Should I be a team player?

[CityGal]

My boss is still on vacation and will be returning on Monday. Her biggest ‘nightmare’ (her word) is if we get backed up in the department. She left her mignon in ‘charge’ while she was away—don’t get me started on that because I should’ve been in ‘charge’ but whatever. For the past two days we have been really backed up. The way the cases are coming in I still think we will be backed up tomorrow. We are supposed to be working double time because ‘one of the members of the team’ is away. I’ve been trying to do this but my double time seems like my coworkers’ regular speed. Honestly sometimes I just don’t know how they do it. On top of my regular work, I am often the office translator and currently I am helping someone from another department translate about 20 something cases. I’ve been trying to work ‘harder’ so that I guess my boss can take notice of that but since she is not here she won’t. I really don’t see me standing out in this situation at all. IF when she gets back to work the department is just like she left it, I feel like she would be ‘asserted’ (don’t really know the word to use) that she left the right person in charge and that her mignon could totally be next in line. However, if the department is a ‘nightmare’ for her when she gets back, she may have to blame her mignon for not keeping up to speed. Although I feel like she will blame the entire department instead of her mignon. With all this office politics talk, should I be the team player and make sure the team is up to speed or should I just do my regular work and see what happens? Ugh I don’t know what to do. Hopefully you all can understand me…..sorry if it sounds confusing but I am a bit overwhelmed here.



The more I keep thinking about this the more I think I am being too spiteful or too anything. I feel like I should suck it up and just do my job. So...my tentative plan is to do my regular work as normal with an added case or two to show that I am doing my part and showing team effort and that's it. :googly: :frustrate :sad: :cry: :confused: :torn: :torn:

[phaedra]

My opinion is you should try to put in as much effort as possible, but remember, you're only one person, you can't catch the whole department up. Don't worry about the minion or the office politics. Besides, if you're putting in the extra effort when others are not, that may be noticed. Good luck.