Voluntold: The exact opposite of volunteering. Being volunteered without being asked first. Told you will do something (often by a boss or management) without your consent. Also referred to as mandateering.

Has this happened to you?

You are going about your day, completing tasks, then find out second hand that someone volunteered you for something? It has happened to me before, and generally, I don't mind because there is usually a way I can make the voluntold item benefit me. However, this voluntold task had a couple of challenges:

The communication about being volunteered came through another channel that is no longer even in my business unit.
The task would require a bit of time and effort on my part outside of my role, job description, and general responsibilities with the potential of interfering with the tasks I need to complete as a part of my job.
The task did not offer me any personal development or growth as it was far less than tasks I am involved in with internal and external professional organizations as well as non-profits.
The task didn't align with my business and development goals for the year.
The task conflicted with a volunteer event that I support each year that has a deep personal meaning to me.

Thus, I am out.

Someone whom I trust expressed to me their concern that not doing this would reflect poorly on me. They also knew that there were movements behind the scene due to one individual's toxicity. I knew the potential risk going into the scenario, but I viewed it as a social experiment as well to see how people reviewed information. Regardless, I certainly appreciated the colleague's concern, but at the same time, I cannot go against my values and goals. Those who know me know that:

When asked for help, I am happy to jump in and lend a hand,
I will give 200% to help figure things out and try to improve a given scenario,
I will communicate directly with them regardless of whether the topic is positive or challenging because I respect them.

I came across a post the other day that further fueled my desire to continue on my path, support bigger and better tasks while trying to impact the world around me positively.

Image found via Google search on toxic people memes.

Amazingly, some toxic people continue to operate as though no one sees their true colors. Perhaps some are blinded to it or are just far more trusting than me. My “gut” had warned me about the local toxicity but the truth is that wherever you go, you are likely to encounter that in the workplace. However, it doesn’t have to take over your work life or ruin your day. To be clear, identifying that person’s toxicity from the time of introductions in no way impacted being able to fulfill my role and the required interactions with the person. I just made a point to not interact beyond those needs, as is my right.

So all this negativity in a post - why?

I wanted to share this recent experience with you because I think there are a couple of valuable lessons.

Trust your gut. We have eons of evolution built into us to help identify dangers even subconsciously - this can apply to other people as well.
First impressions can be very telling - but also may need reconsidering. We all have good days and bad days, so try to consider that when interacting with others. Watch for trends.
People who are around you all the time will know the real you. The strong relationships you build on mutual respect are unlikely to be influenced by outside sources.
You can say, “No, thanks.” Keep in mind that you may need to explain how the voluntold job doesn’t align or could interfere with your goals and objectives.
JUST ASK. Don’t try to force your passion or extra item onto someone else simply because that person always gets things done.

In my opinion, there is nothing more demotivating or disrespectful than mandateering. The message that comes through is that my opinion/passion/time/effort is expendable and less valuable than your own. We are all juggling different lives, so please be respectful and PLEASE ASK FIRST.

Cheers, Heather :)

Voluntold, Mandateering, & Toxic People