Hi,

I have to sign a 6 month work programme which lists out what I am going to achieve in this time. I invariably miss the deadlines for these and have been regarded as over promising and under delivering. I do feel like it is pretty harsh considering with all the other work outside the scope of my work programme comes across my desk.

The fact that each 6 month period I get 9-10 months worth of work come across my desk forcing me to prioritize and ultimately let someone down in the office. So collectively amongst the staff, I have over promised and under delivered which gives the appearance that I am not good at my job.

So, what goes into my 6 month work programme doesn't take any other work under consideration and as mentioned above, sometimes the best work achieved is being reactive to those really good ideas that help people in their job and the business even though it is not in the work programme.

I am not sure how to handle this issue (and if anyone has any ideas I would like to hear about them) but I do believe sticking to the work programme only and ignoring any other tasks is a failure. I know I am managed badly but my thoughts are that the most important/essential work should be prioritized whether it is in your contracted work programme or not. After all, we do what we do for the greater good of the company, not just to tick a box.