Posted on 09/28/2010 9:02:20 AM PDT by CSM
The key to overcoming it is to set healthy boundaries at work.
Dave Ramsey calls the classic book Boundaries by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend a life-changing book! Many people think that boundaries only apply to unruly children and intrusive mother-in-laws, but this is simply not trueboundaries can work wonders in many other areas of lifeincluding your job.
When I first went into practice, I hired a woman for 20 hours a week to run my office. On her second day in the office, I gave her a pile of things to do. About 10 minutes later, she knocked at my door, stack of papers in hand.
What can I do for you, Laurie? I asked.
You have a problem, she told me.
I do? What is it? I asked, not having the vaguest idea what she was talking about.
You hired me for 20 hours a week, and you have just given me about 40 hours of work. Which 20 would you like done?
She was right. I did have a problem. I had not managed my workload very well. I was either going to have to spend more on help, cut back on projects, or hire someone else. But she was right: it was my problem, not hers. I had to take responsibility for it and fix it. Laurie was telling me what that ever-present sign says: Poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.
Many bosses arent so lucky. Their employees take responsibility for their lack of planning and never set limits on them. They are never forced to look at their lack of boundaries until its too late, until they have lost a good employee to exhaustion or burnout. Such bosses need clear limits, but many employees are afraid to set them, as Laurie did, because they need the job or they fear disapproval.
If you are in a situation in which youre doing lots of extra work because you need the job and because you are afraid of being let go, you have a problem. If you are working more overtime than you want to, you are in bondage to your job. You are a slave, not an employee under contract. Clear and responsible contracts tell all parties involved what is expected of them, and they can be enforced. Jobs should have clear descriptions of duties and qualifications.
As hard as it sounds, you need to take responsibility for yourself and take steps to change your situation. Here are some suggested steps you may wish to take:
Set boundaries on your work. Decide how much overtime you are willing to do. Some overtime during seasonal crunches may be expected of you. Review your job description, if one exists. Make a list of the tasks you need to complete in the next month. Make a copy of the list and assign your own priority to each item. Indicate on this copy any tasks that are not part of your job description. Make an appointment to see your boss to discuss your job overload. Together you should review the list of tasks you need to complete in the next month. Have your boss prioritize the tasks. If your boss wants all the tasks done, and you cannot complete these tasks in the time you are willing to give, your boss may need to hire temporary help to complete those tasks. You may also wish to review your job description with your boss at this time if you think you are doing things that fall outside your domain.
If your boss still has unreasonable expectations of you, you may wish to take a coworker or two along with you to a second meeting (according to the biblical model in Matthew 18), or you may wish to discuss your problem with the appropriate person in your personnel department. If even then he remains unreasonable about what he thinks you can accomplish, you may need to begin looking for other job opportunities within your company or outside.
You may need to go to night school and get some further training to open up other opportunities. You may need to chase down hundreds of employment ads and send out stacks of resumes. (Consult the book How to Get a Job by James Bramlett for information on job searches.) You may wish to start your own business. You may wish to start an emergency fund to survive between quitting your present job and starting a new one.
Whatever you do, remember that your job overload is your responsibility and your problem. If your job is driving you crazy, you need to do something about it. Own the problem. Stop being a victim of an abusive situation and start setting some limits.
(Taken from Boundaries: When to Say Yes, When to Say No to Take Control of Your Life by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend Copyright © 2001 by Zondervan. Used by permission of Zondervan. www.zondervan.com)
“For example?”
By purposefully leaving off the final sentence of the quote.
You really have misrepresented the article, as well as misrepresenting Dave Ramsey.
Personally, I work at a large corporation. As a result, I would be very at risk for the scenario you describe. However, I have survived YEARS of cuts. At the same time, I have set boundaries. How?
First, whenever cuts occured, I was the ONE person in my section to volunteer to take on the extra work. Now, I have about 3 times as much responsibility as my average peer. I am good enough to carry such a load and it has become clear to management in my department. The result? While everyone else’s wage is stagnant, I have been promoted and have received other raises.
Now, we have a major project that needs to be handled. By major, I mean extremely important. Important enought that a failure would result in shutting down several manufacturing plants for at least 8 months. Naturally, management looked at who they could “count on” to do it and asked that I lead the effort.
So, with that new project, I knew that I would not be able to be EFFECTIVE with my other responsibilities AND the project. I listed out all of the open items across the full spectrum of my responsibilities and had a very honest discussion with my manager. I presented the anticipated workload issues and suggested solutions. My suggestions were appreciated and implemented.
The point is that you must first make yourself valuable to your manager. Second, you must be willing to have open dialogue with management regarding any workload issues. Third you must propose solutions with any of the discussions.
And yes, they don’t care that I FReep. It actually allows for me to do my job more effectively.
Thats not a half-truth.
In 2004, Ramseys column was dropped from The Tennessean and four other newspapers owned by Gannett, Co. after it was discovered that the identities of those seeking help were duplicated or falsified in several of his columns.
Thats a WHOLE truth.
Ramseys column wasnt being written by Ramsey - but by a a low-level employee
Thats another WHOLE truth.
Next?
Ramsey gets it wrong too often. ie call your credit card company and tell them you will pay them when you have money. suuuuuure. the account goes into collection and the collection agency takes over.
>>You really have misrepresented the article
No, I’ve shared my personal observation of REALITY.
If that doesn’t increase Dave Ramsey’s (or which ever subordinate employee happens to be writing “Dave Ramsey’s” column this week) readership, or his “university” enrollment.... TOUGH.
“Next?”
You left off the very next sentence, again. Whatever your personal grudge is against Dave Ramsey is still left unsaid.
I don’t need your approval and neither does Dave. I wish you the best in life, but will now be ignoring your attacks against Dave.
“call your credit card company and tell them you will pay them when you have money.”
He only advises a delay in payment for CC bills when a person does not have the money to pay them. This is to ensure that people keep food, shelter and utilities as a priority. It is a reminder that we should not let collectors use our emotions to get a payment at the expense of a rent or mortgage payment.
“No, Ive shared my personal observation of REALITY.”
You can change your reality, which is the focus of the article. I provided an example of a situation that fits the article, admittedly from my own reality. If you have no interest in it, then fine, however there is no reason to derail others.
NO on his radio show he said that as if the credit card company would wait and not take any further action. It was HORRIBLE advice.
Which day and segment? I listen to every one of his shows and I am not recalling any call that addressed the issue without the caveate that I posted previously. I’d like to listen to the specific call you are referencing.
>>You left off the very next sentence, again.
So the lipstick you want to paint the pig with - is that the faked column, to which Ramseys name was affixed, wasnt written by him? LOL. Okay you go ahead and run with that. Oink Oink.
it was this past sunday and I was driving. don’t ask which station.
Hmm, he doesn’t have a live show on Sundays, so I will assume that it was a re-airing of Friday’s show. I’m only about a half hour in on that one. I look forward to it.
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