
When the Boss Gives You One Project Too Many - FluidDjango
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/15/jobs/when-the-boss-gives-you-one-project-too-many.html?ref=business
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rpwilcox
From the article:

> Ask what you should do first. Should you stop working on X and Y and finish
> this new project first?”

How... niave. In my experience, in these situations the boss will say, "Work
on Y"... then when X is due, wonder why X isn't done (and blame you).

~~~
rickmb
In reality the blaming part is rarely true (unless the boss is a real
asshole), and the rest is perfectly reasonable.

Unless you're the kind of employee that needs constant hand-holding and
micromanagement, you're still responsible for your other tasks. If X will slip
because of the new work, it's up to you to communicate that clearly to those
concerned.

Sure, some people expect the boss to anticipate and keep track of all of that.
Usually the same people that bitch about not being given enough
responsibility, freedom and trust...

In the end, it all depends on communication: if you don't clearly agree on
what will happen to X and Y, both you and your boss will be screwed.
Assumption is the mother of all fuck-ups.

~~~
rpwilcox
> Unless you're the kind of employee that needs constant hand-holding and
> micromanagement, you're still responsible for your other tasks.

The micromangament thing goes both ways: Perhaps you're the boss that doesn't
trust their people to do it right [implicitly or explicitly], or create a
situation for your employees where everyone is constantly fighting fires
(short-term projects) instead of tending to mid to long term objectives. (When
"mid term objective" might even mean "a week from now"... depending on how bad
it is).

So, even if you're _not_ an employee who needs micromanagement, you may get
it.

Then, someone remembers about the X project, suddenly, and it's a big
emergency (and probably the employee's "fault", because it "was on your list
of responsibilities".

I agree that communication should be clear, but even when it is sometimes you
get called on the carpet for not doing that task you were not given time to
do. (Although another commenter suggested getting things in writing... which
_might_ help.)

------
joering1
its nice when boss give you one project too many. nice, especially when you in
my shoes:

\- boss does not know how to manage my time. one day he doesnt give any
projects then he yells nothing was done then he gives out hundreds of long
projects and expect to be done right away. \- boss tells you friday morning
that there is this huge project we need to finish by tuesday so no weekend (on
paper i work in office mon-fri) and no holiday. then leaves to see one of his
girlfriends in the middle of the day comes back 3 hours later \- boss tells
you that people work 20% more time than you and in next 5 days if that would
be any other company you would work 100 hours (and he is being serious) \-
boss has his bonus structured accordingly to his hours he put into work. he
constantly brags that he works until 1am and you leave at 8pm, despite that
your working hours are 8-5 (when you reply you have family thats is wife and
kids, he replies, well maybe you have a point i dont have a family, but when
he says that he is proud of it). \- you leave for a lunch break for 30 minutes
and your boss tells you not a good idea - "look at me, I never eat during the
day, so why would you?"

and so on. so you, I would loove to have one more extra project to do, wrap it
up over the weekend within couple hours and go home to kids and wife.

~~~
andreadallera
You've got a shitty boss and a shitty job. If you're worth your dime you
should start looking for something else right now.

~~~
yzhengyu
People should try negotiating first. If that fails, then start looking for a
new job.

Unfortunately, what I gather from the behaviour of my peers is that they lack
the spine to do so. They can't muster the courage to draw a line in the sand.

So they keep picking up assignments, fail to do them adequately, and need to
perform heroics to cover their ass till some other guy comes along to save
them.

Ironically, some of them wonder why they keep getting passed up for promotion.
I don't have the heart to tell them why.

~~~
paulhauggis
At my last job, I was in this exact situation. I attempted to be reasonable
and negotiate. My ex-boss's response: "The guys at Google can do it, why can't
you? You just aren't good enough".

This was after I spent 3 months (and many long and unpaid hours) saving the
company $50K/year. When I was finished, I got reamed in a 2+ hour meeting for
not working on the boss's pet projects (even after I explained to him many
many times exactly what I was doing and why I couldn't work on his other
projects). The problem is that I've seen too many people in upper-management
that do things like this. It's why I decided to finally start my own company.

Some people are just not logical and make decisions based on pure emotions. I
would have quit on the spot, but I wanted unemployment, so I intentionally
made things difficult until I was laid off a month later.

My exit strategy worked.

~~~
joering1
that is exactly what I am experiencing. MY boss on numerous occassions told me
he knows he is emotional but "so its life, so deal with it".

one thing I truly learnt from a situations like this is always expect the
worse. for example: my boss yelled at me that a project is not finished. so I
told him OK i will work this weekend to finish it. then next day he replied:
spend weekend with family you work so hard. so I did. oh naive me. Monday
comes and I am being yelled at that project is not completed. But you told me
to spend time with family. - well, you should weight whats more important my
advice to spend time with family or complete project that would make me and
managment happy.

I will quit eventually, but the job is extremly well paid (makes me feel like
a bitch I know), and there is no way I can get something similar for this
salary (average for my work is 60% less). Thats probably a trick when someone
offers you way more money than your job is reasonably worth.

~~~
pasbesoin
Perspective shift: You're being paid to be yelled at.

Document everything, so that he can't take it beyond yelling. And consider
yourself an actor, or an actor-in-training. You sit there and take it until
"they yell cut", and let it roll off you without soaking in.

And... if he's going to find something to yell about, regardless, then indeed,
spend the weekend (and evenings, etc.) with your family. Fuck him.

P.S. Have some networking in place and prospects cooking, for if and when one
of you has had enough.

P.P.S. The more you stand up to a bully, the more -- often -- they actually
end up respecting you (and acting in a more reasonable manner). It's not
guaranteed, but it's worth exploring.

