Frustrated with my office job

[carlytaylor1986]

A bit of a rant really...this has nothing to do with the beauty side of things, but I am getting quite frustrated in my office job. I only started here about 4 months ago and shortly after, an administrative assistant started, who is sitting next to me! I really have no problem helping anyone out at all but I feel like I am training her how to become a legal secretary, I wouldn't mind but she asks no one else but me, and when I am extremely busy I don't always have the time to help her or seem a bit distant, especially when I am concentrating on what I have to do. I have printed her off templates on how to do certain documents etc but instead of referring back to her notes she will always ask me first! Then today she asked me how to do something, but I was concentrating really hard on something someone had asked me to do and I wasn't 100% listening to her so I was like "oh sorry what was that" and then she asked me again, but she wasn't making it clear what she was saying, so I leant over to look at her screen and she went to me "YOU LOOK AT ME LIKE IM DUMB"...I said to her look I am concentrating and I didn't understand your question. Anyway I am so fed up of being the only one to train her on what to do, and also being new myself, I am still learning. She wouldn't even know how to do her job if it weren't for me and then she thinks she can talk to me like that! I have spoken to my coordinator about this, time and time again and I have just about had enough of being asked the same questions over and over and over again. I just don't know what to do, I feel like crying xxxxx

 

[KHS]

Just say to her, look I'm.really sorry I have my own work to de, I'm really busy, please go ask (whoever is her.superior) to help you, as I'm learning my own role.

Anyway, how the hell did she get the job if she doesn't know what she's meant to be doing? What would she do if you weren't there??

 

[carlytaylor1986]

Yeah I have just spoken to her actually as it was really peeing me off. I said to her that I can't just drop what I am doing to help her out and I was really concentrating earlier. The problem is is they hire administrative assistants with no qualifications and then "train" them up, meaning the other secretaries help them out, but in this instance it's just me training her and then they also give her complex legal secretarial work that only the legal secretaries should be doing, so it's their fault as well for giving her such complex work. I suppose it's like keep asking a trainee hairdresser to do a colour correction on someone and they keep needing your advice, but never learn from it so ask the same question over and over xxxxxx

 

[Pollypocket85]

Definitely a line manager situation. I think you have to accept she will be asking you questions but if it's things you don't think you should be telling her then it should definitely be escalated higher. It's easier though for them to dump her on you! Your coordinator sounds a great help!!!

 

[AcidPerm]

How frustrating for you. Presumably she sees you as competent and friendly so feels safer asking you for help rather than interrupting your colleagues. Are they less approachable, do you think?

Firstly, I'd firmly tell miss newbie that she must go to her supervisor if there's something she doesn't understand. You've been as helpful as you can but you really need to concentrate on your own work now.

Speak to your line manager and explain that it's important to you to do a great job and you enjoy acting as mentor to new staff settling in, but you are the only one she goes to for help. Being interrupted by miss newbie every five seconds is negatively impacting on your own work. You'd like them to speak to miss newbie and clarify who she goes to with her queries.

You could also suggest that they ask other staff to take responsibility for helping new staff on a rotating basis so everyone has an equal chance to complete their own work uninterrupted.

If they're not keen on formalising it to that extent, ask them to decide whether they want you to concentrate on your current duties and complete them accurately and in a timely fashion, or would they rather you spend your time training up the new staff?

 

[carlytaylor1986]

How frustrating for you. Presumably she sees you as competent and friendly so feels safer asking you for help rather than interrupting your colleagues. Are they less approachable, do you think?

Firstly, I'd firmly tell miss newbie that she must go to her supervisor if there's something she doesn't understand. You've been as helpful as you can but you really need to concentrate on your own work now.

Speak to your line manager and explain that it's important to you to do a great job and you enjoy acting as mentor to new staff settling in, but you are the only one she goes to for help. Being interrupted by miss newbie every five seconds is negatively impacting on your own work. You'd like them to speak to miss newbie and clarify who she goes to with her queries.

You could also suggest that they ask other staff to take responsibility for helping new staff on a rotating basis so everyone has an equal chance to complete their own work uninterrupted.

If they're not keen on formalising it to that extent, ask them to decide whether they want you to concentrate on your current duties and complete them accurately and in a timely fashion, or would they rather you spend your time training up the new staff?

I completely agree. I have been to my line manager and I ended up speaking with her yesterday saying to her that I cannot train someone from scratch, as it feels like that's all I am here to do. My line manager has had a word with newbie and told her to go to her when she needs help, but as I sit next to this girl, it's easier for her to ask me. I think it's because we are of similar age and the others are slightly older in my department so she feels silly asking them questions. And, as I said, it's easier for her to just ask me as I sit right next to her, the others are up the corridor a bit. But the questions she was asking me yesterday, I have told her too many times before and I probably did have a look on my face like "why are you asking me this AGAIN" I have even had it written down for her, and printed off a template of exactly how the document should look, but because she cannot be bothered to look at the template, she bothers me. I do feel sorry for her a bit as I would hate anyone to feel like I think they're stupid as she is learning but there gets to a point when you just can't take anymore. I explained to my line manager that I literally cannot work like this anymore and it is making me extremely unhappy, so, for now, she has moved her and is alternating her desks to give me some peace and quiet a few days a week. But not really much good as I am on holiday next week, so she does it 2 days before I go away - good one! Hope things improve for when I get back! And thank you for your replies xx

 

[carlytaylor1986]

Definitely a line manager situation. I think you have to accept she will be asking you questions but if it's things you don't think you should be telling her then it should definitely be escalated higher. It's easier though for them to dump her on you! Your coordinator sounds a great help!!!

I 100% accept that anyone new will be asking me questions, whether it's how to work the printer/how to order business cards etc...I have asked the others the same questions and I completely don't mind helping out where I can. But it gets to me because I have helped this girl all I can when it comes to putting documents into our house-style, explained to her over and over again how certain aspects of the document work, made her write down a step-by-step guide and printed her off a template of how it should look (obviously dates and names changed) when it's finished and then I get the same questions time and time again, it gets so tiring and I actually nearly had a breakdown the other day because of it, I felt like I was going to burst into tears every 5 minutes, as she asked me the same thing for the whole morning it's hard to explain what she was asking me but say for instance it was like "do I have to put the fabric conditioner in the washing machine" and you explain "no the drawer" and then when that load is done, she gets another load with different garments in and then asks the same question...but with every load of washing she gets, for 4 months, is still asking the same question! I feel like banging my head against a brick wall sometimes. Sorry for the rant again hehe!

 

[Tiffany Dawson]

Unfortunately I feel that this is the same with quite a lot of office environments. When I first started at my current office job, a girl who had not long started herself was responsbile for training me up but I had loads of questions and didn't want to bother her as she had her own work and didn't want to be annoying the manager when they had other things to worry about! It's very difficult, and very frustrating - you always come across these people who don't listen / don't write things down and it's very frustrating. Next time she asks a question just say politely "This is good to know / Important to know, so write this down in your notebook for future reference". But to be honest, she should be using her own initative to do that herself! xx

 

[carlytaylor1986]

Unfortunately I feel that this is the same with quite a lot of office environments. When I first started at my current office job, a girl who had not long started herself was responsbile for training me up but I had loads of questions and didn't want to bother her as she had her own work and didn't want to be annoying the manager when they had other things to worry about! It's very difficult, and very frustrating - you always come across these people who don't listen / don't write things down and it's very frustrating. Next time she asks a question just say politely "This is good to know / Important to know, so write this down in your notebook for future reference". But to be honest, she should be using her own initative to do that herself! xx

I have never come across anything this bad before though from all my years of working in an office. Normally law firms are great at training staff, but I suppose I have always sat with legal secretaries as opposed to administrative assistants that need training up, nothihng against them at all as we all have to start somewhere. Agree with you re her writing bits down...another problem is that her mum also works here and instead of trying to figure out things for herself/thinking on her own initiative, she will just ask me, or if she feels her questions are silly because she's asked me 1000 times already that day, she'll ring her mum up and then her mum will have to come down from a different department to our floor and will walk her through things. I personally don't think this is helping her at all because she'll never learn xx

 

[beautymaven]

I've often experienced this working in investment banking. Have you tried creating a training plan for her? Clearly note down in Excel all of the things she should know to do her job correctly. Spend time training her in detail on each one and ask her to rate how proficient she is in each one at the end of every week. It should give her the push to do better. It can only reflect positively on you and you have written proof for management that you've made a real effort if she's still asking the same questions. You'll be able to say "we did cover this on x date"

I know it's a pain sometimes but this way you might be able to get your work done in peace.

 

[AcidPerm]

I have never come across anything this bad before though from all my years of working in an office. ...another problem is that her mum also works here...then her mum will have to come down from a different department to our floor and will walk her through things. I personally don't think this is helping her at all because she'll never learn xx

I think you've hit the nail on the head here. Her mum is enabling her poor work behaviour.

I wonder if it was her mum who helped her get the job and has a vested interest in her holding it down?
Her mum can't keep coming to her aid for much lnger without someone else noticing. I think you should keep trying to deflect her questions and eventually, it will come to a head.

You've given her plenty of support already and told her to write things down and refer to her notes. She clearly can't be arsed about the job very much if she's not making much effort herself to learn and still asking the same questions.

Maybe during a tea break ask her why she wanted to work there and see what she says?

 

[carlytaylor1986]

I've often experienced this working in investment banking. Have you tried creating a training plan for her? Clearly note down in Excel all of the things she should know to do her job correctly. Spend time training her in detail on each one and ask her to rate how proficient she is in each one at the end of every week. It should give her the push to do better. It can only reflect positively on you and you have written proof for management that you've made a real effort if she's still asking the same questions. You'll be able to say "we did cover this on x date"

I know it's a pain sometimes but this way you might be able to get your work done in peace.

I know what you're saying, but it is really not my job. I have been here just 4 months, during my hiring process, I was never told that I had to mentor and train an admin assistant up to becoming a legal secretary. She has a mentor who she has not once asked for help, she also has a coordinator that she should go to. It is also not my job to teach her how to put our documents into house-style, if she has a technical query, fair enough, but she should have learnt this in her IT induction. I have spoken to my line manager and asked her if she could book her on some extra training, but it really is for my line manager to pick up on these things and have regular meetings with her to see where she is struggling and provide her with the training and assistance she needs, it is definitely not up to me to guide her through. I wouldn't mind doing it...if I were paid the salary that my line manager is! I am not going to do her job for her...or the new girls for that matter, I can't do 3 persons' jobs xx

 

[carlytaylor1986]

I think you've hit the nail on the head here. Her mum is enabling her poor work behaviour.

I wonder if it was her mum who helped her get the job and has a vested interest in her holding it down?
Her mum can't keep coming to her aid for much lnger without someone else noticing. I think you should keep trying to deflect her questions and eventually, it will come to a head.

You've given her plenty of support already and told her to write things down and refer to her notes. She clearly can't be arsed about the job very much if she's not making much effort herself to learn and still asking the same questions.

Maybe during a tea break ask her why she wanted to work there and see what she says?

Yes, it was her mum that helped her get the job. She has worked in an office environment before, so I have absolutely no idea why she finds it so difficult. I think her mum will probably get a few ££ if she secures a job here, as she's only on a 12 month contract, but will potentially get a permanent job after. I think they do notice that her mum does come down quite a lot but because her mum has worked here for years and pretty much knows everyone, nothing gets said. I am trying and I do say to her "where's those notes that I gave you" and she goes all red and says "oh yeah". Then 10 minutes later it'll happen again. I don't think she can to be honest, I have asked her that already and the answer was "well what else am I going to do" I am hoping to stick this out for at least a year then look internally for another position. Not just because of her, but because I would like to work in a different area of law too xxx

 

[beautymaven]

I know what you're saying, but it is really not my job. I have been here just 4 months, during my hiring process, I was never told that I had to mentor and train an admin assistant up to becoming a legal secretary. She has a mentor who she has not once asked for help, she also has a coordinator that she should go to. It is also not my job to teach her how to put our documents into house-style, if she has a technical query, fair enough, but she should have learnt this in her IT induction. I have spoken to my line manager and asked her if she could book her on some extra training, but it really is for my line manager to pick up on these things and have regular meetings with her to see where she is struggling and provide her with the training and assistance she needs, it is definitely not up to me to guide her through. I wouldn't mind doing it...if I were paid the salary that my line manager is! I am not going to do her job for her...or the new girls for that matter, I can't do 3 persons' jobs xx

That'll teach me to skim read, completely missed the part about you only being there 4 months! You're absolutely right, she has a mentor and a co-ordinator, she should be directing her queries to them.

 

[Pollypocket85]

The more you reveal it sounds so frustrating! I totally get how annoying it is - I have a customer who never reads my emails and asks the same questions.....it's the f**king email!!!!!!!!

 

[carlytaylor1986]

The more you reveal it sounds so frustrating! I totally get how annoying it is - I have a customer who never reads my emails and asks the same questions.....it's the f**king email!!!!!!!!

It really is frustrating. Her desks are being alternated now so she's not sat next to me for the whole week, just part of it! So the past 2 days I have had some peace and quiet and I go on holiday next week, get me the hell outta here argh that client sounds like a pain in the backside! x