I work front desk at a small but super busy office. Usually I’m working with another person at the front desk but for the past few months the other front desk person has been away from the desk to do other stuff around the office.
This has left me to take care of all front desk duties by myself. It isn’t hard work except for the fact that I took on multiple tasks besides my front desk duties back when it was two people at the front. Now that I’m by myself and doing the work of two people along with the other tasks I took on, I have been extremely overwhelmed.
The phones ring off the hook, people are constantly coming in or checking out with me. I have to respond to emails, texts and voicemails. Most of the messages require investigating in order to find a solution for them so it’s not a quick yes or no. It’s very time consuming. And no matter how many meetings we have about everyone helping me by answering the phones no one does it. And if they do answer the phone they don’t even try to help they just take a note for me to reach out to whoever called so I’m still doing the work.
A lot of the tasks I took up have to do with leaving the desk. Like picking up projects from FedEx which is a few blocks away from our building. Taking mail to the post office which is also a few blocks away. Or getting the mail from our mailbox which is all the way in the basement and we’re all the way on a top floor in the building.
I also volunteered to do personal things for my boss because I knew I had the time to do it. Like returning her clothes that she didn’t like or picking up her lunch. But I can’t do that anymore because I’m the only one at the front desk.
Anyway, my boss has been making it a big deal that I don’t get the mail until after lunch. I have told her since I started working there that the mail doesn’t come until the afternoon so I do wait until after lunch because I’m not going to keep checking every few minutes to see if it’s there especially when I need to take 2 elevators to get to the mailbox. I usually time it so that someone is watching the front desk while I go. I would think that’s a smart way to do it. Especially since she doesn’t even check her mail until after all the employees have gone home. I don’t see the issue with what time I bring it up if she’s still not going to check it until way later? It still drives her absolutely nuts!!! She refuses to understand that I can check the mail when she wants me to but there just won’t be any mail.
Well yesterday my boss didn’t come in to work until the second half of the day so we didn’t have many patients coming in for the first half of the day. I used this time to tackle all of the insurance paperwork I needed to fill out and email to patients. I also had notes piling up of patients that needed me to reach out to them from the past couple of weeks. I had more notes from my coworkers also pertaining to patients. And my boss is always urging me to put the patients first so they are always my first priority.
My boss had left me a note to pick up a project from FedEx before she got to work. I ended up not having time to go because I was working on insurance and talking to patients all morning. When she got to work she was pissed and started complaining to the manager whose office is right behind me. The door was open and she wasn’t even in the office she was in the hall loudly venting into the room so I could hear it. She was saying things like “I don’t understand what the issue is it’s not that hard” and basically complaining that I’m slacking at work. She was also like “Manager, I can’t do this she’s-“ and the manager was like “I know I’ll talk to her” meanwhile I’m sitting right next to them. Then they confiscated my mailbox key. That stung really bad because I have so much on my plate and I’m trying to make sure all of our patients are attended to before I worry about some stupid decoration or poster from FedEx.
And it’s literally down the street if it’s that urgent why didn’t she get it on her way to work??? Or send the one employee who doesn’t do anything? It’s like it has to be me or something. I’m not the only person in the office who could do it but they only pressure me about it.
I don’t remember everything my boss said when she was venting but it really made me feel like shit. They were talking like I had no feelings or was too stupid to understand. My mental health is already not ok. I lost 3 family members this year and then got dumped and found out my bf of 5 years was cheating on me for months. But I don’t bring that to work I just do my job.
I’m so sick and tired of everything. I’m trying not to hate my job but my boss is insufferable. I’m having such a hard time I want to kms.