Good Workers Are Tired Of Being Expected To Do 8 Things For Everyone Else
fizkes | Shutterstock You’d think good workers would be able to get their work done faster than their colleagues. The problem is they’re often given even more work to do because their boss thinks they can handle it.
That’s not only wildly unfair, but also burns out good employees really fast. There are some things they get tasked with doing more frequently that annoy them the most.
Good workers are always expected to do 8 things for everyone else that they’re sick of:
1. Fill in for anyone who’s out
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Whether it means covering an extra shift or doing work that was someone else’s responsibility, good workers almost always have to fill in when their co-workers are out. Instead of dividing their work equally among the whole team, it all falls on one person’s shoulders.
This turns into an even bigger problem when the work they’re expected to take on doesn’t have anything to do with their job. It’s like their job description is constantly changing based on what’s needed. They shouldn’t have to learn new skills just to fill in.
2. Manage their co-workers
It feels really awkward for someone to be pushed into some kind of leadership role just because they’re competent. But they could easily be expected to help out management by keeping an eye on their co-workers and addressing any problems they have.
Sometimes, bosses lean on their best employees to do their own work. They just don’t get an actual promotion or the raise that comes with it. That means they’re being taken advantage of, not just asked to do more.
3. Take care of the hard customers
As long as there are difficult people, there will be difficult customers, too. Unless they’ve created such a problem that they need to work directly with a manager, the fairest thing to do is make sure everyone interacts with them as equally as possible.
The issue arises when all of the other employees tell the highest performer that they should deal with the hardest clients because they’re just better at it. They have to put in extra work to do that, but no one else cares because they don’t want to do it themselves.
4. Train new employees
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Preparing new employees for their jobs is a long process that goes beyond just instructing them on what to do. It doesn’t make sense for another worker at the same level to handle that, but bosses sometimes expect them to.
This puts everyone in a weird position because the new employee is relying on their co-worker, who’s on equal footing with them, to teach them how to do their job and to answer any questions they have about overall company culture that should have been addressed in onboarding.
5. Answer random questions
A lot of managers feel like they have to make a limited amount of resources stretch farther these days, and their employees have to deal with the consequences. For the ones they trust the most, that could look like answering questions from their co-workers that have nothing to do with them.
There’s nothing wrong with someone asking a more experienced employee for their opinion every now and then, but making it clear they’re the go-to person is giving them more responsibility than they’re supposed to have. Even if they know the answers, it still eats into their time.
6. Fix anything that breaks around the office
When the printer runs out of ink, or a light bulb burns out, someone has to fix it. Really, that should fall on the person who discovered the problem or the person who possibly caused it.
But if someone is considered more dependable than everyone else, they’ll get asked to do these random little things that make it impossible for them to get their own work done. When their boss is one of the people who expects them to do this, they have to talk to them about it.
7. Double-check other people’s work
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Sometimes people really do need to get a co-worker to double-check their work, but only when it’s serious. Small things that are pretty inconsequential don’t require a second look. Everyone has to learn to trust their instincts at some point.
A good worker might always get asked to double-check because their colleagues know they’ll catch any mistakes, or they might feel like they have to because no one else really knows what they’re doing. Either way, it’s a bad situation.
8. Be the voice of reason
Everyone handles stress differently, and some people really do seem to have a healthier perspective on problems that come up at work. That’s not an excuse for everyone to expect them to stay calm and hold the team together in hard moments, though.
Unless they were hired as the office therapist, someone isn’t responsible for keeping their co-workers on track just because they’re good at what they do. That’s way too much pressure for one person, no matter how talented they are.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
