“Ahhh, you only complain about everything, instead of actually suggesting anything constructive!”
Far from it. 
Let’s try a different format for this article: a FAQ (frequently asked questions) list. They aren’t necessarily “questions”, but you get the idea.
1- “I can’t go on vacation! What would happen to the rest of the team? We’re already overworked…”
They don’t have an obligation to do your work on top of theirs. They should either do their own work, or yours, or part of each – not both. And they should learn to say “sorry, we can’t do this, we don’t have the manpower to do it, unless we stop doing something else.”
2- “But what about the other teams, which depend on our work? Do we have the right to let them be harmed?”
The answer here is the same. I’m not advocating “excuses” in the usual sense, but, just like your understaffed team has a reason not do do all the required work, so do the other teams – “the XXX team couldn’t do their part, they don’t have enough people at the moment. They say they’ve already asked their boss to hire more people…”.
3- “The boss told me to dedicate all my time to project X… but if I do so, what will happen to the company? I’d need to take time from it to do all the maintenance work I usually do! I have to stay at work until later, and do both!”
Nope. First, get your boss’s orders in writing. (if he refuses, tell him, flatly, that you won’t do it.) Then, obey them. When the rest of the company (including your boss’s boss) complains that nothing is working, tell them what happened. Simple.
4- “This work is vital! The company needs it!”
If it’s so important, why don’t they hire more people, instead of leaving it to overworked, stressed, tired employees? It’s a lot easier to make mistakes if you haven’t slept well for weeks, you know.
5- “I’m an employee of the company, they pay me, so I have to do what they tell me to do.”
Not quite. You’re an employee, not property. And if they need you to do the work of 3 men, why don’t they pay you 3 times your normal salary? They don’t? Then you should do your work – competently and professionally. No less… and no more.
6- “This is an emergency situation! It’s only temporary!”
Is it? Emergencies, by definition, are short and exceptional. How long has it been like this, now? And, what’s worse, does your boss – assuming he cares about cutting costs and having all the work done, but not about your health or well-being – have any reason to change things? Or will he be better served by delaying the hiring of any more people, knowing full well that your loyalty – and gullibility – will make the remaing few do the work of many?
7- “My efforts will eventually be recognized, and I will be promoted, if I keep doing this.”
Wrong again. To anyone above your boss, it’s he that will be seen as extremely efficient, a great leader, who is able to cut costs, and do a lot of work with such few employees. Guess who will have the promotion.
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Tags: collectivism, work
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Well, I think you have to bite at athe snake that poisoned you in the first place.
Yes, one cannot say it enough: any and all orders/commands/requests that go beyond what’s written in the signed contract should be written on a document worth as much.
One must also take into consideration what is being asked of him/her. Don’t ask your teammate/whoever to write that he asked you to get him a bottle of water since you were going to the vending machine anyway: that would be idiocy.
To wrap it up, I’ll write a small metaphor: if a company is a rocketship, you need thrusters for the other instruments to be worth anything. If the thrusters start either losing power or overloading, someone’s going to be crashing briefly.
Nice article.
About time everyone would realise what you wrote, but no, there will always be workoholics that don’t know their price. Bad for them, bad for their teammates.
Good thing I’m a freelancer!