Q: Worst part of your j*b?

[REWahoo]

Call

What number?

 

[FinanceDude]

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.

Are you sure you don't work at my DW's company?

 

[ATC Guy]

Fake people who are actually incompetent in their job yet try to give you "tips" you on the best way to do it because they don't realize you have years of previous experience that they don't have.

Fakeness in general. I appreciate straight shooting and honesty. Both of which are a lost art in the workplace.

Also a neverending regimen of training, again despite previous experience and the total understanding of everything you need to be "trained" on yet it needs to be on paper for it to count. Lessons specifically you could teach to the person training you better than they could you. But I think this is a government/military problem more than anything.

It's like showing up with an MBA and being told, "well that's great but we need to train you on this basic algebra."

End Rant.

 

[FUEGO]

If I cared about my job I would say office politics (caused by the boss). Since I don't really care that much, I have to outwardly appear to be disgruntled/disgusted at the behavior while secretly laughing on the inside because it doesn't really matter - I get my paycheck every 2 weeks regardless.

Other than that, not having a parking space and searching for parking. Only a problem for maybe 2 months in the summer and a couple months in the winter and on the rare occasion when it rains. The other ~8 months, I don't mind nice long leisurely strolls from my parking space (literally) in a different zip code. Especially when I am coming or going to/from a meeting and I can legitimately charge the company for my (wasted) time. Nothing like getting paid to be inefficient and slowly stroll through tree lined streets checking out historic antebellum architecture and taking in the smells of cherry trees, azaleas, dogwoods or what have you. Sorry - a little off topic there - guess I just described the silver lining in "what I hate the most about my job".

 

[Cassius King]

Easily the people I work with. Lady across from me fields calls from her kids all day long and talks to family when not talking with kids. Lady adjacent to me has a wheezing, deep cough that lasts about 4 months every winter. Coughing non-stop, every minute on the minute.
Young girl at the end of the hall calls her parents everyday and tells them about her baby girl, often doing imitations and talking like the baby.

IT'S PURE HELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have an iPod and usually use it, but I have to be able to hear my phone, etc. Can't wait to get out of here.

 

[ziggy29]

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.

Trying hard not to make this sound political or ideological, but yes, this is one of the main reasons I want out of Corporate America. No amount of profit is ever enough. If there's any way possible to get one more cent of reported earnings this quarter, no matter how bad for our company in the long run and no matter how many employees, customers and small business competitors we have to screw over to get it, most will do it -- especially publicly traded companies who have to answer to shareholders and not their own conscience. It's no accident that more and more of the employers on the "best places to work" lists are privately held companies.

Even when record earnings are being reported, it's more layoffs, more jobs offshored to India, more cuts in benefits and more wage freezes even as you are expected to work longer and harder because headcount goes down, but the workload only grows.

I just want no part of being a cog in that machine any more. I respect the profit motive. But I think the profit motive needs to respect the humanity of the people it impacts, too.

 

[wildcat]

For me, just watch the movie 'Office Space'

It's funny b/c I used to think I could just escape whatever things annoy me about working at 'x' by job hopping and moving on. Now it just seems to be a rinse and repeat cycle after a year or so of starting a new job at a company.

 

[Amethyst]

Having to take "the pecking order" seriously.

Mihi petra alterius* (already mentioned by others).

*"Bring me another rock" syndrome.

Amethyst

 

[Koolau]

Lots of "good" examples already listed here. Honestly, I can't say that my J*b was all that bad for the most part. It just wasn't all that good. Most of the folks were decent enough, though we certainly had our share of shirkers and useless bosses/subordinates. Management "directives" were a pita from time to time, but they usually faded away when it became obvious that they didn't accomplish the desired effect. My favorite was a plant manger who directed us to log and explain the business reason for every single copy we made - including spoiled copies. That lasted about 3 weeks until it became obvious that it was taking longer to log than to copy - and costing many times more than the occasional "pilfered" copy of a crossword or "today's chuckle". I was known for patience, so was given the bulk of difficult-to-deal-with subordinates (attendance problems, incompetence, unmotivated, untrainable, neurotic, alcoholic, psychotic, etc.) I guess, like others, performance appraisal/yearly planning were my least favorite duties (both giving and receiving). Still, the thing that finally got me motivated to leave was being given an assignment for which I was not really qualified and which would have been boring as well as unrewarding (even if done well). That wasn't the first time such an assignment had come my way. It was, however, the first time I had ER as a viable option. I believe I "chose wisely".

 

[Bimmerbill]

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.

+1, tho I pretty much refuse to go to meetings if I can get away with it. Been pretty successful so far...

 

[Golden Mean]

For me I guess it's the uncertainty, but maybe not what you think. It's not a job security issue, it's a work flow issue.

I work for a great company and with great people, but we never seem to get a game plan nailed down and half the time I'm not sure what I should be working on. I dream of a job where I know what tasks I need to complete for the next couple of weeks and I know they'll be needed/used when I finish them.

 

[flyfishnevada]

I think the worst thing wasn't my crappy boss or his need for paperwork. I think it was management waxing poetic about empowering employees to make decisions, be creative and take initiative and then crushing any of that when we actually did. That got so old. Every time you came up with a good idea or a better way to do things, they would either ignore you or praise you and never act on it. I hate the phrase, "Because, that's the way its always been done."

 

[stargazer08]

The worst part of my job is actually having to go there!

 

[Koolau]

+1, tho I pretty much refuse to go to meetings if I can get away with it. Been pretty successful so far...

It's been long enough I almost forgot: Back in the day, I always scheduled Dr./dentist appts. and half-day vacation during standing meetings. If all else failed, I asked a subordinate to page me during said meetings - ostensibly to attend to an "emergency". Heh, heh, such a guilty pleasure.

 

[Major Tom]

I loved my job and didn't want to stop doing it. There were two aspects of it that I didn't enjoy though:

1) In the last few years before we went out of business, the increasing focus on the numbers (sales, payroll, the monthly profit and loss statement) to the point where it felt as if we were squeezing blood out of a stone. The regular layoffs, and use of existing employees to take on roles of former employees, while continuing to do their own jobs. Along with the impending sense of doom that the ship was slowly sinking, the fun and creativity was drained from the workplace, bit by bit.

2) The one manager who just didn't like me, out of many that I worked for. She was passive-aggressive and disingenuous. Nothing I could do to attempt to get along with her worked. The fact that I was well-regarded within the company probably just made the situation with her worse. I have worked for many managers, both competent and ridiculously incompetent, but all were basically decent human beings. I liked them all, except for this one person who sadly, was very intelligent and capable, which made her even harder to deal with. Ugh. Luckily she was a very small part of what was otherwise a fabulous work experience.

 

[JBmadera]

Shutting down a division because it was "too small and not profitable enough". It was in an economically depressed area and many of the folks that were let go had worked there for 20-30 years, with very little hope of finding another job in the area.

As it turns out those "larger, more profitable" divisions were inappropriately accounting for certain items (i.e. they weren't very profitable after all) and several corporate exec's who sponsored the inappropriate accounting ended up going to jail! Too late for the poor folks that were let go. Kind of reminds me of todays financial services industry, the little guys and gals always end up paying the price.

 

[Donzo]

Constant travel 3-5 nights per week, mind numbing daily phone conference calls, back stabbing co-managers, constant changing of commission plan because we employees "made to much $" - having to deal with fake people and whining reps, large price increases on "me-too" products making them difficult to sell, FDA delays .....man, I love retirement!!

 

[freebird5825]

- Watching grown people with advanced degrees and self-important attitudes fighting over the "lollipops" (project funding) when there were always plenty to go around.
- "Pencil whipping" - revisions to technical writeups that had already passed spelling and grammar checks with flying colors.
- "Powerpoint Engineering"
- Being sick all the time from the latest cold bug/flu
- A building with no windows, and in winter months, driving to w*rk in the dark and back home in the dark. Sunlight deprivation is not funny over time.

 

[Major Tom]

Shutting down a division because it was "too small and not profitable enough". It was in an economically depressed area and many of the folks that were let go had worked there for 20-30 years, with very little hope of finding another job in the area.

As it turns out those "larger, more profitable" divisions were inappropriately accounting for certain items (i.e. they weren't very profitable after all) and several corporate exec's who sponsored the inappropriate accounting ended up going to jail! Too late for the poor folks that were let go. Kind of reminds me of todays financial services industry, the little guys and gals always end up paying the price.

That truly is criminal, and a sobering reminder of how these types of changes have a very human price.

 

[militaryman]

Taking time off and having the "dread" in the back of my mind the whole time beause I know I gotta go back and accomplish everything that I missed while gone.

 

[ziggy29]

Taking time off and having the "dread" in the back of my mind the whole time beause I know I gotta go back and accomplish everything that I missed while gone.

Yeah -- vacations really aren't vacations much any more for a lot of folks -- they are just "deferring workload" until you get back. Sure, if you are in a service sector job that's not usually quite as true, but for many of us, the work doesn't go away and it doesn't get reassigned.

So if we "recharge" by taking a vacation, we're burned out again in a week of pulling 60+ hours at the office to do all the work that came in while you were out. What a system...

And vacations are even worse for those who are expected to be on call with cell phones and/or e-mail while they are out. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? What about that requirement is "on vacation," anyway?

 

[Nords]

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? What about that requirement is "on vacation," anyway?

It's just a GAAP controls mandate to force the financial people to allow others to ride their desks for a few weeks to investigate whether the incumbents are stealing money.

 

[target2019]

I'll limit this to three worst parts:
1. Boss - when you have a good one it is hard to go back to the procrastinating, story-telling clown. I am going through this right now.
2. People - having to deal with people in megacorp is a large problem. Surprise! "I don't have to give you an answer, and it will take the company years and years to get rid of me."
3. Lack of Respect - generally speaking, when you have an abundance of people, you have an oversupply of individuals who have never been taught the golden rule.

The right boss can get you through all of the other bs.

 

[BTravlin]

I'm a self employed salesman and the thing I hate most is the decline of personal relationships with the buyers. Most sales used to be conducted over the phone and personal relationships developed over time. Buyers got to know me, trust me and respect my knowledge of the product and the industry. Even if my prices were a little higher the buyer knew he was getting a better product at a fair price and also knew that I would be there to back them up on the few occasions where problems arose.

Nowadays, buyers work for MegaCorp and are doing the jobs of 2 or 3 people. They are also buying multiple products lines. They have little time to talk and so many resort to blanket e-mailing their inquiries to every possible supplier they know and end up buying mostly based on price alone. Once I quote the business it is often impossible to get any feedback from the buyer as to what they bought or at what price or if they even bought anything at all.

And then on the supplier side many of my competitors resort to cheating to get the business. Buy one product with low specs and then represent it as something else to get a price advantage.

Been doing this for 23 years now and it is so much less satisfying than it used to be. SO ready to FIRE now but have to stick it out another 3-4 years.

 

[ziggy29]

3. Lack of Respect - generally speaking, when you have an abundance of people, you have an oversupply of individuals who have never been taught the golden rule.

How many workplaces still have an abundance of people? Most I've seen have slashed down to the bone and, in some cases, all the way into the marrow.