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I work as an IT support engineer. I've been in my current position for five months.

My team lead gave me a list of resumes to call up candidates for interviews, I was supposed to make a list of candidates who were interested in the job. At first, I did it, and I was okay with it. Although I didn't like the work I did it because I didn't want to say no. I did this task for 5 to 6 times, with my boss using me to share new resumes every time. It was actually his task that he passed on to me. He would then forward that report made by me to the manager.

So after doing the work several times, I started getting frustrated. Also, he talked rude to me few times while we were discussing this task. I don't enjoy calling people to just to ask if they are interested in the job profile. That is not my job. They probably gave the task to me as I am capable of doing the task but I think anybody from the team could do it. I always had to leave my work and make that report for him.

Yesterday, he asked me again to make the report. This time I told him that I don't like this task and to please assign it to someone else. I gave no further explanation. He said okay, and that was it. But his reaction was not that good and I have perceived a change in his behavior. I don't think he is going to ask me to do things other than my job role now. I am not sure if I have done the right thing.

Was there a better way that I could have managed this incident than directly telling him no?

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closed as unclear what you're asking by David K, Lilienthal♦, Mister Positive♦, gnat, PeteCon Feb 14 '17 at 23:17

Please clarify your specific problem or add additional details to highlight exactly what you need. As it's currently written, it’s hard to tell exactly what you're asking. See the How to Ask page for help clarifying this question. If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.

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    Possible duplicate of My job responsibility is more than is noted in job description. How do I decline these additional responsibilities? – David K Feb 14 '17 at 18:09
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    It is not like he asked you to do some illegal, unethical, dirty, or demeaning. Yes you handled it poorly. Yes you should have just sucked it up and performed the task. – paparazzo Feb 14 '17 at 18:32
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    This site isn't about helping people find inner peace, perhaps you want Philosophy or one of the religious sites for that. So I've removed that line from your question. As written this is still slightly off-topic though so perhaps clarify whether you're asking for advice on how to repair the relationship or how you should professionally decline such requests if it ever happens again. – Lilienthal♦ Feb 14 '17 at 18:44
  • I feel like this is a poorly worded title. The answer to the title is "No" the answer to the actual questions is "This is norrmal" – Nick Young Feb 14 '17 at 18:51
  • You have probably tagged yourself as a pure individual technical person, rather than a potential project leader and manager. Your employer may or may not have a technical promotion track parallel to the management track. – Patricia Shanahan Feb 14 '17 at 19:01
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Bosses delegate. Your boss delegated. That's what they do.

Honestly, the only way you'll find peace with it is to suck it up and recognize that your job is whatever your boss says it is. I'm not being mean or snarky, but that is the plain truth.

The choice is whether you want to do what you're told. If not, find another job that doesn't have you doing those things or start your own business.

The bottom line is that by resisting, he's already treating you differently. I'd tread very carefully if you even want to keep this job.

In rereading my answer, I realized it might not be clear how I'm answering the basic and direct question:

Is it necessary to always say yes to your boss?

Ultimately, yes it is. You can push back a little and explain your reasoning but everywhere I've ever worked (and when i've had people working for me), refusing to do a task gets you fired. Perhaps a write-up, if you do it afterward But if you refuse to do something and don't back down, you're almost certainly out of a job (at least in the US if you're not in a union).

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    "Ultimately, yes it is." Not always. For some professions and environments, (like being a PE, sometimes as a software dev, etc.) Saying "no" is required. Such as violations of IT policies, unsafe conditions, illegal requests, etc. But for this case, "tasks I don't feel like doing" you are correct. – Robert Dundon Feb 14 '17 at 19:11
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First off, let me point out the huge favor your boss has done you. By being in on the interview process, you are getting a chance to evaluate and possibly have a voice in selecting your future coworkers. Not everyone gets the chance to filter out people they would rather not work with. Also, I would say that your boss is showing a large amount of trust and respect for you to assign you this type of task.

Ultimately, however, yes, you are going to find your boss, wherever you are, will give you tasks you don't like and don't feel are part of your job. That could be interviews, documentation, testing, any number of things. If you want to keep the job, you will just have to do it unless you can come up with a compelling argument about why you shouldn't. Just repeat to yourself that it all pays the same.

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