Am I in the wrong here?

OP, I work in CS and like you I have an IT background. Again like you, we had an office move recently and I shifted and reconnected all of the PCs and telephones. (The porters did the heavier desk / cabinet shifting). At the end of the day though, I got paid for it, and so did you. Therefore I don't think it's a problem. If however they started bringing in their home computers for me to troubleshoot, then I would be expecting a few beers :-)
 
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grimm said:
I have had some issues at work and would like some opinions please.

I work in a small office where IT support is outsources/paid for, however I am not sure if the level of service is enough for our requirements.

My current role is nothing to do with IT/computers at all apart from the fact that I use one every day to do my job (using the back office software and things like excel) however I have a degree in computer science.

This means that for anything IT/computer related people tend to ask me to deal with it, and it is starting to get a bit ridiculous in my opinion. We have just had an office move and apparently nobody knows how to plug a computer in and plug the peripherals in, so I had to do it for every single machine in the building. What has annoyed me is the fact that now I am being asked questions about how they are set up, why things won't work etc.

I have not been involved in any of the decision making processes for these things so I really have no idea how they were set up by the IT people, what hardware is inside the cases etc. I was being asked to plug a server in so that someone could use it as a desktop, and I told them that this wouldn't work because it is a server not a workstation, it doesn't have a graphics card for dual monitor setup etc. etc.

I am now getting a load of hassle about this and being accused of being awkward and "not a team player", presumably because I'm not telling them what they want to hear? I was actually told by my boss to rig up the server like a workstation anyway even though I had already said that it would not work for this purpose. I have then been shouted at because it doesn't work!!!

Today people are asking me again to do all sorts of IT related stuff that isn't really part of my job, and because of the way people have been treating me regarding this stuff lately I have pretty much said that I don't want to get involved anymore and that they should contact the IT people.

Am I being unreasonable here?
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If it's not in your contract ask them to pay you for it!
 
Monserrat said:
OP, I work in CS and like you I have an IT background. Again like you, we had an office move recently and I shifted and reconnected all of the PCs and telephones. (The porters did the heavier desk / cabinet shifting). At the end of the day though, I got paid for it, and so did you. Therefore I don't think it's a problem. If however they started bringing in their home computers for me to troubleshoot, then I would be expecting a few beers :-)
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You sound like a lazy bosses best friend
 
grimm said:
I have tried that before, they just see it as a nice benefit to having me there rather than something worth paying me more money for.
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Which seems evident enough in your assumption of them not wanting to pay the call out charge for the outsourced IT bods. They have you, why should they? This is the mindset they seem to have. I can offer no advice but I can empathise with your situation :mad:
 
Theophany said:
Say to your boss it isn't your job and for continuation of it you will need to be compensated financially for the additional hassle, responsibilities and general testicular aching.
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This.

There is being flexible, and there is carrying some lame gorilla on your back for the foreseeable if you don't stamp your foot down.

Go in there with key bullet points though. Not just a waffle on.
 
Answer seems simple on an internet forum but in reality rarely is.
YOu seem you have gotten yourself into a situation that probably just started off as you trying to be helpful.

I do hate dealing with people who don't understand IT when trying to explain something to them.
I would just try and explain in as simple terms as possible why something can't be done.

Also if you have had the conversation with your boss and he refuses to pay you extra, I personally would be very very stubborn about helping people out after that.

Doing extra work and saving him a packet and he doesn't want to realise that saving by chucking you a few extra quid each month?? Perhaps if you tell him you are no longer IT support as you gain no benefit from it, in fact quite the contrary due to extra time spent helping other people out, Then one of 2 things will happen.
1 - it becomes normal to go to IT instead of you and nothing much more
2 - he realises the mistake he has made and comes back to you to renegotiate,

Which one happens depends on the type of guy your boss is and only you will know that, either way you end up better off for it :) either financially or time wise
 
maccapacca said:
Yes thanks and doing quite well, never said no to anything even if it's 'not my job' I think you get recognised for being flexible and strong without having the micky taken or being a push over.
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What happens when the ability to do your core job is being hampered due to having to do excess work, because they chose to outsource their IT?
 
is it keeping you from your own work? if you are getting behind because of it speak with your manager

but if you have the time to spare i would help where you can
doesn't help when you get no thanks though or people don't understand
 
Cruiser said:
is it keeping you from your own work? if you are getting behind because of it speak with your manager

but if you have the time to spare i would help where you can
doesn't help when you get no thanks though or people don't understand
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My manager was the person accusing me of being awkward and not being a team player as per my earlier post lol.

In terms of workload for my actual role, this remains unchanged even if I spend hours messing around with IT related matters (in fact it will probably increase because I have annoyed my manager :)).
 
To get this resolved will actually mean going to your manager and asking why he felt that you weren't being a team player?

Let him list his reasons and if so, counter them with your reasons as to why you feel you should not be asked to do them.

Utilizing your employees skills is fine (when they're employed to do such things) but taking the **** is another.

I was in a similar situation but it was a smaller office and I didn't mind doing them and could shift some of my workload onto my ex-Boss if he wanted me to do some IT stuff. Either that or I told him to pay up or shut up.... yeah we had a fairly open speaking relationship...lol.
 
This is the trouble with wanting to be helpful unfortunately. I work in IT and I know for a fact that if you show that you can sort something that is outside of your job description, you will be asked time and time again to help out.

As an example, just after I started, an email went out to all staff asking for jump leads. I replied and said that I had a pair (part of a Christmas present) and offered them out. Needless to say, an hour later when they realised the battery was knackered I was asked if I could change the flaming thing?!??

Just make sure that you're amical about the whole thing so as to not get peoples' backs up as I can imagine a situation can turn sour quite quickly if you're short with them :)
 
This sounds like the classic scenario of management finding out of about the IT whiz kid under their wing and using them instead of doing it the normal, hard way. Since you said that in your job you just use a computer, not fix them, says it's not your job to.

However, it depends on how you want to play it and how it effects you. Personally if I did this but didn't have to worry about my normal job much at all then I probably wouldn't mind unless it starts going into more advanced things that if getting someone else to do would cost a lot of money. If they wanted me to still do my normal work and get it finished in a timely mainly plus these extra IT duties with no change it pay then they can shove it. Say no. It you just plain hate doing it then tell them that or try to work out a deal.

Guess it also depends on how close and personal you are to the manager and whether you'd go the extra mile for them. The whole 'not being a team player' just sounds like management BS to make you feel guilty. It's easier for him to persuade you to do it rather than have to go through the hassle of the usual method.

I had a bit of this in my last job but I didn't mind it as it allowed me some more freedom and I didn't have to bother with my normal job while doing it. It did start to take the **** near the end becoming more frequent and annoying but by then I was made redundant. :p
 
Monserrat said:
Nah. If I didn't do it, it would have been a call to IT then waiting for available staff to reconnect the gear. As I knew how to do it, I short-circuited the process by involving just me and the porters.
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Thats like saying because I work in a hospital im expected to diagnose patients, take part in complex operations and empty the bins. Afterall im paid for it!

Thats not quite how life works though is it...

I don't think theres anything wrong with you being ****ed off tbh. Id be equally cheesed off if I was in the same role. Sure its nice to offer a helping hand but frankly thats all your doing, your not providing a service. I think its worth relaying that point to your collegues.

Its also possibly worth telling your manager that because of the added hassle you are getting regarding the IT it is causing extra strain on your actual job and you are starting to find it highly stressful.

Its a tricky one... Do you guys even have unions? Might be worth talking to one of those.
 
Use it to your advantage when you finally decide to go into I.T. It is what you trained for and as long as you are not doing extra hours and your normal job is not being affected I cannot see what the problem is. Just ask for a payrise, or even better, become the I.T man as I expect they are paying the external company a lot more.
 
It's time to invest in one of these;

bdqf.jpg
 
Monserrat said:
OP, I work in CS and like you I have an IT background. Again like you, we had an office move recently and I shifted and reconnected all of the PCs and telephones. (The porters did the heavier desk / cabinet shifting). At the end of the day though, I got paid for it, and so did you. Therefore I don't think it's a problem. If however they started bringing in their home computers for me to troubleshoot, then I would be expecting a few beers :-)
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A few beers? I take cold hard cash and cold hard cash alone.

Try taking your car to a mechanic and offering him "a few beers" for his work.
 
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