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Antiwork

How to turn down an upcoming “request” tactfully?

I was hired as a technician, and frankly I'm good at my job. The shop I work in is a small business, sole proprietorship. The owner is generally a good person. He's got a temper that occasionally gets out of control but he's otherwise very accommodating. He's never batted an eye when someone needed some time off, he's reasonable when it comes to bonuses and the like, and has a penchant for giving small gifts (usually food stuff, like chocolate or dried fruits). I can write paragraphs about all the stupid decisions and bad practices he enforces on the business, but that's largely irrelevant. The key takeaway is that he often expects people to accommodate his various whims and needs. This does rub me the wrong way. Although I was hired as a technician I've also been given roles as receptionist (I greet people at the door, answer the phones,…


I was hired as a technician, and frankly I'm good at my job. The shop I work in is a small business, sole proprietorship. The owner is generally a good person. He's got a temper that occasionally gets out of control but he's otherwise very accommodating. He's never batted an eye when someone needed some time off, he's reasonable when it comes to bonuses and the like, and has a penchant for giving small gifts (usually food stuff, like chocolate or dried fruits).

I can write paragraphs about all the stupid decisions and bad practices he enforces on the business, but that's largely irrelevant. The key takeaway is that he often expects people to accommodate his various whims and needs. This does rub me the wrong way. Although I was hired as a technician I've also been given roles as receptionist (I greet people at the door, answer the phones, etc), cashier, personal assistant (I've taken his car to the shop, run various personal errands for him, etc), accountant (calling customers for payment, sending out invoices, etc), and have even been involved in the hiring/firing process of other employees. I absolutely hate this and have made no secret of it. We've had “discussions” about it in the past that have always devolved into arguments followed by a week of him being an absolute monster pain in the ass to everyone, so for the sake of my coworkers I try to avoid these “discussions” whenever possible.

He has recently developed some medical issues largely due to his own decisions and practices. He recently bought a small sauna — for the office. He claims its for one of his medical conditions. Whatever. It's a 200+ lb box sitting outside his office door. He's already had one of the other employees move a bunch of stuff from within the office to make room for this sauna. I know tomorrow he's going to ask/tell/expect me to assemble it for him. I would rather chew glass than do this for him. There's a hundred handymen in the area that he can hire to do this but he knows I do handyman stuff and I know he's going to expect this of me tomorrow.

Without being overly confrontational, what's the best way to not get involved in this? I'm kinda half-tempted to stop at the drug store tonight, pick up a wrist brace, and wear it for the next three weeks.

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