Boundaries: non-promotable work tasks (office house-work)

Do you often find yourself juggling work tasks, such as taking meeting notes, covering for colleagues, or organising office events, that go beyond your job description? While these tasks may seem small, they can add up to a significant amount of extra work that goes unrecognized and unappreciated. Unfortunately, it tends to be women who volunteer or are often expected to take on these "office housework" tasks, which can come at the expense of their own leisure time or career-advancing responsibilities.

To avoid getting bogged down in non-promotable work, it's important to set boundaries and prioritise the activities that are essential to advancing your career. This is where the concept of "essentialism" comes into play, as discussed in the book Essentialism by Greg Mckeown. By focusing on what's most important, women can demonstrate their commitment and capabilities to their superiors, leading to greater recognition and career opportunities.

Some top tips for setting boundaries around non-promotable work tasks:

1. Prioritise essential work: Identify tasks that will lead to career advancement and prioritise.

2. Be comfortable saying no: decline non-promotable tasks, remember what you say yes to means there are other tasks you are saying no to.

3. Communicate clearly: Assertively communicate your priorities and boundaries to your colleagues and managers.

4. Seek support: Talk to colleagues & line managers about your priorities and work together to find a solution that works for everyone.

5. Focus on results: Being busy prevents you from focusing on tasks which can help you demonstrate your capabilities and gain recognition.

6. Maintain a healthy work-life balance: Put your health needs first. This will help you be more productive and focused when you are at work.

7. Seek training & development opportunities: Spend the time you were working on non-promotable tasks to identify & advocate for training & development opportunities to help you advance in your career.

8. Identify mentors: Seek out mentors who can help support your development & advance in your career.

9. Celebrate your successes: Celebrate your successes and take time to reflect on your progress. This will help you stay motivated and focused on your goals.

If you enjoy organising the workplace get together, then go ahead, but be mindful of the other activities you are saying no to. Make sure you focus on career advancing work rather than just on the non-promotable tasks.

Finally, reflect with your line manager and ask them:

1. Whether they recognise the impact of this work?

2. Are the tasks being fairly distributed amongst the team, do the same people always volunteer, can they be allocated out more fairly?

3. Finally, do these tasks help my career to advance?

Do you want to read more on this?

Office chores: time to count the cost of unpaid labour?

https://www.ft.com/content/bdc9f692-7542-42e5-b82a-f7ed15bc704b