https://blog.gitnux.com/guides/how-to-stop-microsoft-teams-from-opening-at-startup/
This might be a good time to mention that I don’t have administrator access. Does that change anything?
Depends on your employer’s policies, it might matter.
That drives me up a wall, too! In my case, the computer I’m using has a touch screen so when they “helpfully” point something out, the fun is guessing the variety of screwed up that happens in response to their touch.
Come here to Beijing. There’s a great traffic circle near my apartment. Ah, the fun crossing that when a pedestrian. In Beijing, to quote from X Marks the Pedwalk (IIRC), there are two kinds of pedestrians: the quick and the dead.
Back in my Navy days, I had to harass the other section leaders for the information for the monthly report. It always came as a complete surprise to them, “Monthyly report?” Yeah. It’s a new month. New report. But I did manage to have some fun with it once. Shortly before I retired, it came to me while stuck in a traffic jam (sadly, not a traffic circle) how to make it go more smoothly for me 
I created a multi-sheet Excel workbook hosted on our LAN with each sheet dedicated to a section and password protected. I gave what can only be described as awesome training to the whole group of section leaders and our officer in charge. What I did not tell the section leaders but did show the OIC was how her worksheet had datachecks to make sure the input was valid (or at least agreed with related input from other sections). The first time we implemented it for reporting, the OIC came out of her office and yelled, “Petty Officer XYZ, get your lying ass into my office right now!” I mean, that was kind of over the top, but XYZ, who happens to be a good buddy of mine, came out of her office after she left and said to me, “Why didn’t you tell me that thing had that function?” What? And miss this kind of fun? Hell, no!
My current employer, just before the end of last semester, finally agreed with those of us who were bitching about TPTB not using the school server based messaging system for official functions. My WeChat account is mine, not theirs. If it’s an emergency, sure, use up my memory space and data, but don’t do it because you can’t be assed to figure out how to use what’s actually a damn good program (Office Anywhere, aka OA) that is not getting used to its potential. OA is now the go-to for official things.
I find the UI clunky. We have a perfectly good IM system that we use.
I was told that other departments are using Teams. Fine let them. Also told that this way we can IM other departments, but that’s crazy. As it is we need to trim down the number of channels that we have. We have been asked to do that. I agree.
I sure as hell am not going to add more channels to other departments.
Maybe it’s administrative overhead that they/we (I’m part of IS) are trying to cut down. But dammit, tell me. Give me a good reason.
So we finally got a new downsized office last month (10 minutes away) and I started going in house because the air conditioning is so much better than my apartment, which was borderline unbearable during the day. I’ve kept going after the heatwave ended because it’s been so much better for my mental health. I get along great with the handful of people who work in the office and they were happy that I was going to come in everyday. So I requested to just come in everyday. This baffled my supervisor, but she tried to put in through. There was a discussion with HR I wasn’t privy too, then I was told because my role was just changed to remote (like everyone in my department) going forward I can only come in if my power or internet is out. 
I was not expecting that and I’m deeply unhappy. I can’t believe this posting in the Pit for months. I’m invoking the ADA with HR now; this should be interesting.
Are they paying for your internet? If not, I’d unplug it at 7:00 am everyday (making it ‘out’), and head in the office. Alternatively, it shouldn’t be that hard to get yourself moved from remote to in-office (and your ADA claim should help there).
I find this perplexing. They’re paying for an office, but they’re resisting the ONE person who wants to come in but doesn’t have to (I’m assuming here that for some reason the others have to be there, otherwise why even have an office)?? WTF?
Apparently there’s a whole host of businesses that are trying to lure employees back into the old ways - maybe you need to find one of those places if working from home sucks for you.
It’s just so weird. I feel like I’m in that Twilight Zone episode with the pig people. What happens if I complain about my unlimited sick time or month of PTO? Are they going to send me to a sanitarium in Europe? Can I get the deductible on my health insurance raised?
This isn’t really a rant, but kinda interesting. I work from home full time. Not all of us do. It’s pretty much a hybrid system for everyone. Sometime in the office, sometime at home.
Yesterday the network went down for the entire floor of the building. But the computer I remote into was moved to the server room on a different floor.
I work from home, and I was the only one that could do anything.
And you TOLD them? j/k
This rant is pretty stupid, and mostly my fault. We have Teams meetings, and today my headphones didn’t work. And unplugging them to use the laptop speakers didn’t work either! I ended up calling in with my cell phone because the camera still worked. Periodically, while other people were talking I tried to get them to work and then…
I remembered what happened a while back. I unplugged the headphones and tried to listen to the regular speakers but it didn’t switch automatically, so I messed with the settings. And forgot to change them back. So I tried to change them back but it kept failing! Eventually I realized I hadn’t plugged the jack in all the way, and it wasn’t letting me listen either way.
:smack:
Even Zoom is trying to make workers come back to the office. I spent last fall trying to get a job that wasn’t remote; it was excruciating and stressful. Why can’t I get a job at one of these companies?! 
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/07/business/zoom-return-to-office.html
Huh. That is a direction that I suspect that they have not seen. But, it has been expected that work would provide the working environment.
It sounds to me like you miss the people. And the AC in your apartment is a problem.
As for missing people, does your work offer a good Instant Messaging system? Working from home, I’m finding that I am getting to know the crew better.
Well, the ADA process can take weeks apparently. HR seems bewildered and condescending at the same time. And they tried offering me furniture.
I’m sorry that your employer seems to be too stupid to see the obvious fix for this (non)problem.
This is a truly mundane and silly gripe, but I’m putting it here anyway.
While I was away the lights in the men’s room must have been replaced. Perhaps they are new high-efficiency fluorescent, or the LED bars that go in fluorescent fixtures; I don’t know. The problem is that there is a delay between turning on the light switch, and when the lights actually come on. It’s probably in the half second range, but it’s long enough that after flipping the switch the door has closed and it is a completely dark. One’s natural reaction is to open the door again, but the lights come on before thought can turn to action.
Passwords. The longer and more complex they get, the more likely it will be found on a sticky note. Especially if you need 4 different ones that have to change every 2 months.
And also especially if the computer sees no activity for 10 minutes you have to re-enter it. And this is public information that we are dealing with.
We are not NORAD, OK?
If it’s like many places I have worked, the honest answer may be:
“We changed because the person in charge (CEO, CFO, whatever) plays golf with the dude who sells this new product, and they made a deal on the 14th hole.”
And if you bitch too much, the big boss will take it as a personal affront to his amazing business acumen.
I haven’t had passwords written down for years. A month or two ago I had such a disaster trying to perform mandated password updates that I now have my work passwords written on a sticky note. Good security there, folks!
Speaking from the other side of this issue, maybe…the cleaners and some of the tenants in our building have a nasty habit of just sticking their head into a washroom, seeing the lights are out because they haven’t given the sensor enough time to switch on, then reporting that the bulbs need changing. Same thing with “why is there no hot water?” There IS hot water in the sink, sir, except this is the first day back after a long weekend so nobody’s used the hot water tank in four days, and you only held your hands under the stream for 2.4 seconds.