# "I don't get paid enough for that." **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 14, 2007, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-paid-enough-for-that/415545 "2007-08-14T13:09:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-paid-enough-for-that/415545/21 "2007-08-14T18:13:49Z")
[QUOTE=VunderBob] I’m an electrical engineer by profession, and an EMT by hobby for lack of a better word. [/QUOTE] > [@Merriam-Webster](#): > > avocation > One entry found for avocation. > > Main Entry: av·o·ca·tion > Pronunciation: "a-v&-'kA-sh&n > Function: noun > Etymology: Latin avocation-, avocatio, from avocare to call away, from ab- + vocare to call, from voc-, vox voice – more at VOICE > 1 archaic : DIVERSION, DISTRACTION > 2 : customary employment : VOCATION > **3 : a subordinate occupation pursued in addition to one’s vocation especially for enjoyment :** HOBBY Bolding mine. ---
**Author:** ![Sofaspud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8491ac/32.png) [@Sofaspud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofaspud)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-paid-enough-for-that/415545/22 "2007-08-14T19:08:31Z")
I have to say **Jodi** phrased my thoughts on customer service far better than I usually manage. 🙂 At any rate, though, my peeve today is about working with people who do this crap. Nyyarrarghh! **TroubleAgain** , your solution would be WONderful if it worked here. But the department this jerk belongs to is run by a manager who apparently couldn’t care less. When I tried to point out that his so-called on-call staffer not only couldn’t be bothered to answer his phone, but didn’t even bother returning one of the multiple messages I left, his response was to brush it off and move on. I dunno what this guy has on his boss, but it must be _good_. Dammit. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-paid-enough-for-that/415545/23 "2007-08-14T19:46:46Z")
I was hired as an attorney at a law firm that expected the attorneys to have 160 “billable hours” a month. The pay was not great, and I was early in my career, but I took the job. After a few months, I began to realize that the firm was plagued with so many inefficiencies and the partners had “stacked the deck” and “rigged the system” to the point where it was impossible to reach the target, unless, of course, I worked all day and all night seven days a week. I didn’t get paid enough for that. ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-paid-enough-for-that/415545/24 "2007-08-14T19:50:08Z")
[QUOTE=Zsofia] There are legitimate uses for the phrase, though - the bottom rung call center guy doesn’t get paid enough for me to scream at him, so if I’m spitting fire when he answers I ask to be transferred up the line. He doesn’t get paid enough for that. [/QUOTE] At my current job, “I don’t get paid enough” for doing things that are outside of my job description but are within the job description of higher-ups or other employees. I am not being paid to clean up after someone who made a mess in the bathroom, as I am not the janitorial staff. I am not being paid to calm down a customer who is angry at another employee’s screw-up or something they don’t understand and won’t listen to me; the managers are there to calm people down when they refuse to listen to the entry-level employees’ explanation of the situation at hand. Now, using the phrase “I don’t get paid enough to do \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_” is not appropriate if it’s an expected part of your job description. One of my coworkers who has the same position as I do (different shifts) apparently complains whenever someone asks her to do anything pertaining to her job; she may or may not use that phrase, but the fact that she can’t be arsed to do the simple tasks required makes her the kind of person the OP is pitting. The job may not be great, and the pay isn’t either, but at least make an effort to show you’re capable of doing the job well. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-paid-enough-for-that/415545/25 "2007-08-14T20:25:08Z")
The only time I’ve ever used that phrase has been in situations where a boss (usually a female boss, for some reason) erroneously believes that “good customer service” and “kissing the customer’s ass” are equivalent terms. I do not enjoy dealing directly with customers, and frankly, I’m not very good at dealing directly with customers. Because I’m aware of this weak spot in my skill set, I deliberately choose jobs that do not typically involve direct contact with customers. I realize that some amount of direct customer contact is unavoidable, and in those situations I can conduct myself politely and professionally. But I’ve had bosses like I’ve described in the previous paragraph who have figuratively fellated their favorite customers to such an extent that these certain customers come to believe that they themselves are the managers of the business. These customers then become more and more demanding and more “entitled” to special treatment, to the point that they’re increasing my workload without a corresponding increase in either my compensation _or in the revenue of the business_. While I may be getting paid enough to perform the job for which I was hired, I’m most definitely not being paid enough to perform analingus. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-paid-enough-for-that/415545/26 "2007-08-14T20:32:58Z")
[QUOTE=MissMossie] Of course, as soon as my parents leave the dog gets diarrhea. I thought the phrase, might have muttered it out loud, but then I sucked it up and got really good at cleaning carpets. [/QUOTE] Nice image. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-paid-enough-for-that/415545/27 "2007-08-14T20:38:02Z")
[QUOTE=Chimera] On my own job, a couple of months ago I refused to unplug a dorm toilet that was overflowing with feces. I refused to even walk into the room, because it had overflowed onto the floor and my old boots had a hole in them. That is not part of my job description and I do not get paid enough to consider doing that. That’s why they have cleaning crews, maintenance people and plumbers. [/QUOTE] Similar thing happened with me when I was a delivery driver at Pizza Hut. Sorry, not in my job description, and I am NOT fixing that. Eww. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-paid-enough-for-that/415545/28 "2007-08-14T20:57:59Z")
I heard that phrase uttered in the third person by one of the best managers I’ve ever met. A customer had yelled at our receptionist and made her cry. The manager called the customer _in front of the receptionist_ and told him, “She’s not paid enough to take that kind of crap. I am. You can yell at me all you want, but if you don’t apologize to her right now I’m asking you to take your business elsewhere.” He listened for a moment, handed the phone to the receptionist, and the customer apologized. I learned a lot about management from that man. ---
**Author:** ![Litoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@Litoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Litoris)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-paid-enough-for-that/415545/29 "2007-08-14T21:50:41Z")
[QUOTE=InvisibleWombat] I heard that phrase uttered in the third person by one of the best managers I’ve ever met. A customer had yelled at our receptionist and made her cry. The manager called the customer _in front of the receptionist_ and told him, “She’s not paid enough to take that kind of crap. I am. You can yell at me all you want, but if you don’t apologize to her right now I’m asking you to take your business elsewhere.” He listened for a moment, handed the phone to the receptionist, and the customer apologized. I learned a lot about management from that man. [/QUOTE] Wow. Just wow. I bet that receptionist loved that boss – I would have. It always pisses me off to see management cow-tow to the customer and shit on the employees – even when I am the customer. ---
**Author:** ![fuffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fuffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fuffle)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-paid-enough-for-that/415545/30 "2007-08-14T22:38:58Z")
The only time I’ve used that phrase or a close cousin is when I am sincerely doing my best job and TPTB are still pressuring me for more, more, more. Like when I’m already meeting killer budgets and deadlines with half staff and they’re wondering why I’m not working harder to make them more money. I totally agree that whatever your responsibilities are (like being on-call) should be done cheerfully (or at least competently). It’s also true that a good worker will do whatever it takes to get the job done. However, management also has to have a “whatever it takes” attitude. If I’m in a situation where management expects me and mine to shoulder the whole burden of making the organization successful with no support from them…well, then, I don’t get paid enough for that. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2007, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-paid-enough-for-that/415545/31 "2007-08-14T22:45:43Z")
[QUOTE=InvisibleWombat] I heard that phrase uttered in the third person by one of the best managers I’ve ever met. A customer had yelled at our receptionist and made her cry. The manager called the customer _in front of the receptionist_ and told him, “She’s not paid enough to take that kind of crap. I am. You can yell at me all you want, but if you don’t apologize to her right now I’m asking you to take your business elsewhere.” He listened for a moment, handed the phone to the receptionist, and the customer apologized. I learned a lot about management from that man. [/QUOTE] I’ve been both the receptionist and the boss in that scenario, and he handled it perfectly. If it weren’t so inappropriate, I’d ask you to kiss that man for me. He got it exactly right. I’ve been known to use the phrase. Sometimes it seems as though my entire job is is made of doing the parts of other people’s jobs that they fail to do, and it makes me cranky. Especially when those other people make more money than I do, presumably because they have skills that I lack, except that I DON’T, because I had to \*learn \* those skills to do \*their \* jobs _when they fail to_. So yeah, I don’t get paid enough to do that. Like \*\*WhyNot \*\* said, “I don’t get paid enough for that.” is a valid reason to not take on additional responsibilities. It is NOT a valid reason to not perform tasks that you agreed to perform when you took the job. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-paid-enough-for-that/415545/32 "2007-08-15T08:33:19Z")
I was working night security at my university when we got an unknown alarm from the nuclear reactor room in the engineering building. Dispatch called the campus police to respond, as well as me, since I had the keys. They responded, I refused, since I was working a barely above minimum wage and had zero interest in getting anywhere near that building without protective gear. Winds up that it was one of the federal safety agencies testing the campus response, and they sited my actions as correct. For the OP, kick that up to their manager. If they aren’t answering their on-call, it’s their manager’s responsibility. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-paid-enough-for-that/415545/33 "2007-08-15T09:35:23Z")
[QUOTE=matt\_mcl] The other variant is “That’s a decision that’s made above my pay scale,” meaning that is something the high muckymucks have decided or will decide in their infinite wisdom, and to which I am bound but for which I am not responsible. [/QUOTE] May I steal that? In my current job, any time that myself or my other gung-ho colleagues propose any kind of improvement or point out that a design is going to have suchandsuch problem so maybe we should do it thisotherway, we’re told “that’s the way it’s been designed,” “stop bringing up problems,” “you’re too negative.” Or, as ex-Barça _míster_ van Gaal used to say, “always negative, never positive!” So I find myself in the sad situation of, for the first time in my life, having “Not My Problem” as my mantra. And yes, you can bet I’m going to get out of this mudhole. The contract ends December 31st. My boss’ boss is one of those people who like to say things like “you know, if you want to stay in this company…” It’s perhaps a good thing she hasn’t adressed that to me, because I’m likely to explain that no, I don’t. I’m just not particularly interested in taking a 1-month contract that’s bound to be a piece of shit when the current piece of shit pays more and has 3’5 months to go… but want to stay? Hell no. In general though, I find “not my problem” and “I don’t get paid for that” to be the kind of stuff that warrants a good slap to the face. Since these are illegal, other means must be found… ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-paid-enough-for-that/415545/34 "2007-08-15T19:01:57Z")
[QUOTE=DianaG] I’ve been both the receptionist and the boss in that scenario, and he handled it perfectly. If it weren’t so inappropriate, I’d ask you to kiss that man for me. He got it exactly right. [/QUOTE] I got another gem from Dave, too. Another manager (at Dave’s level) was chewing out one of Dave’s employees. Dave walked over and stood in between them and said to the other manager. “If you have a problem with his performance, talk to me. My employees are yours to praise, but only mine to criticize.” ---
**Author:** ![Carnacki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5e925/32.png) [@Carnacki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnacki)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-paid-enough-for-that/415545/35 "2007-08-15T19:10:01Z")
[QUOTE=Nava] In general though, I find “not my problem” and “I don’t get paid for that” to be the kind of stuff that warrants a good slap to the face. Since these are illegal, other means must be found… [/QUOTE] “I’m not even sure that’s a crime anymore, there’ve been a lot of changes in the law.” – Erwin M. Fletcher You Choose ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2007, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-paid-enough-for-that/415545/36 "2007-08-15T19:15:03Z")
[QUOTE=TroubleAgain] Bolding mine. [/QUOTE] Ignorance successfully fought. ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-paid-enough-for-that/415545/37 "2007-08-17T15:32:11Z")
[QUOTE=VunderBob] Ignorance successfully fought. [/QUOTE] 😉 ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-paid-enough-for-that/415545/38 "2007-08-17T16:47:37Z")
I’m assuming the agreement with the employee in the OP is that they be on call all night? “I start at 7” makes me think they in fact start being on call at 7. If the company has to pay by the on-call hour (ours does, at a cut rate), maybe they literally don’t get paid enough to do it?? ---
**Author:** ![Sunrazor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sunrazor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunrazor)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-paid-enough-for-that/415545/39 "2007-08-17T17:50:24Z")
I suppose if my boss asked me to climb the tower of our broadcast transmitter in a raging thunderstorm, I might actually tell him I don’t get paid enough to do that. And there have been times, slogging through a pasture at eleven at night to find out why the hell nothing was coming out of my radio, that I’ve muttered the phrase to myself. But then I remember that the man I work for worked his butt off for four years after buying the station without taking a dime home. Yeah, I get paid enough for that. (Well, except for the climbing the tower thing … not that. There isn’t enough money anywhere for that.) ---
**Author:** ![Millit\_the\_Frail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@Millit\_the\_Frail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Millit_the_Frail)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2007, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-paid-enough-for-that/415545/40 "2007-08-17T21:01:03Z")
I don’t think there’s a problem with saying this or “that’s not my job” when I’m being asked to do something that is clearly beyond what I’m supposed to do. It’s not infrequent that I’m being asked to pick up the slack for someone else or being used as someone’s personal assistant. I’m here to do My Job, which is not “Dr. Jerkface’s Personal Lackey,” and most certainly not “Slacky McSlackerson’s Job.” I might do it, but I won’t be quiet about it. And no, don’t tell me that makes me “not a team player,” because then I might have to use my stapler in a less-than-savory way on your bodily extremities. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-get-paid-enough-for-that/415545.md?page=1)