# 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:** 336
**Author:** ![anya\_marie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@anya\_marie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anya_marie)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/6702 "2013-12-13T08:04:47Z")
I work in a call center and now I have raise my hand like a kindergardener to ask for permission to transfer any calls out or to another department. Fucking awesome. ---
**Author:** ![spotthegerbil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@spotthegerbil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spotthegerbil)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/6703 "2013-12-13T10:27:17Z")
> [@anya\_marie](#): > > I work in a call center and now I have raise my hand like a kindergardener to ask for permission to transfer any calls out or to another department. Fucking awesome. I’m getting flashbacks. Having to log out to go for a leak, one at a time per section, knowing you were being timed. UK readers may remember the Kitkat advert. For us it was “Have a break, have a quick crap.” Ordinary operators were entitled to a 15 minute break per 5 hour shift. Smokers were unofficially entitled to a second fag break. My demand to management for my fresh air break fell on deaf (smoking) ears. Management knew how to piss off the non smoking two thirds of its staff. ---
**Author:** ![Cognoscant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Cognoscant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cognoscant)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/6704 "2013-12-13T16:24:17Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Heck, anybody would feel like going “woohoo!” and fist-pumping. Just because you have depression doesn’t mean it’s not right to feel sad; just because you’re bipolar doesn’t mean it’s not right to feel excited 🙂 Yeah just as I am grateful–I really am–for the kind words everyone has sent along, one of the things since I’ve been diagnosed that I’ve learned is that every high has its (usually overpowering) low. So today I am fearing things like “they said they would call Friday or Monday to set up an interview schedule…what if they don’t?” and “will I find a doctor in my new place?” and “what about my health insurance if I leave, will I be denied coverage or put on a horrendous plan?” And the thought of missing my kids and wife is really tearing me up. I was reminded though of why I want so badly to leave after talking with another director here, though. He estimated that outside of meetings, the VP has talked to him maybe about two or three times. This director is a _direct report_ to the VP and has an office only two doors down! Except for one underperforming sales director who apparently must be protected at all costs, the VP talks to no-one. I don’t even think he’s actually been on our side of the office since he got here four months ago. So I’m still applying for jobs, even if they are far away, and hoping to see more show up after New Year’s. Just in case. ---
**Author:** ![Jesse\_Pinkman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@Jesse\_Pinkman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jesse_Pinkman)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/6705 "2013-12-13T16:24:46Z")
I’m at work now and I have a project to do, but I overdid it last night and I feel terrible and I really don’t want to start it. It won’t even take long, but… ugh. Not really a rant, and I did bring it on myself, but that notion isn’t making me feel better. ---
**Author:** ![Boggette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@Boggette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boggette)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/6706 "2013-12-13T16:29:27Z")
My best friend took the day off to see The Hobbit and left me with her workload. ---
**Author:** ![Jesse\_Pinkman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@Jesse\_Pinkman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jesse_Pinkman)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/6707 "2013-12-13T16:31:25Z")
> [@Boggette](#): > > My best friend took the day off to see The Hobbit and left me with her workload. Sounds like a real pal. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/6708 "2013-12-13T17:07:14Z")
I have a coworker who developed celiac disease within the last year or so. She gets terrible stomach pains after eating gluten-containing foods, which increase in intensity the more she ingested. I get that it’s a shitty diagnosis. Really. I fucking love gluten. That being said, it’s sort of important to her feeling good and to her, oh, not developing colon cancer down the road that she **not eat it**. And yet, I frequently hear her moaning about what she ate and how she’s feeling. She’s feeling terrible today. Maybe coming in later in the day. She intentionally binged on gluten last night. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/6709 "2013-12-13T18:21:04Z")
Listen, bitch. Nobody else cares what the temperature is in the office. If you don’t like it, get off your ass and change it, just like you did yesterday, and shut the fuck up already. You don’t pay the heating bill, so you have no incentive to CARE. Leave your stupid comments in your pocket! P.S. We all have space heaters because you like to keep it frigidly cold in here. We don’t bitch, we just turn our heaters on or off as needed. Shut up shut up shut up! P.P.S. I hate working with old people, especially menopausal women. ---
**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:** [December 13, 2013, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/6710 "2013-12-13T18:47:05Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > I have a coworker who developed celiac disease within the last year or so. She gets terrible stomach pains after eating gluten-containing foods, which increase in intensity the more she ingested. > > I get that it’s a shitty diagnosis. Really. I fucking love gluten. That being said, it’s sort of important to her feeling good and to her, oh, not developing colon cancer down the road that she **not eat it**. And yet, I frequently hear her moaning about what she ate and how she’s feeling. > > She’s feeling terrible today. Maybe coming in later in the day. She intentionally binged on gluten last night. :smack: Yeah, there’s sympathy for someone who got dealt a raw deal, then there’s, “What the hell is wrong with you? You know you can’t eat that shit any more.” ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/6711 "2013-12-13T19:24:07Z")
Turns out some of it was from greasy food, but still, she’s got to accept that she’s fucking up her system every time she gives in just a little bit. (Even if you don’t eat enough to really feel bad, gluten destroys cilia in the intestinal lining of people with celiac disease, IIRC.) ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/6712 "2013-12-13T21:38:52Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > I get that it’s a shitty diagnosis. Really. I fucking love gluten. That being said, it’s sort of important to her feeling good and to her, oh, not developing colon cancer down the road that she **not eat it**. And yet, I frequently hear her moaning about what she ate and how she’s feeling. Back in the call center days, as I posted here at the time, I had a co-worker who was diagnosed with IBS. Then would continue to eat the same fast food and complain bitterly about how much he hurt and how sick he was and how he needed more time off from work. :rolleyes: Only pointed it out to him a couple of times. If your digestive system is that sensitive, you ARE going to pay for eating that big, fried, fast food sandwich. _ **CHANGE YOUR FUCKING DIET, MORON!** _ ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2013, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/6713 "2013-12-13T21:39:50Z")
Ugh, work has been kicking my ass this week. We had to upgrade our citrix farm for technical reasons I neither know nor care about (tho I should) and the new setup apparently no longer supports IE 7, a fact which no one either realized or thought was relevant. Well, it turns out, a lot of people use IE 7 and they’re understandably pissed that what worked on Tuesday stopped working on Wednesday through no fault of their own and the only fix is to get their work to upgrade their browser. It’s like our own personal version of [healthcare.gov](http://healthcare.gov). In other news, the freelance developer with fingers in multiple clients’ pies is in the office and not only is he much younger than I thought but he’s cute in a soft-spoken genteel sort of way. Married, though. What a shame. ---
**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:** [December 14, 2013, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/6714 "2013-12-14T01:29:19Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > In other news, the freelance developer with fingers in multiple clients’ pies is in the office and not only is he much younger than I thought but he’s cute in a soft-spoken genteel sort of way. Married, though. What a shame. Then what’s he doing with his fingers in all those pies? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2013, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/6715 "2013-12-14T04:26:26Z")
> [@Cognoscant](#): > > Yeah just as I am grateful–I really am–for the kind words everyone has sent along, one of the things since I’ve been diagnosed that I’ve learned is that every high has its (usually overpowering) low. So today I am fearing things like “they said they would call Friday or Monday to set up an interview schedule…what if they don’t?” and “will I find a doctor in my new place?” and “what about my health insurance if I leave, will I be denied coverage or put on a horrendous plan?” And the thought of missing my kids and wife is really tearing me up. Which, again, is normal. I seriously think that one of the hardest parts of having a psychiatric diagnosis is knowing when what you’re experiencing is normal and when it’s not. I’ve got like half a dozen irons in the fire right now. It’s as if everybody has suddenly decided they need people with actual expertise in the stuff I know, rather than trying to dump it on others whose knowledge is only vaguely related to it. But… what if the Frankfurt/Barcelona job doesn’t work out? What if the London one doesn’t pan out? What if I get offers from two on the same day? The last one asked me for two recent references (they already had older ones on file), my boss has done the usual “I’m giving you the form they gave me, fill it up and then I’ll inflate it some more” - what if he inflates it so much it goes up like a Montgolfier? Will it explode? :eek: What if I get to rent Grandma’s flat and then the first job is a short one and the second one ends up having me spending more time in Denmark than in Barna? What if the current job gets and extension? What if my current boss gets another job for my field in a few months and calls me, and I have to say no because I’m in another one? The only game more dangerous than “what if” is “if only”. ---
**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:** [December 14, 2013, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/6716 "2013-12-14T04:57:33Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > What if I get to rent Grandma’s flat and then the first job is a short one and the second one ends up having me spending more time in Denmark than in Barna? Who amongst us hasn’t bolted upright and shouted this in the middle of the night? Utterly normal. ---
**Author:** ![anya\_marie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@anya\_marie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anya_marie)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2013, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/6717 "2013-12-14T07:23:57Z")
> [@anya\_marie](#): > > I work in a call center and now I have raise my hand like a kindergardener to ask for permission to transfer any calls out or to another department. Fucking awesome. It’s not the biggest problem in the world, and gods know I don’t have to put up with a bunch of crazy stupid useless lunatics, like Cognoscant has, but it is IMHO a tedious, nitpicky stupid rule, which I have broken once so far. Isn’t it enough that sometimes I have to wait 10 minutes for a supervisors’ help sometimes? I’m trying to actually do a good job at this job,and not be a fuckup but fuck this annoying shit. I don’t transfer people lightly and I am not constanly fucking around on breaks. And I keep my gum, tissues, lipbalm and things in a ziploc baggie to get around the clean desk rule, because i need some shit, because my pockets have keys, a change pouch with my driver’s licence, my watch and an mp3 player I listen to at lunch because sometimes fuck ESPN. I’ve got eyeliner and lipgloss in my inner coat pockets Everyone else is eating and drinking and shit. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2013, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/6718 "2013-12-14T09:58:45Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Who amongst us hasn’t bolted upright and shouted this in the middle of the night? > > Utterly normal. Well, that particular bit requires a grandma, a flat she owns and a bunch of relatives. Living relatively close to Denmark helps. **anya marie** , I do hope you’re keeping the last three items separate :eek: ---
**Author:** ![anya\_marie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@anya\_marie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anya_marie)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2013, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/6719 "2013-12-14T17:49:00Z")
The bathrooms at work are pretty busy, i’ve noticed, Nava I am using ALL the pockets on my coat. I’ve got a fleece-polyester jacket under my coat so I can have all my pockets. ---
**Author:** ![Boggette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@Boggette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boggette)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2013, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/6720 "2013-12-14T21:38:35Z")
> [@Jesse\_Pinkman](#): > > Sounds like a real pal. I love her dearly and would do anything for her. Doesn’t mean I won’t grumble about it along the way. 😃 ---
**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:** [December 15, 2013, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/6721 "2013-12-15T23:05:03Z")
> [@Boggette](#): > > I love her dearly and would do anything for her. Doesn’t mean I won’t grumble about it along the way. 😃 Those don’t always go together. All ‘dear’ friends need tough love instead of empowerment sometimes. If she’s taking advantage of you… what was your pitting? Oh, yeah, _“My best friend took the day off to see The Hobbit and left me with her workload.”_ Aren’t your actions saying that’s okay? What keeps her from doing it again and again? And most importantly, did she offer to do the same for you? Will she, so you can go see a movie? Wait, did she go see the movie with friends and not invite you? And have I broken up a perfectly good (albeit co-dependant) friendship? (oops) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401.md?page=335) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401.md?page=337)