Sure. You just risk “getting out” of doing the things that ARE in your job description as well.
“That’s not my job” can work OK for peers, it’s less effective when used on management.
I’ve tried it. It didn’t work. (And I have pretty relaxed relationship with my boss so the exchange was pretty casual and had no consequences.)
Who does the actual asking?
If it is the boss would think a response of, “I can, but I won’t be able to get my other work done if I am sitting at the front desk. If that is ok with you, then no problem.” Would be appropriate.
If it is another equal, “I can’t take time to work the front desk, during this week my other tasks have priority.”
Well Cindy’s back, closing’s not done, and Big Vendor is still not caught up. Boss isn’t as pissy as last week though. He’s tangled up with auditors and such.
Best thing is to work quietly, and lay low for now.
Thanks all for your opinions. Not as exciting as staff rebellions and storming off dramatically to find my dream job. But that ain’t gonna happen.
I was in the AF for the first 22 years of my career, “job description” was just “whatever needs to be done anywhere” 
I’m a contractor for the Federal Government now and I’ve never even seen my Statement of Work. I just do “whatever needs to be done”
People in unions (or otherwise with strong contracts) might do so, since they have a way to enforce that belief and protection against getting fired over it.
I’ve never heard someone say it in my private-sector career.
Years ago, my Dad (who was in a union) was telling me he just hung out in the break room all day because the light bulb above his workspace was burnt out. I asked him “Why didn’t you just change it?” “Not my job” he said
It doesn’t matter if you think they’re part of the problem, because they’re not. Assigning motivations are personal blame to them is pointless; they are not the real problem (not to Two Many Cats, anyway.) The problem is the boss, full stop.
It doesn’t matter WHY Cindy is taking time off. It makes no difference if she’s lazy, if her husband is dying of cancer, if she’s shirking, if she’s ill, if she’s just in the habit of doing it and no one has told her not to, if the odd vacation system creates a eprverse incentive to do this, or whatever. Doesn’t matter if it’s justified or not. All irrelevant. All that matters is that Two Many Cats is being asked to execute a set of duties at work that she simply cannot effectively do. That’s it. Blasting Cindy and Annie for their perceived shortcomings is pointless and unprofessional. The problem is the misallocation of duties.
How Boss is going to fix that I don’t know. Maybe he will, maybe he won’t, but it’s his problem to solve. HE can look into why Cindy keeps taking too much time off.
Occasionally. My company does business in 8 states, and I am responsible for certain duties for my state. I have counterparts in the other states. Sometimes a higher up will ask or demand that I do something that is outside of my duties and/or in another state, which is almost certainly a bad idea, and I usually decline.
It’s not as prevalent these days, but time was when nearly every job description included “And other related duties as requested.” Definitely CYA for management.
Not in those words - but if there is a business reason why they shouldn’t do something, they will say so. But I’ve spent most of my working life in government/union environments, and I’ve rarely heard someone say “Sorry, that’s not in my job description” , be told to do it anyway, refuse to do it and *not *be disciplined with the exception of refusals due to safety. All three unions I’ve belonged to had a mantra of " Obey now, grieve later".