I didn't feel that it was on me to kill myself finishing something when it could have been given to me in plenty of time. She said that she would "give this one to me" since I had "never refused work before". Didn't matter to me, as I had one foot out the door. Two months later I had both feet out the door. So true! I made that mistake. My former boss flat out said "you need to take on this extra work and you won't get a raise for it" and I asked if I could sit on it for a day to think it over, but she refused. The next day, I got sent to the "Principal's Office" (aka Vice President) and got in trouble. Luckily I was able to find another job but yeah things went to hell on a sled after that. No one person can do the work of three in the sense of working 120 hours a week, that's totally true. But if the boss wants to add more work, saying no and refusing will not result in a good outcome for the employee. This requires a meeting with the boss and going over the amount of work and taking into account the hours available in the work week determining what the priorities are, what can be delegated (if possible) and what can be backburnered for a little while. When people say they are doing the work of three this typically means that