I see a lot of younger employees bending over backward to do everything that is asked of them, whether it's a part of their jobs or not. You need to stop this. This "can you do this for me once please" exception will turn into something that is expected from you before you know it. You'll end up with more on your plate for nothing more but a pat on the back. Don't fall into that trap and find yourself very (and unavoidably) busy when stuff like that is asked of you. You'll thank yourself in the future.
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Since the outsourcing started no one can get anything done anyway.
- good luck getting that pat on the back....
The young ones I have seen feel super honored and important to be asked to do something by their managers. They drop everything to do it, the important work does not get done and they fall in the rankings and think it is not fair. I fault the managers for not directly checking with team leads to see if the person has the time and is capable to do the work.
The last supervisor I had before the February layoff was great about shutting that nonsense down, especially when it came from other departments we worked with on a regular basis. As soon as one request was made and completed, they started flooding in right and left. We were already underwater and short-staffed, and didn't have time for all the favors needed.
Biggest mistake of my young career was thinking everything was important and everything had to get done. (Course, as a young employee, you can also rub people the wrong way by trying to appropriately prioritize your own work….ExxonMobil cultural trap to watch for.)
But after you have built some credibility and experience in your career, get to work with priorities. Only about 50% of your work is truly important. Hit that 50% out of the ball park! Another 30% just needs to get done, but isn’t worth spending a lot of time on. The last 20%, no one will miss….phase it out.
Unfortunately, ‘keep your boss happy’ always falls into that top 50%….at least until you have really established yourself as a value to the company.