That’s Not Your Job

Last week I wrote about my pet peeve of "that's not my job". I was reflecting this week on another phrase that gets under my skin: that's not your job. 

I'm a curious person. If I see a challenge, I try to help. Whether it's sending an article I think might help or literally jumping in to lend a hand, it's part of how I love to work. I think it's actually one of the characteristics that define how the millennial generation works.

Early in my career, I had a boss tell me that I was doing too many things that weren't my job. I still felt that overall I was delivering on my job description and was confused about this feedback.  I think that was the beginning of the end for me with that position. It's always gotten under my skin anytime anyone else has used this phrase. 

While I've had to learn more about how to temper this curiosity at times, it's still a huge part of who I am and how I work. I'm lucky that I've found organizations that allow my job to be more elastic. I've figured out how to stretch that elastic without snapping it as I may have in the past. 

This curiosity, and often the empathy that goes with it, is something I cherish about my generation. I know we'll only continue to foster it and that organizations will keep figuring out how to recalibrate the way we work to make space for it.