Currently, in my work, I do stuff that is not my work, nor my responsibility. If I would not do it, it would not reflect badly on me. On the contrary, I would probably have less work pressure. And in general, rightfully so, doing something that is not in your job description is not seen as smart. I agree with that. Why do I do it anyway? And why do I not want to make it part of my job?
The reason why doing extra work outside of your official work is not smart is mostly related to abuse. Managers or colleagues abuse your kindness to make it easier for them. Even if they do not do that on purpose, because you do the work, they do not have to find a solution for a problem that doesn’t exist. Because you are solving it.
So, why do I do it anyway? Well first of all I do not do everything. The extra work I take has to follow one big rule. It should not motivate people to leave the situation as it is.
When you take on work, you solve problems. But the fact that you do the work should in most situations be temporary. The person you solve a problem for must be actively working on finding another solution, that does not include you.
There is also another situation. Sometimes the person making the bad decisions is completely not having any communication with the person whose work they are making harder. They work in a completely different department or company. So, when someone is having problems, because of them, they will not notice. It will not even reach them.
And then there is a situation that really motivates me to do extra work: taking on the work will make invisible problems visible. And by that, it can motivate people to change the situation. Think about doing reviews, tests, evaluations, and statistics that can be used to prove problems, that people are denying or ignoring.
So, is that all? No. All extra tasks I do falls in at least one of the following groups “Being a good colleague” or “Good for my CV”. I want to treat my colleagues as much as possible as I want to be treated. That means if I have the feeling it is safe and smart to help them, I will help them. No matter if it is officially my job. And for the second one: in the future, I want more responsibilities. Either in my current company or in a new job. I need to improve some skills for that. And I need some real experience for that. So, why not grab the opportunity for that when you see it?
Then the last part: why not go for a job that just includes those tasks officially? Many companies do not have good coaching and learning paths for people in a new function. As a beginner, you too often find one of these two ways. The first way is: the company just lets you do your job and will only complain when they are not satisfied. No coaching, no teaching, no help. The second way is: since you are a beginner, they will tell you exactly what to do. Just follow their lead. No freedom, no input, no opportunity to prove how good you are.
When you already have experience and knowledge and you can show that, you can avoid this situation. People who just want followers will not give you the position. And since you already know some parts, you can handle a situation with no coaching, no teaching, and no help a lot better.
Also, I have started unprepared in a new position before. And I have seen people start in a new position before. I have failed. And I saw others fail. Why? They couldn’t do what needed to be done. They couldn’t learn what they needed to learn. They were hired for certain skills but were not able to use those skills in their new job.
I am very strict and have high standards, that is what makes me a good tester. But is also a good skill in many other situations. But when you get into that situation, all of a sudden all too often people want me to be flexible. Lower my standards. Why is that? Somehow they know the situation asks for higher standards. But they do not want to lose the benefits of having lower standards. The speed for example. Or the fact that you constantly can change the specification.
In my current function, I can choose an area where higher standards are needed. And I can safely practice. How do you convince people that higher standards are not that bad? How do you tell people the speed will backfire, because it will cause more work later? But, let’s be honest: it also teaches me when I should be flexible. When higher standards just lead to a worse result, because the process is almost not better, but a lot slower.
So, reading this, what has this to do with Agile? This is an Agile blog? Well, Agile is all about taking on extra work. Agile is not about doing only what is in your job description. Agile is about helping your team members. Being a good team member. Agile is about growing and becoming better. Not only in your current job, but also in other areas. This part is often ignored because it is seen as dangerous by many people. It only gives more work and you reward people for not doing their job. So, why would you do it? Well, this blog contained my reasons for still doing it.