Other Duties as Assigned

Remember when you were a kid and your parents told you that you could be anything you wanted to be? Well, welcome to corporate America, where apparently you can be everything all at once. Many of us find ourselves in roles with overly expansive job descriptions and then get additional tasks tossed our way on top of that. We’re expected to be a strategic visionary, data analyst, project manager, therapist, and office DJ all rolled into one. Oh, and can you fix the printer while you're at it?

"Other duties as assigned" is a needed catch-all to maintain flexibility for management, but it often becomes a recipe for mediocrity. When our duties span from "develop cutting-edge AI solutions" to "ensure break room is stocked with snacks," it becomes nearly impossible to excel at anything. We end up spreading ourself too thin to have meaningful impact.

Organizations often confuse quantity with quality. They think that by piling on responsibilities, they're getting more efficiency. They're actually creating a workforce of overwhelmed generalists who can't focus long enough to truly master any particular skill. We need to declutter our job descriptions, focusing on core competencies that truly drive value. Sure, it's great to be versatile, but not at the expense of expertise.

For employees stuck in these catch-all roles, it's crucial to have honest conversations with leadership. Identify where we can make the most impact and advocate for a more focused role. And if all else fails, maybe it's time to update that resume – just make sure it doesn't read like a laundry list of random skills.

Remember, in the professional world, it's better to be a master of one trade than a jack of all. Unless, of course, that one trade is fixing the office printer. Then you'll always be in demand.