# Workplace griping, anyone? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 12, 2010, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401 "2010-11-12T06:39:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 183
**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:** [May 18, 2012, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/3642 "2012-05-18T02:17:52Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Somebody, _somebody_ in my suite was whistling “Jingle Bells” incessantly when I walked in. I now have 1) an earworm that just won’t quit, and 2) murderous rage. > > Seriously? “Jingle Bells” in mid-May? WTF? > > I hate you, whoever you were. Then you really don’t want to work next to me. I like to pick on a friend who works in the next cubicle by singing “Oh, the weather outside is frightful / but the fire is so delightfullll…” ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/3643 "2012-05-18T03:31:18Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Then you really don’t want to work next to me. I like to pick on a friend who works in the next cubicle by singing “Oh, the weather outside is frightful / but the fire is so delightfullll…” Its good that you don’t live here. We have guns and consider using them during the middle of the summer when people say such things as “but its a _dry_ heat!” When its so hot that the blacktop melts and you sweat so much that you don’t pee even if you drink a gallon of water an hour, singing about cold weather would be enough to have the Judge dismiss the trial, if the cops even bothered to arrest someone for the murder. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/3644 "2012-05-18T05:30:06Z")
I work in a company with 15 people. … 5-6 of them may be laid off today. … … One of those is my wife. The others may be asked to take a salary reduction. … including me. Fortunately our financial position is such that we can say “Fuck you”, take the summer off, go on our Mediterranean cruise, then sit on our asses for a decade if we wish. Note to company: You need me far, far more than I need you. Laura isn’t too happy there, and anyway, we’re beginning to believe that our family is better served with Laura not working, so I’m actually OK if she goes (well, not really, but you know what I mean. Maybe.) But if you expect me to take a penny less to do 30% more work because you blew through the funding, you’re out of your fucking skull. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/3645 "2012-05-18T14:04:42Z")
That doesn’t sound good at all, **John** (except the part where you will be okay financially) - please keep us updated on how it goes, eh? ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/3646 "2012-05-18T15:12:20Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > See if you have any exchange employees from Australia where you work. I understand they have Christmas in the summer… Yes, they do have Christmas in the summer, but in Australia, December is in the summer. ---
**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:** [May 18, 2012, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/3647 "2012-05-18T15:12:38Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > …Fortunately our financial position is such that we can say “Fuck you”, take the summer off, go on our Mediterranean cruise, then sit on our asses for a decade if we wish. . . Why haven’t you? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/3648 "2012-05-18T15:27:16Z")
Because I’m just 45 and plan on being older than 55. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/3649 "2012-05-18T16:49:05Z")
Why is always the stick and never the carrot with this project? Why the fuck is it always nasty, negative feedback? Why do the assholes who run this project always act as if I’m lucky that I get paid at all? Why are they so vindictive in emails? A job is not a favor. A paycheck is not something I should be on my hands and knees in gratitude to get. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/3650 "2012-05-18T17:09:51Z")
> [@LavenderBlue](#): > > Why is always the stick and never the carrot with this project? Why the fuck is it always nasty, negative feedback? Why do the assholes who run this project always act as if I’m lucky that I get paid at all? Why are they so vindictive in emails? A job is not a favor. A paycheck is not something I should be on my hands and knees in gratitude to get. Because they suck. I agree with you - the employer/employee relationship is a symbiotic one (each side is giving and getting), not a master/slave relationship. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/3651 "2012-05-18T18:50:09Z")
The firings are started, looks like my wife won’t be canned. Fuck! Now she’s gonna have to quit (getting extra duties, no extra pay, and the family reasons stated above) and forgo any unemployment, etc. I told my boss that she couldn’t do the extra tasks (inventory control stuff) and his response? “Didn’t Laura used to be a librarian?” My response: “She worked in a library - big difference. Anyway, she’s still not going to be able to do this.” Of course, the CEO’s (why, again, does a company with 15 people need a CEO and President?) useless son is immune. ---
**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:** [May 18, 2012, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/3652 "2012-05-18T19:38:55Z")
Errrr. . . sorry your wife didn’t . . . get fired? I think? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/3653 "2012-05-18T19:44:47Z")
Yeah, I know. Odd position to be in, right? Now Laura’s conspiracy-theorizing that they’re doing this to make her quit. :rolleyes: Sorry, honey, if they were going to fire you, they’re going to fire you. There’s no grand strategy here. ---
**Author:** ![stegon66](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@stegon66](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stegon66)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/3654 "2012-05-18T21:35:18Z")
Trying to psych myself up for a weekend of soccer tournaments - every Jock Family Robinson within a 100 mile radius will be in town annoying the piss out of service workers everywhere. I hereby deliver a pre-emptive “Fuck you!” to all the snooty soccer moms and pompous dads who will come in and haughtily declare “We have a game in 20 minutes, rush our order!”\* Kiss my ass. :rolleyes: - We’re talking about a packed, sit-down-and-get-waited-on type of restaurant too, not fuckin’ McDonald’s. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/3655 "2012-05-18T22:20:41Z")
> [@stegon66](#): > > Trying to psych myself up for a weekend of soccer tournaments - every Jock Family Robinson within a 100 mile radius will be in town annoying the piss out of service workers everywhere. I hereby deliver a pre-emptive “Fuck you!” to all the snooty soccer moms and pompous dads who will come in and haughtily declare “We have a game in 20 minutes, rush our order!”\* Kiss my ass. :rolleyes: > > - We’re talking about a packed, sit-down-and-get-waited-on type of restaurant too, not fuckin’ McDonald’s. Time to say no, then. ---
**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:** [May 18, 2012, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/3656 "2012-05-18T23:32:35Z")
JohnT, it is so refreshing to hear a doper in the pit say that they’re in good shape financially. Especially after the “begging for money” threads and the “choosing between feeding our parakeets and eating them” (oh, wait, that was a lucid dream). Congrats on sound money management (I assume–if ‘Mumsy’ handed you a BMW full of ill-gotten gems, then scratch that)… and avoiding some of the crappy luck others here have had. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2012, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/3657 "2012-05-19T00:18:51Z")
> [@digs](#): > > JohnT, it is so refreshing to hear a doper in the pit say that they’re in good shape financially. Especially after the “begging for money” threads and the “choosing between feeding our parakeets and eating them” (oh, wait, that was a lucid dream). > > Congrats on sound money management (I assume–if ‘Mumsy’ handed you a BMW full of ill-gotten gems, then scratch that)… and avoiding some of the crappy luck others here have had. :rolleyes: We’re a _Mercedes_ family, thank you very much.\* And the gems were legit - that guy who sold them to us from the trunk of his car had a certificate of authenticity, and we all know those can’t be faked. 😉 \*Actually, we have one car (a Nissan Versa, voted by some Dopers as the cheapest/worst car in the country) and I ride my bike to work everyday. ---
**Author:** ![Tess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@Tess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tess)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2012, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/3658 "2012-05-19T02:43:41Z")
> [@flatlined](#): > > Oh geeze. Jane must have a Tardis. She wears high heels in the warehouse. Very cute shoes, but not very safe when she’s climbing ladders. Every morning, she complains about how she was using muscles that she didn’t know she had because she moved 7 boxes the day before. > > When I notice her shoes, I make her change to the sneakers she keeps under her desk. She changes back into her heels when she goes to lunch and then “forgets” to change back. > > I’m sorry if she is mine. If she’s yours, keep her. Mine’s actually quiet about her feet (though she quietly slips them off under her desk by 10 a.m. most days). I promise, if she’s mine I would never intentionally inflict her on an innocent person. I just wish I could make her see that blowing through money while boo-hooing about being broke is like deliberately wearing shoes that are too tight and then bitching about sore feet. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2012, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/3659 "2012-05-19T03:26:21Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > The firings are started, looks like my wife won’t be canned. > > Fuck! > > Now she’s gonna have to quit (getting extra duties, no extra pay, and the family reasons stated above) and forgo any unemployment, etc. > > I told my boss that she couldn’t do the extra tasks (inventory control stuff) and his response? “Didn’t Laura used to be a librarian?” > > My response: “She worked in a library - big difference. Anyway, she’s still not going to be able to do this.” > > Of course, the CEO’s (why, again, does a company with 15 people need a CEO and President?) useless son is immune. If your wife is ready to quit anything, she really doesn’t have anything to lose by just not doing the extra duties, does she? **Tess** , my husband works with a princess who wears six inch heels every day and complains about her feet hurting. He tells her not to wear such stupid shoes then. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2012, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/3660 "2012-05-19T03:35:28Z")
> [@flatlined](#): > > Oh geeze. Jane must have a Tardis. She wears high heels in the warehouse. Very cute shoes, but not very safe when she’s climbing ladders. Every morning, she complains about how she was using muscles that she didn’t know she had because she moved 7 boxes the day before. > > When I notice her shoes, I make her change to the sneakers she keeps under her desk. She changes back into her heels when she goes to lunch and then “forgets” to change back. > > I’m sorry if she is mine. If she’s yours, keep her. …Wait, what? TARDIS, high heels, ladder? 😕 ---
**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:** [May 19, 2012, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/3661 "2012-05-19T04:04:45Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > If your wife is ready to quit anything, she really doesn’t have anything to lose by just not doing the extra duties, does she? ISTM that would give the company an excuse to fire “for cause,” which would _still_ lock her out of unemployment. She could maybe appeal that, though, by citing the gratuitous pile-on of extra duties as constituting a “constructive firing.” Depends on the state. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401.md?page=182) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401.md?page=184)