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I once worked at a small startup in a writing team of three people. One writer
was a guy. He had engineers coming to him, wanting him to produce file labels
and other administrative support tasks.
Needless to say, he spoke up. The problem stopped.
Those people who find themselves in the situation might try something like:
Sure, I'll be happy to do it this time, but let's take these tasks on a
round-robin basis. And stick to it. That way, you've made it clear that you
are a team-player, but one who refuses to be taken advantage of. A short time
later, take a task to the person who asked you and request that they do a favor
for you. If that person screeches in horror at your presumption, smile and walk
away. If he/she doesn't, then maybe you have found someone with whom you can
trade favors when the job gets heavy and time gets short.
