Boss tells employee to 'stick to his job description' then complains they're not doing extra work: 'I'm about to reply with a screenshot of the "core responsibilities" section of my contract'

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  • A man with glasses writes something down in his notebook at work
  • My boss told me to "stick to my job description" when I asked for a raise. So I did. Now he's mad things aren't getting done.

    I've been pulling double duty for 6 months since our senior dev quit. i'm fixing legacy code, training the two new interns, and generating the weekly client reports, none of which is actually in my job description. last week i finally asked for a market adjustment. my boss gave me a 10-minute lecture on "budgets" and ended it by telling me to "focus on the core responsibilities outlined in your contract" instead of worrying about money.
  • bet. i immediately stopped fixing the nightly build errors (not in my contract). i stopped answering the interns constant slack messages (not in my contract). and i definitely didn't run the client report this morning.
  • i just got a slack message marked "URGENT" asking where the data is for his 9am meeting. i'm about to reply with a screenshot of the "core responsibilities" section of my contract. wish me luck.
  • Commenters gave their takes on the situation.

    Mangalorien • 3h ago . Always get their initial response in writing. After the first meeting send a quick and polite e-mail, "Thank you for today's meeting, per your instructions I will now relinquish ancillary tasks and
  • focus on core responsibilities as outlined in my contract. Should I start this new approach immediately?". After the "yes", you now have it all in writing, aka "Remember, you wanted this". You can then show this to HR or anybody else where it might come in handy (wrongful termination lawsuit, etc).
  • drsmith21 Don't just give him the snarky reply, as satisfying as that would be. Spend 10-15 minutes typing up all the things you have been doing as outlined in your contract, in excruciating detail, to show him that you're not just slacking off, but you're genuinely busy with all your normal responsibilities.
  • A man looks at his phone at his desk
  • Lepelotonfromager Don't be snarky, just be honest. "I was doing extra work outside of my job description, so I asked for a raise. You told me no and to just focus on my core responsibilities instead. So now I'm following your directives.
  • I'd be happy to revisit the discussion regarding my pay rise if there were any misunderstandings on your part."
  • unbssedgodd Good luck, that takes real guts. Respect. Definitely update the sub when it happens. It sounds like you've built up both experience and some savings, but the market is still brutal, so it doesn't hurt
  • to play it safe. Even though I'm currently employed, I still send my resume out once or twice a week using an approach from that post, just to keep options open. You could start doing the same now. Because even if they back off this time and don't fire you, it honestly feels like a place you'll eventually need to leave anyway.
  • himem_66 Good luck OP. I hope you have something lined up. Shit is REAL out there in the job market.
  • du... This is exactly what everyone needs to do. Look at your job description and make sure you do not do anything extra because if it isn't broken, they won't fix it. Edit: This doesn't apply to every single situation.
  • potential_key Love this just a quick suggestion also add in your response that "you (boss) told me to focus on core responsibilities- the daily data isn't apart of that- screenshot." Cant wait to see reply. Always use their language
  • Elden-Thing1050 Malicious compliance is delicious compliance.
  • ScorpioZA Assuming this is in the states. Let's hope he doesn't sack you.... holding thumbs. If he doesn't stick to it. If - he isn't prepared to pay you for a senior role, he doesn't get senior responsibilities done.
  • QuitCallingNewsr... OP boutta get proper fucked by the phrase "other duties as assigned," the hallmark of lopsided workplace responsibility controls all across the world.
  • justchilld2 Honestly, this is the only way some managers learn. I'd love to see the reply, but definitely take the time to list out your actual contracted duties first. It turns a "gotcha" moment into a clear, professional demonstration of the problem. They created this situation by ignoring the extra work you were carrying.
  • Northernnotposh Here for the update to come. Well done OP for stepping back and doing what you're paid to do, not what these C level parasites expect you to do. Watching their house of cards fall is a joy.
  • Need more of this from us all, system is built on free labour propping up lazy useless C suites, withdraw it and boom.
  • hunkyboy75 If you want to be the catalyst for changing a stupid policy or rule, simply follow it TO THE LETTER. Updateme!
  • mulubmug In my old job I had my job description as my desktop. wallpaper. Whenever my boss wanted me to do something I started a discussion what section if my job description his request would fall under. He basically stopped asking me
  • for anything because it wasn't was the trouble. Managed to get away from there and switched to a different section of the same government agency where work is almost fun.
  • peon47 The mistake was taking on these extra duties before discussing fair compensation.
  • quast_64 "I don't know why you contacted me, that is not part of my core responsibilities/ job description".
  • Interesting-Yello... My first, huge raise was when I asked for one and was denied, then I said starting tomorrow I'll forget how to do everything that's not in my job description. I was in a new office inside a week.
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