# I Swear I'm Cursed (Work Melodrama NEVER ends) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 5, 2005, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swear-im-cursed-work-melodrama-never-ends/315672 "2005-08-05T03:34:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swear-im-cursed-work-melodrama-never-ends/315672/41 "2005-08-05T17:26:22Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > This always amazes me. Gen X spanned 14 years but Gen Y always only goes to 1981 (which used to be the cutoff for Gen X) and then Gen i goes from 1982 all the way up to 1999 or 2000. > > How is my generation only five years? And I feel like I have a lot more in common with those born from 1982 to 1986 than I do with those born in the 70s. You know, that’s a good point. Defining any generation after the Boomers is definitely not an exact science. I do feel like I don’t have much in common with twenty-somethings - at 38, I’ve been working for 20 years now (and boy, am I tired, ba-dump-bump), not fresh into the working force after university or high school. I have virtually nothing in common with Boomers, though. “Entitlement generation”, eh? I like to think of Gen X as The Invisible Generation - perpetually overshadowed and out-numbered by the Boomers. (If we’re hijacking too much, **Rebekkah** , just say the word and we’re outta here!) ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swear-im-cursed-work-melodrama-never-ends/315672/42 "2005-08-05T17:59:08Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > Sounds like he was forced to get a job, and he has absolutely no interest in the job itself. He’ll be gone before too long. > > I need to ask, though… > > Other than people who work on a line in a factory or who tend to customers face-to-face, I don’t understand rigid, “count-the-minutes” break times. I find it needlessly uptight and Big Brother-ish. I’ve usually managed to get jobs that don’t have time cards and where people don’t watch every move you make. As long as you’re getting your work completed, the extra five minutes you take here is made up somewhere else…like when the boss interrupts your lunch or asks you to stay late, or what have you. > > Not to say that this kid isn’t making a lousy impression. I just think he never wanted the job to begin with and will be gone soon. The reason that some workplaces count the minutes of breaks and lunches is because of people like the Newbie who will abuse a laxer system. This isn’t a question of slacking off for five minutes or so, this is a matter of NOT EVEN BEING IN THE WORKPLACE for what? 25% of the workday? And even when he’s on the premises, he’s making constant personal calls, and apparently not getting much work done between calls. So I’d guess he’s not gonna be some sort of superachiever who manages to do twice the work in half the time…more like someone who manages to do half the work in twice the time. ---
**Author:** ![Jillyvn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecb155/32.png) [@Jillyvn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jillyvn)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swear-im-cursed-work-melodrama-never-ends/315672/43 "2005-08-05T18:31:14Z")
> [@](#): > > cute witty username > > i would document his next days in your office and present this information to your boss (minus the stuff about the phone system, “my friend the dentist”, etc - everyone has to work with a personality at some point that grates with theirs and it may hurt your case more than help it). I’m pretty close with my boss and I’ve been keeping him in the loop on everything, thank goodness. We’re having a talk today about what to do. > [@](#): > > Duffer > > Can you somehow just start dumping a shitload of tasks on him so when he fails to complete them the higher ups will fire him? I’m hampered in any suggestion since it’s Canadian laws, and I have no idea how employment laws apply up there. Good luck to you, though. Sounds like you have a leech on your hands. Er, make that a spoiled, lazy, pussified leech. I tried laying work on him, but he instead took 5 and half hours to get two spreadsheets done. Now I’m just doing the work myself. I don’t think I’d trust him to lick an envelope at this point. We’re under no obligation to provide a reason for firing this early on. Plus we took him from a headhunter who gave us a 30 day money back guaruntee. > [@](#): > > Pundit Lisa > > I blame misguided parents who focus on their kids’ self esteem and mediocre accomplishments (“Junior’s select soccer team went to state!”) instead of instilling things like a work ethic and financial responsibility. Granted, this is based only on the knowledge that his father owns a brokerage, but the number of times that he has said “My father says…”, I’m guessing spoiled rotten kid who’s never had to work a day in his life. > [@](#): > > Kalhoun > > Other than people who work on a line in a factory or who tend to customers face-to-face, I don’t understand rigid, “count-the-minutes” break times. I find it needlessly uptight and Big Brother-ish. I’ve usually managed to get jobs that don’t have time cards and where people don’t watch every move you make. As long as you’re getting your work completed, the extra five minutes you take here is made up somewhere else…like when the boss interrupts your lunch or asks you to stay late, or what have you. The funny part is that we don’t have scheduled breaks here. Most of us work through our lunches and dash off when he can. But after the first day where he took 1:40 minutes in break time, boss and I decided he might need some structure. He obviously does. Update: Well, at least he made it in on time today. Right on the minute. I browsed my original post and I don’t think I mentioned this gem re: asking him to do the (23 line!!!) spreadsheets. Ok, yesterday, I asked him to do a spreadsheet in Excel, which he completes with every other line shaded in dark grey (looks like prison bars). I tell him to remove this. Instead of saying ok, he looks at me as though I’m an idiot and says, “Are you serious?”. When I say yes, he asks me for an explanation and then proceeds to tell me about professional standards in excel and how to prevent mistakes. I again ask him to make the change and walk away. He comes to my office later, on his way out to lunch and brings up the excel shading AGAIN while I’m smack dab in the middle of something more important, reiterating his argument for why it should be there and shaking his head when I reject his idea. Now, I’ve seen financials with this set up, but I’ve asked him for a very basic 23 line list of vehicles. This is the e-mail I get today: > [@](#): > > Hey R, > > Attached are the pertinent documents for Great Northern Data Supply Co. & Westcon Precast Inc. I will send them to you both with the shaded lines and without. In my experience in producing large spreadsheets, having every second line shaded makes it easier to read, gives it a more professional look and minimizes mistakes when trying to read or extract information from the document. > > Just a thought, > > Newbie Now, I have a degree. I’ve also worked since I was old enough. I’ve worked in offices for 3 years. I’ve got 2 years insurance background. Newbie has never worked in an office, has no insurance background. Yet, he feels the need to lecture me. Even if he’s write, I’m the senior in the department and I damn well want my forms the way I ask. In our industry, we get our training from licensing courses. It matters not a whit that you have a BA. It has nothing to do with insurance. His particular degree is in Sociology. I can see perhaps the slight applicability of a B. Comm (commerce), his other degree, but he has no insurance experience at all to back this up. Here’s another little choice e-mail. > [@](#): > > Hey, > > The business cards look pretty good. However, after my name I would like to have my education. Thus, > > Troy Shanks B.A. (Hons), B.COMM > Lucas & Co. > > Thanks much, > > Newbie This only confirms that: a. He is a pompous asshole. b. He presents well but lacks anything practical application… in other words, he likes to look important but isn’t quite sure how to achieve that status. He’s managed to convince himself that work has nothing to do with it. Now, the kicker. Lunches. If I hear the word lunch again from him, I’m going to go nuts. Yesterday, he complained that waiting from 8 - 1 was too long to go without a break. In that period of time, which elapsed prior to his complaint, he took 25 minutes of break time. I, at this point, overstressed, tell him to take it up with boss. Today, he asks for a moment of my boss’s time and runs through the lunch request. The boss comes into my office a half an hour later and says he can’t understand what the difference is for 30 minutes and why he’s making such a fuss. Newbie calls me into his office approximately 2 hours after his discussion with the boss. He has already been in my office this morning and has seen the 1 foot stack of pending work, yet feels the need to waste my time with this lunch bullshit. He asks me if I’ve spoken with Boss about his lunch. Not aware that the Boss got him out of the office by saying he’d talk it over with me, I tell newbie that he has to talk to the boss. Newbie informs me that boss was supposed to discuss this with me. I tell Newbie that, no, I haven’t bothered with it but will take it up with the boss asap. Newbie presses the issue. He outlined his reasoning for me again. He again states that working from 8 – 1 is just too long a period to go without a break, and he winds up feeling like shit in the afternoon. He used the example that if he is going to be in meetings in the afternoons it would be to our benefit to change the lunch so he wasn’t in such a shitty mood. I told him I would talk about it with you and let him know, and that he could have a 12:30 to 1:30 lunch today. First of all, he can’t even complete a fucking spreadsheet in a timely fashion and he thinks he’ll be in meetings? Second, he doesn’t seem to grasp the nature of the job. I want him to be able to pick up a phone and do a quote! Meetings? WTF. Anyway, 20 minutes total gone for breaktime today, and he’s left for his lunch. I’ll update after the discussion with my boss. - R ---
**Author:** ![Metacom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecae2f/32.png) [@Metacom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Metacom)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swear-im-cursed-work-melodrama-never-ends/315672/44 "2005-08-05T18:39:03Z")
Wait… He wants to put a _bachelors degree_ on a business card? 😕 Everything else aside, that right there proves he’s chock full 'o himself. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swear-im-cursed-work-melodrama-never-ends/315672/45 "2005-08-05T18:40:32Z")
I’m not in the business, but I’ve usually found that people prefer spreadsheets without blank rows in betwen data so copying/pasting, etc. is easier. Y’know so you can actually work with the data. It might be better to print hard copy _reports_ with that formatting for others to read, but if he took 5 hours on this one spreadsheet, he probably doesn’t know the difference. Yikes, what a boob! ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Goob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@Mr.Goob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goob)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swear-im-cursed-work-melodrama-never-ends/315672/46 "2005-08-05T18:41:24Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Exactly. We once had a guy call in on his first day of work because his car wouldn’t start. Boss man told him not to bother at all. > > (Yes, I know car problems exist. But dammit, on your first day? Call a cab! Get a friend to drive you! Borrow your mom’s car!) A few years ago when I started this job my truck wouldn’t start on Tuesday morning (day 2.) In a panic I got my motorcycle going and was 5 minutes late. My boss was actually impressed, it was March in Buffalo and damn cold out there. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swear-im-cursed-work-melodrama-never-ends/315672/47 "2005-08-05T18:51:40Z")
> [@Metacom](#): > > Wait… > > He wants to put a _bachelors degree_ on a business card? 😕 > > Everything else aside, that right there proves he’s chock full 'o himself. With _honors_, mind you. ---
**Author:** ![Jillyvn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecb155/32.png) [@Jillyvn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jillyvn)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swear-im-cursed-work-melodrama-never-ends/315672/48 "2005-08-05T18:52:47Z")
> [@An Arky](#): > > I’m not in the business, but I’ve usually found that people prefer spreadsheets without blank rows in betwen data so copying/pasting, etc. is easier. Y’know so you can actually work with the data. It might be better to print hard copy _reports_ with that formatting for others to read, but if he took 5 hours on this one spreadsheet, he probably doesn’t know the difference. Yikes, what a boob! He handed me another spreadsheet I asked to complete before lunch. In spite of telling him 2 times to get rid of the prison bars, this new one he completed is done in the same stupid format. I wonder if there is a default for this or if he had to go through and individually highlight every other line? This spreadsheet is a list of fourty names, beside which are 5 colums with checkmarks depending on the criteria. There are no blank rows. I find it difficult to read and, the reason I gave him the formatting protocol was so that it would match all my other spreadsheets. This he does not seem to grasp. > [@](#): > > Metacom > > Wait… > > He wants to put a bachelors degree on a business card? > > Everything else aside, that right there proves he’s chock full 'o himself. He wants to but a BA on his business card for an insurance company, which is a BA in sociology. He’s fucking nutso. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swear-im-cursed-work-melodrama-never-ends/315672/49 "2005-08-05T18:53:28Z")
By the way, **Rebekkah** , I need to leave 2 hours early today, no prob? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![velvetjones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5f9b8f/32.png) [@velvetjones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velvetjones)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swear-im-cursed-work-melodrama-never-ends/315672/50 "2005-08-05T18:53:58Z")
That reminded me that my last job I got sick the first day and had to go home right after lunch. I was sure they were all thinking “Uh-oh, she’s going to be one of those …” Luckily they didn’t immediately fire me and I did prove myself. I was a very hard worker right up until they closed their Florida facility and let 400+ people go. Good luck **Rebekkah** he sounds like a real winner. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swear-im-cursed-work-melodrama-never-ends/315672/51 "2005-08-05T18:55:09Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > By the way, **Rebekkah** , I need to leave 2 hours early today, no prob? Thanks! You promise to be back from the shore by Tuesday? Wednesday at the latest? ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swear-im-cursed-work-melodrama-never-ends/315672/52 "2005-08-05T19:09:34Z")
**Rebekkah** , sounds like you have a good relationship with your boss. Maybe it’s time to go to him and ask, “Hey, you know Newbie? Yea, what say we just end the pain now …” What’s scary is, I’d bet heavy money that he ends up working for his dad’s firm and becomes senior management in no time … _:: shudder ::_ ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swear-im-cursed-work-melodrama-never-ends/315672/53 "2005-08-05T19:16:40Z")
CTRL-A CTRL-E Patterns tab: No Color The dude’s a fucking tool, but at least you don’t have to sweat the spreadsheets. ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swear-im-cursed-work-melodrama-never-ends/315672/54 "2005-08-05T19:31:06Z")
> [@Ponder Stibbons](#): > > **Rebekkah** , sounds like you have a good relationship with your boss. Maybe it’s time to go to him and ask, “Hey, you know Newbie? Yea, what say we just end the pain now …” > > What’s scary is, I’d bet heavy money that he ends up working for his dad’s firm and becomes senior management in no time … _:: shudder ::_ Especially if you paid a headhunter for him. Take your money back now and let the headhunter find someone else (if you feel like giving them another shot). There’s no sense in wasting any time on someone who can’t follow simple directions he’s been given three times. It sounds like you’ll get more work done without him anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Jillyvn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecb155/32.png) [@Jillyvn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jillyvn)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swear-im-cursed-work-melodrama-never-ends/315672/55 "2005-08-05T19:37:07Z")
> [@Enginerd](#): > > Especially if you paid a headhunter for him. Take your money back now and let the headhunter find someone else (if you feel like giving them another shot). There’s no sense in wasting any time on someone who can’t follow simple directions he’s been given three times. > > It sounds like you’ll get more work done without him anyway. I have an issue with the headhunter thing as well. They sent him to us, unlicensed and with no business experience, asking for an astronomical salary. My boss phoned them back and said no fucking way. They negotiated to give him to us on a salary he actually might have deserved (if he knew how to fucking work), cut their commission on him in half but only gave us 30 days instead of the standard 90 to approve him. Sounds fishy to me, like they were aching to get rid of him. > [@](#): > > Ponder Stibbons > > Rebekkah, sounds like you have a good relationship with your boss. Maybe it’s time to go to him and ask, “Hey, you know Newbie? Yea, what say we just end the pain now …” He’s promised to sit down with me this afternoon and this is exactly what I plan on saying. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swear-im-cursed-work-melodrama-never-ends/315672/56 "2005-08-05T19:43:50Z")
> [@Rebekkah](#): > > I have an issue with the headhunter thing as well. > > They sent him to us, unlicensed and with no business experience, asking for an astronomical salary. My boss phoned them back and said no fucking way. They negotiated to give him to us on a salary he actually might have deserved (if he knew how to fucking work), cut their commission on him in half but only gave us 30 days instead of the standard 90 to approve him. Sounds fishy to me, like they were aching to get rid of him. Oh, yes. Even money they’ve already had him tossed back at them from previous placements and they’re desperate to get rid of him. ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swear-im-cursed-work-melodrama-never-ends/315672/57 "2005-08-05T19:53:30Z")
> [@Maeglin](#): > > CTRL-A > > CTRL-E > > Patterns tab: No Color > > The dude’s a fucking tool, but at least you don’t have to sweat the spreadsheets. Unless you use colored cells to indicate something else… > [@Rebekkah](#): > > They sent him to us, unlicensed and with no business experience, asking for an astronomical salary. My boss phoned them back and said no fucking way. They negotiated to give him to us on a salary he actually might have deserved (if he knew how to fucking work), cut their commission on him in half but only gave us 30 days instead of the standard 90 to approve him. Sounds fishy to me, like they were aching to get rid of him. If a headhunter sent me someone like that, I’d never use them again. The only way I’d give them another shot is if I could deduct the amount that I paid the waste of space from their commission on the next guy. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swear-im-cursed-work-melodrama-never-ends/315672/58 "2005-08-05T20:18:14Z")
**RE: Education on business cards** The only time I’ve ever seen this to be relevant is when I was dealing with a technical guy on my accounting application. He was one of the primary programmers, and his business card had a CPA after his name. What this tells me is that he isn’t one of those coders who decides what my users need, but that he’s actually worked in (or at least understands) the front end. That matters. A freaking BS in Sociology does not, especially as an insurance adjuster. **RE: Shading on “large” spreadsheets** If he thinks that a 23 rows spreadsheet with 5 columns is a large spreadsheet, you should send him my way. I’ll show him my monthly Cost Detail report that I send to my CFO which has (hold on, let me check) 12,451 rows (for July 05) and 45 columns. If I put any shading on it, he would respond to my email telling me to take it off and never do that again. **RE: Too long of a time between breaks** Suggest to this kid that he buy some protein bars and take a lap or two around the building at about 10:30. Sure, it’ll eat into his break time, but he’ll be more alert, meaning he’ll need less of a break later, which means he’ll be more productive, which means he’ll…oh, never mind. Just fire his ass already. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Machine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Ice\_Machine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Machine)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swear-im-cursed-work-melodrama-never-ends/315672/59 "2005-08-05T21:17:32Z")
To reiterate what others have said, I’m surprised he’s still there. I would think after a day or two of that he’d be gone already. I would also definitely not use that headhunter again. The degree on business cards is pretty funny. Only doctorates and professional licences belong behind the name. I find it amusing when the junior engineers I come across right out of school want to put their masters degree and EIT (Engineer-in-training) designation on their business card. ---
**Author:** ![MaddyStrut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dbc845/32.png) [@MaddyStrut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaddyStrut)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swear-im-cursed-work-melodrama-never-ends/315672/60 "2005-08-05T21:31:51Z")
I can’t stop laughing at the fact this kid wants his BA (with honors) on his business card! What does he think? That his business card is his freaking resume? We’ve had similar experiences with many of our new hires–though they’ve never been in the same league as this guy! It seems to take them a while to realize that we are paying them to get work done–not to get their apartment set up, visit with old college buddies in town, show their parents their new place, etc. We do give a lot of leeway for new people because we know many have moved and need to get set up. But many take the time off we give them to go play and then want additional time off to do “I just moved in” things like set up a new bank account! I think many have just never worked before except in brief “here, do some filing and copying and stay out of my way” internships for their dad’s or dad’s best buddy’s companies. Some are quite sharp and do want to succeed. They just don’t get it that they have to get their work done! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swear-im-cursed-work-melodrama-never-ends/315672.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swear-im-cursed-work-melodrama-never-ends/315672.md?page=4)