Posted on 09/28/2013 11:39:10 AM PDT by Innovative
2. That just isnt possible.
Always speak to your boss in terms of what can be done. For instance, rather than saying We cant get this done by Friday, say We could definitely get this done by Monday, or if we brought in some freelance help, we could meet the Friday deadline. When you talk to your boss, think in terms of solving problems for her, not in terms of putting problems on her plate.
6. Its not my fault.
Are you a whiny 8-year-old or a take-charge professional? Assume responsibility and take steps to fix a problem that you did, in fact, create. And if you are being wrongly blamed for a problem, saying Lets get to the bottom of this or What can we do to make it right? is much more effective than saying Its not my fault.
7. "I don't know.
If your boss asks you a question you cant answer, the correct response is not "I don't know." It's "I'll find out right away."
(Excerpt) Read more at career-advice.monster.com ...
It’s sometimes the best answer for co-workers too. Some people Ive worked with would rather make something up than admit they dont know. Not helpful.
Never say anything unless you’re sure everyone feels exactly the same way you do.
“Boss” can mean a lot of things. It might mean the owner of a small business, a manager, supervisor or even lead worker or foreman. Not all of these people will have the same priorities or agendas. But if you work at a place that has a strict chain of command, DO NOT inadvertantly go over somebody’s head or you will never live it down. In some casual small businesses , you can ask whoever is handy the answer to a question or problem and its OK. In others, this is one of the worst sins you can commit if you haven’t followed the chain of command.
Did you lose your brain when you lost your hair?
Exactly?
I have to bite my tongue to keep from telling my boss, “You’re nuts, and a liar to boot”.
>> Thats not my job
>
> That one used to send me into a rage.
And yet there are things you’ve been hired to do: for example, you wouldn’t hire me in a Computer Science job and then have me routinely do landscaping tasks... precisely because CS jobs pay more than the landscaping. But it can be flipped around, too: say that you’d had me doing landscaping for your company and then found out I have a CS degree, and came to me for system-admin tasks when problems popped up, you’d be shortchanging me because the system-admin job pays more than the landscaping.
154) It’s Bush’s fault
12. But there’s this idiot advocating a really stupid position on Free Republic that I need to counter right now.
12. But there’s this idiot advocating a really stupid position on Free Republic that I need to counter right now.
Not in a family owned business with 12-25 employees over the years.
When we were slow I expected all the guys to pitch in and do things that weren’t their jobs. Landscaping, changing brake pads, sweeping the shop, changing light-bulbs, whatever needed to be done.
I was paying guys $28-35 an hour plus full time bennies (and I mean very nice bennies which raised their hourly rate to over $50 an hour), and if you don’t want to do whatever it takes, then punch out and go home.
I don’t care if your a licensed plumber, we are slow, so, go do the brakes on your truck. I don’t care that you are our machinist, the back door needs welding, get your rig over there and weld it. I don’t care that you are our ventilation guy, we are slow, get on the mower and mow the lawn.
It was my call to decide what was best for our financial bottom line AND the health and well being of our company, and our employees, and in some cases certain guys would punch out and go home. Then, my wife would get calls from their wives asking why Pete only got 20 hours this week? We can’t pay the bills, etc. Because your husband said “That’s not my job” that’s why, and he decided to go blow that 20 hour paycheck at the tavern or riverboat.
And if you told me “It’s not my job” ONCE, I was very reluctant to allow you to stay on the clock and work around the shop when we were slow, because you were obviously not a team player.
For the most part, my guys wanted to do every job they could to get a paycheck, but not all of them. $32 an hour to spray weeds or repair a chain link fence? Most guys jumped at that, but like I said, there were a few over the years whose ego prevented them from doing a lesser job.
Exactly: most companies simply could not afford to have programmers doing the Landscaping — I've done both, which is why I chose the two.
(Entry-level landscaping: $8.50/hr; entry-level programming: $20..$25/hr — so sure, I'd love to get programmer's pay for landscaper's work [provided I have long-sleeves, a hat, and water to drink])
And if you told me Its not my job ONCE, I was very reluctant to allow you to stay on the clock and work around the shop when we were slow, because you were obviously not a team player.
Perhaps; though there's something to be said for the wages and job. Your description was of something that was a fair/equitable arrangement, while the example I gave [having the landscaper do your computer-work] was the other side, inherently unjust. Or, to put it another way, what would you think of a company that hired people in waiter/waitress positions (where they can legally pay less than minimum-wage, assuming that tips make up for it) and then forced them to work "in the back" doing the accounting, or admin/management, threatening them with being let go if they refused/protested because "that's not my job"?
IOW, what I was bringing up is that with the small/medium business it is very easy to take advantage of your employees using skills they possess that aren't on the resume. Now do many/most intentionally do it? I don't think so; treating your employees badly doesn't usually end well for a small business. (Though I am sure that the current economic climate is being abused by employers of all sizes; this will likely have repercussions if/when the economy gets better.)
Putting it in time-stamped writing is something bosses HATE (especially Hillary and Obama) when the sh!t hits the fan and THEY are held accountable for their OWN non-activity. "LIE FOR ME!!"
“Who made YOU boss?!”
“psahw!, MAKE me!”
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