Subject: “I think I just put myself up to be fired” – What to do when your workload becomes too much?
#WorkplaceStress #WorkloadManagement #Assertiveness #CareerTips
😬 Have you ever found yourself in a situation at work where you feel like you’re being taken advantage of and just can’t take it anymore? If you’ve recently had to push back on a demanding workload or felt the strain of picking up the slack due to layoffs, you’re not alone. It’s important to address these situations in a professional and assertive manner to avoid burnout and maintain a healthy work-life balance.
In the case of the random project manager (PM) who emailed demanding more work be done, it’s understandable to feel overwhelmed at the request. Here’s how you can navigate the situation and turn it into a learning opportunity:
### Assess the Situation
When faced with an unreasonable workload, it’s crucial to take a step back and evaluate the request. Consider the following:
What are the expectations and deadlines outlined in the email from the PM?
Have you already been handling a heavy workload, and is this request adding to the strain?
Did you have prior knowledge of this request, or was it a sudden demand?
### Seek Clarity
In times of uncertainty, it’s essential to seek clarification from the relevant parties. Consider:
Reaching out to your boss for a one-on-one discussion regarding the PM’s request.
Asking for more information from the PM about the backstory behind the sudden need for resources.
### Communicate Assertively
In the professional world, assertiveness is key when addressing overwhelming work demands. Consider the following approach:
Craft a response to the PM that clearly outlines your current workload and expresses your concerns about taking on additional tasks.
Request a meeting with your boss to discuss workload management and your concerns about the impact on your performance.
### Reflect on the Company Culture
If you find yourself in a situation where layoffs have placed a heavier burden on employees, it’s important to consider the overall company culture. Think about:
The morale of your coworkers and how they have been coping with the workload.
The communication and transparency from management regarding changes in workload and resources.
### Future Steps
After addressing the immediate concern, it’s important to think about the long-term impact and potential next steps. Consider:
Setting boundaries for your workload and being more assertive in the future when faced with similar demands.
Exploring opportunities for professional development and growth within the company or outside job opportunities if necessary.
Remember, it’s crucial to prioritize your well-being and professional growth in the face of overwhelming work demands.
In conclusion, feeling overwhelmed at work due to an unreasonable workload is a common experience, especially in times of layoffs. By assessing the situation, seeking clarity, communicating assertively, reflecting on company culture, and planning for the future, you can navigate these challenges and advocate for a healthier work environment.
Remember, you’re valuable and should be treated as such. Don’t be afraid to speak up when your workload becomes overwhelming and seek support from your colleagues and superiors. With the right approach and mindset, you can turn challenging situations into opportunities for growth and positive change in your career.
If you’re struggling with overwhelming work demands, you’re not alone, and it’s okay to seek help and guidance from your professional network or HR department. Remember, your well-being should always come first.
We cant tell you how bad you fucked up we dont know. But you did just cross the Rubicon. The dice have been rolled, and you drew your line in the sand. If they need you this may work out well for you, if they dont it may end poorly.
I don’t think what you did is a negative. If your manager is good at their job, this should be a wake up call.
You can absolutely, respectful , say no. Nothing adds more fuel to your fire than the fact that other people are quitting and they’re coming to you to pick up the slack. If you’re already maxed out time and workload wise, then ensure your expectations are met on what you’ll commit to. Or continue to refuse / negotiate even for better pay.
Instead of saying no, in the future I’d say something like, “I’m currently working on a, b, and c. John is asking me to add on x and y. With my current work load, I’m unable to add those in without dropping a and b or dropping c unless x and y can wait x amount of time. How would you like me to proceed?”
If you’re an at-will salaried employee, you screwed up. Get your resume out there.
If the rando PM already talked to your boss and they were in agreement, and then you came back with a hard “NO”. Then ya, you messed up.
Always my step 1 when getting work tossed over the fence from random people is always to run to my boss with a long list of reasons about how its not my job, I don’t have time, I’m not trained, etc, etc.
I’m glad somebody had the balls to finally do this. I’m getting pretty close lately
Dude I am sick of this shit too and I say no all the time. Still have my job.
I mean, you can just say “no”, but I’d advise against it. You shouldn’t have said anything absolute and probably said you’d talk to your supervisor and get back to him. Then tell your boss no (expand on this tho) and gave him/her the reasons why. Gets you both on the same page.
You sound frustrated. In the future, try to wait a little while before replying to an email in that state of mind. Sleeping on it works wonders. Plus you never know who’s trying to bait you.
IF you want to wind down the drama:
(1) Note to the guy that you said NO to.
*” Hey PM, apologies for the hard refusal to take on your tasks yesterday, I should have been more clear. I was fully loaded with assigned tasks for the next X # of weeks and on that basis I had to decline your request. I’ve since spoken to my boss and he has clarified that he had actually assigned me to your project, but had not informed me that he wanted to prioritize your project over my other work before we spoke. I’ll set up a meeting to discuss your project tasks.”*
(2) To Your Boss:
*”He Boss, sorry for the drama yesterday, when PM contacted me I declined his request because I’m fully loaded and I was not aware that you had assigned me to this new project. I’ve been in contact with PM and we’ll meet to discuss his needs.*
*In the meantime, I want to discuss with you which projects/tasks I am to put on hold to free up the time to support PMs project, I estimate that it will take x hours/days/weeks to complete. I reviewed my current workload and these a+B_C are the project I have to put on hold to support PM. If you are in agreement with the project I deprioritized I will let the other PMS know that their projects are impacted by x weeks”*
This winds it back to a simple miscommunication.
Boss should have given you a heads up. If I offer one of my folks as a resource I talk to them first. If my boss offers me, he talks to me first. It’s basic professional courtesy.
if you’re ready to quit, it’s not a fuck up…
you don’t sound like you’re ready to quit – but answering a request with No is majorly unprofessional
You counter by making it a three way conversation about not knowing your boss told them to reach out and that you need to understand where this new request sits in the hierarchy of the other priorities you are working on for your boss.
If it is just piled at the top- then the conversation needs to be about workload and turnaround times.
Was in the same boat and kept taking on more work bc the company kept laying off people/teams every year. Before you knew it, I was working 12-14 hr days and still behind on goals and timelines because more work would be shoved at me after those timelines were decided.
Eventually I started to say things like, “I’ll need a project list that is prioritized so I know how to tackle the workload with my already thin-spread time”.
That added resistance without flat out saying no.
No worse than anyone else.
No still means no but you only meant to cover the timeline.
Just reach out and see what you can negotiate.
Apologize to your boss and just say you feel beaten down because of the extra hours you have picked up and see how we wants to address it.
Was your response just “no”?
Because that’s pretty unprofessional
I agree with all the comments here about addressing the miscommunication and, in the future, say no in a way that sounds better BUT I’d add that you should talk to your boss about how to avoid this in the future so that you’re not blindsided with these requestss they already OK’ed.
If you have regular team meetings you could maybe use them to present what your current workload is for the week/month/custom time period so your boss has a more clear idea of what you’re handling and what might need to be postponed/dropped if you take on more workload.
And also depending on your relationship with your boss and how secure your work is at this company, maybe addressing this directly and asking for a heads up when they agree to these rquests so you know if it’s negotiable or not.
Personally, last time my boss agreed on me taking extra tasks before coming to me I was like “It’s not on my job description so I’m not doing it and you figure out how to get out of this mess but it’s not on me, sucks to be you tho”. But I’m fed up, I want to leave this company, I’m actively looking for jobs to leave ASAP, and I’m not gonna get fired unless I hit someone or something (and if I get fired for whatever other reason I get a really REALLY nice severance package so like better for me tbh), so I can afford the risk of doing that.
I feel this. My current boss is always adding more tasks to my list and when I tell her everything I’m doing she starts asking people to help me…she also doesn’t see the need for a manager over my area but that’s basically what I’m doing. Lucky for me I’m putting my 2 weeks notice today ✌🏼
I say just explain what you’re currently working on and ask what you should prioritize if your going to start helping someone else. Good luck!
It seems salvageable and your boss 100% should have given you a heads up so some of this is on them. I almost always respond with a very generic let me run this by my manager first before taking on significant new tasks which should cover you like 95% of the time. It sounds like you are already at ultimatum level though and your boss expects you to just take this on no questions asked which sucks. You’ll have to ask yourself if that’s worse than starting a job search from scratch though. It might be worth it.
I would’ve CC’ed my boss and asked him which projects should your de-prioritize in order to prioritize this ask, since you have limited capacity.
You should never hit the send button that quickly…cool off first
Really, your bods should’ve told you someone would be reaching out to you. At that point you should’ve had a conversation with your boss about the expectations of your job and your current workload.
Imo, your boss dropped the ball.
Never tell them no, put it back on your boss/manager to manage. Like others have said, ask them what projects they want you to back burner in order to free up time for the new workload.
Your manager should have given a heads-up on this request, rather than it coming out-of-the-blue. That would have allowed you to have the prioritisation discussion with them between current and new projects. Given that never happened, your response was valid, though it could have been more tactful (“Mind having a word with my manager on this, as I’m already on another project?).
The above is feedback that is useful giving to your manager.
Ya that’s pretty unusual to say flat no, but if his email was “I expect you to do…” without asking I would probably have bit back the same way you did.
If he was asking reasonably though then definitely start putting your resume out there.
I had the lady who I share a part time role with generally leave me a bunch of scanning as she was apparently too busy doing whatever (she always uses excuses of she’s too busy when she doesn’t want to do things)
She ended up going out of her way to email me about it on her day off as I told the colleague who gave it to her. I knew nothing about it. I replied to her email that I would try to get to it as I was legitimately busy.
Next thing I know she whinged to the boss the morning she came in early (kind of funny as part of the work I was finishing was half from the boss) and also was asking a colleague what I was doing those days that I couldn’t scan her shit.
She’s left me things before that I’ve done, but I just couldn’t take shit this time.
Think some colleagues are noticing that she’s intentially leaving things for me to do.
this is a problem with over achieving at work, there can be no/limited upside and it can/does result in you getting extra work dumped on you for no extra pay.
I like “no”. Then ignore everyone. You win.
Always be tactical. I totally understand boundaries and needing/wanting a new job, etc but try not to step on your own d*ck.
Yes, definitely convey your responses in the form of a choice that doesn’t say “no.” Something along the lines of “Yes, I might be able to do those things, but it would detract from doing these things. There’s opportunity cost. I can’t do it all. Let’s loop in my direct to talk through priorities and what is most important.” If your boss thinks you have bandwidth (which “glass half full” appears to be the case), your battle (in getting out anything outside your normal work) is convincing them you don’t.
Is it feasible for you to get another job working less and getting paid more?
This is always the dilemma.
The last 2 years I worked the Verizon Insane Asylum put such evil demands on people ( downsizing – wrongsizing – could use any asset from the on site employee contractor whose Son was the CTO of Verizon. We were getting charged $90 an hour for each contractor and had to sign a NDA that said we could not ask what the contractor was making. 1st day I hired a guy who was living in a 400 sq ft. apartment that had 12 people in it. Mostly kids. He was making $19 an hour.
I fired the guy – got him a job with a head hunter friend of mine and after 2 months he landed a DBA job making $35 an hour starting out – up $45 after 60 days.
I retired right after that.
As a PM, let me reassure you that I get this all the time. Part of being a PM is working with someone to understand their bandwidth and come up with a reasonable DL date together. Even then, I get push back all the time. It is rare that I deliver tasks to 10 people and 7 of them complete it on time without complaining like you did. You aren’t the first one to push back on them, and you won’t be the last. I would be a bit annoyed that you CC’d your manager, but I’d quickly forget. Your manager should be familiar with the behavior as well and work with you… I don’t see this as something worth being fired over. But people have been fired for stupider reasons.
If you think people are dumping work on you, you should say no and if your boss has a problem with it, explain your issues. If he or she doesn’t get it, find a new job.
I would have forwarded the email to my boss and asked which job responsibilities did he want to take on so you would have time to help this PM.
Its a hard line, they probably think you’ll just do the work, even though they fired the guy whose job it was and now they want you to do the work and your same job for the same pay.
I’ve quit over less but the ball is in your court
Explain to your boss that the appropriate way of dealing with this would be for your boss to communicate with you first to let you know what was going on and to see if you had the bandwidth to take on the extra work. This is his screw up, not yours. Be tactful, but straight forward. Then explain that you don’t have the bandwidth to do the additional work, period. Frame this as a communication issue on his part, and the other PMs part. FYI the reason your manager told the other guy to reach out to you, rather than talking to you himself, was to manipulate you into doing the work. He wants to act like he’s moderating the situation and helping you out, rather than giving you additional work you don’t have the time for. Classic managerial manipulation.
As an Admin Assistant, this happens more often than not. There’s a lot of juggling, prioritizing and organizing, and be able to work independently. HOWEVER, if there are the same weekly projects that have due dates, those take priority rather than those that don’t. If there’s a specific task that said boss told you to do with a deadline, then that takes over everything.
After that confirmation that it comes from said boss rather than from a regular coworker who’s dumping work on you, there are two options: a)Determine by yourself where to sneak it in your regular line of work, or b)bring up to your boss that there are several deadlines that are due (at the same time, same day) and you need to know where in the list of priorities this one should fall on.
The boss is not a psychic when it comes to the priorities and deadlines that are assigned because most likely he/she lost track. He/She just wants stuff done, and that’s it and that’s on you. If there’s a good line of communication between both of you, things run smoothly in the office. If on any occasion you shoot yourself in the foot, bosses will make sure to make your life a living hell.
I hope that in this instance he does not resort to that option, if you play your cards right.
Good luck!
> I told my boss I will only work on the project under specific circumstances. I’m ready to go in and demand for a raise or quit.
If you’re ready to quit, why do you care about potentially getting fired?
I would not be able to get away with saying no to one of the other team bosses in my job. I would need to talk it out with my manager and then she would need to figure out how best to handle it otherwise my neck is the one on the firing line. Managers get the big bucks to decide how to handle stuff like this and then to put themselves on the line.
“Do you want me to rush the rush job I’m rushing now, then rush the rush job you want me to rush? Or should I rush the rush job you want me to rush first, then rush the rush job I’m currently rushing?
Working with conflicting priorities is challenging and you should always go to your manager when you’ve got too much and ask them to help you prioritize your desk. It’s a learned skill. Also, the jack wagon who emailed you out of nowhere should have led with the fact your manager said he should reach out to you. Sounds like the email lacked communication and tact.
Sounds like there was multiple instances of miscommunication here. First, your boss should’ve given you a heads up that so-and-so PM was going to reach out to you. Second, the PM guy should’ve also started with some version of “<boss> said I should come talk to you”. Third, I think you hit that send button way too fast without getting all the details. Probably could’ve just chat over IM and say hey I got your email, but don’t know what this is about, can you give me a rundown of what’s happening?
If you want to learn how people say no, go to a hamburger restaurant and ask for a spaghetti.
Level two: Say them to deliver it in maximum 10 minutes.
Level three: Say them you loose 10 million if they don’t serve a spaghetti.
If the boss likes you, then you can do whatever you want and never face any consequences.
I’ve seen guys crash company cars driving while drunk and arrested
I worked with 3 managers than called in sick all the time, sometimes taking the whole week off.
I’ve seen managers get caught stealing and only get their hands slapped.
“Dear boss, gargle my balls or pay me more.”
Some people just want to watch the world burn..
Stop listening to middle management. It’s part of your job to say no so they understand when you’re at your capacity. If you don’t say no you’re at risk of having project work uncompleted and that has a larger impact than your job or career. Likewise if they asked you Todo something you do not have experience to without training you would be negligent to move forward without an agreement on that training. Layoffs is how they manipulate the workforce and keep their bonuses the same. Say no and be glad you have a spine. It’s more than I can say for a lot of people these days who would’ve rolled over instead of demanding weekends off.
>My boss emailed me separately and said I can’t just say no. **Apparently my boss told this guy to reach out to me.** That guy needed a resource presumably bc the previous person quit or got laid off.
Your boss is a jerk for not giving you a heads up on this.
Next time it happens, just don’t respond. Better to come off as being too busy to even respond. They will get tired of waiting and find someone else or come talk to you personally.
You were good, up until your boss tells you to do it.
Nah, if it’s the first time I think you’ll be fine; you just have to learn how to say no or how to compromise. It happens to me that I’m asked to do overtime and usually I don’t refuse because I need that money (even if they are not higher than usual) so I’m generally the first they think of but if I need to do something else or I don’t have time I just say “I will do until xx:xx to give a hand but then i’m out” and it works pretty much every time 🤷🏻♀️ show that you have a positive attitude and then set your boundaries