How to make bosses understand you have too much work

A month later and I haven't heard anything about assistance. I tell you. I am dying. I have been on vacation for 4 days and I already have 332 emails in my inbox. At this point, I am going to war a little with my boss because he still seems to be on the do everything immediately and I am trying to slow things down as a form of protest. It is just unsustainable.

Well good news.. I am excited to say that next week we will be getting help. I will be getting my very own person who I share with another. This is historic. I have been in the job for 20 years and always told we couldn't have help. My guess is that people who were blocking it have retired or are sidelined.

Here is the problem though... I don't know how to have an employee? I have been on my own for 20 years.

Because my boss is the Chief...I get to go first.

Also, at the moment things are slow because of the summer.

This week I am trying to save things up so I can give them to her.

OMG this is a nightmare. First, yesterday I got my helper and they gave me a severely limited list of what would be allowed. So one large thing that I need help with I gave the helper. I had told her that if she had any questions... she should just ask, and I was very nice. I told her what I gave her was NOT URGENT AT ALL.

To wit, this morning I have an early email from her boss telling me they were going to make a co worker of mine show her how to process them. What? FIrst, why is it even hard to know how to process them... just look at the others. (we have a system where these things are done) Second is this how it going to be? Everything I give them to do has to get stopped to make even MORE work me? What is the point of a helper if I have to spend HOURS training them? When I first started this is how things was... we would get "help" only for them to change the helper and I would have to spend hours training them.. and they would do nothing, because weren't trained... but I need help because I don't have the time in the first place.

And kind of mental midget goes to her BOSS first. Now I have to give a training session when I am in again. And this is not my niche'.

Sounds familiar. They hire people who need extensive training and instruction. Then they expect us to teach and train them, which is ultimately more work than if they didn’t hire these people at all. But administration pats themselves on the back that they hired us help. Ugh

It is just a game. A way to give you help but you will never use them because it is more trouble than it is worth. Today I gave her very little to do. I didn't want to have to have a meeting with her manager to "discuss it".

Later in the day I mentioned the person who was doing the work before would be available to answer questions as well.

They go to HER boss to get his permission do to this. OMG... to answer some questions?

It is really going badly. I gave this girl 12 of something to process. I told her it didn't have to be done right away, just for the end of the month. It is the end of the month, it isn't done.

So you know... we have done 983 of these things so far this year alone. These things are the reason I need help.

So, I checked to see how many keystrokes this person had.... vrs me. I had more keystrokes this month than she does. Her job is to just do the keystrokes. My job is to do the keystrokes and manage things. So I am doing double the work still.

I gave her something "new" -- just one item --- because it was new and something I would be sending her in the future. Not only did I have to explain everything on how to do it... but, she came back to my desk because she couldn't understand, so I did it for her... she says she understands. Until the next time she doesn't understand.