Totally off topic: Job boundaries (aka: jack of all trades)

Kinja'd!!! "Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To" (murdersofa)
05/17/2016 at 11:46 • Filed to: None

Kinja'd!!!1 Kinja'd!!! 9

Background: I’m a $10/hr capped at 40hr/week photographer for a car dealership (I used to make $10/hr working 54hr/week at the same dealership). The amount of work is variable, but I’m usually busy all day snapping pictures, uploading them to the inventory system, organizing them, and putting on the stupid hideous templates they make me use. It’s easy, it’s thankless, but it pays the bills. I work next door to the lot attendants and have been instructed to help them out since I’ve been trained in that. Yeah, whatever. But now I’m being asked to basically be an office bitch and do a bunch of super time-consuming filing and shit that is clearly not the job of a photographer, ignoring any cars that come along needing pictures and possibly causing trouble for myself because I’m at the opposite end of the building hitting “print” and getting papercuts. Any attempts to convey this to my boss result in “find a way to make time” which is one of the most infuriating non-suggestions I can imagine.

Anyways, my reason for posting is to ask for suggestions on how to make an obnoxious jaded sales manager realize that I have difficulty doing the thing I agreed to do, take pictures, when I’m busy trying to keep up on something that requires a solid 2-3 hours a day to maintain.

And yes, I’m trying to find another job. It’s going slowly. I have one lead in an IT company but haven’t heard back yet.


DISCUSSION (9)


Kinja'd!!! Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/17/2016 at 11:51

Kinja'd!!!4

Tell him that you need more money or OT to be the admin. Then work as much OT as you want until they cut your responsibilities.


Kinja'd!!! Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection
05/17/2016 at 11:58

Kinja'd!!!0

The OT thing is company-wide. No hourly workers are allowed to have any overtime. I guess they think a few dollars is more important than getting the job done at the end of the day.

The ultimatum delivered to me last time I got a raise was that I would have to keep up on these folders *first*. And even then the raise I would get would only be to $13/hr at most. This company’s propensity for not giving a shit about its employees has me avidly searching for something better.


Kinja'd!!! Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/17/2016 at 12:00

Kinja'd!!!1

I’m in the same position. Two years without a raise and less than double minimum wage for a position where I keep shit running most of the time and the management wouldn’t know what to do without me.

I’m the pivot person - I know I can be replaced but the quality of replacement would be nowhere near where I am.


Kinja'd!!! Party-vi > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/17/2016 at 12:04

Kinja'd!!!1

I would prioritize - fulfill your photographer duties before performing any office work. When they ask you why the office work is not being done, you can state that you are still doing your photography work, and unless they can have you work longer hours you can only get to the office work when there is less photography work.


Kinja'd!!! Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection
05/17/2016 at 12:15

Kinja'd!!!0

The thing is I know that if they replaced me my replacement would be paid more than me. My girlfriend was a photographer here part-time briefly when I was doing it part-time. She was paid higher than me. And I’ve been promised raises before but then before that can happen I get shipped to a different department.


Kinja'd!!! Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Party-vi
05/17/2016 at 12:17

Kinja'd!!!0

The photography work is sporadic and comes throughout the day, though usually at intervals that keep me busy. Other times, like today, I have a random hour between finishing one car and starting another, though usually I spend that time keeping the fancy new floor clean. There really is no “done for the day” with the photographs.


Kinja'd!!! DynamicWeight > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/17/2016 at 13:42

Kinja'd!!!2

Stand up for yourself. When a boss is being unreasonable ask what your priorities are. Then give them a realistic time estimates based on those priorities. Tell them there is no time to get done what they ask. Especially if they’re not giving you a raise or anything, there is no reason to make their lives easier. Be respectful, be firm.


Kinja'd!!! Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > DynamicWeight
05/17/2016 at 13:50

Kinja'd!!!0

I’ll try, but my boss is kind of a child who answers any complaints with “Well, that’s just the car sales industry for ya” even when I alerted him to a possible abusive situation between two employees.


Kinja'd!!! DynamicWeight > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
05/17/2016 at 16:35

Kinja'd!!!1

That really sucks and it’s tough to work with. Just don’t give any ground. Nice people tend to do this but it won’t help you with assholes. If you give, they just take more, so don’t give.