Found interesting reason someone resigned...

[financeguy]

So I spoke to someone from a previous institution in a different professional context. They were an ideal hire that everyone was happy to get and left after a two-year period for another job that wasn't horrible but not better on its surface. We know each other well enough but not that well. Apparently the department and college that houses it within the school overall are fairly small and they have one reception area staffed by a single administrative person... The faculty member was asked a handful of times on days he was there between class to "watch the desk" since someone would need to be away for an hour or so for something at the other side of campus. I'm not posting this over the validity of such as request or not, just that you never really know the reason someone leaves. He said this to me a couple years after the fact but said he did not voice his irritation at the time and just started firing off apps. He's fairly competitive and easy to work with and left graciously so he believes his reasons for applying were "his business." Very interesting conversation...

[secundem_artem]

We get asked every year to help fresh peeps move into the dorms.  Fvck that action.  I don't know anybody who has ever quit over it, but I do know a couple of folks dumb enough to choose to help out.  If we devalue our own jobs, let's not be surprised when the adminiscritters do too.

[lightning]

Sometimes, the ridiculous ask of our time for some task unrelated to our real job, is just one of a list of several reasons for wanting to quit a job.

That being said, if a person can't say "no" to something that obviously is not part of their job, then they need to learn how to say "no" or at least find a more powerful ally to shield them from it.

Regarding the August emails about helping fresh-peeps move in, I also get those annual emails about helping 1st-year students move into their dorms. Having done this as an upper-class-person during my undergrad, I can tell you that the few older faculty/staff/admin people that were helping out, also, were creepy and we wished that they were not there. That's the reason I ignore those emails. I don't want to be the creepy old guy. And even if I'm not the creepy old guy, I don't want to be seen cringing when I see the frat boys show up to help.

[sinenomine]

Faculty at my school used to get asked annually to sit in a dunk tank for a student event, and to dress up in costumes for Admissions events. A couple folks regularly did these things until the rest of us convinced them that it was ludicrous.

[marshwiggle]

So I spoke to someone from a previous institution in a different professional context. They were an ideal hire that everyone was happy to get and left after a two-year period for another job that wasn't horrible but not better on its surface. We know each other well enough but not that well. Apparently the department and college that houses it within the school overall are fairly small and they have one reception area staffed by a single administrative person... The faculty member was asked a handful of times on days he was there between class to "watch the desk" since someone would need to be away for an hour or so for something at the other side of campus. I'm not posting this over the validity of such as request or not, just that you never really know the reason someone leaves.

I think lots of businesses lose customers and have no idea why for reasons like this because they don't make any *effort to find out. Introverts especially won't make a fuss; they'll just leave.



(*Or if they do, it's more of a whinging effort to get the person to stay, rather than a respectful "We're not trying to change your mind; we just want to see if there's anything we can do better in the future.")

[onehappyunicorn]

Several years ago our marketing department decided that our faculty profile pictures should be "fun". The thought, whatever little of it there was, seemed to be that students would be more willing to engage with instructors if they could see that they were light hearted and silly or something. To that end we were requested to bring props with us that represented our department, I got an email asking that I pose with a paintbrush.

Marketing pushed really, really hard for everyone to do this, even trying to make it a requirement (through the Dean's council) of all faculty. There was pushback and the final resolution was that faculty would be allowed to decide if the photo taken could be used for the directory. I went and had my photo taken, without a prop (they were very disappointed in me), and it was as much of a crap show as you might imagine. They wanted me to laugh for one of the pictures, for example.

As far as I am aware no one approved of their photo and I have never seen one of them in the directory.

[Caracal]

How I felt about something like that would have a lot do with how it was asked and who asked me. If the admin came by and said "hey, I really hate to ask this, but I absolutely have to do this thing on the other end of campus right now/I got a call that my kid is sick and I have to pick them up from school, the student assistant isn't here today. Normally I'd just put up a sign, but [important thing that means someone needs to be here] is happening. Is there any chance you could just sit here for 30 minutes and direct the people who come through?" I would do it if I could and not resent it at all. Ditto for colleague.

If it was just a random person, or an administrator of some sort asking-not someone I knew-and it was framed as an expectation not a favor, I might be irritated about that. If its a standard thing instead of some emergency situation, it also might reflect a certain amount of organizational dysfunction. Isn't this a perfect work/study job for students? Or if this is just the culture where its a tiny institution and everyone is expected to help out, I can see someone deciding that while the actual task is no big deal, that they don't want to be at a place where they are expected to be an instructor/receptionist/bus driver/maintenance person

[mamselle]

And there's the general principal (I read this as a study, somewhere) that you don't want to take on two roles at once because people will become confused and will always "negotiate downwards" in identifying you with the lower of the two.

M.

[financeguy]

It was an interesting discussion. Part of it was that it obviously shows no respect for him or the job he's actually there to do, but more than that for this guy is that he said he's paid a crazy amount in expenses and time to become qualified and is also taking a HUGE pay cut vs the market in industry for what he does (I can verify this is definitely true for his subfield) because he has made a decision to prioritize what he enjoys doing. That doesn't involve reception work. Seems like a small thing but I totally get it. I also asked if he pushed back at all. He said no, because that's a lose/lose situation. You're either the a-hole for asking or you have to do something you don't want so better to just leave.

[Ruralguy]

Yes, there are some people for whom I would do a lot, or at least not balk at most reasonable tasks, and others I'd ghost or ask to get lost.

[Mobius]

I can see that. Asking to watch the desk once during a critical period is not unreasonable, but asking someone to essentially fill in several times is a bit much to ask instructors. Unless it's the start of registration, first, or last week of classes, do you really need someone watching desk? If you do, then maybe you need to have a student worker there to make sure no one steals a chair.

[clean]

At my own job, I would say NO on general principle.

The prior dean dealt with budget cuts by getting rid of the department admin folk.  We are the only college that does not have "department secretaries" (which was their title).  At the time he said that we would get the opportunity for each faculty to hire a student assistant for up to 15 hours a week.  (As there is a way for student assistants to be paid from some other (financial aid type/federal based) funding source.  However, when that didnt pan out as expected as few actually ended up being paid through that source.  So, in another round of cuts 4 years ago now, I think, we lost our ability to use student workers too! 

IF they need to have someone answer the phone or man the desk, they should probably hire someone to do it! 

FINALLY, these days, as I can attest from my own attempts to call someone, they can have the phones transferred to some other office!   Voicemails are now turned into emails, so there is no need to 'take a message'.

[CB Vanderlyle]

I had a similar situation with the reception desk.

But first, don't forget this cautionary tail: https://www.chronicle.com/article/his-university-asked-him-to-build-an-emoji-themed-parade-float-then-it-fired-him/

Before I was tenured, my office was directly across from the reception desk of our suite. When the receptionist was away, the Chair would frequently remind all of us to "listen for the door." But once when I was out of the office the same day the receptionist was out, the Chair sent an email to all the faculty in the suite saying "Vanderlye's out today, so please listen for the door!" I was upset to realize that I was expected to be the receptionist's back-up, but I didn't say anything at the time. A few months later, I took a sick day and it happened that the receptionist was also out that day. Chair sent an email to everyone in the office telling them I was sick and asking to "listen for the door." Ugh! not only did I not want to field a bunch of questions about how I was feeling, but, the back-up expectation! I still said nothing but told myself if it happened a third time, I would have to speak up. Luckily, it never happened again. An office at at the far end of the suite opened up and I quickly jumped at the chance to move, and the Chair never sent another email like that again; I suspect someone said something. I have since transferred to a branch campus and have an office in a locked suite, not open for the public. And I've since gained tenure. :-)

[Anselm]

We got an email last year about volunteering for a dunk tank stunt at a basketball game.   I am not sure if anyone signed up but I think this represents the radically different thinking in the administration, marketing and athletics.  It might also be due to many of them coming from small town high schools but I am just guessing here.

I also worked at a school where it was the custom for faculty to help with moving into the dorms.  I showed up a few times late due to sleep disorders and they refused my offer to help.