My career focus is on software development, but right now I'm working in a non-profit organization. Since it's small, I'm the only paid employee, and I'm responsible for make everything work and solve any problems that may emerge.
I got this job through my father, since he is a key member. I'm on a contract since February 2014, but I'm done some work for them since 2013. Because of this, I'm aware of what is right and what needs to be fixed.
The company hierarchy works like a government (president, vice-president, etc.). I should report everything to the president. But, there is a catch:
- Everyone has other jobs (including my father), so they don't always give attention to the company.
- The company doesn't have rules nor protocols on what have to be done or don't. My predecessors established their own rules to make it work, and when one changes, the rules changed too (I wanted to die when I understood the concept of "organization" of the previous employee).
- My "bosses" have slim to none computer knowledge and when I say I don't know how to do something (example: Photoshop) they don't understand, since I'm the "computer guy" (that isn't what it is on my contract, but they think like that anyway).
- Because of the lack of protocol, lots of paperwork get lost on the mix and when they want something and I say I don't know where it is, they get disappointed.
- Also related to the lack of protocol, when a member did something (a document, a payment, anything), the paper trail get lost very easy. When another member want to know about it, and I don't know since I never saw the document too, they also get disappointed.
I see these problems and recognize they can become a major issue for the company. I made a plan on what needs to change (the main goal is the prototype of a software to show, to replace thousands of Excel files), but they don't seem to care, since they are all busy with their other jobs, and they only want me to solve small problems that sometimes I am unable to solve because of the bigger problems.
What can be done in this situation?
The question Can my employer (under Brazilian labour law) require me to work outside my established working hours? is, somewhat, related.