Q: Worst part of your j*b?

[ikubak]

In middle management, I think the worst part of my job is having to get involved in everyone's problem projects. If projects (audits) run smoothly, they are a breeze. If we run into problems getting info, department heads that think no one understands their issues, or political issues, then the staff are afraid to make a move without a manager involved. I try to tell my people that the worst thing you can do when something needs to be done is take no action. I say look at your options, pick what you think is the best option, and proceed forward. If you make a mistake, it's OK; that's how we learn. Don't tuck tail and wait for a manager to review everything you do. Some people are so afraid of making a mistake, that they can't do anything. Personally, I think I have learned more from my mistakes than I have from my accomplishments.

 

[traineeinvestor]

I'm currently working on a deal where the client is in LA and insists on scheduling conference calls at 12:30 pm LA time. That's 3:30 am where I am and they know that.

Somehow or other, when the time comes I don't think I will miss this part of the job.

 

[sunrise]

I have to remind myself that the perks I have outweigh the cons, but the biggest con is confined to the office, having to be there, when there is no work to actually do. That, and the nesting pigeons and the noise they are making, directly above my head (in the ceiling it seems. Need to call the landlord/maintenance).

 

[ziggy29]

I'm currently working on a deal where the client is in LA and insists on scheduling conference calls at 12:30 pm LA time. That's 3:30 am where I am and they know that.

Show me a group that schedules a lot meetings before 9 AM, after 4 PM or during the lunch hour and I'll show you a group that's in too many meetings all day to be productive, because these times are usually chosen because it's the only time on their schedule not already taken by other meetings...

 

[Chuckanut]

I'm currently working on a deal where the client is in LA and insists on scheduling conference calls at 12:30 pm LA time. That's 3:30 am where I am and they know that.

Somehow or other, when the time comes I don't think I will miss this part of the job.

I once worked for a guy who scheduled a meeting the Monday morning after Easter Sunday. The company had offices all over the country so about a dozen people had to cut short their Easter plans to catch a plane. He did this on less than a week's notice. He eventually was let go, but only after causing a huge amount of damage and the loss of several very talented people who where fed up.

 

[brewer12345]

I am being steadily pushed toward a position I do not want because it would result in the removal of a major perk that is the main reason I stay where I am. They don't seem to understand that people respond to incentives and will probably be amazed when I tell them this is a deal breaker. I hate the culture of "voluntold .

 

[Milton]

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.

OFFICE SPACE: "People can get a cheeseburger anywhere, okay? They come to Chotchkie's for the atmosphere and the attitude. That's what the flair's about. It's about fun. Look, we want you to express yourself, okay? If you thing the bare minimum is enough, then okay. But some people choose to wear more and we encourage that, okay? You do want to express yourself, don't you?"

 

[Milton]

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.

+1.

I can tell a couple of similar stories from my own navy days:

(1) email was introduced in the late 90's. Unfortunately we were compelled to change our passwords every month or some similarly short interval. I couldn't be bothered, so simply never accessed my email account for the last couple of years. That cut down on my workload ("sorry sir, I didn't get that message. Must be a tech problem. I'll ask computer support [an overworked and barely competent Master Seaman, who was never available] to look into it");

(2) for years, I never bothered to submit the paperwork required to renew my security clearance. Life went on ....

Of course, the key thing to remember in avoiding hassles in the military (or any similar large bureaucracy) is to eschew open defiance, which is invariably punished. Just reply "aye aye sir", and then do whatever you want; they don't have sufficient resources to ensure follow-up on administrative minutia.

 

[scrabbler1]

I'm currently working on a deal where the client is in LA and insists on scheduling conference calls at 12:30 pm LA time. That's 3:30 am where I am and they know that.

While it happened only once, back in my full-time working days HR scheduled some big early-morning meeting to explain the yet-again "new and improved" employee evaluation process and forms. The meeting was set for 8:30 AM although many of us did not usually arrive until 9 AM (and the latest permissible AM arrival time, set by HR, was 9:15 AM).

Now while 30 minutes may not seem like a lot, when you talk about commuting to Manhattan it is a lot more than just getting up 30 minutes sooner and driving to work the same as always. For me and many others, we take the LIRR (Long Island Rail Road, a commuter rail for those of you not from the NYC area). And as such, we live by the train schedule which greatly distorts your perception of time. Let me explain.

To arrive at the office 30 minutes earlier means we often have to take a train which arrives 40 minutes earlier because there is not train which gets us there 30 minutes earlier. That train, unfortunately, is far more crowded when I board it than my usual train so the chance I get a seat is maybe 50-50. That train makes a few more stops so the ride takes longer (even worse if you have to stand the whole way). So I am left with having to get up 40 minutes earlier to catch a lousier train and quite possibly arriving at the office more worn out than usual (and the commute already SUCKED, as I have written in this forum dozens of times), to attend what will end up being a pretty useless meeting which will last a few hours and keep me from getting my REAL work done.

That morning, I did get a seat but the train was a little late and that left me scrambling to get to the meeting not more than a few minutes late. The meeting was a waste of time, of course, as the procedure for the "new and improved" employee evaluation process could have been explained in a handout.

One big benefit of switching to working part-time a few years later was that I no longer had to write up any employee evalutaions. I still had to provide informal feedback to other supervisors about staff who worked on projects for me, and that was fine, but no more writeups of "official" reviews.

And now that I am ERed, I don't have to worry about any of that crappola, from the commute to the evaluations and anything in between!

 

[FUEGO]

Of course, the key thing to remember in avoiding hassles in the military (or any similar large bureaucracy) is to eschew open defiance, which is invariably punished. Just reply "aye aye sir", and then do whatever you want; they don't have sufficient resources to ensure follow-up on administrative minutia.

I have figured out that is a very effective management strategy in government employment as well.

I think lack of accountability is my favorite part of this job.

 

[Dreamer]

A schedule!

 

[Chuckanut]

Being to danged tired after work to enjoy the little personal time left to me.

 

[Marathoner]

The hours and lack of personal freedom.

I am very lucky to have a great job (if I have to have one), wonderful coworkers, love what I'm doing, but I'd love more to not have to work and have all my time be my own!!!

 

[RitaR551]

Stress. Calls at home. Always being the one to solve problems.

 

[paul h]

Our major client has 3 working interest owners, and hence getting projects funded requires all three of them agreeing. The timing of their funding cycle never meshes with project schedules so you'll be approaching the end of one phase of a project before you know whether or not they'll fund the next phase.

On the upside I have a great work environment and a good salary.

 

[2035]

- Getting up early
- Pulling more than my fair share of the load
- Work is below my skill level but pays well

 

[packrat44]

I don't get any paid vacation. Oh. wait. I am retired. Every day is a paid vacation. Sorry, the devil made me do it.

 

[FreeAtLast]

I retired almost a year ago but I have to say that most of my career was ok. The few bad times were after corporate take overs. all of my good performance seemed to get reset to zero with new management. There was so much uncertainty and in my case it sooner or later had me seeking a new job.

 

[HillCountry]

Working as an engineer, flexible hours and not much pressure.

I would like to keep going till the company kicking me out, or till kids going to college. Even I can retire today, still have to be constrained by kids.

 

[traineeinvestor]

Had to tell one of our people that she had no long term future with our firm...she was expecting it and had been interviewing anyway but I still feel bad about it.

 

[kumquat]

I [-]liked[/-] loved many parts of my j*b for a lot of years. The negatives eventually added up. I refered to them as "cleaning bird sh*t out of cuckoo clocks". I think I stole that phrase from some here but can't remember who.

My biggest problems were with:

• Primadonnas: Sorry, yes, you are a high performing employee. Sorry, I can't fire someone for not being better than you.
• Evaluation: We do 'em HR ignores 'em. Repeat, no wash or rinse necessary. Annecdote: My boss (VP [-]forced out[/-] retires [-](he deserved it)[/-], so we get a new VP from another area who I had previously dealt with and there was some mutual respect and a lot of previous interaction. One week into his tenure he calls me in and tells me it's my performance review. I ask "do you have any clue what I do?". He replies "no". I ask "how can you do a performance evaluation, then?". He says "gimme a break, HR demands it". Always wondered what it said.
• General corporate BS. I worked in IT. So, a user department is interesed in a new system. We go through the details with them, requirements, "nice to haves" etc. Decision made, we build. Budgets approved, staff hired. Some accountant shows up, calls a meeting and declares "cancel that, you should buy XYZ package". Fecal matter in air turbulance device. Disclaimer: This came from former co-worker at Mega-Corp (i've been gone 5 years) but I believe it.

Good to be gone.

 

[GatherYeAcorns]

Lack of eye candy. Haters. Politics. Backstabbing.

 

[UserRequested]

Lack of eye candy. Haters. Politics. Backstabbing.

Ditto. And dealing with lazy incompetent people

 

[comicbookgujy]

Lack of eye candy. Haters. Politics. Backstabbing.

That sums up my work place. So damn tired of being blamed for everything even though it's not my job function. Tired of being scrap goat.

Ready to move on as soon as they give me my servance package.

Once I leave, I think I will do what most of my former co-workers are doing...work 2 years at one company and move to a new company after 2 years because the BS you described exist at every company, but at least the BS will be a different place and not the damn same people.

I wish I had a thick skin and was a back stabber because I would have been an excellent Director!

 

[comicbookgujy]

I [-]liked[/-] loved many parts of my j*b for a lot of years. The negatives eventually added up. I refered to them as "cleaning bird sh*t out of cuckoo clocks". I think I stole that phrase from some here but can't remember who.

My biggest problems were with:

• Primadonnas: Sorry, yes, you are a high performing employee. Sorry, I can't fire someone for not being better than you.
• Evaluation: We do 'em HR ignores 'em. Repeat, no wash or rinse necessary. Annecdote: My boss (VP [-]forced out[/-] retires [-](he deserved it)[/-], so we get a new VP from another area who I had previously dealt with and there was some mutual respect and a lot of previous interaction. One week into his tenure he calls me in and tells me it's my performance review. I ask "do you have any clue what I do?". He replies "no". I ask "how can you do a performance evaluation, then?". He says "gimme a break, HR demands it". Always wondered what it said.
• General corporate BS. I worked in IT. So, a user department is interesed in a new system. We go through the details with them, requirements, "nice to haves" etc. Decision made, we build. Budgets approved, staff hired. Some accountant shows up, calls a meeting and declares "cancel that, you should buy XYZ package". Fecal matter in air turbulance device. Disclaimer: This came from former co-worker at Mega-Corp (i've been gone 5 years) but I believe it.

Good to be gone.

I'm on the other end and we're the one requesting new system and spend hours and hours with IT on the request. It gets finalized and new mangement come on board and say "that's out of the budget" and it gets killed.

Corporate BS is just insane. Every 2 years there is new management and you just go back to step one. I can't believe how inefficent corporations are today.