I currently work for a very nice guy who has absolutely no clue how to manage a group of people. He’s fine to hang out with, very gung ho about the project we’re working on, but he’s decided that We Will All Work Long Hours the next two weeks in order to get this project done and into beta.
Fine and Dandy. I’ve worked long hours before, and in reality this job hasn’t been too bad at the amount of overtime needed. However, MY stuff works. I didn’t take any time off at Christmas, and I worked my butt off to get my code debugged and working well. I don’t have a whole lot to do. I pointed this out to Mr. BossMan, and his answer was “Well, we all need to pull together on this and get this product out.”
“Ok,” I say, “Is there something I can do to help out someone else?”
“Hmm… well, how 'bout if you just, um, try some things. Maybe get a test system set up. We need to try um, stuff, in different scenarios.”
There you go. I get to work late for the next week and a half doing um, stuff. Add in the fact that in the midst of this he’s making MAJOR requirements changes (this is the guy who is pushing to beta in 2 weeks… NOT the time to start adding functionality into a product) and I’m immensely bummed.
Don’t get me wrong - I have no problems working late if there’s actually work to be done. But as it is, it’s looking like I’ll be here until 8, reading the SDMB. AND my damn company stock is going down, what else is going to happen today? Anyone want to drop a safe on my head?
Wait a minute. I’m supposed to feel sorry for you because you are going to get paid to sit around and read the SDMB?! Oh, okay, gee, don’t I feel badly for YOU!
Wish I could get paid for being here. But no. All I get is the occasion stroke and lusty desire from other posters… not bad but still, not as good as getting paid!
Oh come on, you guys, let a person vent every once in a while! Sheesh, if this isn’t mundane and pointless, I don’t know what is. And I’m NOT getting paid… at least, I’m not getting paid any extra to sit around at night. I’m a salary girl.
Do you work for a large company or a small one? I do software for a very large company (HINT: we make airplanes and we’re in Seattle) and I have a few frustrations but I have to more or less accept them because of the size of the company I work for. I’m not going to make any big changes no matter what I do. I can effect change on a small scale and, importantly, most of the day-to-day things are somewhat controllable.
May I suggest you try to talk once more to your manager and tell him the same thing you told us? That it is demoralizing to have to work overtime doing nothing? That that is a management error? Maybe he’ll hear you better if you take that tack.
Or maybe not. Maybe he’ll think your a smartass trying to make his life difficult and questioning his ability.
Actually, pluto, the above is pretty much word for word the conversation we had. He just kinda wants everyone to work late for a while. I really do have few frustrations at this job - I don’t even mind working late since it’s (obviously) pretty easy work. I’m just a little amazed that he wants me to work late for, well, nothing. I think it really is just inexperience on his part - he’s only been a manager for a year or so, and he does some things well, and some things he just doesn’t quite get yet.
And yeah, it’s a big company. In fact, you’re one of our clients. I agree with you on most of the points you made about accepting that I’m not really going to be able to make big changes. Sigh… it’s just the side effects of being a peon, I guess.
Oops! Didn’t know you weren’t getting paid extra. Now I feel really, really bad. In fact, I don’t think I can go on, this feeling of guilt is so deep and painful and dark and… okay, yeah, I’m a smart ass. Honestly, that sucks. I’ve never worked salary for that reason. But then again I’ve been self-employed for a while and the pay REALLY sucks. But the HOURS are great!
So, after the naked pillow fight winds down, what should we do next? I’m thinking we should have a whole series of naked events. Like the naked Olympics. How about naked pole vaulting? THAT could be exciting and potentially dangerous… what’d ya think? Hey look at all the guys lined up… what? No, no, not THAT kind of pole. Sheesh! What a pack of perverts!
I can’t remember his name but someone else who’s regular on this MB also works for Boeing but in St. Louis. (HINT: He used to work for a different airplane company!) Since Boeing has acquired everyone in sight it is now a huge (like a quarter of a million employees!) company, and it’s kind of humorous to see company propaganda putting Boeing labels on what once were Rockwell and McDonnell-Douglas products: Boeing’s F-15 and C-17 and Boeing’s Space Shuttle.
And I must admit I worked here for over a year before I ever knew there was a guy named Boeing who started the whole thing. It never occurred to me to ask!
My role at Boeing is best illuminated by this old cubicle ditty:
I do not get to drive the train
Or even ring the bell.
But when the damn thing jumps the tracks,
Guess who catches hell?
Hey Athena…since you’re looking for something to fill your evenings, how about helping me put together a huge, complicated but ultimately heaping-glory-on-its-designer Web site, for free?
Somebody on this message board’s dad works for Boeing in HSV, AL, if that counts for anything. ha ha.
How sad, to have to sit around doing, um, stuff, and not get paid more. That sucks monkey nuts. I used to work for an inexperienced manager, but I and 80% of the other staff managed to quit or be transferred to other departments. (You’d think higher-ups would get the message.) You don’t have to stay late today do you? I mean, come on, it’s FRIDAY!
Sorry, Chef Troy, I write icky system level backup software and DB stuff, and know next to nothing about Web design. Sorta like asking a pastry chef to help you with the sauce, y’know? But I’m willing to help as much as I can, as long as you keep the weekly shipment of cookies coming. You ARE a pastry chef, right?
