A co-worker once resigned in a huff over the relocation of her workspace. This individual felt that her multiple degrees precluded her from desk space that implied that she was (in her words) “merely support staff.”
In another instance our Marketing Director was asked by the President of the company’s wife to make sure that the rose bushes outside the main offices were watered because she didn’t believe that the grounds crew was doing an adequate job.
At one point or another we are all asked to do more than our job description. This, in my experience, is an inevitability of the modern workforce. What makes the difference between the exceptional and the ordinary is the wisdom to determine when one is called to go above and beyond verses when one is being manipulated.
The two examples that started out this piece embody opposing ends of the spectrum. In the first case limited staff in a small shop requires everyone to pitch in from time to time including working from the “front desk.” In the second instance asking a senior member of the marketing team to water the roses (and this was a serious request) was a touch out of line.
The difference is perspective. In both cases individuals were put in situations in which they were not comfortable. One secretly cleaned out her desk, returned after a fictional “meeting” to hand over her keys and depart without a word to her supervisor. The second individual, the true professional, who was actually slighted respectfully helped find an alternative to her personally watering the roses.
I think at the end of the day, we’re all occasionally asked to water the roses. The successful either help or find an alternative; the short-sided get caught up in their perceived reputation, often over react and burn bridges.
May we all approach the roses with a sense of patience and perspective.
