Other Duties As Assigned Poem by David Byer

"Other duties as assigned"
that little phrase at the end of my job description

nobody tells you what it really means

no one told me,
I would have to deliver hard news
layoffs, reorganization, budget cuts,
that changes what a friend will do tomorrow or the next

no one told me,
I'd have to sit and listen as my peers and friends
are crying from loss and hurt
not from the job but from life itself

no one told me,
that the emotions that aren't mine
would invade me from all that I hear and feel
and be brought home to my wife and children

no one told me,
that I would feel everyday like an imposter
not because I can't do it
but because everything changes so fast I can't keep up

no one told me,
that when everything is falling apart
I would be looked to for calm
and to steer into a safe port even as I was lost too

no one told me,
that after years of work, struggle, and growth
friends would leave or be moved or lost altogether
and I would have to turn the page and start all over again

no one told me,
how much my words would matter,
some would cause people to stay and grow
others would cause people to leave and drift away

no one told me,
that every day I had to re-earn the trust that I had built
that it is not just given once,
but earned or lost every single day

no one told me,
that sometimes I would have to choose
between people and program goals,
and that there is always only one answer to that question

no one told me,
that all that I do means nothing
if I don't make people feel that they're valued for who they are
not just what they do.

"other duties as assigned"
what HR never tells you about the job
that shapes your life and defines how you will be
remembered.

D. Byer 2025 Based on an image about Leadership on LinkedIn