Ask a Peer Mentor: Should I be asked to do two jobs at once?

It happens all the time. Teams shrink and the remaining staff are asked to take on more responsibilities, often without compensation. What is the best response if you find yourself in this position?

Dear Mentors,

Someone has left my team at work and they are not being replaced. I’ve been tapped to take on their responsibilities while retaining my own, with no raise or promotion. How should I handle this?

Thanks, Mentee

Editor’s Note: Frontiers and Boundaries. The essence of this Mentee’s question is about whether to view this kind of job transition as an opportunity or an intolerable situation. Many WCA Peer Mentors have had personal experiences with this conundrum and here they share what they learned along the way and how they protected their boundaries.

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Dear Mentee,

This same situation occurred twice during my decade as a journalist at USA Today. During that period Gannett began offering buyouts. Later, there were layoffs.

Two times, a journalist with a related area of job responsibility (called a beat) left because of a buyout or layoff. Their beat became my responsibility with no additional pay or reduction in my original job responsibilities. I resented the fact that supervisors were dumping more work on me. I told people I was doing the work of three people and I was.

At the time, I wasn’t happy about the change and although I didn’t consider quitting the job (I loved working there), it turned out to be extremely beneficial for my future career. I became much more versatile because I learned about new coverage areas. My beat originally was behavior, relationships, and the generations (millennials, boomers, Gen X, etc.). After the first buyout, I added coverage of mental health, which was huge. Then after a layoff, I had to cover aging and retirement. I ended up going to many conventions and meeting many more people and learning new things which have greatly benefited me in my current freelance career.

So, if you like the job but don’t like the increased duties, your choice is to leave or stay. A friend had the same thing happen at her university job and she worked both her job and the other person’s job for close to a year. But then they did hire someone, and she was able to resume her original role. So in some cases, it can be a temporary situation.

Best of luck, Sharon Jayson

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Dear Mentee,

This situation is all too common in the association world where I worked prior to forming my own business which now serves a variety of associations. Often, my client contacts vent to me about the addition of responsibilities without the additional pay or title.

I agree with Sharon that it can be an opportunity to learn and add new skills. If you are looking to enhance your knowledge or skills, consider embracing the new job – and a new commitment to time management. Clearly define the new role and the time it will take in addition to your current role. Create a scope of work that includes all your tasks to help you to see them more clearly and manage them efficiently and effectively, and then share this document with your manager and team at the onset. Include a timeline and a date to reevaluate what is working and what is not. Put it on the calendar! This reevaluation invites a real and earnest conversation with your team and with management to discuss the options for filling the open position, permanently expanding your role with added compensation, or finding new solutions.

Yours, Andrea Exter

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Dear Mentee,

Early in my career, situations created change that presented both additional work and opportunity for me. Once it was the death of a beloved colleague; another time I was part of a downsized marketing/comms department that went from 19 to 4 people.

Andrea and Sharon provide excellent perspectives, and they offer good examples of paying attention to your mindset when faced with a situation that may feel beyond your control.

So that’s the first step: Own and identify what is in your control, and focus on that. What’s in your control includes:

• Your time, how much you work, and what you prioritize
• Your productivity, the results from your effort
• Your thoughts, what you believe about your job, the people you work with, and its opportunities
• Your words, what you agree to do, and what you do not
• Your boundaries, how you choose to behave in particular situations
• And your emotional awareness and self-care, which affects your ability to have challenging or uncomfortable conversations.

Change always creates opportunities for growth. Conversations with trusted mentors, peers, and coaches can help you navigate change and feel stronger for it.

Be well, Laura Bond Williams

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Dear Mentee,

I would find a polite way to ask why the job is being eliminated. Does it contain outdated tasks, or is the company in financial trouble? With this knowledge, you can offer solutions and set your boundaries, even if you feel you’re between a rock and a hard place.

Here are some possible solutions. Tell your supervisors that you cannot afford to do more work without compensation (if not a salary increase, maybe a benefit like additional paid vacation time.) Or tell them that you are willing to help out for X amount of time but not over the long haul. Ask if it is possible to divide the to-dos between team members or add a part-time contract employee.

Unless you negotiate the terms of your new job description in writing (including a raise or bonus), you will quickly become overwhelmed and start looking for new employment. Guess how I know this? Be a worthy advocate for yourself.

All best, Karen Aroian

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Dear Mentee,

My response would be simply:

“Thank you. But, this means we give my [current responsibilities] to Joann.” Reesa Woolf, PhD

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Note: Are you facing a career transition or pondering a new personal or professional direction? Then check out the WCA Get Smart Conference happening on October 25. This year’s theme is Transitions and the expert speakers (and attendees) are sure to offer wisdom and inspiration for planning and flourishing in new chapters of life. More info here.

Got your own career conundrum you’d like advice on?

Then sign up for the WCA peer mentoring program. It’s free to members! Not ready to sign up yet? Submit your question to Ask a Peer Mentor. It’s all about peers who care about helping their fellow WCA members.

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Compiled and edited by Paige Booth