‘Alright, enjoy the chaos’: 18-year-old receptionist gets told to ‘stay in her lane’ by a new manager, then everything falls apart when she stops going above and beyond

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  • "“Stick to your job description” - alright, enjoy the chaos"

    I (18F) work as a receptionist at a small office. We're a tight team, so I usually help with little things outside my role-stocking coffee, prepping meeting rooms, answering overflow calls from the back office.
  • Last week, we got a new office manager. First day, she told me: "From now on, stick strictly to your job description. No more doing other people's work".
  • She said it in that passive-aggressive way that basically meant: stay in your lane. I said, "Okay, got it!"
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  • So i stopped doing everything outside my job description. Didn't refill the coffee when it ran out. Didn't set up the boardroom for a big client meeting. Didn't transfer calls that came in after-hours. Didn't
  • remind the guy in accounting about his 2PM Zoom (which i always used to). It was absolute chaos by the end of the day. The manager pulled me
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  • fall apart. I smiled and said, "I'm just sticking to my job description. Like you said." She's been a lot quieter since. And i'm still just doing my job.
  • OtherAlan I never will understand the mentality that when some new manager comes in, they gotta change up everything. I've never been a manager but
  • when/if I ever become one, I would be like a ghost. Just watching and seeing how things work. What might help. Then you introduce changes slowly over time.
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  • Fit-Discount3135 I'll never understand on the worker that holds the office together.
  • Flicksterea In my old workplace, I was (and still am at another site) the supervisor for the after-hours cleaners. I was forever showing hirers to the locations (gym/theatre/stadiums hired out to sporting clubs) or
  • assisting teachers who'd gotten locked out of their building. The Business Leader, who always had it out for me, told me to 'stay in my lane'.
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  • So I did. And any time a hirer asked for assistance, I said I couldn't and if they had a problem, here was the name and number of the person they could speak to.
  • And when Business Leader approached me again a few weeks later all sickly sweet and apologetic? I simply told her that I'd remain in my lane and walked off. The calls continued right up until I left
  • ElectricalFocus560 And good management doesn't change anything quickly. They spend enough time to figure out who does what and more importantly why. Then they make adjustments as needed.
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  • reallyisthatwatitis No matter what job you do you should always stick to your job description. A small favour will always lead to you doing another role for no extra pay.
  • bowlingforchilis ⚫ People underestimate the power of a good receptionist. Nice work.

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