Ask HN: Only person assigned to certain task, and I'm alone and tired

Do not spend personal money on company projects. That's the same as you taking a cut in pay. Seriously. Don't do this.

If the company cannot afford it the equipment you need to perform your job then you should be out looking for a job. If they can afford it, they should pay for it without issue.

Also, it's worth saying 'No' to things you're asked to do if the request is not realistic given the limitations they have placed on your resources.

Boss: Can you make a skit video about our new product?

You: Not without additional funds to hire talent.

Boss: Use people in the office to save money.

You: No, that doesn't work. It's more expensive when you consider they have to stop doing the job they are getting paid to do and perform a job they are untrained for.

protip: dont say NO to your boss :) If anything say "I cant, because ..." or "Yes, I will need ...".

> "Yes, I will n-

Great, I'll expect it by Monday.

In my experience it's better to say "How am I supposed to do that when XYZ?" where XYZ is a leading sentence about your problem and towards the solution you need.

As a sibling comment mentions, this might be a great time to interview and see what other options you have. It sounds like you aren't being set up for success.

If that is not the path you want to go down, I'd try to find other folks who are in the same boat. Are there marketing meetups (virtual or in the physical world) you can go to? I am the only person in my department right now and I meet regularly with practitioners outside my company for feedback and camaraderie.

I'd also make the business case for a budget, including actors and equipment. Tie it to the professionalism of the videos and how that will improve the business's image. Do research, have real numbers, and explain how spending this will improve the videos (quality, speed, views, topics, etc).

As far as getting colleagues to act in sketches, I'd ask for help from your boss. "Hey boss, I've had a couple of issues getting folks to appear in sketches. I'd prefer to pay actors, but do you have any other ideas how to get folks involved? I wasted a lot of the company's time working on <batgirl sketch> only to have <colleague> decide she didn't want to be featured. And I got yelled at this other time. It really feels like colleagues don't want to be video stars."

> As far as getting colleagues to act in sketches, I'd ask for help from your boss.

I'm not sure I agree with this idea. The coworkers don't seem to be willing to appear or act in the videos. If that isn't close to their job description, they shouldn't be expected to.

It's true that that's more of the boss' problem than OPs but, essentially, if people don't want to appear in public videos when that isn't their job, the solutions shouldn't be to pressure them to. Naming or pointing out the person who withdrew permission might put that person in a negative light, and I don't think that'd be fair. Sure, backpedaling can be frustrating, and perhaps she shouldn't have agreed in the first place, but I don't think it's really proportional to bring potential flak or pressure to participate on her because of that.

We don't know the boss, of course, but if he complains about the costs of a equipment -- OP mentions memory cards, of all things, which aren't exactly a great expense -- I'm not sure that sparks great confidence in his judgement.

You didn't mention what you were actually hired to do or what your goals are. If it doesn't involve making videos all day, then maybe it's time to leave. It doesn't sound like your boss is open to negotiation.

> Furthermore, I produce comedy sketches at the request of my boss, who likes SNL and thinks funny content going viral will be good PR.

This is some Michael Scott level of delusional.

> Additionally, my boss complains about how producing live-action videos takes time and money. However, it's frankly difficult to make videos without buying a memory card to record footage on camera.

Good, make him complain more. Don't spend a penny of your personal money. Get a budget or don't move a finger without one. Make the whole thing more expensive, not less. Make it as stupid as possible (your boss deserves it).

Sounds like a crappy situation, I wouldn't blame you for looking for work elsewhere.

BUT

You do appear to be asking for help. So I'd suggest reviewing some of the things you have control over:

Do you have any conversations with your co-workers?

Maybe at lunch?

Do you express an interest in their work?

Do you offer to help them with things in their areas?

Do you express an interest in them as people?

Healthy boundaries of course should be practiced.

Let me tell you a story about when I was consulting for a religious High School. They had a 3 man maintenance crew. These guys did _everything_. Keeping the grounds, parking control, all handyman activity, repairs, plumbing, digging, heavy lifting, decorating and undecorating. Anything that required muscle.

They were overwhelmed. They had a board where request notes were posted and they would triage them and try to focus on tasks in a given area for a day at a time. If anyone needed something "now", they were told to fill out a request and wait their turn. But it was not that way for me. Why? Every time I saw them unloading a truck or moving a mass of stuff from one place to the other, I'd chip in and help. Not a whole lot. But my acts of kindness earned me a lot of good grace with them. I really enjoyed working with them, it was a lot of laughs. I'd also buy them each a case of Heineken at Christmas time, as a way to say thank you for all the times they would drop what they were doing and come help me.

IOW, I treated them like human beings, not the hired help.

My employer uses employees as "actors" in internal videos. I politely refuse to be in these videos. If they were to insist, I would find another job.

It's unprofessional to approach people and ask them to do something outside of their job description.

also consider getting the 'talent' to sign a release that allows perpetual use of the content. (limits ability to withdraw permission)

"I end up spending some of my personal money to get equipments without dealing with complaints."

Nope, big mistake. I'm sure others will chime in with good advice, but the number one problem I see is that you're not standing up for yourself. That's not going to get better if you just find another job.

Sounds like a dumpster fire company. Get out asap.

They are fucking you around. Find another job.