Passing the buck

Dear F@W
I work in a company where organization doesn’t exist. It amazes me how we can still be in business. As the newest person, in the company it seems like many people hand me work which isn’t my responsibility, yet I need to do it anyway as there are no procedures in place. “Pass the buck” is a regular thing, and it just seems like I’m always caught in the end. Do I stick it out, or do I change jobs ASAP? It wouldn’t look too good on my CV only staying with a company for 5-6 months before moving. I feel like I am stuck in a rat race against everything and nothing that I do seems to have any long term effects.
–Daniel, London

Dear Daniel,
According to recent surveys, the average job only lasts three years. That means if you move now, and stay in your next job for a few years, this job will barely register as a blip on your employment radar. To put this another way, you should not stay in a job if the only reason is how it will look on your CV. Having said that, if this is part of a pattern of short-term stays, then you will need to take a more careful look at whether you are suited for full-time employment. Many people like yourself have discovered that other working arranagements such as consulting, temping, telecommuting and the like work much better for their temperament than sitting in a sterile office dealing with office politics all day. In addition, statistics show that people who adopt these unconventional working arrangments do just as well financially as (and sometimes even better than) their 40 hour/week colleagues.