Have you ever "refused" to do a project at work?

[KillahBee]

Not necessarily refused, but at least brought to the attention of superiors the absurdity of the project or that it is far outside of the realm of what you "do"? I am coming damn close to this. I have a year-long project that is getting passed to me that is completely out of the scope of anything I do, am paid to do, or is in my job description. It is basically straight accounting and my job has nothing to do with accounting. Beyond that, this is the only project I have ever been given that I do not have complete faith in that I can do efficiently and properly. Fuck, I am steaming pissed about this.

 

[slickdadd]

Bring it up. Maybe that'll show balls or initiative, and that you have potential for promotions down the road. Don't listen to me though. I have no experience on such a thing, it just seems logical.

 

[KillahBee]

Bring it up. Maybe that'll show balls or initiative, and that you have potential for promotions down the road. Don't listen to me though. I have no experience on such a thing, it just seems logical.

we have a pretty loose environment at work, and I wouldn't be "afraid" to bring it up, especially to my manager. maybe if I had a VP that wasn't a babbling retard, this project would have never been assigned to our company at all.

 

[Gambino]

quit your job and become a emcee

 

[slickdadd]

we have a pretty loose environment at work, and I wouldn't be "afraid" to bring it up, especially to my manager. maybe if I had a VP that wasn't a babbling retard, this project would have never been assigned to our company at all.

That's cool then. Getting the ball rolling on the discussion couldn't hurt I wouldn't think. Use the can't do it well or efficiently angle.

 

[KillahBee]

quit your job and become a emcee

Nigga please. I would be dropping shit like a pigeon.

 

[jenscats5]

Why would a company give an accounting project to a non-accountant?? Is this Enron??

 

[JayC9]

Beware of getting pigeon holed. Tell em what's on your mind, that you can do this no problem but it's not really your thing.

 

[KillahBee]

Why would a company give an accounting project to a non-accountant?? Is this Enron??

cause we are the agency of record for this company, which basically means we are their bitch. long story short - we are a sponsorship consulting agency. XXXX company has us as their agency of record, where we basically manage their entire current and future portfolio and everything that goes along with it. this project involves tracking internal (at XXX company) ticket usage for one of the properties, so that XXX company can be sure they are billing their internal marketing contacts and collecting back money. essentially, the only way we are involved is because it involves a property. but it's straight accounting.

 

[KillahBee]

Beware of getting pigeon holed. Tell em what's on your mind, that you can do this no problem but it's not really your thing.

this is of course my concern. there is also ego - I have never not been able to do something or gone to a boss and explained that this is not working. but it rams my ass that this is even in my lap. shit, there is NOTHING in my job description that has anything to do with this project. it's beyind me. it would be like if a boss at McD's told the fry maker to fix the electrical wiring in the drive thru voice box. it doesn't make sense.

 

[anthrax]

Don't waste 1 year on your life!

if you don't feel you're probably right

Update your resume (just in case) and refuse politely while providing enough info why you can't do it

 

[Agathe]

I refuse to work period.

 

[jenscats5]

Yeah, but can you do it?? Are you technically able to do it??

My point is that why give accounting work to someone who's only taken Acctg 1 and never uses it to this day, ever....

 

[KillahBee]

Yeah, but can you do it?? Are you technically able to do it??

My point is that why give accounting work to someone who's only taken Acctg 1 and never uses it to this day, ever....

can I do it? yes, with a lot of hours put into studying and learning it and a better teacher than the one I have now. but that's my point, not only is it far outside what my job is, it's pretty far outside my "skill set", and I am one of the best employees there.

 

[Gambino]

contact raymond partrica

 

[jenscats5]

can I do it? yes, with a lot of hours put into studying and learning it and a better teacher than the one I have now. but that's my point, not only is it far outside what my job is, it's pretty far outside my "skill set", and I am one of the best employees there.

Well, that's stupid then. Why give an accounting project to, say an engineer or architect??

I have a BS in Accounting & it'd be like giving me a project on redoing the duct work in a high rise building.

 

[KillahBee]

contact raymond partrica

lmfao - damn bro, you impressed me right there (even though you spelled his last name wrong). droppin knowledge!

 

[jerseyart]

Scream racism man

They just probably assumed that because you're Italian you'd be proficient at keeping track of numbers

 

[GodOfThunder]

Go to your boss and tell him that you don't think that he is using his resources properly. Tell him why you don't think this is a job that you should be doing and give real reasons as to why. In the end, it will be his call. As his employee it will be your responsibilty to do wha he says or seek employment elsewhere. If your boss is a babbling retard then it should be easy to do, since stupid people are usually easily persuaded. Think beforehand about what you will say and how you will say it. Call him "chief" and "boss" to flatter him, and then go for the jugular. Explain to him how much it will benefit HIM if he assigns you to something you can perform better at. Good luck brolomite.

 

[KillahBee]

Go to your boss and tell him that you don't think that he is using his resources properly. Tell him why you don't think this is a job that you should be doing and give real reasons as to why. In the end, it will be his call. As his employee it will be your responsibilty to do wha he says or seek employment elsewhere. If your boss is a babbling retard then it should be easy to do, since stupid people are usually easily persuaded. Think beforehand about what you will say and how you will say it. Call him "chief" and "boss" to flatter him, and then go for the jugular. Explain to him how much it will benefit HIM if he assigns you to something you can perform better at. Good luck brolomite.

thanks bro. I am going to talk to my manager tomorrow about this anywayand see what he thinks. he is not the decision maker on this, but will fight for me if he believes in it - a solid guy and a friend. it just sucks, cause this project literally keeps my up at night - I excel and then some at my job, my normal duties, what I am here for, but this project is fucking with me big time. Because of my pride and ego I want to say that I just need to keep looking at it and studying it more and more and I will get it, but there is a part of me that is sayng - "Dude, you aren't supposed to get it. This isn't what you do".

 

[KA-BAR]

Rich get richer same old shit. Speak your mind to anyone. You will feel much better no matter what happens. The ownder of my company builds 80% of the Walmarts in the US every year. 30 of them average past 3 years. He owns a shitload stores including best supply stores and shit like that. When he comes around everyone freaks out. I am like he sticks his pants on same as everyone else so what the fuck is the big deal??

 

[GodOfThunder]

You know what you gotta do man.

 

[pintoca]

I do that all the time Killah... When you work a lot on the RFP process, you need to decide which projects will be pursued and which won't... Responding to a large enough RFP is already a project, one that can normally take a multinational team and some 100K$ in expenses during the 3-4 weeks it takes...

so, yes... bring up the reasons (logical) why you think you are not the most appropiate person and discuss it.

 

[KillahBee]

I do that all the time Killah... When you work a lot on the RFP process, you need to decide which projects will be pursued and which won't... Responding to a large enough RFP is already a project, one that can normally take a multinational team and some 100K$ in expenses during the 3-4 weeks it takes...

so, yes... bring up the reasons (logical) why you think you are not the most appropiate person and discuss it.

We also work on a lot of RFP's, but that's a little different, since it's external vs. internal. In other words, the different here is that, in my situation, I already have the project. But I'm going to talk to my manager today and see what he thinks.

 

[pintoca]

We also work on a lot of RFP's, but that's a little different, since it's external vs. internal. In other words, the different here is that, in my situation, I already have the project. But I'm going to talk to my manager today and see what he thinks.

Just make sure you don't come across as " I'm bitchin because this is not what I am supossed to do..." You have to logically show, you are not the correct choice or ther project is not worth pursuing at all. Don't make it personal, I would hate to have somebody come complaining like that

 

[KillahBee]

Just make sure you don't come across as " I'm bitchin because this is not what I am supossed to do..." You have to logically show, you are not the correct choice or ther project is not worth pursuing at all. Don't make it personal, I would hate to have somebody come complaining like that

I completely agree. The first person I talk to will be my manager, who I can be 100% honest with and not worry about being judged (trust me on this one). In over a year I have never even come close to anything resembling a complaint about doing anything, so he'll know (without me saying that) that I am serious. Plus I know that my argument is sound. And in the end, it's my project until they say otherwise. I'll deal with it as I have been. It's more that I at least want to explain my thoughts on the whole situation: this project has nothing to do with my skill set, school or professional training, or job description and it's taking longer than expected to get acclimated to it because of this. It'll be done with tact and in a professional, non-complaining manner. I don't really expect them to take it off my plate, but at least they will be aware of something they should have researched before giving the project to me.

 

[*MissFit*]

When you were hired were u given a job description?

If you were then you can refuse.. if not you are shit outta luk

 

[KillahBee]

When you were hired were u given a job description?

If you were then you can refuse.. if not you are shit outta luk

a) it will not come down to me refusing based on a piece of paper - not really how things work here and not something I want to do

b) you really can't go by most job descriptions, as they are intentionally designed to be somewhat vague, general, and usually have something along the lines of "but not limited to" in there

 

[pintoca]

a) it will not come down to me refusing based on a piece of paper - not really how things work here and not something I want to do

b) you really can't go by most job descriptions, as they are intentionally designed to be somewhat vague, general, and usually have something along the lines of "but not limited to" in there

Job descriptions are ONLY used to put a glass ceiling on your initial income (Oh, sorry, this position max salary is xxxx $)... and not even that if you sell yourself correctly.

after that, it's all good. At least in the IT industry you gotta swing at whatever pitches you get thrown at you.

Hell, when I was consulting, you do a 1 week course in something, and you are turned into the Sr. Expert overnight...You try to pull that jobdescription act, you are as good as gone

 

[KillahBee]

Job descriptions are ONLY used to put a glass ceiling on your initial income (Oh, sorry, this position max salary is xxxx $)... and not even that if you sell yourself correctly.

after that, it's all good. At least in the IT industry you gotta swing at whatever pitches you get thrown at you.

Hell, when I was consulting, you do a 1 week course in something, and you are turned into the Sr. Expert overnight...You try to pull that jobdescription act, you are as good as gone

I agree. I work in consulting and the vary nature of it and being the AOR for a client is that we do what they want us to do. Pure and simple. That theory then collates to our internal staffing. Like I said, I am not expecting to have this taken off my plate, but I at least need to let my superiors know my thoughts on it and that they are going to have to invest some time training me on the project. It doesn't help that the broad who had this before me is a dipshit and not the best manager, so her showing me what needs to be done isn't very effective. I end up teaching her how to teach me.

 

[wnt2bBeast]

yeah ive told my bosses F**** you do it yourself, im leaving..it seemed to lead to bigger bonuses and all the guinness you can drink

then again i had to take a ton of shit from them and being screamed at on the floor in front of hundreds of people to see and hear isnt much fun

 

[gab9681]

Yup, I did several times at my old job. They would come up with some idiotic idea that was impossible to complete with our resources, did not have a customer base to make it worth it, and was a stupid idea to begin with. I was always the guy that actually did all the work, and I had a whole slew of "idea makers" above me who had no clue how the actual science works. It was funny sometimes, but mostly sad.

 

[KillahBee]

Email response from my manager:

Happy to sit down whenever dude. Do you want to grab some time after the XXX team meeting? If it is something that you are not happy with then I am all for getting it off your plate.

 

[KillahBee]

another response:

No worries. It is better for you to bitch to me and get it off your chest than let it build up until one day you come to work with an AK47.

 

[Smurfy]

Id say my first 8-10 years working at my job, I volunteered to do all sorts of extra shit just becausae I had a lot of energy and motivation. Lately though (last 4 years) Ive found myself refusing to do even the things they SAY are my job. Im just like uh yeah IM totally not doing that fuck them.

 

[KillahBee]

Id say my first 8-10 years working at my job, I volunteered to do all sorts of extra shit just becausae I had a lot of energy and motivation. Lately though (last 4 years) Ive found myself refusing to do even the things they SAY are my job. Im just like uh yeah IM totally not doing that fuck them.

yeah, I get the feeling most people go thru that. I hope that never happens to me. The nature of my industry helps keep things fresh and exciting - like a douche to a vagina.

 

[Smurfy]

yeah, I get the feeling most people go thru that. I hope that never happens to me. The nature of my industry helps keep things fresh and exciting - like a douche to a vagina.

let's reproduce.

 

[Scotsman]

Not necessarily refused, but at least brought to the attention of superiors the absurdity of the project or that it is far outside of the realm of what you "do"? I am coming damn close to this. I have a year-long project that is getting passed to me that is completely out of the scope of anything I do, am paid to do, or is in my job description. It is basically straight accounting and my job has nothing to do with accounting. Beyond that, this is the only project I have ever been given that I do not have complete faith in that I can do efficiently and properly. Fuck, I am steaming pissed about this.

I have flat footedly refused to do things at work. I have told them why I won't do them and if they still want it done that they can have someone else do it. On of the things they recently admitted that I was right and that it shouldn't have been done, now we have to replace the equipment with new because they wouldn't listen to me. Man did I feel good about being me.

Cheers,
Scotsman

 

[FreeballinDC]

I just went through a project management review yesterday, and it was determined that about half of what I do is outside my scope, so it was pawned off onto either the new hires, or my boss.

The reviewer was all about telling my superiors that I had way too much on my plate.

 

[KillahBee]

I just went through a project management review yesterday, and it was determined that about half of what I do is outside my scope, so it was pawned off onto either the new hires, or my boss.

The reviewer was all about telling my superiors that I had way too much on my plate.

I met with my manager and we discussed. My pride will not let me push for this to be taken off my plate, but he was 100% on the same page with me and is going to talk to a few of the top dogs about the project, including suggesting that this be transitioned to someone else in the next few months, as my workload is about to get even heavier with some new events on the calendar and the US Open around the corner. He is also going to push for us (as a company) to start charging for this project, so at least I will get some recognition for it.

 

[FreeballinDC]

The don't let your pride get in the way of saying "no". Let somebody else run with it for awhile, and gently (or stand on somebody's desk and scream) remind them of who got the ball rolling.

No sense in taking one for the team, if the team suffers. Or something like that.

 

[ass_face]

Not necessarily refused, but at least brought to the attention of superiors the absurdity of the project or that it is far outside of the realm of what you "do"? I am coming damn close to this. I have a year-long project that is getting passed to me that is completely out of the scope of anything I do, am paid to do, or is in my job description. It is basically straight accounting and my job has nothing to do with accounting. Beyond that, this is the only project I have ever been given that I do not have complete faith in that I can do efficiently and properly. Fuck, I am steaming pissed about this.

I honestly think that corporate America needs to adopt a provision where you can challenege anyone in the company to a battle in the octagon. Loser leaves the company. This would weed out douche bags who backstab, missappropriate work or make stupid decisions.

Since we don't have that provision, tell them that you believe this is out of your scope and not a wise use of your talents.

 

[Gambino]

lmfao - damn bro, you impressed me right there (even though you spelled his last name wrong). droppin knowledge!

you'd be surpised how much i know about this type of thing. not from first hand experience, like you might have had growing up around Federal Hill, but from research and study

 

[KillahBee]

you'd be surpised how much i know about this type of thing. not from first hand experience, like you might have had growing up around Federal Hill, but from research and study

I only truly feel at home when I am at Federal Hill. You were my boy before, but now you are my dunn.

 

[KillahBee]

PS- went out with my manager tonight and the other consellation (sp?) he is getting me is tikets to whatever Yanks game I want this year from the company.

 

[pintoca]

and you sold out??? BEOTCH!!!!

 

[KillahBee]

and you sold out??? BEOTCH!!!!

I didn't sell out, slut. As I said, I never expected this to be taken off my plate. It still may get taken off my plate once he talks to a Director and VP about it. The other stuff is just icing on the cake, which I still appreciate. It's not over, his main goal is to get it off my plate - now or a few months down the road.