When Job Role Lines Become Blurred

The initial job role for which I was hired was more of a face-to-face help desk situation (though it also can involve some phone support). I then found myself quickly (within a couple of weeks) thrown into a partial IT-Support role. A couple of weeks ago I was then placed into a training (technology) role.

At this point I see that I will have to "take over" the administration of the training program because, quite frankly, those "in charge" of the program are, not to sound arrogant, quite inept at the process to the point of even causing my ability to be able to deliver the training to individuals to be both stifled, complicated, & delayed.

Yes, there are debatable points here about how I may need to better learn how to tolerate/deal with "intolerable" work aspects, but that isn't where I wish to go with this post at this time.

What I want to know is if it is common in IT for job role lines to become blurred like this? Particularly, once I begin administration of this program - am I not then crossing over a boundary that is completely out of IT & more into the managerial/administrative roles of the workplace??

Mainly, I guess I have 2 questions:
1. How common is it for you to be performing roles that are out of your job description - yet still in IT?
&
2. How common is if for you to be performing roles that are both out of your job description & out of IT itself?

I appreciate all input. Thank you in advance.

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Comments

MiikeB

I have always worked in environments that had a "do what needs to be done to get the job completed" attitude which is a mindset I fully believe in. This often means I am doing work I was not hired to do.

I have always negotiated my salary and accepted offers based on what I believe my skillset is worth, not what the job wanted me to do based on the description. Because of that I have no problem if they want me to inventory the spare parts or build out a VDI environment. If I was being asked to perform tasks beyond my skillset and had to use personal time to learn the skills I would have a problem with it, however if I was paid during time I learned these skills then I would be ok with it.

I don't like attitudes people often have that they are beyond certain types of work like answering phones for users etc. In my opinion the company pays you and you are their resource. How they choose to utilize you is up to them and while it may not always seem efficient in your eyes, it is their decision to make. If you do not like their decisions you can voice your concerns to management or begin searching for a new job.

DevilWAH

I have never been in a role where my title matched my job.

My current job role is "network system Analyst", but I am sitting here setting up a VMware and trialing Microsoft Lync server. I also spend a lot of my time project managing all the IT for the new building on site.

It never bothers me, in fact I moved from my last job for the very reason it was so static. Early on in your career I think its great to have the opptunity to experience as much variety as possible and find where you want to go and what interested you . Much better to have blurred lines than ones drawn in stone with no chance of progressing.

rsutton

As others have said, this is common, if not to be expected in IT. I can say that when one of my employees tell me that "x wasn't in my job description", it does not leave a pleasant taste in my mouth. There are exceptions to this obviously; e.g. if someone tells you to go scrub the toilets. But if it's something that is IT related, take it on with a smile on your face. I will also add that it's important to let your manager know if you don't feel like you are capable of performing said duties.

Xyro

I must have delivered my message inadequately. I was in no way complaining lol & simply wondered if the practice was common or if I had landed in a "fluke" environment.

All responsibilities which have been added to my job role, have been taken by me, not "assigned". These are all items that have needed to be done & if I don't do them they will not get done; however, now that I will be pursuing something more out of boundaries of IT, I yet again wondered if this would be something that I will run across often in future IT jobs.

I also, more importantly, wonder "how far" I can go. I do not yet understand the boundaries, so if anyone can help out with this also it would be more than appreciated.

Plantwiz

Perhaps look at it this way...

if you are capable of doing the work, why not just 'do the work'? You are part of the team, right? So, help the team. And the inital post does come off as being a little whiny but I think the responses thus far have been fair, so please don't take them as a personal attack.

Much depends on the type of business or simply one's role within the business. If a faucet was left running, would you simply walk past it and assume it was another person's job to fix it? What if they that person is at another location? Does the water just get left on to run? I would hope the answer you have is 'no, I would simpy turn the faucet to off.' And you will find most people will say similar (though some will leave it), but running water is generally wasteful and costs the whole company money having an effect on total profits. Similar, would you leave a phone ring if you were able to answer it? (ok, some might do this as well) However, when the mindset of 'what is my role in making this business/company successful' mean to you, than you may start to see that by helping with little things once in a while, helps your co-workers be more successful and the whole business benefits.

On the other hand, you can draw the proverbial line in the sand and ONLY do exactly those tasks as they appear on your job description...generally most job descriptions are craft to include something like "...and other duties as necessary." Making the person failing to assist look less like a team player and one likely who co-workers will avoid helping in return.

Should you do things that breach your security level or clearance? No. However, you would be capable of following up with the person/persons who do have such clearance to ensure the problem/task is not overlooked. You'll know where to draw the line based on the environement you work in...but never lending a hand...I personally would avoid this type of mentality.

Always strive to do your best. Someone is bothering to pay you

And if you take on something that you find yourself getting tired of doing, bring on a few co-workers to 'share' the fun! Taking care of the little details helps out in a big way in the end from my experience.

Xyro

Interesting how my post was received. Apparently my English needs work lol.

Honestly, I was only looking for either yes/no as a response, so that I would know what to expect in future IT jobs & would be able to adjust accordingly.

rsutton

Xyro wrote: »

Honestly, I was only looking for either yes/no as a response, so that I would know what to expect in future IT jobs & would be able to adjust accordingly.

Wouldn't you want to know why people feel the way they do so you can make an informed decision?

Xyro

It wasn't about how people feel. It was merely about a fact existing or not. Either this is common in IT or it is not, respectfully. If it is a common occurrence then I need to adjust. It's just this simple to me.

petedude

MiikeB wrote: »

I don't like attitudes people often have that they are beyond certain types of work like answering phones for users etc. In my opinion the company pays you and you are their resource. How they choose to utilize you is up to them and while it may not always seem efficient in your eyes, it is their decision to make. If you do not like their decisions you can voice your concerns to management or begin searching for a new job.

Putting in two cents before reading the entire thread here, but. . . that kind of flexibility is nice (and good to have at the start of a career), but. . . you can get taken advantage of. There are reasons why job descriptions exist, and this is one of them. You hope to avoid seeing a coworker washing the boss's car every other weekend because "we needed somebody to take care of that."

Plantwiz

@petedude

Why do you say, "that kind of flexibility is nice, but..." And limit it to the start of one's career? Years of experience does not give one the right to become the company a..hole, or does it?

@xyro

If you want a true/false answer than specifically ask for it rather than leaving it open. In a forum, folks tend to offer their opinion. And this 'sharing the work load' is not limited to IT, so I am curious about the origin of your question, is this for school research paper? Or some other reason? Generally, I have found most people will be helpful most of the time. I have worked places where there is at least one prick in the department, but they are eventually 'downsized'. Unless one is self-employed, I do not see how participating in tasks that benefit the business' profit is harmful. Your good efforts are usually rewarded, not when and how you think, but the good dead will be noticed and long-term the benefit will be reaped.

And there is a difference between being a suck-up and helping the company image and bottom line.

Xyro

If you want a true/false answer than specifically ask for it rather than leaving it open.

"How common is it for you to be performing roles that are out of your job description - yet still in IT?"
&
"How common is it for you to be performing roles that are both out of your job description & out of IT itself?"

Neither of these questions seemed open to me. I expected to receive responses involving likelihood, hence the usage of "how common is it..." which in the end will equate to me being able to see whether:
A. Yes, it's common.
or
B. No, it's not common.

And this 'sharing the work load' is not limited to IT, so I am curious about the origin of your question, is this for school research paper? Or some other reason?

This is for the reason stated, so that I may be able to know what to expect.

Your good efforts are usually rewarded, not when and how you think, but the good dead will be noticed and long-term the benefit will be reaped.

Indeed & this is partially why I put them forth.

Iristheangel

Short answers:
1) Yes
2) All the time

Long answer: I've grown into bigger and better responsibilities because I've proven I'm no incompetent or management has given me tasks to see how well I perform them. You situation sounds like your bosses are giving you more responsibility because they think you can do it. This gives you more exposure as well as giving you some tasks that you can own and take credit for when they succeed. This is a good thing

N2IT

I am a firm believer in a job description and believe your role should match that at least at a high level. If the extra duties fall within scope then I am all for it, but if not then I will push back.

jibbajabba

I always had that happening and I don't always agree with it. For example. If I am hires as vmware specialist but mainly perform other duties, I find myself afraid of my vmware knowledge fading as I am not working with it anymore. In my situation I usually end up doing work which bores me to death. I wish the line would get blurred to my advantage. As in, doing work which requires more brain and not resetting passwords rather than designing complex vmware infrastructures

reason I keep considering contract work instead.

WiseWun

I have to agree with jibbajabba, if I'm not working with the technology set I was hired for, then I would move forward and look elsewhere. I wouldn't mind it so much if it was JOAT position but hired as an sys/network engineer but expected to do help desk is unacceptable. This commonly happens at small/medium size business. I usually ask what is expected of me during the interview and my bs radar works well most times.

My last position required me to do almost everything from going to client site, managing help desk, system admin, project management, and answering phones. Half of this was not in the job description. I did it because I needed the paycheck to pay for school. I left because I was over worked and underpaid. I now work for a government agency and the work here is so limited and relaxing that I now go to other teams and ask for work! I'm thinking of changing scenery because I don't want to become stagnant this early in my career.

Xyro

Iristheangel wrote: »

Short answers:
1) Yes
2) All the time

This just about sums everyone's responses up, yes. While I somewhat expected the answer for #1 would be yes, I have to admit the response for #2 surprises me.

Iristheangel wrote: »

You situation sounds like your bosses are giving you more responsibility because they think you can do it. This gives you more exposure as well as giving you some tasks that you can own and take credit for when they succeed. This is a good thing

Xyro wrote: »

All responsibilities which have been added to my job role, have been taken by me, not "assigned". These are all items that have needed to be done & if I don't do them they will not get done...

So I guess the statement here should really be "your bosses are allowing you to take more responsibility because they think you can do it." Yes, of course this is true & something I accepted some time ago as a good thing.

I truly welcome the experience, hence why I'm taking it.

N2IT wrote: »

If the extra duties fall within scope then I am all for it, but if not then I will push back.

This is an interesting point.

jibbajabba wrote: »

... I find myself afraid of my vmware knowledge fading as I am not working with it anymore. In my situation I usually end up doing work which bores me to death. I wish the line would get blurred to my advantage. As in, doing work which requires more brain and not resetting passwords rather than designing complex vmware infrastructures

reason I keep considering contract work instead.

I fully relate with this post. I've been looking at contract work & it looks a lot more technical & interesting than "regular" positions.

WiseWun wrote: »

This commonly happens at small/medium size business. I usually ask what is expected of me during the interview and my bs radar works well most times.

That's what I concluded in terms of business size impacting this. I forgot to put my BS detector on during the interview though!

Thank you all for your responses.

This has pointed out to me that I had some dissatisfaction where I did not fully realize its existence. I do not receive pay for this job & thought I had put aside all "distaste" concerning that ... but apparently I have initially failed at doing so.

I will now attempt to make some adjustments in my internal viewpoint & continue to work on this.

Thank you to those whom have pointed out this shortcoming to me. As I stated to myself that I would treat this as if it were a paying role, I fully intend to do that - irregardless of what it takes.

Thank you again.

aaron0011

N2IT wrote: »

I am a firm believer in a job description and believe your role should match that at least at a high level. If the extra duties fall within scope then I am all for it, but if not then I will push back.

I agree 100%.

weasle37

I agree whole-heartedly that taking on extra responsibility is a great chance to learn things yourself, and prove to your bosses that you are a go getter, team player, etc...

However, don't let your company take advantage of you.

I am fighting that right now. It is very easy to think "Oh man im showing them how valuable I am, this will pay off" and then realize that your job title is still phone tech 1, and they got 14 months of engineering work from you for $11/hr. It might look great on a resume, but the added stress and responsibility can be a pain.

I have come to the realization that I now need to find another job, because the company I work for keeps throwing mid and high level engineering work my way instead of hiring an engineer or promoting me.

This all happened from the fact that I was eager, and wanted to learn, but didn't realize that at some point I had to either say "stop" or "moar monies pleez".

the_Grinch

Happens way more often then it should! It is one aspect I despise about IT, along with everyone thinking we are the same (IE I'm in IT so I should be able to fix this code issue on the website or it's a piece of software so you must know how to use it). I tend to handle it in the following way. In the beginning I'll roll with whatever duties they keep sending my way. You just started so saying "not in my job description" doesn't exist and there is the reward aspect. After about six months, I usually know if continuing the trend is going to help me or hurt me. When we hit the yearly review is when I decide if I push back and start saying no to certain things. This has happened where I am now, such as me testing web applications and setting up automated testing. If it wasn't for the fact that I love my team and I don't want them bringing back a "contractor" who was not really doing anything I'd put up more of a fight. I didn't receive a promotion, though technically I should be labeled a Senior Tech (given the fact that I can do my bosses job if he is out). Along with the fact that the lady who was in my department started in the same position as I did and was promoted every year she was there. It got to the point where they were making up job titles for her. My time came and the new VP (who never mentioned a word about what he expect) chimed in with he felt a Senior Support Tech should be reviewing business processes and helping users get their work done more completed. Forget the fact that I took the onboarding process from one day to thirty minutes. Or that I wrote the group policy to update all the machines on a regular basis, lock them after 15 minutes, and setup (with the help of you guys here) the automating of Flash, Java, Shockwave, Firefox, and Chrome updates for all the PC's in our conference room. And to put icing on the cake, the fact that just about everyone of our users has said that requests get handled much faster and more correctly since I arrived.

Yup I'm whining big time. Companies forget that most people are doing the job for the paycheck, not the love of the company or the position in and of itself (or at least it's rare). I'd have very little trouble getting another position doing what I do for more money, but I'm trying to get out of that game. Fact is, they would recover from my leaving of that I have no doubt, but for about a month it would be felt. So if you have only been there for a short period, I suggest going with the flow and see if you get the reward. If not, add the new or improved skills to the resume and head on out. Good luck!

DevilWAH

Also I always think how it will look on my next job application. My current role does not say I should be the IT lead on all on site development, but sod off am I going to let any one else take the opportunity when its offered. Yes I might not be getting fair pay for it if you want to split hairs, but who cares, I know and they know I work there because I enjoy the job, and that is how I have always works, knowing that I can (and have) if I get fed up or think they are starting to take the piss, walk out the door and in to a new role.

Do some thing once and your a Scientists
Twice your an engineer
more than that and your a technician.

I am diffidently the Scientist, so any new opportunists coming my way I will snap up, inside our outside my scope of work, as long as they are intresting of course

DevilWAH

the_Grinch wrote: »

Yup I'm whining big time. Companies forget that most people are doing the job for the paycheck, not the love of the company or the position in and of itself (or at least it's rare).

I have always put the job before the Pay, I don't see the point of doing it the other way round. I spend 8 hours a day at work, that's longer than I spend at home awake! Why would any one want a job they don't like to go to each day for the sake of a few extra quid. I earn enough to get by and know I could earn a lot more if I wanted to, indeed when I was looking for jobs the one I accepted was one of 4 I was offered and was almost the lowest pay of the lot.

the_Grinch

I can honestly say there hasn't been a job I had that I loved (aside from when I was a teenager). Maybe the job is out there, but right now (since I seem to keep getting the same roles) it's all about the money. I want a challenge, don't get me wrong, but I have yet to find a company that rewarded you for the hard work. Not immediately mind you, I am ok with the once a year promo/raise deal. But I have yet to see a company actually do it. I want them to say "Grinch is a great tech, time to give him a raise/promotion to keep him where he's at." Instead it's usually the standard (if any raise) or oh you need to be a manager.