Stop Trying to Be an Office Superhero

You have become a permanent assistant in your office for a multitude of tasks that no one else can (or will not) do. The good news: you feel irreplaceable. The bad news is that you almost never get a vacation. Here’s how to get out of this mess, or better yet, avoid it altogether.

Dear employees,

How can you not become / become a guy (or girl) for every difficult task that no one else wants (or cannot) do?

I started working for my current (non-profit) organization a few years ago as an Administrative Assistant. As a result of layoffs, layoffs, and reorganizations, I now wear a lot of hats … office manager, tech support, human resources, webmaster, property / building liaison officer, event manager, landlord / coordinator for external tenants, and more. Every time my job description is rewritten, new responsibilities are added. After eight months of meeting, reviewing, arguing and negotiating, I finally started getting a fair salary and was allowed to hire an Administrative Assistant.

Nevertheless, the phrase “Dana can do it!” practically became the motto of the organization. (Dana is not my real name, but you got the idea.) Nice to be needed; being irreplaceable is always beneficial for job security. On the other hand, I could not take a vacation for more than two years, since I am the only employee who can perform certain tasks that need to be done on a weekly basis.

Recently, as I got closer to burnout, I began to politely refuse tasks that were outside the scope of my job description. I ended up having a kind of slight nervous breakdown. One of the managers and the boss scolded me for “bad attitude” and for allegedly taking too many sick leaves. (I am still within my allotted number of paid weekends per year.)

I am exploring my options, but in the meantime, I gradually train my assistant in the basics of my work so that the office does not stop without me, and I still say no to new tasks when they can be delegated. But I am afraid of losing the status of “irreplaceable”. Where is the golden mean? What can I do to remedy the situation?

I am also interested in any advice you could give managers who see this happening to their employees so that they can fix the problem before it becomes a big drooling issue, as in my case.

I wonder what you throw in that last bit about recommendation for managers – but you say a little bit about your experience with your manager (s). You mention hard negotiation, then a kind of inflection point and a “co-manager” berating you. What probably matters most here is what communication happens – or doesn’t happen – between these more dramatic moments.

I suspect this has been made more difficult for you by the tension you define between wanting to feel like an “irreplaceable” office superhero and wanting to take a vacation like a normal mortal. Variants of this task are actually quite common. Here’s how to fix it (or avoid it altogether if you move to a new location).

You are not a superhero

First, almost no one is irreplaceable. And thinking of yourself in such terms is a bad idea. This can lead to unhealthy self-confidence or, in your case, make the person vulnerable to exploitation. Your colleagues, mine, do not even suspect that they are exploiting you. But human nature says: “Dana can handle it!” if in fact Dana not only can do it, but has a reputation and a track record of being very willing to do it. I mean, I’d let you write this column for me if I could get away with it!

But the truth is, if you were suddenly abducted by aliens, your organization would not have closed its doors. This is not a comment on you. If Drew Brees retires tomorrow, my New Orleans Saints may have a bad season, but the team won’t break up. Life went on.

What you should strive for is to be appreciated as a truly helpful and positive person to be surrounded by – desired rather than (presumably) necessary. This mindset frees up and even encourages you to add something really useful to your portfolio of skills: delegation of authority.

Communicate actively

While it may be true that a truly smart and enlightened manager would have noticed your dilemma and swooped in to save the day, it is definitely true that you cannot always count on this to happen. No one knows better than you what problems you face.

So don’t wait to present them to your boss as annoyed complaints as you approach (understandable) collapse. Be proactive. One of the preferred strategies when contacting a manager is to quickly jump to the part where you are thinking about solutions: “I noticed that there is a bottleneck with people who need me to do X, Y and Z, and I cannot be in right away. in two places. So I think we can solve this problem by teaching So-and-so to do X. That should make us all more effective. “

Of course, be open to other ideas, whether they come from your boss or someone else. Actually look for other ideas. Presumably every task that only you can do was done by someone else prior to your arrival. Where is this man now? Can you ask for help and maybe get some ideas that you can use to make your life easier? Or can you at least ask your boss how X, Y and Z have been handled in the past?

Some of them may not be possible. But more broadly, try to establish open lines of communication with your manager so that you don’t wait for a crisis to arise to point out a problem.

Tighten your spine

All this does not mean turning over; in fact, it means the opposite. And the extremely unfair problem of lack of vacations makes it possible.

Don’t try to present it as resentment to fight (even if it is). Basically: “I’m planning on taking a two week vacation this fall (or whatever), and I want to make sure everything gets done in my absence. Can I get your help to make things go smoothly? “

Note that while this sounds appropriate, it is being presented as fact. You are taking a vacation, and it is in everyone’s best interest to minimize any resulting problems.

This is the tone you want to set in general: you are competent, you know how to do things, and you are mindful of the interests of the organization. And that’s why your bosses have to make sure you don’t let you burn out trying to become some kind of superhero.

Send your work questions to [email protected] . Questions can be edited for added volume and clarity.