We all have work tasks we don’t want to do and if they are little things, you just do them. But what if they are big things? For example: When one of my coworkers went on maternity leave, I temporarily took over some of her duties. I had to talk to the contractors she usually dealt with. I had to learn how to use their portal because she’s the one who helped them when they ran into trouble. I didn’t want to do either one of those things, but now they are bullet points on my resume. In every crisis there is opportunity. Here are three reasons to do things you don’t want to do at work:
You Learn
This assignment could be a test. Your manager may be trying to determine if you’re ready for more responsibility. When you’re given a project you have the opportunity to learn process improvement, organizational structure, and time management. Break the project down into tasks and timeline. Regularly report your progress to your manager. Reward yourself for the timely completion of each task. For me, a large part of the problem is the anticipation of having to do the unpleasant task. Putting it off doesn’t make it go away, it just brings the deadline closer. At the end of the project, you can update your resume declaring yourself an SME (subject matter expert).
You Find Out What You Are Made of
Figure out why you don’t want to do it. Do you think this project is beneath you? Is it thankless? Is it boring? Does it take a lot of time? Do you lack the necessary resources? Pride comes before a fall, so be careful. Not wanting to do a task is an emotional response not a physical one. Your feelings are telling you that you don’t want to do it, not your brain. Get out your journal and let your feelings loose for a bit. Then reflect: What can you put in your notes for your next performance review because of this task? Will it make you grow in soft skills? Will it add top line revenue? Then put the journal away and get that project done!
You Define Your Boundaries
Once you figure out why you don’t want to do the project, it may be as simple as you are being lazy and just need to get over it. But, it may be as complicated as needing to stand up for yourself. Here’s a situation where I had to put my foot down: Our office was asked to help out another division that was behind in their quality control inspections. My assignment was to make the appointments for our inspector. Our office has an open floor plan so I had no privacy when making these phone calls. A coworker eavesdropped on my conversations and felt compelled to either offer tips or laugh at my struggle to convince customers to admit our inspector into their homes. I finally had to pull a Pink. (“I’m not here for your entertainment.”) I stated that the task was distasteful enough on its own and please stop making it more difficult. He went to lunch. Now I have a “Describe a time when you had a conflict with a coworker.” story for my next interview.
When you have to do something you don’t want to do, it helps to find some way to make it benefit you. Document it for your next performance review, put it on your resume, or subtly let your boss know she owes you one. Find your win and make the situation work for you.