Busted posting at work.

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
41

Kelli, it sucks that you were busted. However, I have to agree with Diane, et al.

It’s been my experience that when you’re at work, that’s what you’re there for: work. Not to play on the internet, make long distance phone calls, write letters to your grandma…just work.

If you’re so far ahead, do more work. They’ll see that one person is capable of doing the job of two, and that can only be good for your professional reputation, career opportunities, AND your pocketbook.

Look at it this way: The more productive you are, the more likely it is that you’ll receive promotions, raises, and be spared if the company needs to downsize. Soon, you won’t need to post from work… you’ll be able to get your own computer!

“ChrisCTP-…the sweetheart of the SDMB…” --Diane
Chris’ Homepage: Domestic Bliss

42

I thought Kel had a pc at home - in her rant she says to mail her using home address on her profile, and that she’ll try to check back later that night. I agree that getting the work done is the goal and what’s the harm if a good worker surfs to relieve the stress, but in the end, it is the boss’s prerogative to set policy on this. Rule #1: the boss is always right; rule #2: if the boss is wrong see rule #1. Also,you have to consider the effect on other workers. We don’t know the whole story here. Perhaps her “friend” was working her ass off and grew resentful that Kel was spending so much time “goofing off” – regardless of another employee’s performance, if you perceive that that employee is screwing off while you’re working, it’s going to piss you off. And Kel needs to learn that in the work world, you need to be very careful about co-workers as friends. A co-worker friend of mine got me in trouble by spilling the beans accidentally about a confidential matter I’d told him. (And I gave him hell about it too). I still consider him a friend, but I am very careful about what I tell him now. People gossip, are ambitious, & competitive and a tenuous workplace “friendship” can go out the window when it comes to looking out for #1.

43

Catrandom: yes, of course she’s right and so are the rest of you. I wdn’t have replied on this at all, except that Diane’s prissy rant got right up my nose - it’s not the substance, it’s the manner…

44

Durno: Sometimes, nice won’t cut it. If Diane’s presentation put you off, I recommend you lurk in the other forums for a bit so you can see what “ranting” really is.

“ChrisCTP-…the sweetheart of the SDMB…” --Diane
Chris’ Homepage: Domestic Bliss

45

Done it already - that’s not what I meant

I’ve obviously completely failed to make my point, which I admit was not a particularly significant one. Why flog a dead horse? I’ll go and practise expressing myself more clearly - I begin to have some sympathy for bj0rn

46

Although I hate working for other people. Although I really will always side with “the people” over “the man” as a general rule. Although I think it is basically ludicrous to expect people to simply fill time if they don’t have anything really productive to do…I have to side with the boss on this one.

Simply because…them’s the rules of the game.

Many questions have not been fully answered though, and they might bear on the subject:

  1. Is Kel hourly or salaried? If she’s hourly, then he’s paying her to surf.

  2. Is she commission? (I’m sure not) because then he can go fuck himself.

  3. ARE there things that she COULD be accomplishing, but elects instead to surf and screw around? If every single conceivable detail of her own job is completely handled, and there is no easy way to help anyone else with theirs, then he should back off. If there are things she could be doing, then he’s got every right.

I have always felt that exchanging time for money was the most depressing way in the world to make a living. Absolutely the pits. Much better to be paid for production, of whatever sort. And it should be left to the worker how they want to handle it: if they can do an 8 hour job in 5, and they would rather leave than add to their workload (and thereby work towards a promotion or raise) let them. The boss has it in his/her mind that this job is worth this dollar, why penallize the worker because they can accomplish the job more quickly and efficiently than the last guy?

But I have always been flabbergasted by the number of Dopers who post from work. If I had a “real” job where I had access to the net, I would be totally uncomfortable hanging around the SD when I was at work. Forget it. That just strikes me as really stupid, self-destructive, and uncool. You wanna do that, float it past your boss first.

But again… I think working for other people blows across the board, unless you have a really cool job like being a movie star, radio jock, or some other interesting, creative pursuit that floats your boat and requires that you answer to someone.

This is a non-smoking area. If we see you smoking, we will assume you are on fire and act accordingly.

47

And how many of the military/formerly-military here can remember their LPO or NCOIC saying “If you don’t have anything to do, I’ll find something for you!”

In my case, that was once, maybe twice years ago. Today, when I get finished with my work, my supervisor not only allows but encourages me to surf the net, to include reading this message board. I can’t post to the board from work because the command has a regulation against posting to non-military-run message boards from command-ownded computers. This surfing is done during break time; time which some of the other employees & military in the command use to pollute their lungs or to relax over some coffee and light conversation in the break-room.

Usually, though, what I do is create another project for myself to work on which will be of some use to the command. Of course, it’s also something which is labor-saving and computer-related.

Beats the heck out of being told what to do all the time, notwithstanding some other posters’ comments in other threads that the military don’t enlist people who can think for themselves.

48

Monty,
I served seven years and I have to admit that the military MOSTLY enlists people who can’t think for themselves, although there are a few exceptions. Basically, the military taught me how to hide my “shamming” better. That’s why I don’t worry about being caught anymore :wink:

Just carry a clipboard and look like you’re doing something important.

“The world is not five hours old and evil has already entered it” - Aslan
The Magician’s Nephew

49

Democritus
Member posted 10-24-1999 10:13 AM

Well, if you’re referring to the dogs themselves in the K9 corps, you’re right.

I, on the other hand, have been referring to the PEOPLE!

If you were referring to the people, then you’ve just posted some absolutely unmitigated & unadulterated bullshit.

50

Democritus:

Don’t go there with Monty. He’s hypersensitive on this topic, it’s laike raw, exposed nerves. Go anywhere near them and he starts freaking. The fact that you have spent 2/3rds of a decade in the military yourself and therefore can be expected to have a worthwhile opinion is meaningless.

Really, don’t go there, unless you wanna watch Monty become rabid.

This is a non-smoking area. If we see you smoking, we will assume you are on fire and act accordingly.

51

Oh, cram it, Stoid. You know damn well, or should know, that 7 years compared to 20 isn’t the same thing. What I was objecting to was D’s labelling the majority of military enlistees as non-thinking individuals.

52

See? Toldja so.

stoid

This is a non-smoking area. If we see you smoking, we will assume you are on fire and act accordingly.

53

KelliBelli, normally I love you posts, and agree with much of what you have to say, or at least find it amusing. However, to some extent (although without the zeal) I agree with Diane, and Stoidela is right on that trading life energy for pieces of paper sucks. They and others have beaten the “Work HARDER SLAVE Whipcrack” to death, so here goes my $0.02. If performing at 243% is too stressful for you, and SDMB is your only release, then perhaps you should consider cutting back to 150%, or 100%. Then the boss wo/man comes up and says “Hey, you’re meeting your quota, but your performance isn’t as stellar as it has been. What’s up?” You can calmly and diplomatically explain to him/her that performaing at such high levels is extremely stressful, and now that your primary means of stress reduction has been removed, you simply can’t perform at 200+%

Perhaps you can open a dialogue with your boss-type-personage regarding the project that your former(?) friend asked you to work on. Explain to your boss that the project is a dog that needs to be shot, and internet use and phone calls had nothing to do with your incapability to complete said project. If there’s a fatal flaw, show it to your boss, if there are several, show them all. Even better, offer fixes to the problems and ask for more time to complete the project (if it’s that important that you personally get it done).

I hope everything works out for you
Engineerboy

Masa Gatsu Agatsu Katsu Hayabi.
True victory is victory over the self; Let that day arrive quickly.

54

My observation of quotas are that they are set at a level which has been determined to be challenging for the staff to acheive as to ensure peak productivity.

If kellibelli is regularly acheiving 200% of quota, she might very well be the one of the very best at what she does at her firm.

If management in their shortsightedness wants to “cut off their nose to spite their face” by disciplining her or even firing her then it’s their loss…right?

If I were the manager in question I would have told the tattletale co-worker that it’s not her job to worry about the performance of other workers…that she’d best just concentrate on her own performance.

I doubt the co-worker would like it if the shoe were on the other foot and her co-workers where timing her breaks, narcing her out for long restroom breaks, or blowing the whistle on her every indiscretion. That’s not the kind of working environment that I seek to create when managing people.

Many mission statements and corporate philosophies include phrases and references to working hard and playing hard…or having some fun along the way…

If I where Kellibelli’s manager, I’d counsel her in private that she should be more discreet in the future as not to make waves among her coworkers, but I’d also remind her that now that I know about her pastime, I’m naturally going to be suspicious if I see a drop-off in her productivity.

I’m a realist in my philosphy concerning managing people. I once had this guy who was habitually 20-30 minutes late. I coached him…I counseled him and by gosh, he just couldn’t seem to modify his behavior. Yeah, I could have taken him through the disciplanary process, eventually culminating in his termination, but geesh, the guy was the most productive among his co-workers and voluntarily stayed late every day in order to do extra work!

I stepped back from the situation and determined that his maddening habit of coming in late was somthing that I’d best just accept.

Human beings are diverse. They are not easily placed into boxes.

Another example that comes to mind is this other guy a few years later in another department that I managed that was the king of the smoke break. This guy was outside smoking a cigarette several more times per day than the average smoker. But heck…the guy was an eccentric genious and he could do things that others couldn’t. He also NEVER took vacation days, happily forfeiting his yearly allotment. He also NEVER called in sick and on top of that, as soon as he would get home from work he’d sign on to the system and fix problems into the wee hours of the night.

Again, what was to be gained by forcing behavior modification upon him?

Folks, good help is hard to find and even harder to keep. A good people manager can recognize a little diversity in his staff and allow for it while acheiving the goals of the corporation.

Contestant #3

55

Stoid: “toldja” what? You’ve long since proven you’re completely bigoted against the military.

D. has proven nothing other than (by his own admission) that he (or she, I didn’t bother to check the profile) was worse than useless as a faithful member of the military.

Your assertion that D’s 7 years of service give him (or her) a valid opinion on if military enlistees can think for themselves is incorrect.

The fact of the matter is that humans, in general, can and do think for themselves.

Because D dishonored the oath of enlistment, I’d take that assertion as nothing more than a bald-faced lie.

Now, exactly how does that make me hypersensitve?

56

C#3, this may be one the best posts I’ve seen you write. Would that more managers were like you!

-Melin

57

Hear, hear, C#3. Well said.

Leslie Irish Evans
http://leslie.scrappy.net

58

Well, Monty, I don’t think it is at all necessary for me to demonstrate or explain your hypersensitivity on this topic, since it is in plain view for all to see and marvel at.

Your dismissal of D’s opinion might be understandable if he had been drafted and bailed the minute he had the chance, but 7 years of (voluntary!) service is hardly that. 7 years is enough for anyone to form an informed opinion about anything.

Although of course, Monty, your opinion is the only opinion that could possibly be correct on this or any other issue about which you feel strongly, especially since your experience is the only possible experience that exists. I’m certain that you have served in all 4 branches of the miliary, at virtually every level, in every state and country where the US is stationed, and can therefore be counted upon to have the only (and the absolute) truth, all the time.

Now…you want to continue foaming at the mouth as proof of how NOT sensitive you are on this topic?
C#3: You da bomb, man!

This is a non-smoking area. If we see you smoking, we will assume you are on fire and act accordingly.

59

Stoid: no, I’ve only served in three branches of the armed forces.

Tell you what: why don’t you tell us again what you don’t like about the military and the military mind?

60

First of all Monty… I have a deep respect for our military, and I thank you for your service.

But, you worry me by your taking the bait of these trolls (nothing personal to the posters). They flat out say… “here is some bait that will make Monty get upset.” And what happens… Monty gets upset.

Propaganda and similar “lures” are used in the real battlefield. I hope someone with your experience can see through this and not take the bait and potentially get hooked (i.e. killed) based on their emotional reaction.