Recently someone wrote to tell me that they were asked to fill in at the office assisting with printing, making copies, creating files, data entry, and filing. Nothing wrong with that, there are times when we all need to pitch in right? Does it matter that they are middle management, have over 20 years experience in their field, an MS and a PhD?
Old school would say, “no job too small, we need to set an example and show the young staff that no one is above doing the most menial tasks!” Today’s generation may say something that sounds more like, “that’s not what I was hired to do; that is not a good use of my skill set and I think you should hire a temp to do this work.”
So who is right? Both sides seem to have valid points so let’s look a little deeper. This person has willingly taken up the challenge but has heard some of the younger staff talking about the awkwardness of giving a manager work assignments. This manager has felt undervalued and underappreciated for some time and this new assignment feels to them like a confirmation of those suspicions. So is this a message from upper management?
Is management trying to send a message to staff that everyone needs to have an attitude of no job too small (many of the Millenials in the office do not) or is management sending a message to the manager that they are not valued and should probably start looking elsewhere? Maybe there is no hidden message at all. By the way, did I mention that the manager has to leave home on Sunday afternoons, drive 5 hours, stay in their sister-in-laws basement, and then return on Friday afternoons, probably for at least a month?
Miss Management has some thoughts but would love to hear what you have to say first. Write in and share you opinion – what would you do in this situation as either the junior or senior staff?
