I routinely take on a lot of notetaking and party planning tasks at work. I now recognize this takes away from my actual job responsibilities. What should I do?– Sarah, 29
First, let’s define these tasks as what they are – non-promotable work – benefiting the company but not YOU. This type of work includes note taking, ordering lunch, party planning, collating decks, onboarding interns, planning off-sites and more.
Sometimes these things need to be done because the team is in a pinch and you want to be a team player. That’s great, but when you become the go-to person for non-promotable tasks on a routine basis, that’s when you have to step back and reassess 🤔.
Share with your manager that these tasks are important but are detracting from your ability to do your core job. Further, be solutions oriented and suggest a better approach. For example, the responsibility for these necessary but mundane tasks could be rotated and shared among team members.
Hard to argue with that 😉.
Often, company cultures are blind to the inequity of these low-effort tasks. Help your manager see that rotating responsibility is a better approach. And, this will free you up for more promotable work.
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