Being punish for being a hardworker??

passcert23

I come to work on time, do my work efficiently, and go home like the rest of my coworkers. Many people see that I am pretty competent but the way I see is I am just doing my job. Recently I noticed my workload is increasing and it seems like I have more tickets than 2 of my other coworkers. My boss also volunteer me for some training which I have no interest for. I know most of you would say why not but it seem like he is tackling more work on me. After the training that individual will have more responsibility and require to do more paperwork. There were already volunteer but I am not sure why he just chose me without first discussing with me.

I don't see why I have to do more work than my coworkers when we probably get paid the same. Is just not fair. Just today I came into work and my coworker, who is not the queue master (the one that assign tickets), assign me his ticket when my boss assigned him the ticket. The ticket was a bit challenging. Not sure that was the reason why he transferred me the ticket. AHHH... I was like wtf. Sorry for the ranting. Most of you would suggest I talk to my boss but there is so much politic in the workplace. I am a contractor...

earweed

Happens a lot but when your contract is up you may be in the lead to get hired on permanently

erpadmin

passcert23 wrote: »

I come to work on time, do my work efficiently, and go home like the rest of my coworkers. Many people see that I am pretty competent but the way I see is I am just doing my job. Recently I noticed my workload is increasing and it seems like I have more tickets than 2 of my other coworkers. My boss also volunteer me for some training which I have no interest for. I know most of you would say why not but it seem like he is tackling more work on me. After the training that individual will have more responsibility and require to do more paperwork. There were already volunteer but I am not sure why he just chose me without first discussing with me.

I don't see why I have to do more work than my coworkers when we probably get paid the same. Is just not fair. Just today I came into work and my coworker, who is not the queue master (the one that assign tickets), assign me his ticket when my boss assigned him the ticket. The ticket was a bit challenging. Not sure that was the reason why he transferred me the ticket. AHHH... I was like wtf. Sorry for the ranting. Most of you would suggest I talk to my boss but there is so much politic in the workplace. I am a contractor...

Honestly, I don't see what the problem is. Your boss is giving you more responsibility because he recognizes that you're the best one to handle the job. Sounds like he's pushing you to be the senior help desk person when the time comes.

Learn all you can, document it well so that you put it on your resume and do it for a few months, a year....things will definitely open up.

As for your coworker....just have a chat with him and see what's up. Ask him why he forwarded you the ticket and then talk it out with him. Don't be confrontational...just have a heart-to-heart. Maybe he was busy with something else....you won't know until you find out. But I wouldn't sweat the small stuff....

Just keep grinding out what you need to grind out. YOU will be much better for it!

Paul Boz

If you ever want to get ahead you'll have to put in more effort and more work than the other guys. You should be eager to go to whatever training they're sending you on, as that's a privilege they're not sending others on.

dynamik

This happens where I work. Some of us kill ourselves nights and weekends while others barely work during normal business hours. The more work you put out, the more work you get assigned to you. It's kind of complimentary since you're clearly seen as the one that's competent and can be trusted to get things done. However, it can be extremely stressful and make you miserable.

The other day, one of our analysts was studying because he had scans running, and he didn't have anything to do until they finished. Several of us did 70-80 hours/week the preceding weeks and were still buried. We subtly hinted that maybe he could do something else while the scans were running since he apparently had some free time. When he was given another minor assignment, he loudly sighed and said, "Can't I just get one day to myself!?" That dude almost got laid out...

rogue2shadow

dynamik wrote: »

When he was given another minor assignment, he loudly sighed and said, "Can't I just get one day to myself!?" That dude almost got laid out...

I literally laughed out loud.

Back to the topic though, it definitely shows a trust factor is being built between you and your boss. If it gets to a point where all the work is given to you and the other two have absolutely nothing, then I would probably take a deep look into whats going on (politics, maybe some big contract didn't get renewed etc).

erpadmin

dynamik wrote: »

This happens where I work. Some of us kill ourselves nights and weekends while others barely work during normal business hours. The more work you put out, the more work you get assigned to you. It's kind of complimentary since you're clearly seen as the one that's competent and can be trusted to get things done. However, it can be extremely stressful and make you miserable.

Welcome to my world. As I type this, I have cobols compiling for some development environment that has to be ready for tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, I have other stuff going in the background that has to be done to meet my boss' deadline. All I get is a "thank you...." but stuff has to get done. There isn't one shop I've been at where I haven't dealt with the 9-5er....I promised myself when I ever get to be in a management position, I will seek out the 9-5er and make his life a living hell (legally...legally... ). We all have families, a life, and other stuff outside of work. But if I need something done, I need it done. Right now it's me...tomorrow it will be someone else, but I will definitely make sure that guy is recognized.

dynamik wrote: »

"Can't I just get one day to myself!?" That dude almost got laid out...

He'll get his...one way or the other. You don't need to spend time in jail, either. I'm a big believer in karma.

Iristheangel

I would say that it's a great thing, not a punishment, that you're being given more work, training, responsibilities, etc. I would even say to ask for more if you're handling it well enough. It shows initiative and that you're a hard worker. If you show that you can do a job twice as efficiently as your peers and still can learn more, you become asset to them. It's easy to get negative and look at it as "unfair" since you're being paid the same amount as your coworkers, but in the end, if you end up with a permanent position and they don't, then it certainly pays off and is more than fair.

Mojo_666

passcert23 wrote: »

Sorry for the ranting. Most of you would suggest I talk to my boss but there is so much politic in the workplace. I am a contractor...

Seems to me like you might be "The Chosen One", if you really have an issue with what appears to be your boss liking you, trusting you and putting his faith in you then maybe you should move on.

Ryan82

This is pretty typical. Everywhere I have worked 10% of the people do 90% of the work and they always reward your hard work with more work.

As long as I am learning something in the process, I don't mind that they pile it on me because I like working hard and learning as much as I can. Now if the customer suffers as a result of this because others are not doing their part and you are too overwhelmed with their additional workload, then there's a problem.

Psoasman

passcert23 wrote: »

I come to work on time, do my work efficiently, and go home like the rest of my coworkers. Many people see that I am pretty competent but the way I see is I am just doing my job. Recently I noticed my workload is increasing and it seems like I have more tickets than 2 of my other coworkers. My boss also volunteer me for some training which I have no interest for. I know most of you would say why not but it seem like he is tackling more work on me. After the training that individual will have more responsibility and require to do more paperwork. There were already volunteer but I am not sure why he just chose me without first discussing with me.

I don't see why I have to do more work than my coworkers when we probably get paid the same. Is just not fair. Just today I came into work and my coworker, who is not the queue master (the one that assign tickets), assign me his ticket when my boss assigned him the ticket. The ticket was a bit challenging. Not sure that was the reason why he transferred me the ticket. AHHH... I was like wtf. Sorry for the ranting. Most of you would suggest I talk to my boss but there is so much politic in the workplace. I am a contractor...

I agree with the others, you have shown -and your boss has noticed - that you can handle the job. there are always the slackers in every job, they will get weeded out eventually. With this economy, there are always people available to fill positions.

shaqazoolu

dynamik wrote: »

When he was given another minor assignment, he loudly sighed and said, "Can't I just get one day to myself!?" That dude almost got laid out...

And by laid out you mean murdered. He was already on thin ice with me at that point for a variety of other things. I almost threw that dude out of the freaking window and dropped an elbow on him from the top rope when he said that.

earweed

shaqazoolu wrote: »

And by laid out you mean murdered. He was already on thin ice with me at that point for a variety of other things. I almost threw that dude out of the freaking window and dropped an elbow on him from the top rope when he said that.

LMAO at that one, Man I've been there at one of my non IT jobs before.

All the above posters are really giving you some good advice. The boss knows you're a good worker and that you are willing to learn and do more. Since you're on a contract and you keep proving to be the go to guy then you probably have the best chance to move up or to just be hired permanently. It's not a bad thing to be the go to guy.

tpatt100

People tend not to give more responsibilities to morons.

it_consultant

This is going to sound kinda bad but I have put a lot of thought to this. You only have to be medium better than everyone else. If you try too hard people resent you, try to little and you wont make it at all.

eMeS

it_consultant wrote: »

This is going to sound kinda bad but I have put a lot of thought to this. You only have to be medium better than everyone else. If you try too hard people resent you, try to little and you wont make it at all.

The best quote that I can think of that explains this is:

Robert Heinlein wrote:

Being right too soon is socially unacceptable.

MS

erpadmin

it_consultant wrote: »

This is going to sound kinda bad but I have put a lot of thought to this. You only have to be medium better than everyone else. If you try too hard people resent you, try to little and you wont make it at all.

I know what you mean by this. By showing too little, you appear incompetent and weak. By showing too much you appear like you're a suck up.

I am done with trying to get on the good side of office politics; you are always gonna have haters, not matter what you do. I have to deal with my coworkers; they have to deal with me. At the end of the day, it's all about what needs to get done and then "f"(orget) all the dumb crap. Work isn't high school, or a popularity contest. Once I leave the office, I leave the office "political" crap at work. But I always take my work home with me....(I kind of have to.... LOL). But the BS, I definitely leave at the office.

SubnettingGoddess

it_consultant wrote: »

This is going to sound kinda bad but I have put a lot of thought to this. You only have to be medium better than everyone else. If you try too hard people resent you, try to little and you wont make it at all.

lol in my failed dotcom adventure, I absolutely busted my tail and the guys on my team DID tell me I was making them look bad. I was obsessed with seeing the company succeed though and with getting my stocks.

Devilsbane

Happens a lot. It logically just makes sense. The good workers get more work because your manager knows that it can get done. It seems unfair, but when the time comes that someone has to go it will not be you.

Ever notice that the person who speaks up in a meeting gets the task? That is just the way it works. Avoiding work might seem like a good idea, but use it sparringly. Obviously this talent of yours has your name high on your bosses list.

it_consultant

I'm not saying you get lazy and stupid or avoid work. Dumping your whole persona into a job is just not a good idea. The world is made up of C+ students. Being a B+ employee will advance you AND not stress you out.

Devilsbane

it_consultant wrote: »

The world is made up of C+ students.

Sometimes I even question that...

QHalo

I'd rather be balls out busy than freakin bored. Sorry, but I envy you.

genXrcist

Another thing to consider, and this is in line with not working too hard, is that when one person works really hard management will tend to continue dumping on them. If you perform too well you can actually get passed over for a promotion because the manager wants to continue using you to make themselves look good with all the work you're getting done for him/her.

IMO you should do less work but it then has to be high quality work. This way you get recognized, you get promoted and you're stress tends to stay low.

earweed

My opinion tends to differ from some others. Let your boss know you would like to move up in jobs if possible. If they're any good they'll try to get you in a more advanced position.

DevilWAH

A lot of the work I carry out at work its based on stuff I look in to in my own time, or stay late to do.

A long time ago now, when managers mentioned how much I was completing I pointed out that it got done because I put my own personal time in to it. But I made it very clear that this was my personal chose and while I would always work 100% during work hours, my own time was and is my own. And not to realy on me working during it to get work related stuff completed.

I would explain clearly that while you enjoy your job and are happy to put in the extra time, and that while at work work comes first, out side of work hours it is your friends and family.

I think my bosses appreciated this approach as I got an outstanding review this year, and the fact having a baby has meant I have had a lot less time lately to do things in my own time, work have not pushed more work on me.

I also found that after I sat down and explained my position, my managers now take a interest in what I am doing. The know I have more work on than I can managed during work hours, and I have clear priority's on what work must be completed and what is more flexible.

My last bit of advice is to keep a record of the work you are doing (forget about all the other people), look at what you are actual getting through in relation to you hours. If you still think you have much more work than every one else, and more importantly, more work than you think a "good" worker should be expected to do (remember 90% of workers are lazy so no good comparing your self against them). Think carefully about how hard you really work. And if you are still feeling overwhelmed by the volume of it, take the list to your manager to discuss. Ask them what they think you do, and then show them the full list to compare it. I would suggest not going to them saying "I have to much work I can't cope", but rather " I have notice my work load growing over the past X months, it's OK at the moment but my limit is approaching and I just want to make sure you are aware of what I have on at the moment".

A good boss will take note, and if they can see you have a heavy workload will start checking if you have the time before passing you more work.

I don't go with the don't work so hard people are suggestion, you are paid to work X hours each day. if there is enough work to fill those hours you should be working hard all day to complete it. IF work is slack and there's "nothing" to do then its up to you, do you sit around and browse the web, or find some work to do? But while there is work to do, you should be doing it the best you can. Work is called work for a reason..

genXrcist

DevilWAH wrote: »

I don't go with the don't work so hard people are suggestion, you are paid to work X hours each day. if there is enough work to fill those hours you should be working hard all day to complete it. IF work is slack and there's "nothing" to do then its up to you, do you sit around and browse the web, or find some work to do? But while there is work to do, you should be doing it the best you can. Work is called work for a reason..

Just to be clear, the suggestion is to not to be lazy but rather to use time wisely. 80% of productivity and impact comes from 20% of ones work. It's just smart to focus on the 20% that has that impact. See the Pareto principal for details.

passcert23

All great and valid points. This has been really helpful b/c this is my first i.t gig and I am still learning. Both in the actual job and working with others. Thanks for all the suggestions.

SunnyRain

I think many of you have an excellent work ethic, and I agree with most everything which has been said. However, there is an exception to the rule. If you are going to bust your butt and work your tail off more than your fellow co-workers - make sure you're doing it for yourself, and not as an ongoing act of charity to keep a bunch of freeloaders' heads above water.

If it seems like you're basically working yourself to a pulp as somebody else's b#()h, and without any recognition or hope for advancement - move on to something else and let them carry their own weight. An employer/boss who doesn't recognize that you're going above and beyond isn't one that is worth working for.

Anybody who has ever worked in a union shop will know what I mean. Even though I was a non-union outside contractor who earned a good living doing that which the hourly folks were unwilling to do, it was still pretty frustrating to see the place go under due to a pervasively inept and incompetent work ethic.

Kick ass and be the best at what you do, but not for the sake of being Atlas with the world on your shoulders

erpadmin

SunnyRain wrote: »

I think many of you have an excellent work ethic, and I agree with most everything which has been said. However, there is an exception to the rule. If you are going to bust your butt and work your tail off more than your fellow co-workers - make sure you're doing it for yourself, and not as an ongoing act of charity to keep a bunch of freeloaders' heads above water.

Normally, I'd agree with this. However, with the economy being what it is, until he can find another job that will give him upward mobility, he's better off staying where he's at and just doing what he has to do.

Believe me, for him, it's going to pay off in dividends. He will have a resume that will all but guarantee him a job as either a jr. systems admin, a senior help desk technician, or whatever position this guy wants. He just has to bide his time. Same as I did, same you did, same as probably everyone who answered his query in this thread. I've dealt with lazy people too and in the end, I won. That was really all that mattered. He'll find that out too. He just can't see it yet...but he will.

SunnyRain

Well said, and I totally agree. I'm not suggesting that it's best to immediately quit your job and go on to something else even if it's unemployment. The job market out there is a little too dicey to be taking things to that extreme. Sticking it out and doing what you have to do in that type of situation - where you're doing more than your fair share of the work - is fine as long as you're doing it to eventually better your own situation. My gripe is with anybody who feels one should stay in such a situation out of a sense of duty for others, or that there is no way to improve things for yourself because you're just stuck where you're at. OP obviously isn't taking things down that path - so I think it's all good.

erpadmin wrote: »

Normally, I'd agree with this. However, with the economy being what it is, until he can find another job that will give him upward mobility, he's better off staying where he's at and just doing what he has to do.

Believe me, for him, it's going to pay off in dividends. He will have a resume that will all but guarantee him a job as either a jr. systems admin, a senior help desk technician, or whatever position this guy wants. He just has to bide his time. Same as I did, same you did, same as probably everyone who answered his query in this thread. I've dealt with lazy people too and in the end, I won. That was really all that mattered. He'll find that out too. He just can't see it yet...but he will.

NightShade1

passcert23 wrote: »

I come to work on time, do my work efficiently, and go home like the rest of my coworkers. Many people see that I am pretty competent but the way I see is I am just doing my job. Recently I noticed my workload is increasing and it seems like I have more tickets than 2 of my other coworkers. My boss also volunteer me for some training which I have no interest for. I know most of you would say why not but it seem like he is tackling more work on me. After the training that individual will have more responsibility and require to do more paperwork. There were already volunteer but I am not sure why he just chose me without first discussing with me.

I don't see why I have to do more work than my coworkers when we probably get paid the same. Is just not fair. Just today I came into work and my coworker, who is not the queue master (the one that assign tickets), assign me his ticket when my boss assigned him the ticket. The ticket was a bit challenging. Not sure that was the reason why he transferred me the ticket. AHHH... I was like wtf. Sorry for the ranting. Most of you would suggest I talk to my boss but there is so much politic in the workplace. I am a contractor...

Well im aggree with you... i dont find it fair...
if your boss have plans to give you a senior position or something... he should have a talk with you and tell you that he is putting all that job because he might want you for that positoin and he is looking that you might be the one for that.. and then it will be okay

But if you just getting more job and no pay raise and you see its going nowhere then it sucks...

At least in my case i have been getting more work to do lately but as i got more work to do, my boss called me and told me that it was time for a raise, i didnt have to ask for it... and i just have been working there for one year... and he said, more might come next year and i should just keep that hard working
THATS how you do it, my boss its really cool
He give you more responsabilities but he does pays me for that.... and thats how it should be. Not just more work for nothing O_o