A Case Of The Mondays: Vent Your Work Spleen Here

[ABay]

Despair is ruling my life right now. Without going into details because it might violate the no-politics rule, the situation at work, because of the financial crisis in the state, is dire. The national level has even worse implications for my life. There have been days lately, and I suspect tomorrow will be another one, where it's all I can do to get out of bed. If it wasn't for the cats, I'm not sure how I'd drag myself through the day. I feel like anything else that happens, no matter how inconsequential, is going to send me into a spiral I won't pull out of. 

[theredhead77]

@BrittaBot I agree with @Moose135. Don't give up. If you can afford it, have him take a break, volunteer somewhere.

 

@ABay take a breath, hug the kitties.

[ratgirlagogo]

6 hours ago, ABay said:

The national level has even worse implications for my life.

I'm hoping not for mine directly right away but it does for a number of my friends, right now.  Just remember you are NOT alone - just bust out that pussy hat, walk around the neighborhood and you might be surprised at who your allies turn out to be.  Which is not to say you shouldn't take a breath and hug the kitties, of course.

Edited February 3, 2017 by ratgirlagogo

[bilgistic]

16 hours ago, ABay said:

Despair is ruling my life right now. Without going into details because it might violate the no-politics rule, the situation at work, because of the financial crisis in the state, is dire. The national level has even worse implications for my life. There have been days lately, and I suspect tomorrow will be another one, where it's all I can do to get out of bed. If it wasn't for the cats, I'm not sure how I'd drag myself through the day. I feel like anything else that happens, no matter how inconsequential, is going to send me into a spiral I won't pull out of. 

Virtual, non-creepy hugs to you, @ABay. I'm having a VERY hard time right now, too. PM me if you'd like.

[ABay]

OK, I took a deep breath and hugged the one cat that will allow human contact. It's Saturday and I don't have to work today which means I won't hae my work email open and bombarding me with doom and gloom, and avoiding FaceBook is easy enough.

Thanks, @bilgistic, I'm so sorry to hear you're also suffering. @ratgirlagogo, while I don't currently have a pussy hat, this morning I made donations to the politicians and organizations I could afford to, and I've been following a daily action site. Maybe they'll eventually get around to the main issues that have me staring into the abyss. 

All of this should help me make it until Monday. Then, who the hell knows? It's just one day after another, onward through the fog.

[DeLurker]

@ABay - A lot of people are overwhelmed right now with all the stuff going on in the news and there is so much of it.  And rarely have I been personally impacted by the headline news, but I think right now we all are.

From reading your posts, I know that you are not a sheep nor willfully ignorant.  I hope that you regain your footing soon.  I think you are the type of person who our representatives need to know that the current climate is having an adverse effect on as you can explain in clear and reasonable terms how and why.

The rapid rate of changes is the military tactic of Shock & Awe - we're getting hit on so many fronts.

And sending you some of the same non-creepy virtual hugs as @bilgistic.  For you and the boy & girl cats.

Mods:  Not trying to be political or restart that closed thread.  I've tried to be careful in my wording and talk in the abstract, but if I overstepped that line, just delete and accept my apologizes.

[theredhead77]

Treat update! The woman who brought treats on Friday made a god-damn waffle station. No joke. To be fair, there were only 5 of us there, so 2 boxes of Eggo's some sliced berries and a couple cans of whipped cream cost the same as donuts / bagels. CF made a huge deal about how it took treat Friday to the next level.

I'm kinda annoyed with the treat-bringer. She was/is my source for what is going down on that side of the building and she told me, several times, she was glad I stood up to CF, because CF is still being a control freak however she can. I still haven't found out what the dress code meeting was about but she's moved on to watching how long people are talking at the coffee station.

[bilgistic]

Next week: catered breakfast with a crepe chef! I'm so intrigued to see how far this will escalate.

[Guest]

I'm not a fan of football and had no intention of watching the Super Bowl.  Didn't think I'd bother to find out who won until tomorrow.

But the people in my company that make my job challenging all work out of Massachusetts and I've heard a lot about the certainty that the Pats would win this thing.  The Falcons being the home team.  So when I flipped by the Super Bowl and I saw the score, I have to admit that I let out a spontaneous maniacal burst of laughter.  And snorting.  There has been a lot of snorting.  And chuckling.  And now I'm watching the Super Bowl.  Its become some kind of uplifting karmic justice. 

[JTMacc99]

The thing about sports is, it takes and it gives with no real regards for what we want to happen. 

[bilgistic]

On Monday mornings at work, the guys at work think it's utterly hilarious to ask me who played in whatever game. I say I don't know (because I don't and I don't care; sports are not on my radar). Laffs galore from them. It's so fucking stupid and childish and pisses me off. It's just one more way to point out how "abnormal" I am.

Tomorrow morning, if I say, "Good thing football season is over so we can stop playing this dumb game," they'll point out that it's basketball season, or baseball season is coming. Or fucking badminton. I don't know. I hate my job.

[Moose135]

My boss was mildly insufferable after the presidential election, but he's from Boston, and I'm sure he's going to be unbearable in the morning.

[NutMeg]

I know this is the Monday blues thread, so this is off topic, but has anyone transitioned from freelance to full time work? And wants to share their experience, even via pm? I'm considering this now, after having done the opposite more than 10 years ago. I'm interested in pros, cons, process, etc. Thanks.

[backformore]

1 hour ago, bilgistic said:

On Monday mornings at work, the guys at work think it's utterly hilarious to ask me who played in whatever game. I say I don't know (because I don't and I don't care; sports are not on my radar). Laffs galore from them. It's so fucking stupid and childish and pisses me off. It's just one more way to point out how "abnormal" I am.

Tomorrow morning, if I say, "Good thing football season is over so we can stop playing this dumb game," they'll point out that it's basketball season, or baseball season is coming. Or fucking badminton. I don't know. I hate my job.

I hate when people do this!  Yeah, it's so funny to not follow sports!  They act like they have superior intellect because they know more about sports. 

I suggest playing innocent, and not engaging.  When they ASK, take them literally.  Did you watch the game? Answer is No.   If someone asks you about the game, act distracted, and say "What?  Oh, gee, why don't you ask Joe over there - he usually knows that stuff."   Be confident, act as though your LACK of interest in sports is proof of YOUR superior intellect.  But give them as short an answer as you can, then return to work.  Don't let them rile you, that's the response they want.

[DeLurker]

8 hours ago, Moose135 said:

My boss was mildly insufferable after the presidential election, but he's from Boston, and I'm sure he's going to be unbearable in the morning.

Are all from Boston mildly insufferable?  I think it is the lack of "r" in their vocabulary*...

I'm guessing today he will have progressed to moderate to severe...he should contact his doctor.

*Old joke - have a lot of family in Mass., New Hampshire and Maine.  My cousins always took great delight in teasing me about sounding dumb because I am a slow talker. I would rag on their 25 letter alphabet. 

[bosawks]

2 hours ago, DeLurker said:

Are all from Boston mildly insufferable?  I think it is the lack of "r" in their vocabulary*...

I'm guessing today he will have progressed to moderate to severe...he should contact his doctor.

*Old joke - have a lot of family in Mass., New Hampshire and Maine.  My cousins always took great delight in teasing me about sounding dumb because I am a slow talker. I would rag on their 25 letter alphabet. 

I'm from Boston and I'm majorly insufferable...

[Moose135]

38 minutes ago, bosawks said:

I'm from Boston and I'm majorly insufferable...

That's what we love about you... ;-)

[bilgistic]

Well, I took a mental health day today. I will pay for it, believe me. I just couldn't do it today. I haven't had a "sick" day in a long while.

[bosawks]

2 hours ago, bosawks said:

I'm from Boston and I'm majorly insufferable...

 

2 hours ago, Moose135 said:

That's what we love about you... ;-)

Mom?

[theredhead77]

Woman next to me is a teeth sucker / gum popper. I want to move so bad, I am so sick of having to blast music in my head phonesto block out her disgusting noises. I started just playing music. If she says anything I'll just tell her I didn't realize she could hear my music over all her self-created noise.

On the plus side, I finally got facilities to up the A/C temperatures and it is no longer a freezer

[janestclair]

So my supervisor has to reapply for her job because the position changed slightly.  I'm beside myself with the thought that she might not get it.  The department is hopeful.  If she doesn't get it, I'll do a cartwheel. I don't know how, but I'll learn.  She is a terrible boss and human being.

[theredhead77]

5 minutes ago, janestclair said:

So my supervisor has to reapply for her job because the position changed slightly.  I'm beside myself with the thought that she might not get it.  The department is hopeful.  If she doesn't get it, I'll do a cartwheel. I don't know how, but I'll learn.  She is a terrible boss and human being.

Hopefully they orchestrated this to get her out.

[bilgistic]

18 hours ago, NutMeg said:

I know this is the Monday blues thread, so this is off topic, but has anyone transitioned from freelance to full time work? And wants to share their experience, even via pm? I'm considering this now, after having done the opposite more than 10 years ago. I'm interested in pros, cons, process, etc. Thanks.

I was freelancing before I took my current job. I didn't make enough money freelancing (and had a hard time landing new clients), and I kind of defaulted to freelancing after being "terminated" from my last job. My former boss was my biggest client, which was...odd.

The worst thing about full-time work? Where to start? Dealing with other people (hell really is other people), a set schedule (especially mornings, for me), very long day--11-12-hour day (counting 30-45-minute commute), office politics, expenses like parking, lunches and coffee, etc., having to dress a certain way, put on makeup, etc.

Best thing? Um... Regular paycheck. Health insurance. I have made one good friend.

I was "fortunate" that my job was the only one for which I interviewed (applied to innumerable jobs), but it was open for a while, which should have tipped me off that it was bad news, but I was desperate. I was on "food stamps", so I was VERY poor. I didn't counter their salary offer, which was stupid, and set the pace for how I've contined to not be paid enough. I make less than half per hour than what I made freelancing.

I didn't get any questions about why I freelanced, but I was doing it during the "downturn". I lost my job in 2009, when commercial real estate was hit hard. People just assumed that I lost my job because of that. It was true, for the most part. My former boss couldn't afford a salaried employee anymore. After she got rid of me, it was just her and another comission-only broker until very recently, when she hired a third broker.

Anyway, if there was a way I could make it work, I would absolutely do that over an office job, but I'm who I am, and I'm in an industry and workplace that's about as ill-suited to me as one could get.

There are untold numbers of people who can thrive in offices. I think you have to evaluate the setting and atmosphere of a potential job and company and if you will do well in it/fit the mold.

[NutMeg]

Thanks, bilgistic, you make a number of very interesting points.

Edited February 7, 2017 by NutMeg

[janestclair]

My department met today with the union.   It was all very cloak and dagger.  I felt like a spy.  We took a vote of no confidence by an overwhelming majority.  What that will do for us remains to be seen.  Best case - it matters, and she's out on her ass.  Worst case - it doesn't matter, she gets the job, and makes everyone's lives a living hell.   

Hope springs eternal.

[bilgistic]

Bad news, bears. I did some "research" on the sly today and discovered that the community college cosmetology program is FIVE semesters(!!!), not one year/two semesters, like I thought. Do you hear that ringing? That's the death knell of a possible career path.

There's no way I can do 2.5 years of school. I'd have to work part-time, which would kill me on top of school, and/or I'd need three times the savings I have now to quit working.

Where does that leave me? I could go to a more expensive, branded school (Aveda, Empire, Paul Mitchell) for less time overall but longer/more immersive days for 2-3x the tuition (as in $20K for the year). Refer to previous paragraph.

I have applied for another job within my company, but it's in another city, about 75 miles away. The thought of moving makes me seriously nauseous. I've applied to another couple of jobs here. I need out of real estate. I need to be able to be me and not be ridiculed for who I am. I need to be able to work how I work so I can thrive, instead of being in the worst possible setting I could be in.

Edited February 8, 2017 by bilgistic

[auntlada]

Does your state have some kind if career tech schools or do the community colleges do that? Our state has technology centers that are different than community colleges (and cheaper) that offer day and night programs for high school and adult students. (If you are in high school, you can attend the one in your district for free.) Cosmetology is one of the programs they offer.

[bilgistic]

There was a "career center" that I could've attended while still in high school (20+ years ago), taking cosmetology as part of my regular curriculum. But I was "smart", and put on the college track. As a first-generation college student from a single-parent family (my mom was a legal secretary with only a high school diploma), I knew nothing other than what my guidance counselor told me. And I'm still paying student loans because I put myself through school--not smart enough for a full scholarship! I made a lot of decisions I would make differently now.

Anyhoo, I'm fairly sure the avenues I've explored are the only options. That's what the state board lists, anyway: community college--2.5 years and less than $9K total, or a private/branded school (one of three)--one year and $20K.

[theredhead77]

Yesterday I told my boss I was considering taking today off. Since I have no family or funds for vacation my vacation time just accrues and accrues. Anyway, I was feeling burned out and thought about staying home today. I got some good sleep, woke up and decided to go to work. Bad idea. I was rear ended twice (???) on my way in. My car is barely 4 months old, 2500 miles. I am fucking livid.

So I text my boss that I'm coming in but will be late. Get to work a bit late and wait, and wait for him to come in. He shows up on our internal IM program around 11. In the mean time I called him twice, no answer, left a message about dealing with my car stuff. I got an IM back to take care of what I need to. By then I had left for lunch. I managed to lock myself out of our time clock program (password change) and message him to clock me back in from lunch. 2 hours later, no response. I call him, no answer. I get an IM that he's fixing it right now.

He didn't come in, wouldn't answer his phone, hardly responded to IMs. I called at least 5 times over the course of the day then decided since I couldn't get a hold of him I would go work from home the rest of the day. At the end of the day I needed help with something and called again. No answer. I texted him, begging for help. No answer. Finally get an IM 20 minutes later. I have about 30 minutes of unapproved OT thanks to him not answering the fucking phone.

He's done this before (used to do it frequently) and it drives me fucking crazy. My answer when someone is looking for him is "I have no idea where he is today, but if you talk with him please ask him to return my calls". I've asked tell me if he's not coming in (sick, vacation, customer meetings, whatever) he always says he doesn't have to justify where he is to me. I get that, but common courtesy is to let me know if you're not coming in the office / on vacation / or unreachable so I can cover. Today of all fucking days he could have answered the godddamn phone. I'm taking tomorrow off and already had Friday off. I know on Monday he will be giving me shit about getting upset because he was unreachable. 

[Moose135]

56 minutes ago, theredhead77 said:

My answer when someone is looking for him is "I have no idea where he is today, but if you talk with him please ask him to return my calls".

"Sorry, it's not my turn to watch him."

[Petunia13]

I trained 2 coworkers from a different dept a somewhat basic computer process Tuesday morning. I demonstrated it and left written instructions step by step and called to check if they were fine. Come in today and it wasn't done by them and they copped an attitude with a snotty tone "who cares? Someone else ended up doing it later. That's what matters." 

Thats not the pt. The point was I wasted my time and theirs training them. And it's a nice feeling to know someone is willing to learn and help. How silly of me to believe that. 

[DeLurker]

10 hours ago, Moose135 said:

"Sorry, it's not my turn to watch him."

I've had pretty good relations with my bosses - I'd have put up a Lost sign with his picture on it.  Or threatened to have a GPS installed on him.

[theredhead77]

11 hours ago, Moose135 said:

"Sorry, it's not my turn to watch him."

I've done that too. If I knew he was in meetings, or visiting customers, or sick, or on vacation I wouldn't worry about it. When he doesn't tell me, I wait to ask about things because they're easier to ask about in person, or on the phone. It's not that I expect him to account for his time to me, it's just fucking common courtesy to let your only employee know you aren't coming in. Especially when she's already stressed out because she was in an accident.

5 hours ago, Petunia13 said:

Thats not the pt. The point was I wasted my time and theirs training them. And it's a nice feeling to know someone is willing to learn and help. How silly of me to believe that. 

Annoying and frustrating!

51 minutes ago, DeLurker said:

I've had pretty good relations with my bosses - I'd have put up a Lost sign with his picture on it.  Or threatened to have a GPS installed on him.

Good idea!

[ratgirlagogo]

19 hours ago, theredhead77 said:

Since I have no family or funds for vacation my vacation time just accrues and accrues.

Couldn't you just stay home?  I can't afford to go on actual "vacations" either but just scheduling stay-away-from-work time is enormously therapeutic for me.  I forget where you live but WHEREVER you live you could explore whatever nature walk kind of fun is convenient and free - or just go for any kind of walk really.  Movies, museums, etc. etc.  Or stay home and cook a new kind of food, or sleep in, or binge-watch something, or just luxuriate in doing NOTHING for a few days.

Edited February 10, 2017 by ratgirlagogo

[bilgistic]

My boss doesn't deign to tell me where he's going, but I don't really care, either. We do share Outlook calendars, though, and he's pretty good about keeping up with his. I'm not his admin assistant, but people inevitably ask me where he is, and I'm able to tell them (even though it's none of their business--I'll usually say he's at a meeting or make something else up).

Sorry about your accidents, @theredhead77! I've hit two different people very minorly on my morning commute. It shits up your day for sure.

You have to go to work tomorrow, though, because it's  FRIDAY BREAKFAST!!

[hoosier80]

Well January really sucked.  Hopefully this month will be a little better.  Another team had their key person (who'd been in the job less than 2 years) leave in December.  Did they train anyone else to do their job?  Nope.  The manager told one person (2 are covering the stuff the 1 person did), don't ask me questions, I need someone who can figure it out!  What they're doing is regulatory filings, with stuff eventually being sent to account holders and the government.  No big deal.  LOL.  So the deal is they have to have jobs ran, which are not typically ran.  Step 1 is to submit a help desk ticket which then I get the joy of doing a couple of steps, then coordinating with another team who then gets everything going to have jobs ran and transmissions/files/report sent to the correct places.

This team would make Goober and Gomer Pyle look like geniuses.  First, how do we enter the stuff for the jobs (they have to enter criteria on various entry screens).  There is a whole manual on every possible job that can be ran, with just about every detail listed.  I've never entered this shit, but I was able to figure it out.  Then they entered percentages that when summed up, were over 100%.  Hey geniuses, for this you can't go over 100%.  They were just a tad off on the end results (like 500k on one account), so I got the joy of learning how the shit gets backed out.   I also learned more about the calculations than I ever wanted to know.  Over an entire week of reruns, and their management blamed outside sources for "forcing us to run so many jobs, plus the manual isn't clear" (seemed clear enough to me, with loads of examples).  We got through that process, then onto the easier jobs.  Team Genius asked why didn't I get a report for abcd.  I looked and yeah, no criteria for report abcd had been entered.  "How did that happen?"   Beats me Einstein, but you never entered it.  I don't know why you didn't enter it.    Then we went down the road of wrong clients being entered, wrong combos, which resulted in programming hours to fix it all.  I had a long chat with my management about what a cluster it was - which I have documented.   All of the stuff is rolled up into another report which goes to our site head, and he was asking someone else, WTF?  They told him to see Team Genius, because they drive the entire process.  No procedures (of their own), no training, no review of their stuff.  An absolute cluster.  I'd say the majority is done, but there are still jobs that run into May, so I am just bracing myself for additional shit coming my way.   I'd say it's akin to herding cats, but cats have way more sense and smarts.

[theredhead77]

3 hours ago, ratgirlagogo said:

Couldn't you just stay home?  

I do that on the weekends. I am not comfortable doing things by myself. I'm trying to go to the movies but even that seems pointless. I spend so much time alone I forget how to be social sometimes.

1 hour ago, bilgistic said:

My boss doesn't deign to tell me where he's going, but I don't really care, either. We do share Outlook calendars, though, and he's pretty good about keeping up with his. I'm not his admin assistant, but people inevitably ask me where he is, and I'm able to tell them (even though it's none of their business--I'll usually say he's at a meeting or make something else up).

Sorry about your accidents, @theredhead77! I've hit two different people very minorly on my morning commute. It shits up your day for sure.

You have to go to work tomorrow, though, because it's  FRIDAY BREAKFAST!!

It would be fine if he kept his Outlook up to date and allowed me to see when he is busy. Yesterday I looked and he was wide open. He just worked from home (or somewhere noisy, hence not answering). It's really infuriating when I have to beg and beg for a call back and then I get shit for sounding frustrated in my voice-mail or IMs. No shit Sherlock, I AM frustrated. It's almost a mild form of gaslighting.

No work tomorrow (or today). Tomorrow I'm going to Disneyland!

[bilgistic]

On 2/9/2017 at 11:18 PM, theredhead77 said:

It would be fine if he kept his Outlook up to date and allowed me to see when he is busy. Yesterday I looked and he was wide open. He just worked from home (or somewhere noisy, hence not answering). It's really infuriating when I have to beg and beg for a call back and then I get shit for sounding frustrated in my voice-mail or IMs. No shit Sherlock, I AM frustrated. It's almost a mild form of gaslighting.

It IS just that. After reading this, I did some reading on "gaslighting", and--surprise--it's a technique used by narcissists. Y'all know where I'm going with this.

Today, my "boss" emailed me from the plane en route to another of his vacations (he just went to Vail the week of MLK Day) asking me if I sent a reminder email to our potential investors. He had asked me on Tuesday to send it Wednesday.

Bear with me... This is a recurring marketing email (same kind of email for different properties/deals) and for nearly a year I had not been sending it to him, only to the investors. I have confirmations that the emails are sent, and can show them to him at any time. Despite his constant complaining about having 300+ unread emails, he decided he had to be copied on (receive) the investor email, so I started doing it.

I send the email through an online platform, so I have to add him as an investor, which screws up my tracking system, but whatever you say, big guy.

So when he asked me if I sent the email, as if I haven't done it on the current platform for a year or the previous one for nearly two years prior, he copied everyone else on the deal--his counterpart in the co-listing office, that guy's associate broker and my coworker. I replied, "Yes; I sent it Wednesday and copied you."

He replied (to everyone), "It goes to my [name of email folder] folder."

:: tearing hair out ::

I know this might seem like a minor thing, but once again, I did exactly what I was told to do, but because he didn't see the email, he called me out in front of three others. Of course, the irony is HE DIDN'T SEE (or bother to look for) THE EMAIL HE INSISTED ON HAVING SENT TO HIM. It took everything in me to not reply to him. And I will be at fault because I set up the filters--as he wanted--for his email folders.

I'm so pissed off about this, and I know it's so stupid. But this is how it is for me every minute of every day. No matter what I do, it's wrong, and I feel absolutely fucking crazy.

Edited February 11, 2017 by bilgistic

[BookWoman56]

@bilgistic it's probably not much consolation, but in that email exchange, it's your faux boss who comes off looking bad. No matter what damn folder it went to because of the filters, he should have been checking all his folders for new emails. First, he looks like an idiot for calling you out for not sending an email which you did in fact send and can prove that you sent. Second, he looks irresponsible because duh, obviously not checking his various email inbox folders. The people he copied on the email are probably laughing at him behind his back. This is a classic attempt to make you look bad that backfired. He's the one who looks stupid and incompetent. 

[DeLurker]

Totally agree with @BookWoman56 - he's the one who looks like an ass to the investors.  Even if he had a legit issue to address with you (not that he did), but to do a reply all about internal matters is never a good look and to do one on such a petty issue makes him look foolish on top of irresponsible.

[AuntieL]

 Speaking as a "boss" you never call out your people in front of others. I can't go to court and blame something on my secretary. I saw an attorney try to do that once , the look the judge gave him - he immediately backpedaled and said well I guess it's my fault. Because as the person in charge it is our responsibility, no one else's. To try to make himself look "in charge" by asking you in front of others makes him look like a jackass.

[bilgistic]

I did think about that. I've worked with him for nearly three years and he acts like I'm suddenly struck with amnesia daily and forgot how to do my fortyleven job duties. I have been in the post-college workforce for 20 years, and don't need to be micromanaged. I find it insulting and demeaning. His behavior is rubbing off on my coworker, who is transitioning into a sales/broker role from a financial analyst role, and I am losing my mind having them checking up on my every move.

I've had "come to Jesus" talks with him every six months. Nothing will change. I've talked extensively with my predecessors who have had the exact same experience, so I know it's not just me. Cold comfort, but I know deep down that I'm not crazy, no matter how hard he's trying to make me feel that way.

[Blergh]

On a somewhat different note, I can recall walking into my workplace immediately after I clocked in, and my then-manager asking me to discuss the contents of an email that they'd sent out ten minutes earlier. I mean, come on, did this person truly expect employees to seek out 'puter terminals to check on email just moments before we'd clocked in?

[DeLurker]

Being micro-managed is the worst.  I had a supervisor that was supremely incompetent and petty.  We were salaried employees and expected to work OT when necessary.  He insisted on having us email him when we got in to work - I'm assuming his request for a time-clock was turned down.  So even if our work for the day did not mandate we use the computer first thing, we were so obsessed with emailing him that it was soul crushing.

Once our entire department was coming back from a meeting that ended around lunchtime and ran into the division AVP.  Since it was a holiday weekend, AVP told all of us we could go for the day.  We scooted as soon as we could.  The first thing we found on or chairs when we returned the next work day was a memo explicitly telling us we were not excused until our immediate supervisor said so.

Somehow, a copy of that memo came up in a conversation with the AVP (when he asked why the hell I was still working when he had let everyone go early) and he was like "Hell to the no, get on your way and I'll be discussing this at LENGTH with you department head who reports to me".

[bilgistic]

1 hour ago, Blergh said:

On a somewhat different note, I can recall walking into my workplace immediately after I clocked in, and my then-manager asking me to discuss the contents of an email that they'd sent out ten minutes earlier. I mean, come on, did this person truly expect employees to seek out 'puter terminals to check on email just moments before we'd clocked in?

My boss does this to me. I'll get in and he'll ask about an email he sent an hour before, or at 11pm the night before. No, jackass, I was sleeping, then getting ready to go to work.

25 minutes ago, DeLurker said:

Being micro-managed is the worst.  I had a supervisor that was supremely incompetent and petty.  We were salaried employees and expected to work OT when necessary.  He insisted on having us email him when we got in to work - I'm assuming his request for a time-clock was turned down.  So even if our work for the day did not mandate we use the computer first thing, we were so obsessed with emailing him that it was soul crushing.

Once our entire department was coming back from a meeting that ended around lunchtime and ran into the division AVP.  Since it was a holiday weekend, AVP told all of us we could go for the day.  We scooted as soon as we could.  The first thing we found on or chairs when we returned the next work day was a memo explicitly telling us we were not excused until our immediate supervisor said so.

Somehow, a copy of that memo came up in a conversation with the AVP (when he asked why the hell I was still working when he had let everyone go early) and he was like "Hell to the no, get on your way and I'll be discussing this at LENGTH with you department head who reports to me".

My ACTUAL supervisor will tell me I can leave early before a holiday, but I cannot because my "boss" won't let me. My counterparts in other departments get to leave at 4pm every Friday. I don't leave before 6.

It's just a constant stream of bullshit.

Edited February 11, 2017 by bilgistic

[Bastet]

3 hours ago, AuntieL said:

Speaking as a "boss" you never call out your people in front of others. I can't go to court and blame something on my secretary. I saw an attorney try to do that once , the look the judge gave him - he immediately backpedaled and said well I guess it's my fault.

I once had an attorney pull that shit in a letter to opposing counsel (blaming his failure to respond on her not putting the deadline on the calendar, when in reality he forgot).  I didn't see it before it went out, just happened upon the copy of it when I pulled up the file.  I told him to never do that again, since - beyond the should-be-obvious facts it's unfair to the assistant to blame something on her when she didn't actually do it and, even if the error had been hers, it's completely inappropriate to air that dirty laundry - it makes us look ridiculous.  And to thank his lucky stars he didn't try that in front of a judge.

[BookWoman56]

13 hours ago, Blergh said:

On a somewhat different note, I can recall walking into my workplace immediately after I clocked in, and my then-manager asking me to discuss the contents of an email that they'd sent out ten minutes earlier. I mean, come on, did this person truly expect employees to seek out 'puter terminals to check on email just moments before we'd clocked in?

In a former job, there was a manager (not mine, for which I am quite grateful) who got put in charge of a team very suddenly. As in, on Friday, the team had one manager and on Monday this guy was the manager. One of the people on that team had been instructed by the previous manager to work a slightly different shift, coming in two hours later than most of the team and leaving two hours later because he frequently had to do stuff later in the day to ensure that the training materials we were working on got pushed out to the learning management system so that employees could start their training the next day using those materials. Doofus new manager calls a meeting Monday morning for his new team, an hour before this person was supposed to come in. He asked the rest of the team where the other employee was and they told him that this particular employee didn't start work until 10:00 am. When the guy did come in, he got called to the manager's desk and fired on the spot for being "late." (He was a contractor, so HR did not have to be involved.) He explained to the new manager that he had been told to adjust his schedule two hours later to accommodate the business need, but that flew right over the head of the new manager. New manager would not even allow him to access his emails to find the one directing him to alter his schedule. He left but did not hesitate to email some of the other managers and the area director, all of whom were familiar with his work, about what had happened. None of the other managers was willing to go out on a limb for this one contractor, but when the new manager got fired six months later, that incident was mentioned as one of the factors in the decision to fire him. By that time, the contractor had moved on to a new job and refused to come back when offered another contract. 

Moral of this story: There are managers who are quite adept at managing, there are those who are adequate most of the time, and then there are those who are so clueless they are a risk to the company staying in business. 

[Chinspinner]

4 minutes ago, BookWoman56 said:

In a former job, there was a manager (not mine, for which I am quite grateful) who got put in charge of a team very suddenly. As in, on Friday, the team had one manager and on Monday this guy was the manager. One of the people on that team had been instructed by the previous manager to work a slightly different shift, coming in two hours later than most of the team and leaving two hours later because he frequently had to do stuff later in the day to ensure that the training materials we were working on got pushed out to the learning management system so that employees could start their training the next day using those materials. Doofus new manager calls a meeting Monday morning for his new team, an hour before this person was supposed to come in. He asked the rest of the team where the other employee was and they told him that this particular employee didn't start work until 10:00 am. When the guy did come in, he got called to the manager's desk and fired on the spot for being "late." (He was a contractor, so HR did not have to be involved.) He explained to the new manager that he had been told to adjust his schedule two hours later to accommodate the business need, but that flew right over the head of the new manager. New manager would not even allow him to access his emails to find the one directing him to alter his schedule. He left but did not hesitate to email some of the other managers and the area director, all of whom were familiar with his work, about what had happened. None of the other managers was willing to go out on a limb for this one contractor, but when the new manager got fired six months later, that incident was mentioned as one of the factors in the decision to fire him. By that time, the contractor had moved on to a new job and refused to come back when offered another contract. 

Moral of this story: There are managers who are quite adept at managing, there are those who are adequate most of the time, and then there are those who are so clueless they are a risk to the company staying in business. 

You get promoted to your level of incompetence. We all drown under the odd psychopathic corporate rule. Then it starts to irritate us... I've lived with it for too long, I do not understand why the least pleasant people in the world are in power.... then, of course, I realise that capitalism rewards psychopaths and penalises people with positive human attributes. Then you walk away and serve breakfast in a west country cafe

[Guest]

9 hours ago, Chinspinner said:

You get promoted to your level of incompetence. We all drown under the odd psychopathic corporate rule. Then it starts to irritate us... I've lived with it for too long, I do not understand why the least pleasant people in the world are in power.... then, of course, I realise that capitalism rewards psychopaths and penalises people with positive human attributes. Then you walk away and serve breakfast in a west country cafe

Eloquently put.  This is every day of my life.  I am deep in the irritation stage and on the verge of giving up.  I really wish I could give up and have it stick.  I want to not care so badly.  Its become a life goal. 

 But I'm trapped in that stage where you see people around you suffering and you can't let it continue and think that if you just get the right person to listen then one voice will become many and someone in power will do something.  Well no one who is willing to speak is listened to and everyone else is chickenshit or a narcissist. 

My job description is basically to forecast future issues so they can be avoided.   So joy of joy, I  can't just let the Titanic sink.  I have to yell iceberg.  And I spend all of my time trying to present the same issue in different ways to get across how fucked we are all about to be if we don't do something and that decisions need to be made ASAP.  My job is the definition of insanity.  Doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result.  No one wants to hear it. Actually, one person doesn't want to believe it and everyone else is cowed by that person.  Then when we hit the iceberg, everyone is running around screaming how could you not tell us?

I need some kind of 12 step program to stop thinking I can keep the whole thing from unraveling and just let it go.

[backformore]

On ‎2‎/‎11‎/‎2017 at 0:02 PM, bilgistic said:

My boss does this to me. I'll get in and he'll ask about an email he sent an hour before, or at 11pm the night before. No, jackass, I was sleeping, then getting ready to go to work.

I had a supervisor at my last job who, when I didn't get an email until I came to work, told me that SHE had work emails sent to her phone, and checked them at night and early in the morning.   I told her that I wasn't allowed to do that.  (because I knew it was against policy due to certain confidential info).  She said she would "check with legal"  to find out if she could get my access changed so I could have work email sent to my phone.    Their answer was no, and furthermore, SHE was not supposed to do it either -  so they had her blocked from doing it.  HA!