# 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:** 287
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2013, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5722 "2013-06-20T23:21:43Z")
> [@Cheez\_Whia](#): > > Is smelling stuff part of your job or is it just random smell checks? My husband has a very weak stomach with bad odors, so I have to do all of the smell checks, like to see if the milk is still OK to drink. Oh, just stuff like tea and plants that have smells that my boss considers interesting. Nothing bad-smelling (yet, anyway.) I don’t know why, but I just don’t really like being forced to smell things (even good-smelling things). And no, it’s not part of my job. But if I refuse, my boss might think I’m weird or that something’s wrong. ---
**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:** [June 21, 2013, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5723 "2013-06-21T00:13:31Z")
> [@saje](#): > > I do believe that was mine, somewhere way back there 🆒 It’s free for use to all who need it! > Yep… [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=15787746#post15787746](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=15787746#post15787746) > > 😃 Must give credit where credit is due! Thanks, **saje**! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2013, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5724 "2013-06-21T08:19:08Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Hope I didn’t sound crotchety (although I was running on Very Little Sleep, so no surprise if so). And another amusing thing is that I often use the phrase “Basque Separatist” as a vocation on boring forms\*, or as a throwaway line: “Well, my dad’s Swiss, but since my sister’s a Basque Separatist we ended up in Milwaukee, where everyone eats Kringel and brats and goes curling in the winter.” > \*Maybe I should also list “Euskal Herria” as my emergency contact on those forms… right now it’s “Etaoin Shrdlu”. Want a weird one, try Napartarre… (Navarrese separatist). I know one personally but apparently there’s others. I’ve been known to respond to questions about Basque separatism by saying that Navarre should just go to The Hague and ask that our Treaty of Union be voided, since evidently Madrid never intended to honor it, but I say it tongue in cheek mostly, the part about Madrid is true ---
**Author:** ![Tracijo67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@Tracijo67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tracijo67)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2013, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5725 "2013-06-21T11:40:24Z")
> [@EmilyG](#): > > I love my job. I really do. I like almost everything about it… > > I just wish my boss would stop forcing me to smell things! I once worked for a portable toilet company that also sold chemical products. It was a small company, so testing of the product consisted of setting up a porta-potty outside, having the guys in manufacturing do their thing, and then dipping chemical-soaked strips into the sludge and doing a sniff test. It was considered incredibly bad form to beg off. … I once worked for a portable toilet manufacturing company 😃 ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2013, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5726 "2013-06-21T16:30:00Z")
Three months ago we hired a new executive assistant. She is my backup when I’m not here. I told her when she started that I work a flex schedule - four 9 1/2 hour days and half a day on Friday. I told her I was more than happy to work something out if she wanted to work flex hours, too. She never said anything about it. And so every Friday I leave at 12:30. And every single Friday she has been surprised when I do. She just now stopped by and said she was taking a long lunch today so would I mind going to lunch a little later. I said I was leaving at 12:30. And she was surprised. Three months! How long will it take for this to sink in? ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2013, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5727 "2013-06-21T20:17:45Z")
> [@aurora\_maire](#): > > She just now stopped by and said she was taking a long lunch today so would I mind going to lunch a little later. I said I was leaving at 12:30. And she was surprised. Three months! How long will it take for this to sink in? At this point you should probably ask her. “So, you’ve been here what, three months now? And I told you up front that I work flex hours and I leave at 12:30 every Friday. Which I have done every single Friday. Is there going to be a point where you are no longer caught off-guard by this?” :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2013, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5728 "2013-06-21T21:25:50Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > At this point you should probably ask her. > > “So, you’ve been here what, three months now? And I told you up front that I work flex hours and I leave at 12:30 every Friday. Which I have done every single Friday. Is there going to be a point where you are no longer caught off-guard by this?” :dubious: I guess I’m just a hopeless optimist. I keep thinking, this will be the Friday she remembers. 😃 The thing is, she was touted as this super fabulous assistant who will put all the others to shame. And it truly amazes me that she can’t remember this one pretty obvious thing. I guess I need to revisit the flex time discussion along the lines of “You know how I’m off on Friday afternoons? We can work out a schedule if you want flex hours, too.” Even if she says she’s not interested, maybe that will reinforce the point that I am off _every Friday afternoon_. Or not. Maybe she likes surprises. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2013, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5729 "2013-06-21T21:51:54Z")
> [@aurora\_maire](#): > > The thing is, she was touted as this super fabulous assistant who will put all the others to shame. Maybe you just heard it wrong and she MADE all the others ashamed. 😛 ---
**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:** [June 22, 2013, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5730 "2013-06-22T02:30:14Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > At this point you should probably ask her. > > “So, you’ve been here what, three months now? And I told you up front that I work flex hours and I leave at 12:30 every Friday. Which I have done every single Friday. Is there going to be a point where you are no longer caught off-guard by this?” :dubious: Or asked her to go get her calendar and wrote in on every Friday - “aurora off at 12:30.” 🙂 (And added it to her e-calendar too.) ---
**Author:** ![Avarie537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/48db29/32.png) [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2013, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5731 "2013-06-25T18:59:23Z")
I’m currently on maternity leave, but will be starting back at work on July 8. I work in a 24 hour veterinary hospital and have had a set schedule since I started last year; Monday through Friday, 10AM - 6PM. However, they have decided that I need to be cross-trained with other departments when I come back to work, which requires a change in my schedule. No big deal. Until I GET the schedule. My hours are as follows: 7/8: 8am - 530pm 7/9: 1030am - 8pm 7/10: 730am - 5pm 7/11: OFF 7/12: 8am - 530pm 7/15: 730am - 5pm 7/16: 730am - 5pm 7/17: 11am - 6pm 7/18: 730am - 5pm 7/19: 12noon - 8pm 7/22 through 7/25: 730am - 6pm 7/26: OFF It’s like they threw darts at clock! ---
**Author:** ![Avarie537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/48db29/32.png) [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5732 "2013-06-27T16:15:39Z")
Christ on a cracker … apparently there are going to be some “personnel changes” coming soon so my schedule is going to be a _different_ kind of different … Monday through Friday, 11:30AM - 8:00 PM. The HR lady said “is that ok?” WTF … I don’t have a choice! If we didn’t need the money I would love to stay home for a little longer, but that’s not an option. Whether it’s “OK” or not, I have to suck it up and say “yes ma’am, thank you ma’am!” The best part is that she doesn’t know yet if I will come back to the fucked up schedule in my last post or the new one in this post. ---
**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:** [June 27, 2013, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5733 "2013-06-27T17:34:46Z")
> [@Avarie537](#): > > The best part is that she doesn’t know yet if I will come back to the fucked up schedule in my last post or the new one in this post. But couldn’t this give you the chance to have some control? Say “Yes, I’ll come back to work 11:30-8. Put that schedule in an email to me, and I’ll reply YES. CC that to the boss, and I’ll be here at 11:30.” _If_ you have an opinion on the subject. (I’d rather have a set schedule so I didn’t show up late on a Wed thinking it was the Tue schedule). Do you have a preference as to which schedule? Did you make it clear to the HR person? Did they care? ---
**Author:** ![Avarie537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/48db29/32.png) [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5734 "2013-06-27T19:22:22Z")
> [@digs](#): > > But couldn’t this give you the chance to have some control? Say “Yes, I’ll come back to work 11:30-8. Put that schedule in an email to me, and I’ll reply YES. CC that to the boss, and I’ll be here at 11:30.” > > _If_ you have an opinion on the subject. (I’d rather have a set schedule so I didn’t show up late on a Wed thinking it was the Tue schedule). > Do you have a preference as to which schedule? Did you make it clear to the HR person? Did they care? I don’t have a choice, really. It’s a more a matter of “this is what we need to do in order to have adequate staffing.” I knew when I took this job that I would be sort of stuck, in a manner of speaking. They pay more than anyone else around (it was a 30% pay increase from my last job) plus offer paid time off, benefits, etc. With baby #3 here and my husband’s car being held together by rust and prayers, I need the money. I did ask about whether or not the standard shift differential would apply. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5735 "2013-06-27T23:25:51Z")
> [@Cheez\_Whia](#): > > Is smelling stuff part of your job or is it just random smell checks? My husband has a very weak stomach with bad odors, so I have to do all of the smell checks, like to see if the milk is still OK to drink. I used to have a boss who lost his sense of smell in a car accident. ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2013, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5736 "2013-06-29T02:08:00Z")
This happened at work, so it goes here. I was out in the parking lot, grabbing something out of the truck when a male resident of the retirement home next to us came out on his porch and I glanced over at the movement. Old guy, with grey hair all over his flabby body. I was able to tell because he was wearing a very tight speedo. Things once seen cannot be unseen. I am permanently scarred by this experience. I’ll never feel safe walking in that parking lot again. To add insult to injury, when I went back in, I told my minion that I was going to go home, scoop my eyeballs out with a spoon and then pour bleach on my brain through the holes and why…and he laughed. He didn’t just laugh, he LAUGHED! He roared, he guffawed, he complained that his ribs hurt and he couldn’t see because he was crying. 3 more wasps. Fucking wasps, go sting speedo guy, maybe he’ll stay inside. ---
**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:** [June 29, 2013, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5737 "2013-06-29T02:18:18Z")
> [@flatlined](#): > > This happened at work, so it goes here. I was out in the parking lot, grabbing something out of the truck when a male resident of the retirement home next to us came out on his porch and I glanced over at the movement. Old guy, with grey hair all over his flabby body. I was able to tell because he was wearing a very tight speedo. > > Things once seen cannot be unseen. I am permanently scarred by this experience. I’ll never feel safe walking in that parking lot again. > > To add insult to injury, when I went back in, I told my minion that I was going to go home, scoop my eyeballs out with a spoon and then pour bleach on my brain through the holes and why…and he laughed. He didn’t just laugh, he LAUGHED! He roared, he guffawed, he complained that his ribs hurt and he couldn’t see because he was crying. > > 3 more wasps. Fucking wasps, go sting speedo guy, maybe he’ll stay inside. \*\* hands minion some Kleenex to wipe his eyes \*\* With a guy like that **flatlined** , perhaps you might feel lucky that he was wearing _anything_ at all – remember, it could have been worse. Also, I want YouTube of your minion guffawing until his ribs hurt. We can all use some contagious laughter! 😃 Side note: I love that you spelled it “grey” instead of “gray.” Proper form an’ all that, [del]mate[/del]. ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2013, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5738 "2013-06-29T02:49:25Z")
And then Bill laughed! I think my minion told the receptionist because she covered her laugh by coughing when she saw me later in the afternoon. I deserve some sympathy, gosh darn it!!! You are right, it could have been so much worse. I really do like this job, but I almost think I’d rather deal with the RatKing than risk seeing Speedo Guy again. > [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Side note: I love that you spelled it “grey” instead of “gray.” Proper form an’ all that, [del]mate[/del]. Grey/gray is kind of a crapshoot with me. I can never remember which one is right, probably because they both are, so I randomly type and if spellcheck doesn’t like it, I change it. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/58956e/32.png) [@Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emtar_KronJonDerSohn)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2013, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5739 "2013-06-29T05:31:48Z")
As I was leaving work today my boss asked how things were going. Things were going poorly so I told him “I can’t say something nice, so go fuck yourself.” Without batting an eye he said “yeeeeahh. I know. See ya Monday.” It made me sad, because I know I will in fact be back Monday subjecting myself to the same old shit hoping for better results. I won’t get them. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2013, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5740 "2013-06-29T10:19:31Z")
> [@flatlined](#): > > Grey/gray is kind of a crapshoot with me. I can never remember which one is right, probably because they both are, so I randomly type and if spellcheck doesn’t like it, I change it. 😃 I see them as two different shades. Gray is dark and grey is light. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2013, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/5741 "2013-06-29T12:52:03Z")
> [@flatlined](#): > > Grey/gray is kind of a crapshoot with me. I can never remember which one is right, probably because they both are, so I randomly type and if spellcheck doesn’t like it, I change it. 😃 How I remember: gr_a_y is how _A_mericans spell it, gr_e_y is how the _E_nglish spell it. I have to stop and think each time, too. It comes from having read too many books by British authors as I grew up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401.md?page=286) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401.md?page=288)