# 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:** 204
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2024, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/4062 "2024-07-10T21:08:41Z")
My last two job changes were offered, mine to say no to. There’s a lot goid in this company, but also a lot I’d like to change! Longest in one role for me was a little over 9 years. Shortest was 14 months; loved the job, got offered something better! ---
**Author:** ![MagicEyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@MagicEyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MagicEyes)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2024, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/4063 "2024-07-11T12:36:19Z")
Another day on the Hellmouth. 🙁 I may have some updates later today. It’s becoming clearer to me that my chaos demon boss has an extreme need to control every little thing that happens, so that’s not going well. I think she’s trying to make it so I don’t have anything to work on, and I’m not sure how to handle that. I’m going to talk to a wise person today, so that should help. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2024, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/4064 "2024-07-11T15:18:56Z")
> [@MagicEyes](#): > > I think she’s trying to make it so I don’t have anything to work on What’s her endgame in that do you think? ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2024, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/4065 "2024-07-11T16:05:42Z")
I had sent you a PM with a suggestion of how to slow the clock in order to make it to September. Is that an option for you? ---
**Author:** ![MagicEyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@MagicEyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MagicEyes)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2024, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/4066 "2024-07-11T16:33:04Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > What’s her endgame in that do you think? I think she wants to fire me or make me quit without going through the official process. > [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > I had sent you a PM with a suggestion of how to slow the clock in order to make it to September. Is that an option for you? Thanks! I’ll read that now. I’m checking into short-term disabilty. That might be an option. ---
**Author:** ![MagicEyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@MagicEyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MagicEyes)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2024, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/4067 "2024-07-11T21:26:58Z")
I survived the meeting with Chaos Boss, but that was a wild ride! She wants to do this every week, and the only way I’ll survive that is with lots of Xanax. It was very unfair of me to ask her to clarify what she wants me to do and what she wants other staff members to do. No straight answers to straight questions from her! I was physically exhausted by the time it was over. She wants to have someone from HR to mediate our next meeting, which should be interesting. I don’t know if she can make herself look reasonable, but it will be fun to see her try. I have upset her greatly by working on things that need to be done. 🤨 ---
**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:** [July 12, 2024, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/4068 "2024-07-12T23:42:00Z")
We got some valve components in at work before I went on vacation. We assemble them and ship them to the customer…but the manufacturer doesn’t provide assembly instructions. So I made a document to accomany each assembly, complete with detailed measurements and pictures (not drawings, actual freakin’ _pictures_, taken with my phone because I can never find the department’s camera). This was particularly important because each assembly has two washers and two springs that appear to be the same, but actually have very different dimensions. I made sure to note this in the document, even going so far as to make the pictures of the washers and springs as close to full scale as I could get them. Since I’m typing this here, I bet you know what happened - the springs and washers were reversed by the person who apparently skipped that whole page of the document. 🤦 Forturnately this was caught and corrected before anything went to the customer. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2024, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/4069 "2024-07-15T12:11:12Z")
Boy, can I relate to that! We (I) write procedures with zoomed in detailed illustrations and I think either the shop guys are illiterate or just lazy, because it seems like they just ignore the procedure and do whatever the hell they want. Incorrectly! And then engineering has to make them fix it. This happens at least once a month, if not more often. ---
**Author:** ![Kelevra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/97f17d/32.png) [@Kelevra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelevra)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2024, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/4070 "2024-07-23T15:00:25Z")
We have a sign out calendar for meeting rooms. Apparently I’m the only one who uses it. I just heard our Executive Director ask several managers into a meeting in the room I have signed out starting if 15 minutes. Now I get to go tell them I have it signed out at which point he will pull rank and I will be annoyed. Fuck people. ---
**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:** [July 24, 2024, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/4071 "2024-07-24T00:28:53Z")
> [@Rebo](#): > > I think either the shop guys are illiterate or just lazy, because it seems like they just ignore the procedure and do whatever the hell they want. Incorrectly! Oh, it gets even better. That procedure I mentioned has a step that involves drilling a hole through the part. It requires the machinist (or whatever rando they get to do the work, apparently) to measure and record the hole’s diameter, as well as its position on both sides - this is a quick way to make sure the hole was drilled reasonably straight. For some strange reason, the hole’s diamter was recorded _three times_. No measurements were taken for the hole’s position. I had been told one of our official inspectors would be responsible for taking and recording the measurements; strangely, none of them would take credit for this activity, and one even insisted that the shop manager had helped one of the technicians complete the procedure. 🤨 It took me all damn day to write up the justification for that one. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2024, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/4072 "2024-07-24T12:20:47Z")
And they never think to call engineering if they don’t understand what is being asked of them! “Just measure it again! But don’t put your initials on the page, they might ask you about it.” Idgits, the lot of 'em. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2024, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/4073 "2024-07-24T12:47:43Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > I have, about so much in this company over the past year. I feel that they are stuck in the 90s and I find a lot of the processes painful. > > They’re all just so used to it, they don’t see the problem. I think almost all of them have essentially only worked at this one company. I’ve worked in three other companies and have dealt with better methodologies. > > I’ve had success at recommending small improvements to forms and templates, but I haven’t tried eliminating a form and entire procedural step yet. I’ve been trying to push for a modernization overhaul, but that takes a budget and time. There’s vague interest, but there’s no traction yet. They’re hyper efficient with astoundingly inefficient procedures, and the corporate metrics don’t see the pain points at all. > > I do love the work but it’s so frustrating to try to do here. I work in the “strategy & transformation” practice of a consulting firm that mostly works with Wall Street banks. The idea is we go into these companies and help them run better by redesigning processes, integrating systems, adopting modern project management principles and methodologies and operating models, maybe even implementing big data, AI and other emerging technologies. But as of the past year or so it’s been just going into these banks and helping them with their stupid Excel spreadsheets and Powerpoint decks mostly using no method at all. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2024, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/4074 "2024-07-24T13:15:07Z")
> [@WolfpackJeep](#): > > I had been told one of our official inspectors would be responsible for taking and recording the measurements; strangely, none of them would take credit for this activity, and one even insisted that the shop manager had helped one of the technicians complete the procedure. 🤨 It took me all damn day to write up the justification for that one. Someone would lose their job over this at my company. Work that is not signed by the worker who did it is nonconforming and the item is spoiled. Someone is responsible for everything. And responsibility flows up, so supervisors will take the hit if they can’t identify who did what. ---
**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:** [July 26, 2024, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/4075 "2024-07-26T13:26:48Z")
Accountability and a clear, non-dysfunctional chain of command? Consequences for not following communicated procedures? … whhhhhaaaaa?!? ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/4076 "2024-07-26T13:57:18Z")
> [@Kelevra](#): > > We have a sign out calendar for meeting rooms. Apparently I’m the only one who uses it. I just heard our Executive Director ask several managers into a meeting in the room I have signed out starting if 15 minutes. Now I get to go tell them I have it signed out at which point he will pull rank and I will be annoyed. Fuck people. There was a place I used to work where it was often difficult to find a meeting room to sign out, because there was one department that had two of the meeting rooms signed out all day every day, _just in case_ they needed to use them for training. When people complained to HR about it, they just shrugged. Eventually they took one of the rooms off the reservation calendar and relabeled it a “Training Room” for that one department to use. ---
**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:** [July 26, 2024, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/4077 "2024-07-26T23:52:16Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > Someone is responsible for everything. And at my company, I’ll be the one responsible\* because my instructions weren’t clear enough for the manager to understand. 😑 \*Nothing will actually happen. If anyone brings this up again, the manager will yell, my supervisor will roll his eyes, and I’ll end up revising the instructions to include more illustrations and to remove words longer than two syllables. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2024, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/4078 "2024-07-27T13:42:20Z")
Hopefully you won’t need to similarly revise the revision procedures, since you would lose the ability to specify how many syllables a word can have. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2024, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/4079 "2024-07-27T15:19:49Z")
You guys have procedures? Nothing is written down where I work. Or it’s so damn vague you can’t actually do the task the “procedure” is allegedly describing. And the templates? Turns out you’re supposed to routinely change parts of them, because “we don’t do it like that anymore” and you’re just supposed to magically guess, and no one has just saved a _new_ template copy on the share drive instead (I’m slowly working through them). Nevermind the things that are categorized as “Joe prefers to do it this way, Jane prefers doing it differently, so you’ll have to just learn both depending on who is reviewing your work”. I feel like I’m trying to work in a foreign language. The technical decisions, etc I’m fine with. But omg the fucking forms and paper trail will fucking kill me. ---
**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:** [July 27, 2024, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/4080 "2024-07-27T16:07:26Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > The technical decisions, etc I’m fine with. But omg the fucking forms and paper trail will fucking kill me. And THAT’S why I retired from a job I loved. Loved the work, just not the administrative “other crap”. And the percentage of other crap was rising to flood levels (and has since reached tsunami warnings, according to ex-coworkers). ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2024, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638/4081 "2024-07-27T16:10:23Z")
I’m not at retirement age and I have a bunch of career goals I’m still trying to attain and this company will give me a lot of it. We fill out a form about a form, and it’s actually a _fax cover sheet_ that we email internally to someone on the team who signs it and sends it back so that the other form can be processed. It kills me a little every time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638.md?page=203) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-and-unimproved-workplace-rants/734638.md?page=205)