Getting to stress out as a one man army in work

boom_27

Hi guys,

Can you guys please give me an advise on this. I am working in County Council as a Clerical Officer. Our team consists of one line manage 7 inspectors 1 Grade IV Clerical Officer and 1 Grade 3 Clerical Officer which is me.

Our Grade IV staff is currently doing an acting up Grade V role in different department she only moved few days ago which left me all the admin work and her responsibilities as a Grade IV which is getting too much to handle for one person especially that I’m only 7 months in. Doing 70+ reports a week for 7 inspectors + line manager, non stop phone calls and loads of emails, is driving me mad on a day to day basis. I am in housing inspection department which is one of the busiest. Even for 2 admin staffs is too much what more with 1 :,(

I am trying so hard to be positive thinking to myself “just stick around and in 5 months the other admin will be back” but it’s really hard to the point I wanna give up and quit.

Jim2007

Do your day's work and if you have time pick up some of the slack. If anyone complains, be very apologetic and explain that you'll try and get to do whatever they are complaining about when you have some spare capacity.

dennyk

Yep, that's the key; be firm about working your normal hours, and don't be afraid to say "I won't have time to do that in addition to my current workload." If you have 80 hours of work a week, then unfortunately only half of it will be getting done, and it is what it is. If you start working nights and weekends trying to keep up, that will just normalise the workload, and they'll start expecting that 80 hours a week from you indefinitely going forward. Ask your manager what should be prioritised and get everything done that you can within your normal work day and don't stress about what isn't getting done; the department's staffing issues are not your fault and it's not your responsibility to fix them or to try to handle the workload of multiple employees to try to make up for them. Don't take that responsibility onto your shoulders.

Consider working on your time management skills and techniques as well, as your position allows. Set yourself goals each week and know what you have to do to accomplish them. Prioritise your incoming work with the help of your manager and keep them apprised of your progress. Try to plan your schedule ahead of time as much as you can, e.g. you'll work on reports during this time, work on some other task during this time, etc.. If you're able, try to arrange some blocks of time where you aren't available by phone, so that you can focus on getting other things done. Similarly, don't be constantly checking your email all day; schedule a few specific time periods each day during which you will check and respond to email, and ignore it during the rest of the day. Constantly switching back and forth between different tasks is one of the biggest productivity killers there is.

boom_27

Thanks a lot guys. I probably pushed myself too hard to do everything this week as it is my first week on my own and I tried to finished up everything as I am type of person really hate my work getting piled up as well so I finished all up to avoid it.

As you guys said though I will do what I can and try not to put everything on my shoulder all at once. I’ll manage my task what suits me and just prioritise what’s urgent.

My colleague also advised me before she left the department to try not be stressing out and let the reports piled up if it’s getting too much and only prioritise what’s urgent. She also said I am not getting paid enough to do everything.

Diceicle

I'd also highlight via email to your manager your concerns on the workload.

Keep it informal. 'I'm working on x,y,z this week, but since I'm also covering Marys work, it means a,b and c will have to be put off until next week. Let me know if you want me to alternate that.'

Wheety

You really need to talk to your manager and tell them your workload is too much now the grade IV is not here. It's much better to communicate this and put the ball in your manager's court rather than struggling and for a load of time sensitive work to not be done and you didn't say anything.

I don't mean this disparagingly but you're "only" a CO. Your manager should be managing the workload of the unit .

kathleen37

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117953329#Comment_117953329

All of this. Speak with your manager and ask them what they want you to prioritise.

Bad enough they've moved someone without replacing them, but how are you supposed to do the work of a person a grade higher than you, when you've only been there 7 months? Have you been trained to do these reports?