Receptionist refuses to do anything more than her job description after manager demands she stay in her lane, CEO promotes her to office coordinator when the office collapses without her: 'That was real quick'

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Jul 19, 2025 9:00 AM EDT

How much of the things you do at work every single day is actually something that was in your job description when you first accepted the job, and how much of it is completely made up on the spot? 

Most people can probably tell you exactly how many hours a day they devote to doing work that they never intended to do in their role. Some people do things they feel are 'beneath' their job description, to fill up time, while others do work that is much more advanced than what they thought they would do, probably because they believe it might get them one step closer to a promotion. Either way, we all do things we never expected to do when we signed the contract.

The question is–should we do them?

There is no short answer to this question; it all depends on the circumstances. Some say doing more than you were hired to do is a form of exploitation. While for others, working outside of the box can actually help them prove they are a valuable employee, and possibly grant them a promotion.

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  • Luckily for the employee below, she found herself experiencing the latter. 

    When her boss told her to ‘stick to her lane’, she saw it as an opportunity to prove to him just how important she is to the office. It wasn't long before her actions led to a conversation with the CEO.

    Keep scrolling to find out more.

  • 01
    St. 998 St.
    via pick-uppath

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 02

    Receptionist to Office Coordinator real quick HAHA

    worked as a front desk at a medium size company. Id been here for 2 yrs now and aside from answering phone calls. I quietly fixed
    via raw_lea
  • 03
    tech issues, helped schedule meetings proofread reports whatever needed doing (like I was doing a more than my job
    via raw_lea
  • 04
    description because I love the people here). One day our (ex)manager (let's called him Derek, were not close bec he's too
    via raw_lea
  • 05
    highly of himself) overheard me helping someone format a document n said, Why ru doing that? U r just the receptionst. Stay in ur lane.
    via raw_lea
  • 06
    So I did. The rest of the week I politely declined everything that wasnt listed in my original job description
    via raw_lea
  • 07
    haha lol (thats my role, no more, no less) didn't reset wifi router didnt refill the office printer paper didn't track package or
    via raw_lea
  • 08
    help schedule meetings let callers ring endlessly while I was away from the desk (y? it didnt even listed as part of my job
    via raw_lea
  • 09
    description haha lol) chaos ensued. Derek was the first to complain, My response? "I'm just the receptionist" (i let him take his own medicine)
    via raw_lea
  • 10
    Then the CEO ended up calling me into his office... to promote me to Office Coordinator lol. it happened. Thanks to him. simple matters but has a big effect
    via raw_lea
  • 11
    Anachron101 I heard of another receptionist who invented her role as office manager and had to work really hard so noone found out that she didn't so anything
    via Anachron101
  • 12
    Practical-Load-4007 Yay! You stood up for yourself and got what you deserved. Hopefully you'll do more aggressive actions to enable you to take on a bigger role.
    via Practical-Load-4007
  • 13
    You're important to the company. HINT: The closer to the center of power in your company the more you can see how much you can get paid. The more they pay you the more.
    via Practical-Load-4007
  • 14
    you're worth. If there's a setback you'll be the last to go. Don't do your work in the shadows and don't let anyone overshadow you.
    via Practical-Load-4007
  • 15
    sous_vid_marshmallow it's only a success if it came with commensurate pay increase
    via sous_vid_marshmallow
  • 16
    Bentley2004 Take care of the little things, and the big things will take care of themselves.
    via Bentley2004
  • 17
    anivex As some who also recently got promoted from receptionist to office manager, congrats!
    via anivex
  • 18
    Cheezburger Image 10530051072
    via fizkes

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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Tags

promotion boss workplace-stories employee manager job malicious compliance tales-from-the-workplace reddit story ceo overworked-employees workplace Reddit company funny
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