# 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:** 272
**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:** [April 18, 2013, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5422 "2013-04-18T17:20:41Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > When I was a teen, my father made me swear a vow to never get a tattoo. I thought that it was because he didn’t want me to be seen as one of THOSE girls, but it turns out that he was afraid that my tattoo would be like someone else’s, and that this someone else would commit a crime, and be IDed by the tattoo. Apparently this had happened to a friend or acquaintance of his. Shortly before he died, he released me from that vow. But now that you’ve told us the story, you have to tell us what kind of a tattoo you got. And where. And post a pic. ---
**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:** [April 18, 2013, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5423 "2013-04-18T17:23:51Z")
> [@MissTake](#): > > Have you not perfected the “Shut up or FOAD” stare, **Chimera**? I have a coworker who does the same as your CG, and I’ll go with it for a minute or two - then she gets the “I understand what I’m doing, THANK YOU”. If she still yammers, I back up and just look at her with the “Shut up or FOAD” face. It does take her another minute or two to clue in that I have withdrawn from the conversation and am actively plotting her demise. It always works. > [@Chimera](#): > > Yeah, I have a look that stops ordinary mortals cold. > > There’s a reason I call him Clueless George. So, since he’s not an ordinary mortal, take a page from **MissTake** ’s book and say it out loud: _I have withdrawn from this conversation and am now actively plotting your demise._ ---
**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:** [April 18, 2013, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5424 "2013-04-18T17:44:34Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > So, since he’s not an ordinary mortal, take a page from **MissTake** ’s book and say it out loud: _I have withdrawn from this conversation and am now actively plotting your demise._ ^^^This. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Girlfriend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.girlfriend/32/193_2.png) [@Dr.Girlfriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Girlfriend)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5425 "2013-04-18T18:29:01Z")
Not a gripe, but a brag… I got a job! I start Monday, it’s a long-term temp position with “a real good chance” (their words) of being permanent. Less than ten minutes from home, pay is OK. Yay! 😃 ---
**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:** [April 18, 2013, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5426 "2013-04-18T18:47:34Z")
Yay indeed! Best wishes for you, too. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cheez\_Whia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d26b3c/32.png) [@Cheez\_Whia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheez_Whia)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5427 "2013-04-18T20:56:56Z")
Yay **Dr. G**! Here’s hoping there’s no crazy there! ---
**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:** [April 18, 2013, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5428 "2013-04-18T21:43:42Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Goddamn it, Clueless George. > > I hate being accosted early in the morning. And I fucking hate it when people act like pompous jackasses who look for conflict in every fucking word. > > I’m working on a request for someone. What they’re requesting includes sensitive data, so they were asked to fill out a form. They refused to do it and asked for a version of the data without the sensitive data. There isn’t one. I told them that. CG decides to come over and lecture me, 15 fucking minutes into my day, about how the whole thing works. As if I don’t know, as if I wasn’t the person who trained him on how this works. Seriously, SHUT THE FUCK UP and go back to your cube. I can handle this. It is an extremely minor issue. > > The worst part was that as I kept answering him or brushing him off, he kept trying to find things to push harder on. I seriously wanted to scream at him to get out of my fucking face already. I forgot I was going to say something about this - it is one of my biggest peeves when people don’t even let me get my jacket off at work before they start in on the day’s problems. People, it can wait ten minutes, until I have my jacket off, I have my computer started up, I have my hot tea in hand, and I’ve got my mind into “Another day at work” mode. I totally sympathize with not suffering this fool gladly if he comes at you first thing in the morning. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5429 "2013-04-18T21:46:36Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I forgot I was going to say something about this - it is one of my biggest peeves when people don’t even let me get my jacket off at work before they start in on the day’s problems. People, it can wait ten minutes, until I have my jacket off, I have my computer started up, I have my hot tea in hand, and I’ve got my mind into “Another day at work” mode. I totally sympathize with not suffering this fool gladly if he comes at you first thing in the morning. Ho boy; this for sure. I used to work in California and did business with New York people. They’d call me at 6:30 CA time and then when I called them back at a reasonable hour they’d say: what took you so long, did you sleep in? Or they’d be all peppy and bouncy if I did happen to be in early…ugh. It’s called a time difference. Get used to it. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5430 "2013-04-19T01:32:34Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I forgot I was going to say something about this - it is one of my biggest peeves when people don’t even let me get my jacket off at work before they start in on the day’s problems. Been a life long thing for me. You don’t fucking ambush me first thing in the morning with blame, anger, bullshit or anything bad. You give me time to sit down, read my email, drink my cherry coke zero and wake up. If you piss me off first thing in the day, I’m doing to have a very low tolerance for ANY bullshit for the rest of the day. And no, ‘saying something’ is not the solution. I started calling him Clueless George here precisely because he didn’t grasp any form of clues or outright statements that he should knock whatever it was off. Too lazy at the moment to search for and link some of those earlier stories I told here. ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5431 "2013-04-19T01:50:57Z")
> [@Cheez\_Whia](#): > > I _finally_ get to start my new job on Monday! I’ve been waiting on the background check to be completed for about a month. > [@Dr.Girlfriend](#): > > Not a gripe, but a brag… > > I got a job! > > I start Monday, it’s a long-term temp position with “a real good chance” (their words) of being permanent. Less than ten minutes from home, pay is OK. > > Yay! 😃 Hurray for both of you. Here’s hoping there are no rats (bipedal as well as quadrupedal) in your new, wonderful workplaces. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5432 "2013-04-19T07:08:32Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > But now that you’ve told us the story, you have to tell us what kind of a tattoo you got. > > And where. > > And post a pic. I haven’t gotten one yet. If I DO get one, I think that I’ll just have a listing of my antibiotic allergies, though I’m not sure where I’d put it. I’m allergic to half a dozen antibiotics, so I’m gonna need a big flat area. Since becoming a diabetic, I’ve found that I’m considerably less intrigued by the idea of multiple needle jabs. I’m able to fulfill my requirement of jabs each day just by taking care of myself. Also, as a diabetic, sometimes I heal pretty slowly. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5433 "2013-04-19T09:11:04Z")
> [@Dr.Girlfriend](#): > > Not a gripe, but a brag… > > I got a job! > > I start Monday, it’s a long-term temp position with “a real good chance” (their words) of being permanent. Less than ten minutes from home, pay is OK. > > Yay! 😃 _happy dance_ May your job and **Cheez\_Whia** ’s be as bad as the one I now have 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Girlfriend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.girlfriend/32/193_2.png) [@Dr.Girlfriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Girlfriend)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5434 "2013-04-19T16:32:41Z")
> [@Cheez\_Whia](#): > > Yay **Dr. G**! Here’s hoping there’s no crazy there! Well, I’ll be there, so there will be some sort of crazy there… 😃 Congrats to you too! And thanks to everyone else for the good wishes. ---
**Author:** ![Cheez\_Whia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d26b3c/32.png) [@Cheez\_Whia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheez_Whia)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2013, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5435 "2013-04-19T17:08:59Z")
Yeah, but we’re the GOOD kind of crazy, not the batshit insane evil crazy. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2013, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5436 "2013-04-20T17:43:50Z")
We have a bunch of new guys. One nearly sliced off his arm last week. He nearly passed out from the blood loss. Surprisingly, he only needed nine stitches. Now he’s back with a cast. It’s hard working in a warehouse with one arm- I give him props for even trying, but I think he just might be getting in the way for awhile. Another new guy doesn’t wear deodorant. This isn’t an air conditioned office environment, this is manual labor, and at the end if the day, he really, really reeks. Throughout the day we work spaced out, but at the end of the shift, we work in close proximity too. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5437 "2013-04-21T00:46:02Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > I haven’t gotten one yet. If I DO get one, I think that I’ll just have a listing of my antibiotic allergies, though I’m not sure where I’d put it. I’m allergic to half a dozen antibiotics, so I’m gonna need a big flat area. > > Since becoming a diabetic, I’ve found that I’m considerably less intrigued by the idea of multiple needle jabs. I’m able to fulfill my requirement of jabs each day just by taking care of myself. Also, as a diabetic, sometimes I heal pretty slowly. OK, here’s what you need to do: 1. Lay in a supply of single-use insulin syringes; this may take thousands. 2. Locate an old-school tattoo artist who can do hand-tapped tattoos. 3. Explain to him that you want him to tap in a tattoo, one jab a day. 4. Come back here and tell us about the look on his face. ---
**Author:** ![Das\_Glasperlenspiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/das_glasperlenspiel/32/2944_2.png) [@Das\_Glasperlenspiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Das_Glasperlenspiel)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5438 "2013-04-21T01:39:23Z")
Good news, bad news. Good news: our office is moving from a poorly (1960s-era) heated and cooled building on the edge of nowhere to a shiny-new(ish) technologically up-to-date building in the heart of downtown Ottawa. Bad news: i go from my own office with a window and a door I can (and do) close to a “shared workspace” with 3 other people. Cubicle farm hell with “cooperative work areas”. :smack: Pray for me. The other bit of good news is that we will at least be close to a decent pub. I will need it. ---
**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:** [April 21, 2013, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5439 "2013-04-21T05:47:29Z")
I have more bad news for you - new buildings don’t seem to be heated and cooled very well, either. The shared workspace will indeed suck - I’m not sure why so many companies want their employees in environments where concentration and doing efficient, good work is so thoroughly discouraged. ---
**Author:** ![Das\_Glasperlenspiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/das_glasperlenspiel/32/2944_2.png) [@Das\_Glasperlenspiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Das_Glasperlenspiel)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5440 "2013-04-22T16:32:46Z")
> [@Das\_Glasperlenspiel](#): > > Good news, bad news. > > Good news: our office is moving from a poorly (1960s-era) heated and cooled building on the edge of nowhere to a shiny-new(ish) technologically up-to-date building in the heart of downtown Ottawa. > Bad news: i go from my own office with a window and a door I can (and do) close to a “shared workspace” with 3 other people. Cubicle farm hell with “cooperative work areas”. :smack: > > Pray for me. The other bit of good news is that we will at least be close to a decent pub. I will need it. Addendum to the above-noted gripe: Effing stupid policy analysts!! :smack: As part of the move, we are doing a gigantic (650 boxes) mail-out of informational materials that we don’t want to pack (or move) to the new digs. E-mail went out two weeks ago asking for any materials to go in the mailout, as well as for assistance in packing. Last week, based on materials received, boxes were ordered and assembled and today we started filling, taping, labelling and postaging. About 200 boxes in to this project (staffed by only two admins and a press-ganged student), one of the policy analysts wanders out, looks blankly at the activity, and comments, “That’s going to have to wait until Thursday, I have some stuff that isn’t back from the printers yet.” Me: “When did you send the proofs to the printer?” Him: “Friday.” More :smack: He has pissed off his director, the admins AND the mailroom (all the postage has to be recalculated). For the next year, any plane travel for him is going to be back of the plane, middle seat. Hotel rooms will be carefully selected to be next to the elevator and the ice machine. On the party floor. Expense claim cheques will be “delayed”. ---
**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:** [April 22, 2013, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5441 "2013-04-22T17:57:23Z")
> [@Das\_Glasperlenspiel](#): > > \ > He has pissed off his director, the admins AND the mailroom (all the postage has to be recalculated). For the next year, any plane travel for him is going to be back of the plane, middle seat. Hotel rooms will be carefully selected to be next to the elevator and the ice machine. On the party floor. Expense claim cheques will be “delayed”. As someone who would be one of those admins stuffing envelopes all day, I wouldn’t blame someone for taking that policy analyst and smashing his head against a desk. In fact, I’m imagining it right now. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401.md?page=271) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401.md?page=273)