Guest0527211403
Mechanical
Hi All,
Here's my situation:
I'm a few months in at a new job. When I started here, the boss hinted that from time to time, I'd be asked to work on bids and proposals to bring in new work. This proposal work is not "billed" time, and so would be outside of the 40 regular hours that I'm assigned to projects. I have no problem with that. A month or so into the job, I received a bid package started by one of my coworkers and was asked to edit it and prepare it for submission. The grammar and language in the bid were lacking, so I cleaned it up, made it look like a professional document and submitted it.
The boss must have been impressed with my work, as he then told me that I'd have a bigger role in bid preparation from then on. I didn't think much of it at first and just went back to my regular design duties.
A few weeks ago, we received a new RFP which is much larger than anything the company has ever bid on. Moreover, it's in a new field where our company has never worked. It was put on me to organize the proposal writing effort from start to finish, including using resources within the company to develop the concept and do the background research.
The projects we are working on (for which we are paid) are taking us well past 40 hours per week. Adding this proposal would effectively mean adding 15-20 hours to a few team members' weekly schedules. It has been made perfectly clear by upper management that our "paid-for" project schedules should not be impacted, and that this proposal will "make or break" the company, so it should also be given our full attention.
Today I was chewed out for the fact that the team did not do as much work as they should have (on the proposal) over the weekend. I was told that it's my job to motivate the team to come in and work for free (recall that I've only been here a few months). When I ask how I can ask this of people with families, I'm told that it's "for the good of the company", and that people should be more than willing to work for free in order to ensure that they have a job in the future.
I'm curious to know how some of you have dealt with a situation like this in the past. I'm burning the candle at both ends right now, and my nerves are shot. This morning's roasting (of me) almost had me packing up my stuff and leaving, but I took a walk around the building, put my head down and got back to work. I'm willing to "suck it up", but I'd hate to see the lining of my stomach (if I even have one) in a few years if this keeps up. Words of wisdom from E-T members have gotten me through a number of pickles in the past, so I'm hoping that you'll be able to spare a little more of that magic.
Here's my situation:
I'm a few months in at a new job. When I started here, the boss hinted that from time to time, I'd be asked to work on bids and proposals to bring in new work. This proposal work is not "billed" time, and so would be outside of the 40 regular hours that I'm assigned to projects. I have no problem with that. A month or so into the job, I received a bid package started by one of my coworkers and was asked to edit it and prepare it for submission. The grammar and language in the bid were lacking, so I cleaned it up, made it look like a professional document and submitted it.
The boss must have been impressed with my work, as he then told me that I'd have a bigger role in bid preparation from then on. I didn't think much of it at first and just went back to my regular design duties.
A few weeks ago, we received a new RFP which is much larger than anything the company has ever bid on. Moreover, it's in a new field where our company has never worked. It was put on me to organize the proposal writing effort from start to finish, including using resources within the company to develop the concept and do the background research.
The projects we are working on (for which we are paid) are taking us well past 40 hours per week. Adding this proposal would effectively mean adding 15-20 hours to a few team members' weekly schedules. It has been made perfectly clear by upper management that our "paid-for" project schedules should not be impacted, and that this proposal will "make or break" the company, so it should also be given our full attention.
Today I was chewed out for the fact that the team did not do as much work as they should have (on the proposal) over the weekend. I was told that it's my job to motivate the team to come in and work for free (recall that I've only been here a few months). When I ask how I can ask this of people with families, I'm told that it's "for the good of the company", and that people should be more than willing to work for free in order to ensure that they have a job in the future.
I'm curious to know how some of you have dealt with a situation like this in the past. I'm burning the candle at both ends right now, and my nerves are shot. This morning's roasting (of me) almost had me packing up my stuff and leaving, but I took a walk around the building, put my head down and got back to work. I'm willing to "suck it up", but I'd hate to see the lining of my stomach (if I even have one) in a few years if this keeps up. Words of wisdom from E-T members have gotten me through a number of pickles in the past, so I'm hoping that you'll be able to spare a little more of that magic.
