My boss consistently gives me more work than another employee. Should I say something about it?

Question

My boss consistently gives me more work than another employee. Should I say something about it?

Answer 1

Yes you must, otherwise, you will simply get more of the same because he/she will believe that you don't mind that extra work. Of course, there is also the saying, "Work a willing horse."

Any behaviour which is not noticed will continue. Your silence merely suggests that it is all right to give you more work. Moreover, if you say nothing, you simply condone the action and become a doormat. If you are not sure how to actually deal with this problem, you could try the following way in your own words:

First, schedule a meeting for a 'quick chat'. Then at the meeting, begin by praising the boss for being a great manager, a supportive and helpful one, and say how much you have enjoyed working for him/her. Then say that your positive relationship is one of the reasons why you would like to continue working with the company. Emphasise that, however, recently, you have felt that you are not getting enough time to give that quality attention to your job because you believe you might be getting more work than you can cope with.

Mention how you appreciate that new challenges help your skills development, but you would rather have a gradual workload which reflects your competence in improves your skills than to have much more work that makes you feel overwhelmed. Could the workload be reduced until you learn how to manage what you already have in order to deal with it more efficiently and give a quality output?

If you start with praise and appreciation and carry on to ask a question, rather than to dictate the outcome, you are likely to get what you want, and you won't feel awkward about it. Above all, it won't look as though you are whingeing, you would not have  compared yourself to anyone else, and you are more likely to be heard.  

However, is it really the workload that is the problem? Or could it be that you are broadly unhappy with other things connected with the work, perhaps needing a new challenge or recognition, and need to review your whole job situation? Perhaps you might find the confidence articles in the source list of interest. Good luck!

Answer 2

nope you cannot say something about it bec it might put your job in jeopardy...just try to work with it cheerfully otherwise...you'll be loosing your job the next day.maybe your boss is just challenging you or its just a training for you to the next level

Answer 3

There could be several reasons for this.

(1)  Your work is of better quality (in which case you should be paid at a better rate).

(2)  The other employee will not accept more than he/she can handle, and has said so (in which case, so should you).

(3)  The other employee is not pulling his/her weight (in which case, you should speak up).

You don't give details, so it's hard to evaluate the boss's reasoning here.  You also don't elaborate on whether the extra work you receive is merely volume, or whether it requires a higher level of skill.

Speaking from both sides of the equation (once an employee, now a boss), I rely on my experiences as an employee when relating to my staff.  I will not tolerate a staff member who takes life easy at the expense of her co-workers.  However, I know value for money when I see it, and pay according to performance, ability, and attitude.

Answer 4

Be glad, take the work, do it well (to the best of your ability) Giving you more work means your boss knows you can handle more... whether they are doing it intentionally or not... subconciously regardless they can depend on you or at least know that you can handle the workload. Keep on keepin on... take the work & rock it out... someday it will be recognized by someone, even if not in your current career. Besides wouldnt you rather look back on life saying you gave it your best? Truthfully the co-worker getting less work should be jealous.  :)