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Suck it up or fight back?
About a year ago I was asked to fill in for a coworker at a board meeting to take minutes. This was supposed to be a one-time thing. That coworker has since left and I was asked to do it again a few months ago. I was really annoyed because taking minutes is so far out of my job description. I was not hired to do secretarial work. I expressed this to my manager at the time and she fought for me with the higher-ups, saying it was beneath me and I had other important work to do (the meeting takes up most of the day). I was told by the director, face-to-face, that this was the last time and he would work on finding an actual admin person to do the minutes for all future meetings.
Obviously since I'm asking for advice here, that didn't happen. I was just told via email that I have to do them again next month. The email was short and had no explanations for why he was going back on his earlier promise. Should I suck it up and just accept that I'll be forced to do this twice a year or should I fight back?
Re: Suck it up or fight back?
I get that your ego is hurt by having to do something that you consider beneath you - but it really doesn't seem like it's that big of an imposition on you, and most professionals occassionaly have to do things outside of our regular job responsibilities. Here's your chance to show your colleagues that you're a team player......or a diva.
I fail to see how it's "beneath" you. I was sent on assignment to go to multiple meetings on the eastern seabord to take notes on a series of meetings. I have a PhD. I learned a lot.
It's twice a year. Suck it up and deal.
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I feel your pain, but as another coworker of mine pointed out. She would do the tasks since she was a team player. Ouch....but it made me realize it really wasn't worth my time arguing or complaining about it. So I just do it and move on.
Yeah, I guess I'll suck it up. And to answer some of your questions, no it's not a hill I'd die on. Perhaps "fight back" was the wrong language to use. And it's not really an opportunity to meet new people or learn more about the company. This is a board committee that has absolutely nothing to do with my department or my job.
I think the reason I'm so pissed is because my boss said that he agreed with me last time that this was not my job and could easily go to one of the 100+ admin people here; they just didn't want to do it and foisted it on our department (his words, not mine). He's a pushover and says "okay" no matter what. Not to mention we have 2 admin people in our department, but he said "I don't trust them to do a good job." So why the hell did he hire them? Minute-taking is part of their job description, not mine. So I'm being forced to take over their job duties because he doesnt' think they can do it well. I feel like I'm picking up their slack.
Anyway, thanks for reading ladies.
are they paying you while you take the minutes? Are they paying you a lesser rate when you take the minutes?
I am guessing you get paid your normal rate of pay for doing this" lesser job".
Heck, these days you should be glad you have a job.
i've been asked to wipe my boss' desk off and keep his fridge stocked. granted, i'm an admin but i still don't think that's w/in my job description. however, i use the fridge too (and the items in it) so that one, i just do. i drew the line and "housekeeping" though and he was okay with that.
i think taking the minutes would be a sucky job but it gets you in front of a key group of people. i would just do it and do a kickass job of it.
I actually think it depends on the work environment, your level, what other people at your level do, etc. At the type of firm I work for, if someone on my level was asked to do this, I would think it's strange, especially if it's not a norm for most people at that level. To be more specific, if it's a law firm and there are a bunch of attorneys and you're the only one attorney expected to do this, yes I think something might need to be done.
It's definitely not the norm and several coworkers have given me the head-to-the-side-sympathetic-look, like they pity me. Awesome.
I'd take the minutes and rock them. As others have said, it's an opportunity to sit in the room with a bunch of big-wigs. Don't just sit there and take minutes - be a part of the conversation and help faciltate! Ask for clarification. Ask "what are the next steps?" Ask "who has the decision on this?" Recap at the end.
This is a way to get more visibility for yourself.
Last updated 4/06/11