I am one of the people who has to collate reports. I have a deadline for reports coming to me, which gives everyone the opportunity to include their up-to-date stuff, it is a bit tight but that's how it is. They all know this and should plan other work accordingly.

I have a deadline to report their info, plus my assessment one day later. It takes me hours to collate, assess and make my report. If any of them are late, i get it in the neck. So i send a reminder the day before they're due to everyone, and then another reminder to the persistant offenders who are late reporting to me.

Last year someone who never got their report to me on time, was fired for not doing their job. They blamed me for "snitching". I don't care.

So - in short: you can ignore these mails, they are not addressed to you personally as long as you are doing what you are supposed to do.

She'll have lots of others who don't get them in on time and she's working to a tight deadline to get them out too. I'd say at our school at least 20% are late.

You could always talk to her though and explain your system so she knows you're on it.

That is extremely fucking irritating - if it’s her job to set the deadline then it’s her job to set it appropriately so she has enough time to complete her element of the work after your submissions. I would go back and say something like, “Hi x, here’s my submission for this week. Would you prefer me to work to an earlier deadline for these going forward? At the moment I work to the deadline provided of x so I can input the most up to date information, but I’ve noticed I receive regular chasers before that deadline each week so if you’d prefer me to complete earlier with the data correct up to Monday evening (or whatever) I’ll switch to that. Otherwise happy to maintain the current deadline and no need for you to chase. Thanks!”

I've just clicked submit (an hour before the deadline). I didn't reply to the chasing email (obvs) but I guess I didn't truly "kindly ignore it" as it got me grumpy and I've griped on here lol.

My always-calm-and-reasonable DH just gave me a cup of tea and said "it's just a generic email, why you taking it personally? What's the point of chasing you at the deadline, you'd have no chance of rectifying it then"

Humph. I suppose. There's nothing to rectify, I'm never late with them.

But yeah I guess there are others who are late and they need to chase everyone the same.

Intensely annoying. However I can understand why they do it.

If it irritates you that much, maybe aim to get them done by 8:30 next year?

that would be twatty, @MiddleParking . There are ALWAYS pillocks in any organisation who don't hand in their info on time.

For the one of mine who got fired, in the end i had to submit reports (to the CFO of our whole business organisaition) saying "area x is not included as no data available"

I was under huge pressure for being a failure so i simply bundled up all the reminders, text, call logs and teams messages to show I'd been ignored and washed my hands of it.

Thank you for understanding my pov!

I'm not going to say anything but I'll silently seethe each and every time lol.

I have casually griped to my HOD about it and he just laughed and told me to ignore the chasing and carry on as I'm doing

I'd be worried if a teacher wrote that and thinking no wonder the reports take so long 😆