I need to know if this is a company-wide issue or simply an issue with my manager. I've been swamped with work for the past several months, having to do my usual plus a bunch of stuff dropped on me out of nowhere. I'm talking about things I was never in charge of before and I barely know how to do. I'm working 60 hour weeks at best to keep up. Is this something that's been happening all around due to attrition or am I being targeted?
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Welcome to the new profession called "Administrative Assistant". With the outsourcing / off shoring of the technical work it is what it is.
You're being used.
Didn’t you watch the episode where Archie Bunker had to make a decision of who to layoff; his buddy Stretch or the Hispanic guy who was doing all of the real work on the loading dock. HPE has been laying off (or running off) all of the people doing real work and now you have to pick up the slack.
According to my sources at HPE, the rats are jumping off the ship as bad management decisions are putting a huge strain on remaining employees. HPI is hiring and upper management there seems to be more competent. I guess the only way things could get worse at HPE is if Joe Biden became CEO.
I am in the exact same position, my work load has quadrupled. It has been this way since Q2 of FY21 with no end in sight. I’m exhausted and only work and sleep. I’d like to look for another job but with 8 to 9 hours of meetings across all time zones I don’t have the free time needed. Wellness fridays we’re good for some but a joke of many of us who are so overloaded and overwhelmed we have to use those days to get “focus time” or our day jobs done.
Or perhaps your boss knows the ship be sinking and barely knows you work for him/her as they search for a real job
Or the 4th option… complain on a job board and expect it to be fixed!
There’s a good way to determine whether or not your work is punishment or simply something they’ve become to dependent on you to do.
Ask yourself, “If I just leave the company, can the company easily find someone to replace me and do the same thing I did?”
If the answer is “yes”, then that could be a good indication you have become too dependent on the company, so you should start looking for a job…. or you’re just not being productive. Otherwise, if the answer is “no”, then the company has become too dependent on you, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing because it gives you job security but at the same time, it’s bad for your wellbeing, which should be your prime priority.
It’s also important to know how your work is impacting the customer and the company. You can work a lot but it’s possible that you’re not making impactful contributions as you’re just doing the same thing over and over again like creating a million PowerPoints, talking with suppliers but not doing anything afterwards, doing nothing but writing and answering emails, or being on meetings you have no reason to be there. All of those are time wasters.
In both cases, you have three options:
1) Talk to your manager and mention that your health is currently being affected by your work. If they don’t care or give you advice, look for a new job.
2) Just quit with a job offer in hand. But you may burn some bridges since you never communicated your issues with your manager.
3) Do nothing and carry on, the only option if you want to be lazy and continue to become subservient to the company…. Or you can find a way to optimize your time and determining the value of your work. Identify real issues with your organization and fix them.
Good luck!
Yes, and a signal that it is going to get much worse. Your boss doesnt care for your well being, high time you start looking and jump.