Do you ever feel like you’re handling the work of eight all by yourself? You might just have donned the role of the octo-hire at your workplace. Glassdoor recently presented us with the concept of the octo-hire, an employee who is hired for one role but is then tasked with multiple others once they step into the position. The mounting stack of the octo-hire’s responsibilities often leaves them burnt out, but they are usually reminded that career growth is only possible with a little elbow grease to get the job done.
Employees are tired and overworked, there is sufficient data available to prove this, but the octo-hire trend does show us that there is a reason for it. Employees put in such positions are often willing to push themselves to the limit just to make the taste of job security last a little longer, but this apparent productivity is always short-lived. While the term is relatively new, let’s define the octo-hire and understand their plight a little better.
Wondering what an oct-hire is? Let’s break the trend down to better understand what it is and how you can navigate it. (Image: Pexels)
What is an Octo-Hire and Why Should You Pay Attention to Them?
Glassdoor defines the octo-hire as the “overextended, overstressed employee juggling the workload of eight roles with limited time, energy, and resources.” They refer to workers who accept a job based on a specific role and terms of employment, but they end up having to perform a much wider range of responsibilities that they may or may not be trained for or even interested in.
This doesn’t just refer to an assistant who had to make an additional call that someone else usually handles or a team leader who is asked to manage a different team from their own. The octo-hire’s responsibilities often expand beyond their own professional areas of expertise and devolve into tasks that are technically someone else’s role.
More than just a single favor or request, octo-hires experience an overload of their jobs, taking on tasks that might have otherwise relied on a team of other workers. This culture is common at startups, but it could catch you off guard at any organization.
Is It Best to Avoid Octo-Hire Roles?
Most job postings don’t define octo-hire roles when they are uploaded, making it difficult to determine what the experience will be when you’re signing up. The addition of responsibilities also doesn’t always start right on day one. Most catfishing job posts present an image of your tasks and responsibilities and allow you to perform them for a period, but one by one, additional work is slowly added on.
In many cases, the experience of taking on different tasks at work can be enlightening, providing a plethora of knowledge that may make it easier to perform your job better or garnish your resume. The octo-hire trends could work in your favor, allowing you to prove yourself to your employers. However, these advantages are limited and come with risks of their own.
Glassdoor states that the mention of burnout in the employee reviews of organizations has spiked 32%, the highest numbers seen in almost a decade. This is not a coincidence. With the number of layoffs occurring, many employees have no choice but to handle multiple responsibilities alone.
Even without the ominous mention of layoffs, workers have seen their roles become increasingly complex, with the actual tasks differing significantly from their roles. The rise of burnout is almost inevitable. Whether you choose to take on an octo-hire’s responsibilities or not depends entirely on your tolerance and whether you truly believe its benefits in supporting your career.
What Can You Do About the Oct-Hire Trends?
Now that we know what an octo-hire is, it’s time to face up to whether that truly defines your role at work. If you’re comfortable with where things stand and don’t mind being the go-to person for miscellaneous work, there is no real reason to push for a change. If you want to avoid being the octo-hire and prefer to be recognized for your actual skills and expertise instead, you can also take a stand and ask for a better work environment.
There are a few different things you can try to avoid falling victim to the octo-hire trends:
- Review job descriptions and company culture carefully to understand the role, and be more analytical in studying whether the job posting resonates with the work you want to do
- Do your own research on the position, what it entails, and what your expectations are for the role
- Set your own expectations for the role and determine what you’re willing to do and where you want to draw the line
- Ask questions when you can during interviews; they aren’t just designed for the employer to interview, but also for the employee to understand what they’re getting into
- Understand what your core responsibilities are so you can distinguish between what is and isn’t for you to take on
- Have an honest conversation with your manager about your role and ask for clarity on the expectations for the role, and what your performance will be evaluated on
- Ask for a new title or a raise, in case you prefer to get better compensation for the additional work
- Keep an eye out for quitting colleagues and ask why they chose to leave their roles
- Maintain a record of the tasks you perform and the instructions given to you to perform them, to ensure you can make a case for yourself if required
- Consider switching jobs if the octo-hire role is becoming too overwhelming and resulting in burnout
The Octo-Hire Role Is Not New, but It Is Certainly Evolving
An octo-hire’s responsibilities are many, and they can fall to any employee unexpectedly. When a colleague quits or a departmental change creates a new role for a niche task, there is the covert expectation that employees who are asked to step up do so quietly. This is not a new phenomenon and has likely persisted within workplaces for decades, but the fear of being fired for refusing a task ensures that most workers comply when asked to perform additional jobs.
If you are among the octo-hires being overloaded by their jobs, there is always room to make a case for yourself without having to flat-out refuse to perform it. From asking for help to requesting that the organization split the tasks with another employee, there are many ways to understand the position of an octo-hire and mold it to fit your own role more comfortably.
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