Why does there always have to be that one person who you are asked to help out that is a nitpicker and a micromanager? As I explained in previous post, our client doesn't want to replace an admin who quit back in September and is looking to me to pick up the support of the three departments she handled. I was "asked" to do a project involving a training seminar next week which involved putting together some notebooks (no big deal - run copies, type up divider labels and cover sheets and assemble) and pull together additional handouts. The handouts are more than whats in the notebooks and his instructions on assembling them are extremely tedious. This morning I get a call that he wants to check the "quality" of the handouts before Friday so any changes that need to be made can be done over the weekend. In other words, I have to drop everything (my normal work for my normal reports which has increased 5 fold this week because their manager is onsite to discuss cutbacks) and assemble these 12 folders of handouts (3-4 docs in each folder and copies run for 12-15 people of each set of docs) so he can spot check them by Friday morning.

When I asked about possible changes and having to re-run copies - "oh no, that's not what I said". Malarky - if he wants to check the "quality", then he can look at the documents he sent me that I'm printing and copying from. Not wait until I've run 12 sets of each group.

This so called 6 hours of work has already taken more than 8 and I envision at least another 8 or more depending on how often I'm interrupted to do my normal work.

Please fire me now. Drawing unemployment is looking so much better than this stress right now. 8(

Michelle

Michelle I hear you and am on your side.

These 'idiots' for want of a nicer word than one I would normally use, are just people with power that has gone to their heads. This one in particular sounds like he is on a lead at home, woof woof!

Firstly, you cannot clone yourself into 3 different people so it's all about planning and prioritising. Ok so he dumped this on you so to speak, can you get additional help, can you point out that you need additional help and that you would appreciate additional help.

I cannot believe for one minute he wants to check the completed folders as opposed to proofing, as you mentioned, the copies. It just goes to show that managers should not always be managers and really offer no assistance or logic when delegating work.

I have worked for one or two nitpickers in my time so I sympathise. I remember in one job, the new office assistant went off to get married and this was 2 weeks leading up to the start of a new university term. I had to type, print, copy and collate timetables for 4 years of students on my own as well as attend their registration day to distribute them. As I rushed to the building where registration was taking place, and whilst carrying the envelopes full of timetables, I tripped and fell. I just felt like crying because no one knew what I had gone through to get this job done....but did they care? No.

When jobs are dumped we are expected to work magic, run through hoops and make it happen. The realisation is, we are only human, and not robots.

I think Michelle it would be good to speak up and explain the situation. Does this manager want you in over the weekend to run more copies if he decides to make changes? Tell him you will put in the time if he provides the help. Simple. I believe PAs and admins need to stick up for themselves in certain situations. The more we are given, the more we seem to get done and yet no one seems to ask how or why.

Stay calm and let us know how you get on. I will keep a place in the unemployment line for you if you decide to throw the head up.

Been there only it was my direct report. I had to make candidate books to go to clients - it was an executive recruiting firm. It never failed that after I had the books made and bound he would change his comments and since the page were numbered it wasn't a matter of inserting just one page. Then rather than he take then with him on a plane they had to be fed ex'ed to the location. Fedex never lost a set of documents but I spent too many minutes sweating the tracking.
My only suggestion is make a sample set for him to review and then make the copies on Friday rather than possibly do double work. He can't want to look at all 12-15 sets can he?

Is your own manager/boss aware of this situation?

If not, make sure s/he is!

When you have time, pull together some numbers. Saying, "My workload is out of control and I can't handle it anymore" had a lot more impact if you back it up with statistics showing how many hours are being (mis)spent on X, Y and Z over and above your normal duties.

Another thing you could argue is that your doing so much work for Mr. Nitpicker is essentially stealing from your own boss' budget (depending on how such things are handled at your workplace). At least, that's how a former boss of mine presented his case when another department kept wanting to "borrow" me for extended projects. They were trying to come in under budget (and earn a bonus!)by not hiring their own admin!

On the other hand, sounds like he'll have a hard time hiring anyone with his attitude.....

I definately mentioned it to my boss and I showed him this morning just what was involved in this "helping out" I was asked to do. There is only so much he can do because we both have to keep the client happy or we are both out of a job (we're contractors on a client site and the nitpicker is client employee). My workload has been a topic of discussion for months with little progress. I'm getting a new task next week that has been coming for a few months and I let him know that a task that was supposed to be handed off was never taken from me. He resolved that issue fairly quickly. He's a good guy and let's me vent when I'm not happy with something going on but not always willing or able to resolve an issue to my satisfaction.

I was able to work on this from home this morning. My daughter's car broke down and she needed mine to go to class so instead of extra running and coordinating I called my boss this morning and asked for permission to work on this at home since I had everything there (I'd been working on it piecemeal from home to make up time missed to babysit my boyfriend during and after shoulder surgery the other week). It work out well - I was done in 2 hours because I was able to spread out on my living room floor and work without interruption. And the nitpicker e-mailed me he was happy with what I'd done about an hour after he picked everything up. And as for budget, it was just a matter of moving hours from the lady who left to my timesheet - but it has ended up being much more than the 6 hours they told me it would take.

Hopefully this project is an exception and won't become a norm. I'm being real careful just how much I'm helping. If I do to much, they will look to me for everything the other lady used to do and I just can't (and really don't want to) do that for them.

Michelle