Q: Worst part of your j*b?

[JoeWras]

Eh, in a way it s freeing. They obviously don't give a rat's patoot, so neither will I. My paycheck is the same regardless, so if they want to pay me to sit around with my finger up my butt, so be it.

At my previous Megacorp, we had so many project missteps that one of my coworkers never did anything. Every time we started a project, he literally announced to everyone that he wasn't going to work on it because it would be cancelled. He'd read books (pre-internet) or study for an MBA during office hours but never do anything.

It was kind of surreal... Perhaps a little too much like "Office Space."

 

[HFWR]

At my previous Megacorp, we had so many project missteps that one of my coworkers never did anything. Every time we started a project, he literally announced to everyone that he wasn't going to work on it because it would be cancelled. He'd read books (pre-internet) or study for an MBA during office hours but never do anything.

It was kind of surreal... Perhaps a little too much like "Office Space."

The stuff of nightmares...

At one time, there were so many wafer lots branded P1 (priority one), that it was almost meaningless. Next, they created the P0 designation... After a while, there were so many "hot lots", I jokingly asked if it was hotter than the last hot...

Many times, some "hot" project would sit on a shelf upon completion, sometimes for weeks. I liked to relabel those as "Special High Importance Test"...

 

[Original Wally]

J*b. Hahahahahahahahaha

 

[martyb]

I've changed my mind. The worst part of my job as a federal employee is being a perpetual political football.

Edit:
LOL...now that I went back & looked at my first post in this thread (01-17-2012) that's pretty much what I said back then too. Guess I haven't changed my mind since then....

 

[JoeWras]

Many times, some "hot" project would sit on a shelf upon completion, sometimes for weeks. I liked to relabel those as "Special High Importance Test"...

Oh man, you are hitting a raw nerve. Been there, done that. Not with wafers, but software. Doesn't matter, it could be ditches dug. "This is the most important thing, get to it now!"

Nothing worse than The Man beating the cr@p out of you to finish, only to have your hard fought work just sit there, decaying or gathering dust.

 

[FUEGO]

I've changed my mind. The worst part of my job as a federal employee is being a perpetual political football.

Yeah it sucks. My little 7 person agency just got called out in the Governor's State of the State address for a big F up and resulting poorly handled PR nightmare. Fortunately it was a coworker that was in charge of the screw up and not me. But it was all caused by the former Director that "coincidentally" resigned right before the big F up hit the front page. Fun times!!

The best part is that nothing was done to structurally change why F ups happen. No heads rolled, not even a stern talking to as far as I can tell. Dirt pile, meet rug, sleep comfortably underneath there until someone else discovers you, at which point we will sweep you under another rug.

Band aids and press releases will get you a pretty long way I guess.

In the mean time the paychecks keep getting deposited the 15th and 30th (or 28th!).

 

[brewer12345]

A new low of absurdity in my cube farm:

I work in a branch office of my organization where we are somewhat shielded from the politics and opressive 1950s culture of the head office. The wonks at the head office decided to start a mentring program which I unaccountably failed to volunteer for. However, a colleague decided to join up. She was paired with a young woman who does not appear to need mentoring, but hey. The head office flew an HR boob out to conduct a training on how to mentor people. This creature proceeded to instruct the mentors to make very sure that their mentees understood the finer points of the dress code, how peep toe shoes are acceptable, but open toe shoes are not, etc. I am left to wonder if there is a toe inspector roaming the halls of the head office.

I swear, Dilbert has nothing on this madhouse.

 

[Sarah in SC]

God save me from your life, Brew. I could not survive anyplace that required shoes to be worn year-round. Let alone something that wasn't Tevas or tennis shoes. Peep toe indeed. Gaaah!

 

[brewer12345]

God save me from your life, Brew. I could not survive anyplace that required shoes to be worn year-round. Let alone something that wasn't Tevas or tennis shoes. Peep toe indeed. Gaaah!

I don't even know what a peep toe shoe is. If I mentioned it to a mentee I would be worried about a sexual harassment problem.

I think I would last 3 weeks before getting canned if were in the head office. My bosses being 500 miles away is why I think I can make it to the end of the year.

 

[rodi]

I wish our HR focused on things like peep toed shoes. Our head of HR is Catbert incarnate... she is focused on how to get people to quit in order to save severance. The latest is that they re-branded annual raises from "merit increases" to "salary adjustments". That's because even super-star performances don't get an increase if they are deemed to be in the top half of their compensation pay grade. She seems clueless that the teams who have been working weekends for a year will not be thrilled to be told they're hard work is not going to be rewarded, despite their' "walk on water" review status.

But Catbert rarely makes appearances out here in my branch office.... I think she fears for her life.

 

[Meadbh]

A new low of absurdity in my cube farm:

..... peep toe shoes are acceptable, but open toe shoes are not.

I had no idea they were different. But what can the visibility of one's toes possibly have to do with one's ability to do the job (assuming, probably correctly, that we are not talking about the construction industry)?

Brewer, in the past I must admit I wondered if you were [-]a diva[/-] hard to please. But now I realize that you work in an insane asylum.

 

[brewer12345]

Brewer, in the past I must admit I wondered if you were [-]a diva[/-] hard to please. But now I realize that you work in an insane asylum.

No reason I cannot be both.

No, this is about as far from the construction industry as possible. The visibility of one's toes has nothing to do with the job.

I suspect I am a walking dress code violation most days (wearing the khakis with the hole in the butt where my wallet wears at the fabric is probably a no-no).

 

[W2R]

When I was working, I usually figured that they could even tell me to dress in a clown suit and I'd do it if they paid me enough. So, I never really minded dress codes.

I don't even know what a peep toe shoe is.

Here you go:

Peep Toes - What are Peep Toe Shoes?

Definition: A peep toe shoe has an opening at the end that shows part of the toes, but not the whole toe line, as other open-toed shoes do.

The opening of a peep toe shoe is usually a wedge or rounded shape that shows only part of some of the toes.

Peep toes, like the ones shown here, show only a hint of toe.

 

[brewer12345]

I am (extremely) married to a woman who generally wears shoes something like this on any given day:

The whole idea of peep toe, etc. is beyond my ken. Are you wearing shoes in the office? Great, I am happy for you.

 

[Meadbh]

When I was working, I usually figured that they could even tell me to dress in a clown suit and I'd do it if they paid me enough. So, I never really minded dress codes.



Here you go:

Peep Toes - What are Peep Toe Shoes?

I would be more worried about those heels, to be honest. Major risk management issue. I prefer Mrs. brewer's style!

 

[brewer12345]

Another classic:

"The March meeting of the Mid-Career Professionals Mentoring Circle will be Tuesday, March 19, at 3 p.m. in the XXX room and via conference call. The topic will beMeeting Overload, (how to make the best of time in meetings, time management, meeting management, etc.). Bring your questions, best practices and suggestions."

Its a meeting on how to deal with the fact that we have too many meetings.

 

[W2R]

I would be more worried about those heels, to be honest. Major risk management issue. I prefer Mrs. brewer's style!

That's a good point, and I might have thought differently, had I ever been required to wear heels. We were not allowed to wear sandals, but otherwise they did not care.

I wore running shoes to work, or dressy flats to formal meetings.

 

[Sue J]

I am (extremely) married to a woman who generally wears shoes something like this on any given day:

I just bought those Merrell shoes in the waterproof Gore Tex version.

 

[Sarah in SC]

I LOVE Mrs. Brewer's shoes! My mid-hikers are Saloman's but I'd love a pair of Merrill's!
I usually wear men's shoes, as the sizing is better and they are more durable than the equivalent in ladies shoes. I've never worn heels. Ugh!

 

[SJ1_]

Another classic:

"The March meeting of the Mid-Career Professionals Mentoring Circle will be Tuesday, March 19, at 3 p.m. in the XXX room and via conference call. The topic will beMeeting Overload, (how to make the best of time in meetings, time management, meeting management, etc.). Bring your questions, best practices and suggestions."

Its a meeting on how to deal with the fact that we have too many meetings.

Sometimes it's just hard to believe!
will prob. be a long meeting!

 

[FUEGO]

Another classic:

"The March meeting of the Mid-Career Professionals Mentoring Circle will be Tuesday, March 19, at 3 p.m. in the XXX room and via conference call. The topic will beMeeting Overload, (how to make the best of time in meetings, time management, meeting management, etc.). Bring your questions, best practices and suggestions."

Its a meeting on how to deal with the fact that we have too many meetings.

I might need to PM you and make sure my organization hasn't inadvertently merged with your organization and we are now coworkers. I swear I was cc'd on a very similar email recently...

I think the proper response is to mark that meeting as tentative then schedule something else more important that unfortunately conflicts. There's a time management tip right there for ya.

Although I did just engage in a bit of Dilbertism when I just suggested in a pre-meeting meeting (to prepare for the real meeting tomorrow) that we spend a little time at the meeting tomorrow discussing quantity and length of meetings so as to have longer meetings but less of them so our teams spend less time traveling from out of town. Another free time management tip!

 

[SJ1_]

I wor$#$with this guy years ago and he told me this story:

He worked for this place and they would call everyone into the meeting room then tell everyone in the room what the meeting was about. Then they would tell everyone if it had nothing to do with them they should leave now.
He said one time when they told everyone if it had nothing to do with them to leave, everyone in the room got up and Left!

 

[HFWR]

"We're having a meeting to determine when the next meeting will be..."

 

[aaronc879]

I've always looked forward to meetings. I worked on a production floor for 11 years doing manual labor for 12hr shifts. A meeting meant actually sitting down for a while. It meant taking out the ear plugs and not sweating in the 90+ degree heat. Granted I was not conducting a meeting I was just attending but meetings were the best part of my job. They were basically an extra break from the hard work.

 

[FIREd]

Its a meeting on how to deal with the fact that we have too many meetings.

Typical...

Honestly, meetings are one of the reasons why I retired early. Couldn't stand wasting my time like that.