Q: Worst part of your j*b?

[brewer12345]

<multiple expletives deleted>

I am trying to make it across the finish line without making compromises with myself or letting all of the BS get to me, but the powers that be seem to have the exact opposite aims. The latest is that they want me to fly across the country to attend a 2 hour meeting that finishes at 5PM on a friday in December. Aside from the mind-boggling idiocy of spending something like $1500 to 2k for this boondoggle (how much per minute of this meeting will that cost?), There is no way I will be able to get home that night. So I would be on the road thursday, friday and saturday. I already pushed back and said no to this nonsense. Now they are doubling down and pushing it in my face again. I am beyond pissed. Its clear I will not be allowed to say no to this bullcrap. So my choices are to just go and take the beating(s), or agree, book the trip, and then mysteriously fall ill when I am supposed to leave. The former makes my blood boil, the latter makes me uneasy. These ****ers have backed me into a corner yet again. The only upside to this is that year end (tiny) bonuses should be paid on that friday and I will have finally fully vested in the small pension and 401k match the week before.

I hate this damn place.

 

[LoneAspen]

brewer - How much time do you have until you can FIRE? If it's within a couple months, I'd go ahead and line up the trip, and then (as you mentioned) call in sick, or just not go. Then, when they start to complain and come down on me, I'd quit and walk out. Got to make your everything's fully vested before pulling that, however.

If it's longer than that, well...probably have to go on the stupid trip. But when the time comes to leave, I wouldn't give them any notice at all. Just walk up to the jerk boss and say "I quit. Effective immediately." and walk out.

 

[MRG]

Brewer12345,

I can empathize, any way your 'only' flight could leave at 4:00 and duck out?

I recall being sent to the UK for a 2 hour meeting on Friday. We had plans so I wanted to get there Wednesday, oh no, you have to spend the week there. Why? Well see how our guys are doing in the UK the CIO wants your opinion. Compliment yes, BS major, CIO never liked to travel alone.

MRG

 

[brewer12345]

I am quitting January 2. Most likely I will become the victim of a highly specific ailment.

 

[REWahoo]

I am quitting January 2. Most likely I will become the victim of a highly specific ailment.

Anal glaucoma?

 

[imoldernu]

Q: Worst part of your j*b?

every time I see the topic resurface, am tempted to reply:

"Remembering what day it is!"

 

[brewer12345]

Anal glaucoma?

Well, my superiors seem to be suffering from rectal-cranial inversion, so maybe that would be appropriate.

 

[rodi]

Seeing our new CEO spout off in the press about how people are the biggest resource and how he wants to empower employees.

At the same time folks are figuring out that as part of our acquisition - we lost our bonuses... these were a significant part of our compensation (10-25% of annual pay, depending on paygrade.) It's dawning on folks that we got a pay cut.

Everyday I remind myself about my nest egg and plans. Like Dory - I just keep swimming... but will swim away into the sunset if the BS continues.

 

[MDJO]

Hang in there Brewer. You can deal with almost anything if you know it will all be over in January.

 

[Cassius King]

End of year performance and goal reviews. We have been trimmed down to the bare essentials for staffing. Probably below that level truthfully. Bust your arse, exceed expectations, told you're doing a good job, then get the:

"The firm did well this year, but the profits just weren't there. There's a freeze on raises and promotions"

any push back and you get the:

"Be happy that you have a job. It's tough out there and there are a lot of people looking for jobs."

Get me the #### out of here!

 

[brewer12345]

End of year performance and goal reviews. We have been trimmed down to the bare essentials for staffing. Probably below that level truthfully. Bust your arse, exceed expectations, told you're doing a good job, then get the:

"The firm did well this year, but the profits just weren't there. There's a freeze on raises and promotions"

any push back and you get the:

"Be happy that you have a job. It's tough out there and there are a lot of people looking for jobs."

Get me the #### out of here!

I am waiting to get the shaft at the end of the year as well. I could care less at this point, but if/when they do that I will be pointing out the $2k they are willing to spend on my boondoggle meeting...

 

[Koolau]

I am waiting to get the shaft at the end of the year as well. I could care less at this point, but if/when they do that I will be pointing out the $2k they are willing to spend on my boondoggle meeting...

You have to decide for yourself, but it was a BS assignment that made my mind up about leaving (months, maybe a couple of years earlier - definitely still money on the table). Boss informed me that I would be doing "thus and so" and I said, "No, I don't want to, I don't have to, I'm not going to and my last day in the office is this Friday". YMMV

 

[brewer12345]

You have to decide for yourself, but it was a BS assignment that made my mind up about leaving (months, maybe a couple of years earlier - definitely still money on the table). Boss informed me that I would be doing "thus and so" and I said, "No, I don't want to, I don't have to, I'm not going to and my last day in the office is this Friday". YMMV

I am quitting the first business day of the new year. By doing so i vest in about 45k of tax deferred money and I avoid months of heavy travel and bullcrap on the first half of next year. Just have to make it over one more hill of broken glass.

 

[Options]

Coming in...

 

[Meadbh]

I am quitting the first business day of the new year. By doing so i vest in about 45k of tax deferred money and I avoid months of heavy travel and bullcrap on the first half of next year. Just have to make it over one more hill of broken glass.

Brewer, I know you are very unhappy, but it will be worth it to slog on till January. Many of us have been in similar situations, being exhausted from too much travel, long hours, etc. etc. In truth these challenges are less than what many people face around the world. Be strong. You can do it for 2+ more months!

 

[Al in Ohio]

Getting emails from over eager coworkers after 6pm that ask for some kind of action. I don't respond the same day, but just the principal of receiving it at off hours bugs me.

 

[citrine]

I am sorry brewer...but I am all for you changing your mind to quitting asap if you need to! In the grand scheme of things, you are more important than 45K

 

[Amethyst]

It's hard to believe that your employer hasn't tried to save $ by investing in virtual teleconferencing. We (the inefficient government) do it all the time...and for quite complex technical discussions, too. I've personally resolved some serious issues by convening a 2-hour VTC with all the players.

The only issue is that somebody always has to get up early/stay extra late at work due to time zone differences. However, that beats jet lag and travel tummy, any day!

Then again, that's just one more reason why you need to leave!

Amethyst

<multiple expletives deleted>

I am trying to make it across the finish line without making compromises with myself or letting all of the BS get to me, but the powers that be seem to have the exact opposite aims. The latest is that they want me to fly across the country to attend a 2 hour meeting that finishes at 5PM on a friday in December. Aside from the mind-boggling idiocy of spending something like $1500 to 2k for this boondoggle (how much per minute of this meeting will that cost?), There is no way I will be able to get home that night. So I would be on the road thursday, friday and saturday. I already pushed back and said no to this nonsense. Now they are doubling down and pushing it in my face again. I am beyond pissed. Its clear I will not be allowed to say no to this bullcrap. So my choices are to just go and take the beating(s), or agree, book the trip, and then mysteriously fall ill when I am supposed to leave. The former makes my blood boil, the latter makes me uneasy. These ****ers have backed me into a corner yet again. The only upside to this is that year end (tiny) bonuses should be paid on that friday and I will have finally fully vested in the small pension and 401k match the week before.

I hate this damn place.

 

[Sea Kayaker]

Brewer, you might be more unhappy in your work than me. Yikes.

Have you posted any of your retirement details anywhere? I am close to the same age as you and would love to see how you plan to pull off your own early exit. I find your mindset and dissatisfaction eerily similar to my own.

 

[brewer12345]

It's hard to believe that your employer hasn't tried to save $ by investing in virtual teleconferencing. We (the inefficient government) do it all the time...and for quite complex technical discussions, too. I've personally resolved some serious issues by convening a 2-hour VTC with all the players.

The only issue is that somebody always has to get up early/stay extra late at work due to time zone differences. However, that beats jet lag and travel tummy, any day!

Then again, that's just one more reason why you need to leave!

Amethyst

The frustrating thing is that we have all that stuff, in spades. The problem is a neolithic business culture. As far as the goat rapers in charge are concerned, if you are not physically there (where they can monitor you) doing it, you didn't do it. This idiocy resulted in a policy they finally changed last year that said that if you could not make it into the office due to bad weather you got charged a vacation day. My office is in Denver and we get frigging blizzards. This was begging for a lawsuit, since people were taking high risks to get into the office, typically being told by local management to go home while they were still able.

 

[brewer12345]

Brewer, you might be more unhappy in your work than me. Yikes.

Have you posted any of your retirement details anywhere? I am close to the same age as you and would love to see how you plan to pull off your own early exit. I find your mindset and dissatisfaction eerily similar to my own.

Family of 4, two kids age 9 and 7. Estimated budget is 60k, 1.4MM in invested assets, a mortgage on primary residence included in budget. Assume his and hers SS of 12k each in todays dollars in a very long time (30 years). DW will continue her part time small business bringing in 20k annually for the next 5 years. There are some uncertainties to the plan, so I am choosing an earlier out in exchange for the possibility of needing to find modest amounts of income from time to time (heavily dependent on sequence of returns, among other things). Even so, as written above I get 100% in firecalc for a 40 year draw period. I have had enough, so I will take my chances.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

This idiocy resulted in a policy they finally changed last year that said that if you could not make it into the office due to bad weather you got charged a vacation day.

Reminds me of my first j*b out of college. Winter of '82-'83 in suburban DC, snow coming down as hard as I've ever seen before or since. When I left it was barely snowing; by the time I got near the office about 5 miles away there were several inches on the ground. Final tally was over 2 feet, quite remarkable for that part of the country.

Anyway, I made it to within a block of the office and had a wreck. Found out that the policy was that if you made it in you got sent home and got paid. If you didn't, you got charged a day of vacation. I knew I had a good boss when she heard my story and immediately marched into the manager's office and demanded I get paid. It worked.

That was also the first j*b I quit, after about 3 years. There were other stories equally as bad, and although I had a good boss the overall MegaCorp was just unbearable.

 

[meierlde]

brewer - How much time do you have until you can FIRE? If it's within a couple months, I'd go ahead and line up the trip, and then (as you mentioned) call in sick, or just not go. Then, when they start to complain and come down on me, I'd quit and walk out. Got to make your everything's fully vested before pulling that, however.

If it's longer than that, well...probably have to go on the stupid trip. But when the time comes to leave, I wouldn't give them any notice at all. Just walk up to the jerk boss and say "I quit. Effective immediately." and walk out.

One might get a bit more time to take it easy, once you have past the final performance review and raise cycle you expect to be there, you don't really care what the next evaluation might result in. In particular in a large organization you could loaf a bit and it would make little result.

 

[chasesfish]

Brewer - have you thought about taking the trip and emailing your resignation letter then? I don't know how well the timing works

 

[Options]

Not true actually. However I am guilty of pushing back whenever it's suggested that retirement is the only option that makes sense once anyone reaches FI, or as another member here paraphrased it 'anyone who chooses to work is retarded.' If someone is lucky enough to get paid to do work they truly enjoy for whatever reasons, that choice is perfectly respectable.

End of hijack...

+1
As I've mentioned elsewhere, only recently realized I will be retiring (12/14) from a job/field I'm no longer emotionally/psychologically attached to. However, there are plenty of world issues I still care deeply about. Quite possible these strong interests could turn into something with cash attached. OTH, whatever happens, I'll never have another c*reer or j*b out of necessity again.

BTW, at the current j*b (pre-12/14), besides getting up in the am, second worst part part is Sunday evenings like this one...