There are two poles on the work spectrum for Professional Staff: Task-oriented work and reflective (knowledge) work. Most jobs have elements of both, but fall closer to one than the other. A predominantly task-oriented job might be driving a bus. A predominantly reflective job might be "marketing officer." You get the idea.
For task-oriented work a recurring difficulty is establishing the baseline from which to judge whether the expectations are realistic. Regular questions are about:
- Premises (e.g. Have the assumptions about how long things take, including preparation and finalisation been tested? Have the safety and ergonomic issues been appropriately considered?)
- All the aspects of the job (e.g. Are there regular disruptions?)
- Resources (are the tools sufficient, available and appropriate to the tasks?)
Because reflective work is usually difficult to quantify, it's similarly difficult to defend against unrealistic expectations. Potential disagreements include:
- The often elusive, common understandings of the work to be done.
- The use of gross and unhelpful measures: Pages/reports written, number of consultations, etc.
- The expected standard of the work.
These only scratch the surface. If your workload is out of kilter, you need assistance. Call the union.
Be an opener of doors for such as come after thee.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
