How do you do with a situation where your role is totally changing at your job?

First question: do you have a direct supervisor other than the principal?

No…I don’t.

Brb, switching to the computer.

OK, in your situation, I’d draft an email to the principal. It would read something as follows:

Hello Mr. “Principal’s name”,

I’d like to take a moment to welcome you to “school name”. In the last “number” years I’ve formed many fine working relationships with my colleagues and I look forward to working with you.

In my position as Program Assistant, I’ve found that my job (like everyone else’s I’m sure!) comes with several hats. It is both a joy and an honor to help cut down on our school’s number of calls to the district IT department for simple things, to help out with the occasional overhead projector lightbulb change (are those even in schools anymore?), and assisting Mrs. Short-Teacher in making sure her bulletin boards are in compliance with state decoration requirements. Occasionally these duties (a bright part of my day!) will take me away from my desk. In my many years of service I have never allowed these minor tasks to interfere with my primary duties, and I do not intend to allow them to do so now. While calling Nurse “name” to cover my desk is certainly one solution to the empty-desk problem, I fear it is not feasible in the long-term. Heavens forbid a day comes when a teacher’s class is held up due to a computer issue while Nurse Nursington has an injured Phys. Ed. student to care for.

I understand with a new Captain on board some things around the ship will change, but I wanted to make sure you were informed of my occasional extra workload, and would like to discuss further with you how we can best make these situations work for the students and for the staff.

Go Cubs!
Yankeetooter

If nothing else, if he says “no” and then the problem becomes a problem, you’ll be able to point at the email and say “I told you so”.

Although I like your solution it would seem a bit odd now since we’ve talked about it and will talk some more tomorrow. The other problem is he just feels like there has to always be somebody sitting there in case a parent or somebody comes to the door. So he’s not going to care if I can hear the doorbell from down the hall, as he feels I need to be sitting there. I really am feeling like the solution is to just let the problems mount up and then he will have to deal with it. I really don’t know what else to do.

Sorry about the typos. My eyes are really bad tonight and I’m using my voice feature on my phone to respond.

Hmmm. Well, my experience is always have HR stuff in writing, regardless. Even if your started the email with “regarding our conversation yesterday…”

My high school had a program where kids could get class credit for covering the front desk. I worked in the front office for an hour during junior year. Only had to field one bomb threat, and that was only three years after Columbine, so I think it was easy enough.

Does your school have a study hall and some kids to take turns?

Do what your primary job requires you to do. Helping others is fine but not at the cost of your own work. As you said let the problems mount and the principal will understand your point one day.

@Seek ..it’s a school for kids with Autism, so that won’t work.

“And I just see no practical way that I can continue to take care of all the issues that I have in the past while being tied to the front desk.”

Please tell us what the “front desk” is, and what your official job is there.

Ah. I know less than nothing about specialized schools, but quite a bit about beaurocracy.

I still recommend an email, though I do understand his insistence on having someone manning the gate against rabid moms.

I agree with @imrainmaker. If your job description specifies that you need to sit at the desk, you need to sit at the desk. If the job you have been doing is primarily concerned with the desk, that is your concern. You don’t want to be in a position where he charges you with insubordination because he told you to do something and you didn’t do it. I work for an organization that advocates for employees that do exactly the work you do, for the government just like you (I’m trying not to be specific because I am always trying not to be found out by coworkers) for people that do work like you, and the one thing you want to do is your job. All the other stuff is lovely, but not your concern. If the others want you to help them, they can ask him and leave it up to him. It is also a good way for him to slowly get to know all the people you help and all the extra tasks that you do.

I would avoid being confrontational with a letter. I wouldn’t go that route. I’m not saying @Seek‘s letter is confrontational in its tone, because it’s not, but I would not take that “in your face” stance with a new boss. I would be like, ok, this is what he wants, this is what I’ll do, and maybe your job role will change, or maybe it will evolve back to what it used to be, or be something in between. If people have to go to maintenance for a bulletin board to be hung, or to IT for computer issues, then so be it.

I think some consideration could be given to the very rare but real possibility of an invasion of a trouble maker or worse in a school environment that has infected the prevailing sensibilities I think you are at odds with. Your principal is in charge…it is his watch and ultimately his responsibility to keep the students, staff and you as safe as he/she sees fit. It is a raw new world we all are trying to adjust to and truly there is not enough any one administrator could feel they have to do to ensure a safe learning environment. It is a very sad testimony to the state of affairs we have found ourselves in. Bottom line out kids need to feel safe and secure and I believe your boss is attempting to provide this atmosphere at your school. Perhaps try and discuss your concerns from an angle that may support what he is trying to instill in his early days there.

I haven’t read all the responses above yet. However, I have questions. What is your specific job role? Why does your new boss want you to stay at the desk? Have problems resulted from someone not being at the desk?

It seems a few people have asked you to specify your exact role. So perhaps you can do that for us.

Beyond that, you need to do what your boss wants you to do. Even if it doesn’t feel right to you. When someone comes to you to ask for help with a situation outside of your role, let them know you can’t leave the desk. When the opportunity arises, without being confrontational, ask your boss how he would like you to handle such requests. Where should you send people who come to you seeking help? Don’t do it in a ‘fix this fool’ way. Let him know you’re getting requests, and ask how he wants you to respond.

I’m still interested in hearing what your primary job is and whether your job description requires you to complete these other tasks.

Is it possible other people have complained that you are away from the desk doing work that’s outside of your role? Perhaps these conversations have happened without you knowing?

The problem is everyone that I essentially have two roles as he sees it. My actual role is Program Assistant which is not require me sitting at my desk. There are number of things as part of this role that I can do at my desk but there are also in number or things that I need to leave my desk to do. Unfortunately he seems more concerned about having a receptionist even though that is not my title. There are also many other hats that I have worn in the past, hats that there is nobody else available to wear. I guess it’s going to be his problem to figure out who’s going to take over wearing those hats. I am NOT stupid I am NOT going to not do what I’m told. Its going to have to be his job to figure out how there’s other things get taken care of. Where I am feeling hurt is that for a long time I have played an integral role in the school in that I have helped with all sorts of different issues when the people needed help. Now I’m feeling more and more isolated in that I am no longer going to be able to help those people, and also because even when we have all staff meetings he apparently does not want to include me as that would mean I cannot be at the desk. If I feel like I have a right to be at those meetings as much as anybody else in the building that may be an issue I take up with my HR department but we’ll see what comes of that.

Were you given any documentation when you were employed? Something with your job description on it? He’s new. He’s trying to find his feet and by the sound of it, he’s sticking his foot in his mouth quite often along the way.

However, you don’t want to appear antagonistic. You have to bring him around to your way of thinking gently and diplomatically. Start by getting out your original employment documentation so you can show him you aren’t the school receptionist. You don’t want to make him your enemy. Tread carefully. Do you have any allies who might more easily get the message through to him?

Incidently, doing what he asks, isn’t about you being stupid. Sometimes, you have to let things fall apart to get your message across. It’s a bit passive-aggressive, but if he’s insisting you sit at the reception desk and other things aren’t being fixed because of his decision, let those things go undone. Let people complain that they can’t get those tasks done and they were things you used to do until you were tied to the desk. He sounds like a control freak. Unfortunately, he also sounds like a control freak with no idea. So he may have to learn the hard way that things worked very well before he arrived and he’s messing things up.

Believe me I’m the world’s biggest passive aggressive and I have definitely thought about the option you speak of above. To be fair he is trying to make sure there’s always somebody at the front desk in case a parent comes by. Apparently he’s told parents to drop by anytime they want and he feels that it would look bad if there’s not somebody sitting at the desk.Hranted, we have a door bell which you can hear from all the way back in the building so I don’t know why there has to be a body in the chair.

The catch 22 situation for me arises in that I’ve always helped with the small jobs around the building not only to help my coworkers but also to help our facilities department which is understaffed and have a lot of different campuses to take care of. I can play the passive aggressive but I feel like I wanna talk to the head of facilities first and let him know what’s going on because I think there’s going to be a lot of stuff dropped in his department slap that I was taken care of before hand and I don’t want him to be blindsided. Even though things won’t be taking care of that moment so it will be interesting to see how things play out.

One last aspect to think about is I guess how passive aggressive I want to be. So for instance do I want to make a list of all the things I used to handle and then so be forewarned and can try and figure out how those things will be handled? Or do I not even bring them up and let him find out the hard way after they don’t get done? For instance we’re supposed to have a fire drill once a quarter. I don’t know how I’m supposed to do that when I’m stuck at the front desk all the time apparently I’ll have to burn to death as well as I won’t be allowed to leave the building. I’m going to try and talk to the head of facilities in the morning who I happen to be friends with because I know he’ll have more of a voice of reason than I’m feeling right now

There should be someone at work who is in the role of “safety officer” or “fire captain” who you should ask about what to do if there’s a fire drill. If not, then ask the principal, “next time there’s a fire drill, can you tell me what the procedure is for me leaving the desk?”

As far as your exact job description, you still don’t tell us.

The things you did as favors for people, next time they ask, tell them you’re not supposed to leave the desk. Maybe the people will advocate on your behalf and go to him and say “We used to rely on Yankeetooter to help us with IT issues.” He may say that’s not your job, and they should call IT (which is what I said in my original post).

I gave @EarthboundMisfit a GA because she had a good point. You don’t know if conversations are happening where people are complaining that you’re not at the desk, you’re running around helping others.

Ah. It’s the “receptionist” thing I was wondering about.

I think the new principal is reacting to Sandy Hook and determined that the front desk be manned 100% of the time the facility is open.
It’s hard to blame him.

All I can really suggest is that you try to get the principal to concede that as long as there is someone at the front desk, you’re covered. That way someone can come forward and let you run back to help a co-worker.
Really, I think all you can do is work within the perimeter of keeping a butt in the chair at the front desk at all times. As unreasonable as it seems to you (knowing what has worked as well in the past), it is reasonable, and he is the boss.

In addition to wondering what is in your job description, @yankeetooter, I am wondering if there is a vacant position for receptionist, or someone who normally would be the one receiving visitors. If there’s an unfilled position, maybe the principal will look into filling it.