"That's not my job!"

[Sschell]

Ranting usually gets you nowhere, but sometimes you need to do it.

I just overheard the VP of engineering and the Engineering PM at my work discussing that they have heard many of the engineers at my work explaining "thats not my job" when asked to perform a task. I do not understand this mentality. I don't know how, I'm not qualified etc. are perfectly acceptable ways out of a task (provided they are true), but "not my jodB !?! WTF? my opinion is that my job is what ever my superior asks me to do (and hopefully I do it before he asks). Since I have started at my current company (as a mechanical enigneer) some of the tasks I have performed include: sweeping the shop floor, taking out the trash, cleaning, cutting, drilling, tapping, grinding, wrench turning, welding, soldering, painting, PLC programming, project management, technical writing, designing, drafting, component selection (mechanical and electrical), machine design, system archetecture and, of course, engineering...

Personally I like the variety, and it does all pay the same... but never the less I cannot wrap my head around the mentality of "thats not my job"

I just had to rant, but lets make this interactive... what strange tasks have you done or been asked to do on the job? and if you're one of these "not my job" people... defend yourself! please give me some insight as to your position.

 

[benbo]

Ranting usually gets you nowhere, but sometimes you need to do it.

I just had to rant, but lets make this interactive... what strange tasks have you done or been asked to do on the job? and if you're one of these "not my job" people... defend yourself! please give me some insight as to your position.

In my current job I do the group website, all the databases and even web enabled some of them with ASP.

There's always sales, customer service, and staff management activities - part of my last job.

But my most enjoyable job was designing and fabbing custom protoype automated test equipment. I did everything - just like you - specs, parts ordering, design, CAD, various programming assignments including Labview, CNC, HPBasic, welding, sheet metal work, engraving and stenciling, wire wrapping and in some cases circuit board etching, high voltage potting, wiring, electronic testing and troubleshooting, cables and subassembly, I can't even remember everything. It was really fun while it lasted.

 

[snickerd3]

We have a couple of people like that here. One is a file clerk of sorts, she used to be a secretary of sorts and would go to the supply room in the other building to get supplies (pens, paper,etc...) once she got the new "job" of file clerk she said the supply runs were no longer part of her job description. Now one of us engineers run over once a week or so to get what we need.

 

[kevo_55]

I happen to love packing up my own packages for the UPS dude.

The way I think about it, I'm getting paid a ton of $$ to do shipping!!

 

[Flyer_PE]

My favorite while working in a union shop was: "It's not my job but I'll file a grievance if I see you do it."

So far, I've only seen it get like that in the nuclear plants of one particular company. One of the many reasons I no longer work for that company.

 

[TXengrChickPE]

My favorite... at my old job, I was asked (as an ABSOLUTE last resort) to watch the boss's 3yr old for two hours while he had a meeting with a VERY annoying client. The boss's (normally stay-at-home) wife was in the hospital with pneumonia and this client had flown in from 1500 miles away for this meeting... so he couldn't cancel. Their normal babysitters were unavailable and I was the only person in the company that the child had ever spent more than 2 minutes with (our kids were pretty close in age, so we had gotten together for play dates a few times).

We had a great time. Boss gave me cash to take her to McDonald's for lunch, then we chased the geese that hung out behind our building... By the time boss's meeting was over, she was asleep on the couch in the lobby... and boss was amazed because it was almost impossible to get this child to take a nap.

Sure, I could have said that it's not my job to babysit a 3yr old... but *someone* had to watch her so that boss could take this meeting... and it was fun to get away from CAD and number crunching for a little while.

 

[Guest]

I happen to love packing up my own packages for the UPS dude.
The way I think about it, I'm getting paid a ton of $$ to do shipping!!

I am with ya dude !! :thumbs:

I delight in doing lots of the so-called 'menial work' including things like proof-reading of proposed rulemaking or QA/QC checks on the electronic archive system my Department maintains. Most of my co-workers do have that ... I am an [insert Profession], not a secretary! If you come ask me about it -->

:true:

I tend to have a problem with the - it's not in my job description folks as well. Especially when working for a gubment agency - we're all just glorified fact checkers and some of us aren't even glorified! :laugh:

JR

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

I joined this office when it was just getting off the ground. I answered phones, made copies, ordered supplies, got the mail, took out the trash, fixed IT stuff, and did a whole lot of CAD redlines. Not pretty but you can't afford a janitor and secretary when you haven't brought in any money for the company.

 

[Capt Worley PE]

I once trimmed crape myrtles all morning with a pair of wire cutters. I enjoyed being out of the office and in the sun, plus it took a lot longer with the wire cutters (they didn't want to pay for pruning shears or a yard guy). I wondered how many other yard guys were making the rate I was.

They called me "Captain Scissorhands" for months afterwards.

 

[snickerd3]

It can go the other extreme too. They gave the honor of Employee of the Month to someone for organizing a "section meeting" and listed the recent things that person reviewed (i.e. doing their job).

 

[TouchDown]

I have personally used the "that's not my job" and in this particular situation it was the right thing to do, just the wrong person to say it to...

There was a SERIOUS slacker over calibration of instruments. Our quality group was horribly managed, and this person (I know I sat beside her) spent 90% of her time on the internet or talking to friends on the phone. We got behind on sending some instruments out (her job) and my boss asked me to do it for an instrument in our area.

It pissed me off that no one was addressing the issue so I pushed back. My boss didn't appreciate it, but I think I was entitled to say - "make her do her job".

Let's just say that I had a little discussion about being a team player.

 

[Dleg]

I'll do anything that makes sense and moves the project/mission forward. I personally like doing menial work, as long as it makes sense to be doing it (i.e., related to my job).

The one time I ever said "not my job" I ended up in a fight. A one-sided fight, since I knew that fighting back would only make me look bad. Here's the story:

Back when I worked in the oil field, I worked for a while in an off-shore district in Southern CA, servicing the small number of offshore rigs there. There were only two engineers in the district, so once in a while we needed someone else to come help us out. So, at one point while we were particularly busy, we had an older and more experienced engineer sent down to help out from another, land-based district. Mostly for some on-land work, and he brought his own crew and gear.

One of his jobs involved a very rare specialty tool that had to be flown out on a chartered plane from the rockies because it had radioactive materials (=no passegner planes). They asked me to take care of the shipping and paperwork, which was a nightmare, but I did it.

So the guy goes out and uses the tool and makes his bonus off it, to the tune of perhaps $500, of which I got nothing. Of course. I never expected it. But then a few days later, while we were all in the shop between jobs, my boss asks me to ship the tool back to the rockies, at which point I ask "why?" I mean, I didn't make any money off of it, the other guy did. "Because he is busy." Bullshit! He was sitting in the instrument cab running some sort of data playback and playing solitaire. I saw him. But, like a good employee, I go ahead and do all the paperwork, make the transportation arrangements, and then go and ask his crew, who were sitting around bullshitting, to help me crate the thing up (20 foot long crate) for pick-up. They tell me "That's not our job."

So at this point I am pissed off. I have spent maybe 4 hours trying to get this thing ready to ship while the guys who made the money with it are sitting on their asses. I go back to the senior engineer, with all the paperwork in hand, and tell him that everything is ready to go but his crew won't help crate it up. He looks at me and kind of chuckles, and says "well I guess you're going to have to do that yourself then!"

My response: "YOU made the money off this equipment, I've taken it this far, your crew isn't cooperating, IT'S NOT MY JOB to handle your crew for you!"

And with that, I dropped the paperwork on the floor of his instrument cab and walked away.

I had made it maybe 10 steps away across the yard when I heard him running up behind me and then he shoved me to the ground from behind. I rolled away and jumped up and blocked a few feeble punches from the guy (he was older and out of shape). Meanwhile my own crew had run up and started chanting for me to beat the guy up. But I'm thinking "I'm a professional, what the hell is this?" and I told the guy to fuck off, and I walked back into the manager's office to tell him what happened. Expecting, of course, that he would call the other guy in to cool him down and apologize.

He tells me "Well, you know so-and-so is far mroe senior than you are and I think you owe him an apology." My jaw dropped, and I told my boss that I was going to go home and call the police to report assault and battery, and then he panicked and begged me not to.

Anyway, long story. I did go home for a couple of hours to cool off, and the guy's crew crated the tool up and shipped it off, and nothing was ever said of it except by my crew, who constantly bugged me about it to tell me I had the ultimate opportunity to kick that asshole's butt (no one but my boss liked him), but lost it. Oh well.

Bottom line (I guess "NOT MY JOB" - them 'r fightin' words!

 

[Guest]

^^^ WOW !!

(That's all I can come up with to say ...)

JR

 

[Capt Worley PE]

Dang, Dleg. I think I would have pressed charges. That's insane.

 

[maryannette]

I was asked several years ago to take a business trip as part of a team with a special project. My manager approached me and said that my purpose for the trip was to have a meeting with the president of the company we were visiting and make it last a very long time so he would not be available to interrupt the "real" business that other people were working on. The other people who had more important work were @$$ kissers who were promoted to management jobs without earning it. (I WAS told that because of my technical knowledge and personality he would be willing to spend a lot of time with me.) I agreed initially, but after thinking about it, I went to my manager and told him that I preferred not to go because I thought I had better uses of my time than "baby-sitting" an annoying person so other people could get work done. I told him that I felt cheap for being asked to be a "technical escort". He didn't quite know what to say, but it hadn't been his idea. He told his boss, who had the idea, that I didn't want to go. I was called into the big boss's office and the whole thing was sugar-coated (and he asked VERY nicely), so I agreed to go. Well, it turned out to be one of the most interesting business trips I ever took. I did spend most of the day with the president, talking about technical issues, engineering, philosophy, religion, morals, ethics, families, and much more. Still rubs me a little the wrong way, but WTF. I have many talents.

 

[ktulu]

I make coffee in the office every morning. At least I know it'll taste good!

 

[FLBuff PE]

I also am the barista of my office. Also, I watch (and answer) the phones while the office manager/receptionist/guru/person you really want on your side goes to lunch. There are 3 engineers in my office, plus 2 support staff. I basically will do whatever it takes to keep the peace in the office, and make things run smoothly. Just makes life easier.

 

[NCcarguy]

We wouldn't get a thing done in my office if I used that line.....

Last week I asked a tech (one with a 4 year engineering degree) to scan a set of plans that I had JUST sealed (my first one's too!) We needed to email the set to the architect to include with his plans....Well I opened the first PDF file ( I have to check everything that they do) and the scan was SO crooked that the border got cut off about half way on the sheet, then the second one was so bad that part of the title got cut off.....This was after he took almost TWO hours to scan them....so I made him walk out to the scanner with me, and hand me sheets one at a time while I scanned them......15 minutes later, it was done, and they were all straight.

hummm......maybe HE was thinking "That's not my job"????????????

 

[cement]

^^ were there any ass prints on those scans?

 

[roadmonkey]

I have always done anything that was asked of me with no complaint. Recently I was given the task of 3rd man on a survey crew, in other words I taped up sticks and held them for someone else to hammer in the ground. I have also changed lightbulbs, drop ceiling tiles, shoveled snow, spread salt on ice, and scooped goose poop.

I love doing it, there is just an odd sort of pleasure doing menial work. After all I got paid the same no matter what I did.

I have noticed the "not my job" mentality with a lot of structural people I have worked with. When one of their jobs would need to be drafted they would sit around and wait for a tech to be available. The usual response was "it is not economically efficient for me to draft." I alwasy viewed it as laziness though, being paid to draft is a lot more efficient than being paid to sit.