Things I Will Not Miss

[Amethyst]

When the meeting pomposity level rises beyond endurance, I suggest picturing everybody in outrageous underwear. The men in Victoria's Secret, and the women in wifebeaters and tighty whities!

Just don't laugh so hard, your rump-sprung conference room chair goes over backward.

Amethyst

From several years ago:
Today there was a meeting scheduled to run from 2pm - 4pm (never mind that many of us leave at 3 or 3:30); it lasted 'til 4:30.

One of the hallucinations was seeing all the participants as chimpanzees; dressed in suits and shuffling papers, ===========================

.

 

[accountingsucks]

Where do I begin

-Mandatory 1 hour for lunch. Why oh why is it so unreasonable for me to take 1/2 hour lunch and leave 1/2 hour early. Especially given the industrial area I work in that has nothing to do at lunch except for eat with annoying co-workers (no thanks).
-Absolutely 0 flexibility in work hours. Is it really a big deal that I leave 15 minutes early on a Friday after 10 hours of unpaid OT during the week?
-Monthly birthday cake with Happy Birthday sung. If I really cared about your birthday I would know when it was. As for the singing, after 12 years old it is ridiculous.
-The friggin photocopier jamming for absolutely no reason.
-Co-workers telling me how I should manage my staff.
-7:30 AM starts. Seriously, what company's do this?
-The dread on Sunday night.
-Getting a "promotion" and associated extra work with no increase in pay.
-Out of town week long management meetings. This couldn't be done in town so that I can go to my home at night?

 

[CuppaJoe]

I'll just list the things I'll miss:

uh...
umm.
The paycheck?

Honestly, I don't miss that. Reminds me, I haven't cut this month's check yet. Whenever.

 

[rescueme]

And here's one for you IT people.

I understood when they locked down access to our production servers. Didn’t like it, but understood it. But test? I can’t access my test server? Nope - I need to build a “package” and then send it to someone who sits at a desk and presses a button (well-paid position that could be done by an 5th grader) that will take my “package” and put it on my test server for me. This is all because the person who made the changes cannot copy the changes to the server because……they might be doing something bad/unethical/illegal.......and someone thinks the guy sitting at the desk submitting the job to move my “package” with 100,000 lines of code will be able to prevent this…..how?

Former IT guy here (retired). You can thank Sarbanes–Oxley for the "separation of duties" that came about in IT (one could test, but another needs to migrate to production, and depending on your local S.O. audit, even separate test functions as your firm has done).

Also, the idea of a "package" is related to the software/technology that evolved over the years. In the old days (where I spent most of my career) all you needed to do to make a change (for instance mainframe COBOL) was a couple of cards/lines for the change, controlled by a change control program (where you did it all).

BTW, in the "really old days" (where a greybeard like me started - and yes, I know what an 11/x punch means ) you had card decks (e.g. 5081 Hollerith coded cards) which were the entire program. You just added/pulled/corrected the part (cards) you needed to change and just submit to change the program (e.g. pre-compile/compile). As a programmer (and usually the only one who worked with a program/system) you did it all, without anybody "controlling" what you did. Of course, those are the days when one could take fractional shares/cents and add it to your own records ...

With the later technology (toy computers, as I call them - since I'm an old "big iron" guy ), all related programs/tasks must be assembled for a "release". The sub-code/structure cannot be broken out as easily (much improved, more work).

Anyway, since you asked...

 

[wildcat]

Dumb co-workers you have to baby along and go over the same stuff again and again (even worse if these people are your boss)

Working with old corporate dinosaurs that say - "that's how we have always done it"

Buddy systems - recently our director brought back 2 of her pals that were let go or about to be let go due to RIFs, both were placed in positions above me which pretty much eliminated my upward mobility despite great reviews & being qualified

Performance reviews

Motivational messages from mgt

Bosses that make requesting PTO seem like they are doing you a favor by approving

Cubes - no explanation needed

Having to go through the cycle of wasting money on projects & initiatives followed by "we need to cut back, who can we eliminate?"

Just the same old routine M-F

Sunday evening blues right around the start of '60 Min'

 

[Rambler]

Sunday evening blues right around the start of '60 Min'

Yes, and the Sunday evening blues that begin earlier and earlier... Its is getting to the point that I am getting the Sunday evening blues on Saturday morning. When it begins happening on Friday night, I better pull the plug...

R

 

[Khan]

It took several months for the 'Sunday evening blues' to go away.

 

[W2R]

It took several months for the 'Sunday evening blues' to go away.

It did take a while, but now it is exciting and exhilarating to realize that it is Sunday, and that I don't have to prepare to work the next day.

When I was working, my "Sunday Blues" started at lunch on Sunday.

 

[kyounge1956]

I don't know how to phrase this as something I won't miss, but something I'm looking forward to in retirement is to just be able to keep going until I finish something, without thinking "I really have to go to bed now or I'll be no use at work tomorrow". I'm looking forward to staying up until I get sleepy, and then sleeping until I wake up. What a luxury!

 

[rescueme]

...and then sleeping until I wake up. What a luxury!

Unless you do rescue (dog) work as I do and get a young fellow that jumps up onto your bed at 5:30 to wake you up, by licking your ear (I'm trying to get the DW to learn that trick ).

Of course, it's better than getting up at 4 a.m. to do my exercise before wo*k during my "accumulation years" ...

 

[W2R]

I don't know how to phrase this as something I won't miss, but something I'm looking forward to in retirement is to just be able to keep going until I finish something, without thinking "I really have to go to bed now or I'll be no use at work tomorrow". I'm looking forward to staying up until I get sleepy, and then sleeping until I wake up. What a luxury!

I love this aspect of retirement! At first, I was a little distressed because I found myself sleeping late and I have always been a "morning person" (or so I thought). I missed the early morning hours. But recently I have begun to realize that I enjoy staying up late, too, and that is why I do it. It's all good.

 

[brewer12345]

I don't know how to phrase this as something I won't miss, but something I'm looking forward to in retirement is to just be able to keep going until I finish something, without thinking "I really have to go to bed now or I'll be no use at work tomorrow". I'm looking forward to staying up until I get sleepy, and then sleeping until I wake up. What a luxury!

A related thing I will not miss: vacation/travel that is strictly limited and generally only taken when it is convenient for your employer.

 

[Amethyst]

Being told in summertime, "You're in charge of this project, which has to be planned, resourced, and done in 6 weeks, and of course since you're a 15 you are expected to be able to manage your time - if you want to take leave, it's up to you." And knowing that you cannot possibly marshal the resources to get the job done in 6 weeks, if you take your planned week of vacation. [Especially since several people, whose help you need, are on leave!] And then ending up, year after year, taking off the last 2 weeks of December, when the weather is awful, because that happens to be when everybody else takes off.

This year, I planned my activities carefully with my boss because I was determined not to let this scenario happen again. And then my entire chain of command were replaced, my boss found another job, my responsibilities were changed without warning, and...it's happened again.

Amethyst

A related thing I will not miss: vacation/travel that is strictly limited and generally only taken when it is convenient for your employer.

 

[Marie]

Interpersonal politics.

Meetings, meetings, meetings.

Exponentially-increasing rules and regulations for performing one's function.

Long range goal setting. ("Yeah, my long range goal is to retire as soon as feasible.")

Acronyms and corporate buzz-speak.

Dealing with "outsourcing".

 

[ls99]

I don't miss TGIF. Do love TGIM

 

[RunningBum]

But I will probably will miss these kinds of emails. I mean, we all need some form of entertainment in our lives........


Email I received today
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]If you are currently using your xxxxxx license or plan on using it in the future, delete this message.Do not respond. [/FONT][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Otherwise, please let us know, as we are looking to remove people who may have left the company and no longer need XXXXX so we can reassign their license to someone else.[/FONT]

I don't see the problem with this email. It sounds funny, but it really works. If someone has left the company, they'll get the bounce message and can reassign the license. Also they might pick up a few people who say they don't need it. Making the default be keeping the license prevents someone from losing their license just because they overlooked the email.

 

[Birdie Num Nums]

I'm looking forward to staying up until I get sleepy, and then sleeping until I wake up. What a luxury!

That wasn't one of my planned expectations. But, now that I am about six weeks into my ER, that is indeed a nice bonus. I have been doing that virtually every day! (My clock alarm has not been set in weeks!)

 

[donheff]

I don't see the problem with this email. It sounds funny, but it really works. If someone has left the company, they'll get the bounce message and can reassign the license. Also they might pick up a few people who say they don't need it. Making the default be keeping the license prevents someone from losing their license just because they overlooked the email.

So, you were the PHB

 

[bbbamI]

I don't miss TGIF. Do love TGIM

I'm ready for all those folks to go back to work so I can run my errands in peace.

 

[kyounge1956]

Unless you do rescue (dog) work as I do and get a young fellow that jumps up onto your bed at 5:30 to wake you up, by licking your ear (I'm trying to get the DW to learn that trick ).

Of course, it's better than getting up at 4 a.m. to do my exercise before wo*k during my "accumulation years" ...

If I were going to rescue something, it would be a cat rather than a dog. In the past, I've had cats that had free run of the house at night, and have always been able to sleep through whatever they were doing at 5:30 AM. Of course, those were my Persian kitties with their demure voices and laid-back tendencies. I don't know if I could sleep through the more active and/or vocal breeds like Siamese. Any cat that dares to wake me up at that unholy hour is going to need to be rescued again pronto—from me!

 

[MichaelB]

I don't miss TGIF. Do love TGIM

I'm ready for all those folks to go back to work so I can run my errands in peace.

+1 +1

Morning newspaper. Long, friendly cuppa coffee. Watch the neighbors leave for work.

There is so much I don’t miss about work.

 

[KM]

Former IT guy here (retired). You can thank Sarbanes–Oxley for the "separation of duties" that came about in IT (one could test, but another needs to migrate to production, and depending on your local S.O. audit, even separate test functions as your firm has done).

Also, the idea of a "package" is related to the software/technology that evolved over the years. In the old days (where I spent most of my career) all you needed to do to make a change (for instance mainframe COBOL) was a couple of cards/lines for the change, controlled by a change control program (where you did it all).

BTW, in the "really old days" (where a greybeard like me started - and yes, I know what an 11/x punch means ) you had card decks (e.g. 5081 Hollerith coded cards) which were the entire program. You just added/pulled/corrected the part (cards) you needed to change and just submit to change the program (e.g. pre-compile/compile). As a programmer (and usually the only one who worked with a program/system) you did it all, without anybody "controlling" what you did. Of course, those are the days when one could take fractional shares/cents and add it to your own records ...

With the later technology (toy computers, as I call them - since I'm an old "big iron" guy ), all related programs/tasks must be assembled for a "release". The sub-code/structure cannot be broken out as easily (much improved, more work).

Anyway, since you asked...

Yeah, SOX, as we call it, changed a lot of things. And my company isn't even mandated - we do it because it is the "right thing to do". I guess I am okay with that - but the "separation of duties" simply has no value given the way it is implemented.

I actually started as a Mainframe COBOL developer, went throught the client-server era, and now am into the web era. I enjoyed them all. Regardless of platform, though, it now takes as much, if not more time, to fill out the paperwork than it does to do the actually work. Something is very wrong. And our business wonders why IT services have become so expensive.

Another one of my "I won't miss......" is producing attestation that proves I didnt change anything when I log onto a machine to check something..

(Punch cards were gone by the time I started, but I remember my father bringing home punch cards for scrap paper . )

 

[Khan]

+1 +1

Morning newspaper. Long, friendly cuppa coffee. Watch the neighbors leave for work.

There is so much I don’t miss about work.

Dec '08 6AM, hearing the neighbor spend 30 minutes scraping the ice off his car so he could drive to work.

 

[KM]

I don't see the problem with this email. It sounds funny, but it really works. If someone has left the company, they'll get the bounce message and can reassign the license. Also they might pick up a few people who say they don't need it. Making the default be keeping the license prevents someone from losing their license just because they overlooked the email.

Hmmm....that is an interesting perspective I hadn't thought of. Thanks a lot, you just took away the one thing that made me laugh all day.......

 

[John Galt III]

In general, the 24/7/365 stress of it all. Weekends ruined by the fear and loathing of Monday.