Work Related Issue

It's normal workplace drama. Stay out of it as best you can. I usually say very little when someone disagrees with a decision.

I would just say, "well this is what they have asked me to do" and let things go at that.

If it gets too out of hand, just go to the supervisor and say something very light, like, "There are two tasks that need to be completed and both seem to be important". You can go in with an approximate timeline to be helpful. I would mention the drama.

So you are a resource to both Abby and Carla.

So - let them sort our their differences and fight over you. That's nothing to do with you. They go can go *up* if they need this sorted out (that's what their manager is for).

As for who works overtime and who isn't organized, etc. stay out of that. It's not your place to worry about WHY they need you. That's their boss' concern. If one of them is not managing their time well and pulling you in, then that will reflect poorly on her (Carla).

Who is your boss? I'm a little unclear. You could talk to them about feeling you're pulled in two different directions - so you'd like clarification as to your hours per person.

Don't get mixed up into the personal stuff - who felt slighted, etc. You don't want to be a part of that - in one ear out the other :)

Neither Abby nor Carla are your bosses, right? You have a boss, right? I think that you need to let your boss work this out. I'd tell the boss that you're caught in the middle and she needs to sit down with both people separately and talk about their expectations and needs. And your job description as a full time employee needs to be mapped out in advance.

If you don't take the reins on this now, you will end up doing most of Carla's job. That's what she wants, a flunky to do most of her work so that she doesn't have to work hard.

Quite frankly, Abby needs to be the one to tell the boss what is really happening with Carla. I've seen this before. One person doing HALF the deals, and ALL the hardest deals in the entire office. And another person having fits because she was "overworked" and didn't get to leave on time. She didn't have NEAR the workload that the other guy did. And the boss not liking someone having fits, telling the guy who was doing most of the work that he needed to be the one to stay over. That's a terrible boss, I will say flat out.

I hope your boss isn't like that.

I would stay out of it and just do what I was told when I was told to do it. This is between them.

Carla should be talking to her supervisor about the tasks she needs help with and the hours she needs increased over what you are hired for. Whether your or someone else fills that job is up to the supervisor.

You and Abby must confine your conversations to your tasks for her. You cannot appear to be having side conversations about Carla. Carla should not be negotiating with Abby for more of your time since neither of them hired you, right?

You have X number of hours, and that is supposed to be divided in some formula between Abby and Carla. Stick to that. Within the hours each is allotted, she can decide what you work on. But not interdepartmentally.

You work as the hiring manager assigned you. If you have a conflict on the number of hours or how they are divided, that's who you go to. I realize Abby helped you get the job by advocating for you, but that's handled in companies with some sort of employee referral bonus - it doesn't mean she owns you or that you have a special work obligation to her. If you find that Abby is staying late to get her work done because you are being pulled away, you need to work the hours you're assigned. If she's doing it because there is too much work, she needs to go to her supervisor about re-prioritizing things. If Carla is taking long lunches because you are bailing her out, then you tell the supervisor that you are running out of hours and ask how to prioritize or divide things between you and Carla. Don't say she's going to lunch and leaving on time - that's not your call. But you can say she's unavailable during lunch hours so you have no one to ask for direction.

Do not get in the middle of Abby and Carla, and if Beth is in the mix, then that's getting more crazy. You work UP the system, taking to supervisors. At most, you can say to all 3 women, "Look, let's sit down with Ms. Manager and hammer out exactly how many hours I'm to spend with each of you so we have a clear understanding of what I'm being paid for. It's not my call." If they want to sit down with the Manager, great. If one of them doesn't, then you know who the weak link is. Sit down without her.

If their budget is limited, they are only paying part time hours and that has to be divided. Carla and Beth need to petition for additional hours but you aren't likely to be let go if that's approved anyway (which it sounds like it won't be). You have no obligation to work more hours than you're agreed to. Some people just get all excited about having an assistant, and they find more and more stuff for that assistant to do. If that's sending them into long lunches, the managers can find that out if you just ask for the meeting. It's not your problem to solve, nor is it Abby's.

If you were hired to be the back up to two people, then your time should be split evenly between the two people (i.e. if you work 20 hr a week, 10 go to Abby, 10 to Carla). If one of them does not need you for all of their allotted time, then that extra time can be shifted to the other person for that week.

If one or the other of your co-workers is taking advantage of that system, it is up to you to talk, first to the offending co-worker then to HR, about it. If they cannot work within those parameters, then it is their fault for not using their resources wisely.

Who is the boss that put you as a resource for both of them? I would talk to him/her and find out what the plan was and what the expectation of amount of workload for everyone was. You need a way to prioritize and not just by which fire is burning, because everyone has fires and Carla's fires (per what you said here) are self-inflicted. There needs to be someone you can point to and say, "I'm working per the direction of...." If Beth is the department supervisor, then have a sit down with her with your hours limits, your POV and how you want to be available but there needs to be a better plan. Give her a plan to work from and see how that goes, knowing what you do about Carla's work habits and Abby's needs.

I also agree that you are either available or not for Abby's tasks and I wouldn't say it's because of Carla if that's a bone of contention. You might have an appointment or sick kid that day, too.

My DH is a manager with people "borrowed" for other projects. Sometimes he needs to go to the other dept. and say, "Wait, my guy is saying you want him half time and I only agreed to 25% when you asked for his help. His priority needs to be..." So if the hiring manager had x expectation and Beth had another, they need to talk. And talk to you.

Otherwise do an even split and see how that works out. If Abby is generally overloaded, then that's something she needs to discuss with her boss as well.

IMO.

I technically have 3 bosses. I have a company boss (who I rarely see), I have a competency boss, and a program boss. Sometimes I get "must be done" tasking from both the competency and the program people at the same time. So I point blank asked who takes priority. It's the competency boss. Everyone was there when I asked the question so there is no confusion and that work gets done first. Why not just ask the actual bosses what your tasking is and who takes priority?

It's not really your fault if Abby can't get her work done, Abby would need to figure out a way to make it work. It seems the bosses thought Carla needed more help, so they want you helping both of them. I don't see why this is a problem.

I have a junior under me, but she is 50% mine and 50% to another team in the office. I always check with her on her workload before I pass anything to her, and she does have normal tasking for my program as well. Oddly enough, this works fine because we are all adults and communicate. You need to talk to the decision makers.

Talk to YOUR boss and see if you should be splitting your hours equally or what IS the % of time you should give to each. Problem solved.
Then have your boss communicate it to all.

Talk to the boss and find out what they expect. They sign your check and approve your employment correct? They are also Abby's and Carla's boss, correct?

I do think that you should make sure YOU understand what is expected of you. IF Carla is overusing you and not competent to do her own job you might lead the boss to allowing more hours for Abby than Carla so she'll have to do more of her own work and have to accept her consequences for not doing a good job.

I would say that being "loyal" to Abby is nice and good but she is not your employer. She needs to accept that she basically lobbied for you to be her assistant and now they're pulling you away.

it really depends on the company and how it's run. from my experience at my job (pretty limited), I would suggest maybe making a schedule (that both Abby and Beth agree on) so that they know they have you for a certain number of hours per day.

Otherwise I might consider talking to HR. This is really a matter for someone above your level to settle, imo. These two need to work together to share you fairly.

HTH.

Is it possible to sit down with both and have a remediation meeting about it and set guidelines of what is to be done? Where I have worked, if they both have the same goals, and load, and Carla is leaving on time but the work is getting done, then Abby could look bad as though she is not managing her own time properly even though it is because she is doing the work herself. Especially at my last job, this was the case.