Q: Worst part of your j*b?

[M Paquette]

Quote:

The head office flew an HR boob out to conduct a training on how to mentor people. This creature proceeded to instruct the mentors to make very sure that their mentees understood the finer points of the dress code, how peep toe shoes are acceptable, but open toe shoes are not, etc. I am left to wonder if there is a toe inspector roaming the halls of the head office.

So, how do they feel about Birkenstocks? When worn with shredded cutoff jeans? Are they OK while skateboarding the corridors, or only on a Razor scooter?

I think maybe I was in a different sort of workplace from most people...

[chasesfish]

I realized today that I have basically two shares professional level support staff and one assistant to support the documentation, regulatory, and IT functions required now to achieve my productive job function, 9 years ago when I started, it was the same job function with one assistant shared with three people. I'm watching regulation create economic waste every

[UserRequested]

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Originally Posted by brewer12345 . The head office flew an HR boob out to conduct a training on how to mentor people.

The boobies get all the attention

[traineeinvestor]

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Originally Posted by brewer12345 Another classic: "The March meeting of the Mid-Career Professionals Mentoring Circle will be Tuesday, March 19, at 3 p.m. in the XXX room and via conference call. The topic will beMeeting Overload, (how to make the best of time in meetings, time management, meeting management, etc.). Bring your questions, best practices and suggestions." Its a meeting on how to deal with the fact that we have too many meetings.

I have learned to value and appreciate meetings - with iPhone in hand I can appear to be productive while dealing with personal e-mails and spending time on the internet.

[ER Eddie]

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Originally Posted by comicbookgujy So damn tired of being blamed for everything even though it's not my job function. Tired of being scape goat. I wish I had a thick skin and was a back stabber because I would have been an excellent Director!

That's a lot how I feel. The worst part of my job is how dysfunctional some of the people I work with are. Blaming, accusatory, hostile, perfectionistic (about others, anyhow), degrading, and prone to angry outbursts. Power-hungry, disrespectful bullies and blamers...

It's not everyone, or even the majority who are like this, just one or two people. But they are inevitably the ones who gravitate toward positions of power in the system and who are promoted by administration for their "productivity" and Type A qualities. Management turns a blind eye to it, cooperates with it, and lets people like me (lower level, less power in the system) get blamed and trashed.

After 15 years of it, I'm worn out. The funny thing is, I'm in the mental health field, and this is the type of people who are in charge ... inmates running the asylum.

All I do lately is just tell myself to keep my head down, CYA, and head for the finish line.

And then, also, I've stopped learning and growing on the job. There was a time when I was learning quite a bit, but that's over. Granted, I'm still learning about how to deal with all the egos and the dysfunction of the system, but that's not interesting to me.

Over the years, too, the system has moved from an inspirational and service-oriented paradigm to something much more financially driven, cost-cutting, and profit-focused. That's drained out a lot of my interest in the job, too.

[UserRequested]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ER Eddie . Blaming, accusatory, hostile, perfectionistic (about others, anyhow), degrading, and prone to angry outbursts. Power-hungry, disrespectful bullies and blamers...

I take great delight in exposing these people for what they are.

Granted I can do this because I am in a senior position or higher than these people. When any of these sorts mess with my staff or me, I go on the attack with facts and figures.

These bullies are actually cowards and run for cover when challenged

[Hexanova]

I'm a mechanical design engineer, not a manager, so my job is to actually do work, create things, build things, test things, do drawings, do structural analysis, do tolerance analysis, design the things you see on the shelf in excruciating 3D detail, every curve, corner, nook, surface, hole, screw, piece of sheetmetal, etc.

But everyone above (and even lateral) to the people actually doing work think the following qualifies as work:

1) Running endless and recurring meetings, even when there's nothing to meet about because chairing a meeting is the only accomplishment they can claim for the week.
2) Running pre-meetings for meetings (I'm not making this up)
3) Making non-critical requests to give the illusion of adding value to a project (when in reality they do nothing)
4) Enforcing their own idea of best methods for accomplishing successful design.
5) Everyone giving the 2 cents on your designs even if they aren't a co-owner, user, or stakeholder of said design.
6) Disturbing me when I'm in "do not disturb" mode via chat notice or a sign on the entrance of my cubicle.
7) People walking in to my cubicle at 4:59 "Hey, got a minute." ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
8) Sick people who come in thinking the company just will not go on if they miss a few days. Then they infect two people, who infect two people, etc, until hundreds or even thousands of work hours are lost. I've actually chewed out my own manager for not enforcing some kind of "stay the hell home when you're sick" policy. He didn't care what I thought. He literally shrugged his shoulders and didn't care when sick people come to work. So now I rule with draconian zeal when any sick person gets near me at work. They are not allowed in my cubicle. I will not have face to face meetings with them. Some people don't like this, but that's my policy.

Okay, I'm going in to rant mode about work...I better stop because I could literally write a book on the absurdity of nearly every aspect of my job. LOL

[ER Eddie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jags I take great delight in exposing these people for what they are. Granted I can do this because I am in a senior position or higher than these people. When any of these sorts mess with my staff or me, I go on the attack with facts and figures. These bullies are actually cowards and run for cover when challenged

You're the kind of boss I'd love to have. Unfortunately, my higher-ups either don't have enough backbone to stand up to these jerks or else just don't understand the damage to morale that sort of behavior causes. They've lost quite a few good, talented people because of it, but they don't seem to be making the connection.

I agree that challenging them makes them run for cover -- if you have power in the system. If you don't, though, challenging them can be dangerous. I've decided to just keep my mouth shut and head slowly for the exit.

[obgyn65]

Thanks for clarifying what peep toes shoes are. Although I love working for women and with women, all this fashion stuff is still a bit of an unknown world to me.

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Originally Posted by W2R When I was working, I usually figured that they could even tell me to dress in a clown suit and I'd do it if they paid me enough. So, I never really minded dress codes. Here you go: Peep Toes - What are Peep Toe Shoes?

[Milton]

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Originally Posted by chasesfish I realized today that I have basically two shares professional level support staff and one assistant to support the documentation, regulatory, and IT functions required now to achieve my productive job function, 9 years ago when I started, it was the same job function with one assistant shared with three people.

Interesting. I have observed things going the other way too: in my last four years of work, I actually had to share a secretary with a junior lawyer (quelle horreur!).

[chasesfish]

Actually, I was saying its going the other way. I now have three people that have to provide compliance, IT, and documentary support. I work in banking, the side that loans money to locally owned businesses.

We're viewed the same as the mortgage brokers who were doing no income verification loans

[GTH2016]

Most aspects of Law Enforcement. It was an adventure for about the 1st ten years but after 17 years, the novelty has worn off. I have to survive 45 more months till I can bail.

[Walt34]

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Originally Posted by scrabbler1 This same executive also gave a coworker down the hall a hard time with the fact that the venetian blinds were raised to uneven levels in a long series of windows. He demanded they be set at the same level.

Well, my God man! Don't you understand that there are institutional standards to maintain! What would the neighbors think?

I work in contract security for one of the large three-letter federal agencies and some of the nitpicking they have to complain about is astonishing too. But since almost all of us are retired law enforcement and have made multiple trips through hell and high water and back, and are therefore grateful to have survived the trips with our sanity (more or less) and appendages intact, we figure that if that's all they have to complain about we must be doing a pretty good job.

[brewer12345]

Well, tomorrow should be interesting. I have been summoned to the national capital of peep toe shoes only (the head office) to be one of the dancing monkeys on a panel discussion so that the brain dead automatons who are in the role of officers can pretend they are thinking about emerging risks. I just realized I failed to pack a pair of dress shoes.

I suppose I could figure out where in this dreary midwestern city where I could buy a pair of shoes after hours. **** it. I was dragged out here on short notice for what is a complete boondoggle so let them freak out over my hiking shoes if they wish.

[REWahoo]

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Originally Posted by brewer12345 I was dragged out here on short notice for what is a complete boondoggle so let them freak out over my hiking shoes if they wish.

As long as they aren't open-toed hiking shoes you should be fine...

[sengsational]

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Originally Posted by brewer12345 ...let them freak out over my hiking shoes if they wish.

I think that attitude will keep your blood pressure low and enable you to live a healthier life. Maybe you could get the hotel concierge to polish 'em, hehe.

[brewer12345]

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Originally Posted by REWahoo As long as they aren't open-toed hiking shoes you should be fine...

I think I will keep a count of how many times I hear about my footwear when they have allegedly brought me in at something close to a thousand bucks for a 90 minute panel where I am to contribute insight into the idiocy going on in the credit markets.

[Sarah in SC]

Eery time you hear shoes, think "TPS reports" an that should keep you entertained.

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarah in SC Eery time you hear shoes, think "TPS reports" an that should keep you entertained.

I will not miss this dumb job when I make my escape.

[jon-nyc]

I once heard an author being interviewed on NPR. I forget who it was, but he had made it pretty big but only later in life. Before that he held every type of job imaginable while writing on the side.

The interviewer asked him about the jobs he had over the years, which kind he preferred. His answer was great: "I've had white collar jobs and blue collar jobs. I always preferred a blue collar job because you didn't have to pretend you liked it."