Is your boss 'voluntelling' you for extra work?
The Media Leader Jobs
Voluntelling is especially common in the media and creative industries, where budgets are tight and teams often stretched beyond capacity to begin with.
Picture this scenario: you’ve got a new client or project at work, and everyone’s plate is full — no one really wants the responsibility to add to their already packed schedule.
That’s when your manager might pipe up and say, “we’d love you to take the lead on this one”, or “I think you’d be a great fit for this project”.
If that sounds familiar, you’ll also know that what’s being requested isn’t really a choice. You’re more or less being told it is on you to shoulder the extra responsibility. Like it or not.
This tactic is so common that the US military refers to it as “voluntelling”. It happens when someone is volunteered for a task without being given the chance to say no. It can manifest itself in other ways, too, such as being being told that while your attendance at a meeting isn’t mandatory, you’d be strongly advised to attend.
Voluntelling may have its origins in the strict, hierarchical structures of the military, but it has infiltrated office-based environments too. It is especially common in the media and creative industries, where budgets are tight and teams often stretched beyond capacity to begin with.
Power dynamics
The practice of voluntelling is not only frustrating, but can be a minefield to navigate professionally. That’s because there are power dynamics at play, and depending on your relationship with your manager, those can be subtle, or overt.
Also muddying the waters is “busy person syndrome”. If you’re the kind of employee who is a top performer, you’ll know the famous saying, “if you want something done, ask a busy person.” As a result you may be disproportionately “voluntold” to take on additional tasks or projects.
Voluntelling is a quick and easy way for bosses to assign tasks, but a good manager shouldn’t assume you’ll be thrilled with additional responsibilities. That’s even more true when you’re already juggling a number of clients or projects.
The solution
In 2022, UK ad agencies had a record 32.4% churn rate, according to the 2022 census from the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA), as issues including burnout, pay, gender and racial inequality came home to roost.
That won’t be a surprise to those working in the industry, and it’s important to push back on voluntelling to protect your own resilience. If you stay silent or acquiesce, you’re allowing a habit to form: silence can equal approval to some managers.
So how can you protect yourself and your career? Aside from a flat no, which isn’t going to endear you to anyone, there are a couple of approaches you can try.
Assess how much time this new task will take; what do you need to offload as a result? Explain your current workload to your manager, and say that while you’d be happy to take this on, you’ll need to pass some of your tasks or clients to another colleague to make it work.
Another way to gracefully pass on a voluntelling diktat is to understand what it involves — is the request even in your purview, or is your manager assuming you’ll be happy to step up?
If it’s the latter, you can explain that you don’t have capacity to take on a task you’re not suited to, but you would love the chance to participate in a learning and development programme to provide you with a skills uplift.
Make a career move
Either may be enough to get your manager to place their request elsewhere, or simply understand how stretched you are. And if you’re still being told, not asked, then a new job might be a good solution. Start as you mean to go on, set reasonable expectations and boundaries early––and sleep at night.
The Mediatel Job Board is a great first port of call, packed with interesting opportunities, such as this Foundation Executive opening at Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in London. In this role, you’ll ideate, develop, and implement high-impact employee volunteer and engagement programs, and research, develop, propose and implement philanthropic strategies and campaigns in line with clients’ passions. You’ll need previous experience working with nonprofits, media and entertainment, and/or talent relations, as well as experience managing large-scale campaigns and initiatives. See more on the role here.
In this Head of Web Development job, you’ll be working for an exciting branding company, shaping the entertainment/media industry with an innovative and analytics technology platform. You will lead the team creating websites, working alongside a project manager to ensure all projects meet their deadlines. If you have previous experience as a developer (Javascript/PHP), strong experience with React Framework and commercial experience creating websites, this could be the job for you.
Sky is looking for a UX Researcher in Leeds, a role where you’ll get your teeth into generative and evaluative UX research studies. Plus you’ll analyse data and videos, produce research findings and turn these into actionable recommendations. If you have a year or more experience as a UX Researcher and proven experience in conducting UX research, apply now.
