New and Unimproved Workplace Rants

The BBQ Pit
3242

We had a “certain professor”, too. Great guy, but he’d just made a decision that he’d had it with technology. And (this is the part I admired), anything that’d distract him from teaching.

He gleefully played me the outgoing message on his work phone:

I’m probably not in, but then, if I AM in, I’m grading or counseling a student, so I never answer the phone.
And I don’t check messages, or my email. So if you’re calling with an excuse to miss my class, just get the notes from another student, do the homework… and be sure to come tomorrow.

If you really need to get hold of me, you’ll have to come to my classroom, A283. Sorry for any inconvenience!

3243

We have one of those too…in the document control department. (To be fair, our current policies require hard copies of most documents.) Most of the time it really doesn’t matter, but sometimes the document in question has wildly different page sizes – ranging from standard letter size to D-size drawings – so her printed version contains loads of illegible things squished onto letter-size pages (or maybe tabloid-size, if you’re lucky). I’ve learned to print my own hard copies of more complicated documents.

My workplace rant: a rather complicated job got passed along to another employee while I was out on vacation, on the mistaken assumption that it needed to ship immediately. This really should have been easy enough – nothing left to do but review the final documentation package – but he’s still working on it even though I’m back in the office. I spent most of my morning explaining the review process for these particular components, then justifying that process when he decided to get the quality manager involved. >.<

3244

This is pretty minor, but I’m a little pissed off at HR for not clearly communicating that the Juneteenth holiday was now a holiday in the corporate calendar. I worked a full day yesterday only to find out this morning that I should have taken the holiday off.

Part of the confusion is that we have some employees who follow the federal holiday schedule, and others who follow the corporate holiday schedule (which has seven specific holidays and three “floating” holidays, which you take at any time). I am on the corporate schedule, and I’m used to working on holidays like MLK, Columbus Day, and Veterans Day. I just assumed Juneteenth was another floater.

It’s not a huge deal, I’ll just take Friday off instead of Monday. But considering how much corporate “crap” email we regularly get, you’d think they could have bothered to send out a friendly reminder to take this new holiday off.

3245

I’m a little annoyed with people who email me to ask me to do something for them, but then they figure out how to do it or ask someone else to do it and don’t let me know it’s been done. I was out of the office for a few days, and two people did this to me. Is it really that hard to send me an email to let me know I don’t need to do it? :frowning_face:

3246

Huh, don’t usually have workplace rants, but I have a story of annoyance that this is the only place I can find to vent.

One of my employees requested a change to their direct deposit information, and they gave me a printout from their bank with the information. I go into my payroll provider’s website, go through all the hoops needed to change it, and all seems good.

She texts me Thursday, saying that she hadn’t gotten paid yet, which I thought odd, as payday’s Friday. Apparently, she has something that pays her a day early, I’m not sure how that works. So, I tell her that maybe because she changed bank accounts the early pay isn’t working. Hope that’s the case.

This morning, she tells me she still hasn’t been paid, and now that’s a problem, as she should have been, and everyone else was. I can’t see anything wrong on my end, but when I send her a screenshot of the website showing her account numbers, she tells me that I have the routing number wrong, it has too many zeroes.

Well, now I feel like shit, I fucked up. Paying my employees is the most important thing that I do, and I fucked it up. I offered to take care of her however she needed, I could write her a check, give her cash, or a combination, whatever she needed, it was entirely my fault, so I’m willing to go to whatever lengths to make it right.

So, a bit ago, I went digging through her file, found the change of deposit information, and found that the routing number on there, on the document given to her by her bank, had the wrong routing number. I felt a bit vindicated, as I always triple and quadruple check banking information, and thought that I had really fucked up somehow. Not her fault, so I’m still doing whatever I can to take care of her, but at least it’s not really mine either, but instead, her bank’s.

Anyway, had to vent that.

3247

Most banks that offer this call it “early direct deposit,” which somehow gives you access to your funds up to two days early. None of the ones that I looked at actually explained how it really works though, so now I’m curious.

My rant: New Guy, I understand you were a little grumpy that I unncessarily marked up a page of your precious report because I thought one section was in error. A few notes:

  • You failed to explain to me why you had removed such an important block of text, which lead me to believe it was a mistake.
  • When you were snapping at me to “just go talk to [manager], he told me to do it,” you pronounced the manager’s name so that it rhymed with “Chrysler.” It does not (which you should know, since he was one of two people who interviewed you).
  • Now that you have a steady income, maybe you can think about saving up some money for a decent set of earbuds that will allow you to quickly pause whatever it is you’re listening to that is more important than my questions about your report.
3248

My credit union is like that. Officially, DH’s payday is Friday. In a normal week, the deposit posts and is available on Thursday.

3249

As an employee, I just wanted to say that while I completely understand your frustration and need to vent I am so very glad that you ARE willing to expend the effort to do payroll correctly and take of your employees when things go wrong, regardless of fault. I realize this is the Pit and saying nice things a a bit unexpected, but you are a good person for doing that. I wanted to acknowledge that. You are doing the right thing.

3250

I have an in-person meeting for a project that I really dislike. The meeting is going to be at a park shelter. In July. In Kentucky. I’m betting temps in excess of 90F and humidity around 70%.

Just checked extended forecast- 91F and 50% chance of thunderstorms. Which is totally typical for this time of year and thus easily avoidable by, I don’t know, HAVING THE FUCKING MEETING IN AN AIR CONDITIONED ROOM AT THE HOTEL!

3251

Why in the world is the meeting at a park? I dread our employee appreciation event because it’s at a park. It’s not good for a work event (unless maybe you’re a park ranger). I did get out of the employee appreciation picnic this year because I had covid, and I’m still not sure which one is worse.

3252

The good news I’m finally going to be able to go into the office instead of working from home, the bad news is that it’ll only be once a month. I’m so jealous of people who’s companies are trying to make everyone return to the office.

3253

We all have a different perspective of this. If I was asked to come back to the office, there would be some short discussions about it, and possibly retirement.

But, I have a great workspace at home. It is my office now since COVID. No interruptions.

If anything, I work more not less. But I save 50 miles of driving a day, and can work pretty much whenever I please. A couple of hours on a Saturday or Sunday? No problem.

I sleep much better and save time and money.

3254

I miss working from home so much…the quiet, the better air quality (we do diesel engine work; even the desks in the administrative area develop an unusually dark coating), the lack of interruptions, no screaming, wearing pajamas, sleeping in just a bit…

Of course, there are plenty of things that just can’t be done at home – there are only so many books you can drag home when you’re having to pack up a desktop computer – and I really wouldn’t mind seeing my immediate coworkers at least once per week.

3255

In an odd way, I’m getting to know my co-workers better. We where in two different offices, in two different towns. But now, through slack I can see what our little sub teams are talking about.

There our 16 people are divided into 3 teams. Slack channels for each one. We also have broken up all the main projects into slack channels. I can peak in and see what’s up at any time. Also, I’m learning who which people have a great sense of humor.

3256

No moron, the company wide all hands Q&A meeting isn’t the appropriate forum to get into why you can’t digitally sign PDF files.

Host: I’m sure the help desk can assist you if you’ll open a ticket.
Moron: But I did open a ticket and I need help now.
Host: Then the help desk will get to your issue as soon as they can.
Moron: But when?

One of the benefits/disadvantages of remote work is that you can’t easily beat someone with a clue-by-four.

3257

As much as I like all of my coworkers, now working from home and communicating digitally only, I have to keep my sarcasm locked up in a closet downstairs.

Must.
Not.
Respond.

3258

Usually, the host can mute participants. Just sayin’.

3259

Provided it’s not a meeting in a big ass conference room. Like the one I had to drive an hour to that did not have enough chairs.

I got home and found that I could have just done Zoom. I was on the road to the meeting when TPB announced 30 minutes before the meeting that you could just join with Zoom. I was on the road, I didn’t get this message. That would have been nice to know a couple of days ago. That’s a day I would like back.

Leaning against a wall with a bad back for 1.5 hours sucks.

I’ll do everything I can for where I work. 10 people in our team moved an office full of cubicle walls across to another buildings basement where they will eventually be thrown away. It was stupid, we are a bunch of healthy people (we are computer specialists and getting a bit long in the tooth) We did it. Cause we are a good team. But that was just stupid.

3260

My company hasn’t gotten into Slack too much; aside from the occasional Teams meeting or chat, all communication is either email or by phone. I have enjoyed the transition to digital (including figuring out the many ways to break a digitally signed PDF :smiling_imp:). Also, witnessing remote testing was a blast; even though the vendor had modified their hours due to the pandemic, the start and stop times didn’t matter for me since I didn’t have to drive anywhere. Plus, I could watch the testing while continuing with other work, instead of giving up a whole day to sit in their (admittedly awesome) lab.

3261

Slack and working from home has been great for me. I’m hard of hearing. I dread face to face meetings. I do have hearing aids they don’t help that much.