Needs To Requisition A Time-Turner

(I work in a call centre. I am good at my job, both volumes and customer service scores, so my manager asks me to take on an additional small piece of work. I still have to complete my full shift on the phone line, so I start coming in about 20 or 30 minutes early each day to get it done. My workplace doesn’t offer overtime, but we can save up extra hours and take time off later on. I take about one day a month off from this extra work but am always careful to request a day when no one else is off. One day my manager comes up to me.)

Manager: “You’re taking too much time off. You need to stop working extra hours.”

Me: “Oh, okay. Well, I only come in early to get [piece of work] done, so if you can give me half an hour during the day, I’ll just do it then.”

Manager: “I can’t take you off the phone during your shift; we’re too busy.”

Me: “Okay, so, you want me to stop doing [piece of work], then?”

Manager: “No, it needs doing, and you manage it twice as fast as the last person did. I don’t want to have to give it to someone else; it’ll take too long for them to learn to do it properly!”

Me: “So… when you gave it to me you expected it to take an hour a day and I’m only taking half that, I can’t come in early to complete it, and you won’t give me time during my shift for it. When do you want me to do it?”

Manager: “Just sort it out. You’re building up too many hours!” *walks off*

(I continued as I had been doing. The manager never came and spoke to me about it again.)