Q: Worst part of your j*b?

[Tekward]

For me it is easily packing to leave on a business trip (like this week).

 

[ziggy29]

Having executives constantly telling me they urgently need a report and I have to be the one who does it, making me feel like the earth will implode if I don't get their TPS report to them by COB today, and then once I perform a minor miracle and clear enough time to do it, they constantly come back either asking for changes (even when I gave them exactly what they asked for) or worse, claim the report is wrong or that a report looking at apples "doesn't match the metric reported" for oranges.

 

[growing_older]

Being given an impossible deadline, so I need to make an extraordinary effort - like very late hours or weekend work - only to find after I meet the deadline that the project wasn't so urgent afterall and there is another week for them to request new changes they only just thought of after seeing the "completed" work they originally asked for.

 

[Midpack]

I can't remember!

 

[MBAustin]

Having executives constantly telling me they urgently need a report and I have to be the one who does it, making me feel like the earth will implode if I don't get their TPS report to them by COB today, and then once I perform a minor miracle and clear enough time to do it, they constantly come back either asking for changes (even when I gave them exactly what they asked for) or worse, claim the report is wrong or that a report looking at apples "doesn't match the metric reported" for oranges.

+1. And then when they like the report, they ask for it every week, just in case some other executive asks a similar question again. On top of all the other reports they've asked for once and wanted to get every week.

Anecdote: I was in exactly this situation after I decided (but before I announced) that I was ERing. After 4 tries got the report that the boss's boss wanted, then she asked for it every Friday. Sent it to her 4 times, then had one of those Fridays where everything hit the proverbial fan so didn't get it done. She didn't ask for it on Monday, or Tuesday, or...so I didn't do it the next week either. Finally after about 3 weeks she asked where it was - I told her the truth (that since she hadn't asked for it after several days I thought it was no longer needed) and she said "well, I guess you are right, if I need that information again I'll just ask for it". Unfortunately, before I decided to ER, I probably wouldn't have had the guts to do that.

 

[martyb]

As a federal employee, I get tired of being a political football that gets kicked around during election time. Besides that, I'd have to say boring meetings.

 

[Tekward]

I can't remember!

No rubbing it in!!

Somebody has to get up early to make the doughnuts!

 

[REWahoo]

I can't remember!

That doesn't sound much like a response from a guy who has been hinting retirement may not have been a good choice....

 

[Midpack]

That doesn't sound much like a response from a guy who has been hinting retirement may not have been a good choice....

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...

 

[REWahoo]

Guess I misinterpreted your comments...

 

[ronocnikral]

talking to people

 

[JakeBrake]

Performance reviews. I bailed out when Megacorp went from semi-annual performance reviews to quarterly performance reviews.

 

[Nords]

Chronic fatigue.

Closely followed by "weekend duty"... Sundays with a Monday underway were the worst. Hmm-- I wonder if there's a causation of the correlation.

After 4 tries got the report that the boss's boss wanted, then she asked for it every Friday. Sent it to her 4 times, then had one of those Fridays where everything hit the proverbial fan so didn't get it done. She didn't ask for it on Monday, or Tuesday, or...so I didn't do it the next week either. Finally after about 3 weeks she asked where it was - I told her the truth (that since she hadn't asked for it after several days I thought it was no longer needed) and she said "well, I guess you are right, if I need that information again I'll just ask for it". Unfortunately, before I decided to ER, I probably wouldn't have had the guts to do that.

Navy training command HQ used to ask us to submit weekly timecards for all our instructors. (Yeah, but they sure weren't documenting overtime.) One week I forgot and nobody pinged me. Two weeks. Three weeks. So I got ratey and decided to see how long it took for someone to catch on.

Nearly a year later I was asked where my timecards were, and I said "Why? You clearly didn't miss them." We found out that HQ was using them to set the rates that they'd charge foreign countries to train their military students. I was admonished (with a lot of finger-shaking) that it would be OK for me to "hold timecards on station" in case we were asked for them. I transferred to a new training command before that happened.

I did the same thing at the new training command, with the same results. After three years the HQ staff was visiting for an administrative inspection. As we were doing a record review I said "Hey, let me tell you about this funny story." In front of my XO's horrified eyes I revealed the timecard delinquency that I'd perpetrated at two commands. With a frown, the HQ guy said that he'd look into it. The subject never came up again. A few months later HQ announced that the timecards were no longer necessary and did away with the system.

You could only get away with this subversive behavior if your career was already over. If you were still bucking for a promotion then you didn't dare leave yourself open to criticism or, even worse, "damned with faint praise" on your next fitness report.

 

[MooreBonds]

Definitely busting your ass(ets) off day in and day out, while some schmuck co-worker (sitting in the cubicle next to you) pushes his pencil around, spends hours typing on his keyboard, and shoves every bit of work onto a subordinate to do.

 

[Khan]

Interacting with all sorts of people with different levels of authority; big building with hard floors, bright lights, much talking, too many people with too much perfume.

 

[Aiming_4_55]

....when management has bright ideas without direct knowledge or experience

....management math of 4 untrain/unskilled employees does not equal a well oiled machine for a 1 week project, too much lost time explaining and training. Just let me bring in an experience contractor with a reasonable bill rate.

....management babble, I don't take my laptop home, I just stay 'til 7 or 8 each night

 

[scrabbler1]

For me it was the commute. Plain and simple, I neded to eliminate it, not just reduce it.

 

[Onward]

Nasty managers and cow*rkers. But then you probably knew that.

 

[traineeinvestor]

All of the above, but the one that really gets me down is having to fire people. Usually its someone we are glad to see the back of but occasionally its someone I like

 

[obgyn65]

1) insurance-driven healthcare 2) malpractice 3) obnoxious patients

 

[MichaelB]

Firing people to cut expenses. Over the years I let people go for performance reasons and was not bothered that much by it, because substantial effort was first put into helping them do their jobs. Toward the end of my career, we were letting go 10% or 15% of the employees each year. Financial performance was good but it was cut, reduce, and find a way.

 

[timeasterday]

Performance reviews. I bailed out when Megacorp went from semi-annual performance reviews to quarterly performance reviews.

Ouch - quarterly? We do a quick review mid-year then a full review next month. I went from managing 3 people to 8, so this will be more of a chore next month and I am not looking forward to it.

Having executives constantly telling me they urgently need a report and I have to be the one who does it, making me feel like the earth will implode if I don't get their TPS report to them by COB today, and then once I perform a minor miracle and clear enough time to do it, they constantly come back either asking for changes (even when I gave them exactly what they asked for) or worse, claim the report is wrong or that a report looking at apples "doesn't match the metric reported" for oranges.

Yeah, this one bugs me the most.

 

[mystang52]

1) Ditto on the Performance reviews.
2) Other than that, besides the job duties between 7:50 AM and 4:50 PM, no complaints...................

 

[Midpack]

OK, serious this time. I worked in manufacturing my whole career, in no particular order my sleepless nights were most often due to:

• Worry about potential for a serious injury
• Worry about a union organizing attempt
• Worry about layoffs

Fortunately I had very good success with 2-1/2 of them.

 

[14thMed]

Call