Ask the Expert Randy Prange is a business advisor and CEO of Insights, Inc., a nationally recognized strategic planning and business development firm. New boss expects too much Q: I recently received a wonderful promotion. My new boss is ten years younger than I am, not married and practically lives at work. I feel a lot of pressure to spend weekends and evenings at work now. My family is very important to me and I don't want to sacrifice them for the job. What should I do? Betsy, worried in Palm Beach. A: Dear Betsy, As companies continue to search for ways to be more competitive and increase margins, more pressure is placed on employees to perform at higher levels. You are not alone in feeling the pressure to over achieve. It is not uncommon to find bosses who are either climbing the ladder or who don't have a life outside the workplace. If it is not clear what your boss expects of you, ask. Many difficult employment situations are exacerbated because employees do not clarifying their situation and the requirements of the job. Ask your new boss for a minute of her/his time to talk about your new responsibilities. Show great interest and enthusiasm for clarifying what will be expected of you. Give your new boss plenty of time to discuss her/his expectations of what you can/will deliver in the new job. After you have heard and understood these expectations you will know whether or not you can achieve them working a reasonable schedule. You then have two choices. A. If you can accomplish the goals within your time commitment, smile, thank your new boss and tell her/him that you are just the person for the job and you will not fail to give 100% to achieving the goals outlined. (don't ever say you'll give 110% … that's not possible so don't go there!) B. You determine (to yourself) that there is no way you can accomplish everything outlined without working weekends and nights like the boss does. You must then again smile, then note to the boss that, even though you are committed to accomplishing them, you don't immediately see how you can accomplish all the goals outlined within the time frame you have available. Ask that the boss help you to determine a priority for the goals so that you may accomplish the goals in the order of importance to her/him in a timely manner. This may subtly convey your dilemma between work and family. If the boss suggests you work her/his hours, you will then need to politely suggest that your family commitments are very important to you and you would greatly appreciate the opportunity to work with her/him to find an alternative solution to meeting the challenges at hand. Compromise and diplomacy are the keywords in any request you make. Remember, the best negotiators also consider the needs of the person on the other side of the desk! Also see: • More advice from Randy • More ways to find work/family balance Disclaimer: The information in this column is intended to provide the reader with general ideas or concepts to be used as part of a broader base of knowledge they collect to determine their own best course of action and solutions most suitable for solving their workplace challenges. The information in this column is not guaranteed to be the appropriate solution for each individual. The information provided is based on personal observations and experiences of the writer that have been garnered over years as a business manager, owner and executive business coach and counselor.