For me, it's not even that. I've never had a boss tell me what it'll take. I've always been asked, even though I've repeatedly told them I'm horrible at estimates. Thought sometimes they'll suggest a timeframe, hopefully.
When I tell them that they were too optimistic, their usual reply is that I need to get back to them as soon as anything changes for the worse. Otherwise, truck along and do it.
If I say 'nope, 4 weeks' right off the bat, there's usually a step where they consider if it'll be worth it in that time (or possibly longer) and they tell me when to ditch it and move on, if it's really going to be that long.
And it happens sometimes, even on projects that I really wanted to do.
The opposite happens, too, though. Sometimes they think it'll take longer than I think, and I tell them in that situation, too.
When I tell them that they were too optimistic, their usual reply is that I need to get back to them as soon as anything changes for the worse. Otherwise, truck along and do it.
If I say 'nope, 4 weeks' right off the bat, there's usually a step where they consider if it'll be worth it in that time (or possibly longer) and they tell me when to ditch it and move on, if it's really going to be that long.
And it happens sometimes, even on projects that I really wanted to do.
The opposite happens, too, though. Sometimes they think it'll take longer than I think, and I tell them in that situation, too.