# New and Unimproved Workplace Rants **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 14, 2015, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638 "2015-10-14T15:44:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 149
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2021, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/2962 "2021-12-02T18:08:12Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Silver lining: this happened about 45 minutes prior to the end of my shift, and I ended up clocking out after I returned from the urgent care. Two hours of overtime FTW! On a happier note I once traveled to the Philippines on a work assignment as an hourly employee and was fully paid for travel time (from my home to the hotel and vice versa). Needless to say those were some nice paychecks. šŸ¤‘ ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2021, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/2963 "2021-12-03T10:03:48Z")
I and sick and disgusted by people who pull down their face mask, lick their fingers, and then use those same cootie-covered fingers to handle their money. Grow the fuck up, people and STOP DOING THAT! I donā€™t care if youā€™re ā€œvaccinatedā€, the covid vaccines do jack for all the strep, staph, herpes, cold, flu, and other shit youā€™re carrying around just like the rest of us. WTF is wrong with people? ---
**Author:** ![slalexan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@slalexan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slalexan)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2021, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/2964 "2021-12-03T14:02:09Z")
I donā€™t know why people do that in the first place. I donā€™t think Iā€™ve ever had a hard time getting the bills apart, even the crisp ones fresh from the bank. I hope random licking of fingers goes away with this pandemic. ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2021, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/2965 "2021-12-03T14:15:28Z")
Iā€™m a keyholder/supervisor in my store, which means that I close the registers at night and count the cash. I confess to once-upon-a-time being a finger-licker for paper moving, including some cash (Ever try counting a stack of brand new ones? Itā€™s a giant PITA). Thanks to the pandemic Iā€™ve changed my ways. There are bottles of sanitizer everywhere, so now when I need dampened fingers for rapid and accurate counting I just take a small dollop of sanitizer on my fingertips. Works very well, better than a licked finger in fact. Side bonus is that if you forget and go back to old habits 1/2 way through, you have a nasty tasting instant reminder! šŸ˜ ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2021, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/2966 "2021-12-03T22:02:36Z")
> [@slalexan](#): > > I donā€™t know why people do that in the first place. I donā€™t think Iā€™ve ever had a hard time getting the bills apart, even the crisp ones fresh from the bank. > > I hope random licking of fingers goes away with this pandemic. Had three more of them today. Ewwww! ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/2967 "2021-12-04T00:45:28Z")
Get your manager to provide you with a big sack of those rubber thimble things to hand out. Wordlessly, but with a meaningful arch of a single eyebrow. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/2968 "2021-12-04T03:01:52Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > I got laid off as a ā€œmanagerā€ and rehired as a contractor. Itā€™s amazing how much they needed me to work 50-60 hours a week on a salary, and how little they need me to do it when I get paid OT for it (still happens, but a lot less often). In the last year, Iā€™ve had quite a few managers attempt to bring back employees who either retired or were leaving the company for other reasons as contractors. And 9/10 times I end up saying no. Thereā€™s a real risk of running into hot water with both the IRS and the Department of Labor for misclassification of an employee as a contractor. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/2969 "2021-12-04T03:23:25Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Get your manager to provide you with a big sack of those rubber thimble things to hand out.   > > Wordlessly, but with a meaningful arch of a single eyebrow. Or, keep a pair of rubber gloves nearby. When a customer slobbers all over the money (hey, slobs gotta slobber!), make an ostentatious display of pulling them on. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/2970 "2021-12-04T09:13:22Z")
No, youā€™re missing the point. Itā€™s not just about ME. That slobbered on money will pass into the hands of other people. That bill theyā€™re handing me now gets passed out to someone else as change two customers later, and meanwhile itā€™s rubbing up against other bills in the drawer. AND then they touch other stuff with their cootie-laden hands. You get people who do this, set aside the bills they just get their slobber on, then try to dig more bills out of their wallet or purse. NO! The problem is not the money! The problem is that youā€™re spreading your spit all over EVERYTHING YOU TOUCH. The old bills. The new bills. The change youā€™re handling. The keypad when you answer the post-transaction survey. Everything. Itā€™s awful and disgusting and for the love of Og STOP DOING THIS! ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/2971 "2021-12-04T14:36:07Z")
My name is **purplehorseshoe** and I very thoroughly approve this rant. ---
**Author:** ![MagicEyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@MagicEyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MagicEyes)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2021, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/2972 "2021-12-07T14:15:11Z")
So, the calendar for 2022ā€¦I just got an email, and they do want to do a calendar! They want a draft in a week. Ha ha ha ha! I usually start the calendar early, but itā€™s so late I thought maybe it wasnā€™t happening this year, so I have done nothing. And Iā€™m out part of next week. So I have four days to do this thing. Also they havenā€™t sent me any of the information that needs to go in it. ā˜¹ Itā€™s Secret Santa time, and I need to get a gift for a coworker I donā€™t know very well. I think I should be able to do this on work time. Itā€™s taking too much time and I have so many other things to do. All of the stores that used to have a good selection of inexpensive gift-y things have closed. There arenā€™t many stores left in the town where I live except for expensive boutiques and menā€™s clothing stores. I went to the mall and couldnā€™t even find anything there (and there was a shooting at the mall on Black Friday, so I really donā€™t want to go there anyway). I donā€™t have high hopes, but Iā€™m going to try the tiny Target today. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2021, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/2973 "2021-12-07T21:59:26Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Itā€™s awful and disgusting and for the love of Og STOP DOING THIS! When I worked for the food stamp office, people used to lick their fingers and then flip through paperwork they were giving me to handle/fax/copy/upload/whatever. I got so sick of it that I kept a can of disinfectant at my desk and would silently watch them spitting all over everything until they held the papers out for me to take. Iā€™d make them put them on the counter and then spray the papers with the disinfectant. People got very insulted. I got a verbal warning. I kept doing it and my co-workers started doing it as well. People didnā€™t stop spitting on their paperwork but we felt much better. ---
**Author:** ![Ranch\_Dip](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranch_dip/32/5238_2.png) [@Ranch\_Dip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranch_Dip)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2021, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/2974 "2021-12-07T22:33:54Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Itā€™s awful and disgusting and for the love of Og STOP DOING THIS! OMG. This unlocked a memory. In the before times, I asked a patient for his copay, he dug out his debit card, licked it on both sides and said ā€œhere it scans better this wayā€ as he handed it to me. I was so shocked I couldnā€™t think to say no fast enough, I grabbed it by the edge and scanned it. I should have refused but I just didnā€™t think fast enough. I did wash my hands and lysol everything else. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2021, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/2975 "2021-12-07T22:42:32Z")
> [@MagicEyes](#): > > So, the calendar for 2022ā€¦I just got an email, and they do want to do a calendar! They want a draft in a week. Ha ha ha ha! Omigaaaaahhhhā€¦ bet this is this the same client you couldnā€™t get to commit to a _yes_ or _no_ answer, back inā€¦ November? Wow. So, months of this crap. Soooo sorry! . Found the previous headache: > [@MagicEyes](#): > > So I emailed them to get a yes/no answer to that question, and then they sent me an email that said basically the same thing as the previous email, but did not answer the question. šŸ¤Ŗ ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2021, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/2976 "2021-12-08T00:12:27Z")
> [@MagicEyes](#): > > Itā€™s Secret Santa time Did your Secret Santa organizer set a spending limit? Ours is $15 for the whole week, with the expectation that you place a gift in the recipientā€™s stocking every day. šŸ˜ Iā€™m guessing itā€™s going to be nothing but gag gifts, but I hit clearance racks and sales this weekend and managed to create a respectable little stash: foaming soap, a kitchen towel/cloth set, a microfiber electronics cleaning cloth, a little pack of brownies, and a tiny hand sanitizer (which is a regift and thus doesnā€™t count toward the budget). ---
**Author:** ![MagicEyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@MagicEyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MagicEyes)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2021, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/2977 "2021-12-08T02:17:37Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Omigaaaaahhhhā€¦ bet this is this the same client you couldnā€™t get to commit to a _yes_ or _no_ answer, back inā€¦ November? Wow. So, months of this crap. Soooo sorry! Same department, different person. Everyone in that department is usually like this, so I should be used to it by now! The email was worded a little strangely and I misunderstood it, so really I have two weeks to get the first draft done. Thatā€™s much more doable. And Iā€™ve figured out a genius new way to do it, so I can get it done more quickly. šŸ•¶ ---
**Author:** ![MagicEyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@MagicEyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MagicEyes)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2021, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/2978 "2021-12-08T02:24:30Z")
> [@WolfpackJeep](#): > > Did your Secret Santa organizer set a spending limit? Ours is $15 for the whole week, with the expectation that you place a gift in the recipientā€™s stocking every day. Weā€™re doing one gift with a $20 limit. I found a cute fox-shaped mug at Target and bought a lot of chocolate to go with it. Iā€™m happy with that. I even had some leftover Lindt truffles for myself. šŸ˜‹ Iā€™m always happy when I find good sales for Secret Santa gifts, so I can get more stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2021, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/2979 "2021-12-08T03:24:29Z")
> [@MagicEyes](#): > > Itā€™s Secret Santa time, and I need to get a gift for a coworker I donā€™t know very well. A large tube of lube. Always a thoughtful gift. (Itā€™s secret right? Nobody will know it was from you?) ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2021, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/2980 "2021-12-08T04:45:50Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Hah. Many, many, _many_ years ago I worked for a no-longer-existing savings & loan. After the RTC came in and took over, the woman who handled travel arrangements for the S&L had to go into the hospital for some procedure or other, and literally tried to take her computer with her so she could work from the hospital during recovery. Weā€™re talking very early 90s here, so laptops and remote work really wasnā€™t much of a thing. Hah - thatā€™s a new cause of failure!! I was actually working with the RTC at that time (spring / summer of 1991 mostly) providing IT support for S&L closures. The ones in Texas were largely smallish ones, and failed due to the oil market bottoming out and other economic issues. The ones in California were due to the various shenanigans such as what they were getting up to at Lincoln Savings and Loan (I did not work on that one, but several successors). The second of the two, we were actually on premises for several weeks before closing; typically weā€™d all show up at 5 PM on a Friday. Not that the S&L staff didnā€™t know it was gonna happen, but they did not (at least not officially) know WHEN. At this last one, it was obviously pretty grim. Staff were obviously leaving in droves; there were bonuses offered for those who stayed through the closing. Nobody was happy - they knew they were on death row, so to speak (note: I did not see or interact with any of the bigwigs responsible for the mess - just admin and middle management). There was a lot of arcana involved in what my team was doing (handling figuring out the insurance limits on accounts). Iā€™m told Southern California has many beautiful sights - but as I almost never went outdoors, I had to take othersā€™ word for it. Only time I ever billed 24 hours in a single day. ---
**Author:** ![MagicEyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@MagicEyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MagicEyes)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2021, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/2981 "2021-12-08T04:54:52Z")
They will know. ā˜¹ This is a G-rated gift exchange. I just found a pair of socks with dinosaurs wearing Santa hats in my gift stash. Too late for this Secret Santa, so now I have to decide which lucky person gets these awesome socks. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638.md?page=148) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638.md?page=150)