# 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:** 369
**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:** [February 24, 2014, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/7362 "2014-02-24T01:58:13Z")
If different states are involved, are different time zones involved? Time difference issues are one thing I’m always afraid are going to be communicated wrong when I have to communicate across time zones. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/7363 "2014-02-24T02:30:25Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > I send an e-mail, reminding people that they have a lecture to watch on Friday that week from noon to two. There’s a flyer for the whole series attached to it too. I get an e-mail saying “the flyer says that all the lectures are from 12-2. Does that mean the lecture this week is from 12-2?” Did this person perchance cc a boss, who might be instructing them to attending a different meeting or perform another task this Friday between noon and two? No? Then they bcc’d them. I know because I have had to do this. Honestly, dumb questions are often a result of conflicting instructions. Not always, but often enough. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/7364 "2014-02-24T03:14:34Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > I send an e-mail, reminding people that they have a lecture to watch on Friday that week from noon to two. There’s a flyer for the whole series attached to it too. I get an e-mail saying “the flyer says that all the lectures are from 12-2. Does that mean the lecture this week is from 12-2?” “Yes, as the flyer states, all lectures are from 12-2.” Short, simple, to the point and a backhanded slap in the face. 😉 ---
**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:** [February 24, 2014, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/7365 "2014-02-24T03:38:53Z")
12 to 2? Sheesh. Aren’t people in your company allowed to eat lunch? ---
**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:** [February 24, 2014, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/7366 "2014-02-24T05:13:59Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > \ > [li]My boss sends out a reminder about a conference call that’ll be on a different Friday, giving them the conference number and participant code they’ll need. On TH she gets a call: the person wants to know if the conference number and participant code she gave them for Friday are the numbers they should use Friday.[/li][/LIST]\ I know why this one sometimes happens - because people are too stupid to read emails or listen to voicemails. ---
**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:** [February 24, 2014, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/7367 "2014-02-24T14:13:25Z")
[quote=“elfkin477, post:7361, topic:560401”] [li]I send an e-mail, reminding people that they have a lecture to watch on Friday that week from noon to two. There’s a flyer for the whole series attached to it too. I get an e-mail saying “the flyer says that all the lectures are from 12-2. Does that mean the lecture this week is from 12-2?” [/li][/QUOTE] So this is what an aneurysm feels like. ---
**Author:** ![Kelevra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/97f17d/32.png) [@Kelevra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelevra)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/7368 "2014-02-24T14:22:12Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > How do people get into positions of authority without the ability to read and comprehend emails? It is probably THE major means of communications in Corporate America. You know how Outlook has headings at the top of your inbox like “From”, “Subject”, “Received”, “Size”? Somehow my boss does not have the “Subject” heading on his computer. So he doesn’t know the Subject of any email sent to him. He frequently asks me a question which I’ve already answered in email. When I point out that I already answered it he then asks what day I sent it so he can look through all the emails I sent that day to find his answer!:smack: Because of this he also never puts subject lines on his emails to his staff, and he frequently just picks a previous email and replies to it with an entirely new discussion, which makes it impossible for me to search the Subject lines to review his email. I expect him to be our next Executive Director. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/7369 "2014-02-24T15:16:25Z")
> [@Kelevra](#): > > You know how Outlook has headings at the top of your inbox like “From”, “Subject”, “Received”, “Size”? Somehow my boss does not have the “Subject” heading on his computer. So he doesn’t know the Subject of any email sent to him. He frequently asks me a question which I’ve already answered in email. When I point out that I already answered it he then asks what day I sent it so he can look through all the emails I sent that day to find his answer!:smack: > > Because of this he also never puts subject lines on his emails to his staff, and he frequently just picks a previous email and replies to it with an entirely new discussion, which makes it impossible for me to search the Subject lines to review his email. > > I expect him to be our next Executive Director. Does he want the Subject column back? It’s easy enough to do. Right-click on the column headings bar, select View Settings, click Columns, move Subject from the left dialogue box to the right one, and click OK. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/7370 "2014-02-24T15:18:35Z")
Or pointy-haired boss. ---
**Author:** ![Kelevra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/97f17d/32.png) [@Kelevra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelevra)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/7371 "2014-02-24T15:53:42Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Does he want the Subject column back? It’s easy enough to do. Right-click on the column headings bar, select View Settings, click Columns, move Subject from the left dialogue box to the right one, and click OK. Oh, I know it’s easy. All us minions just prefer to laugh behind his back at it. The actual hassles it causes don’t outweigh the humor. If we hit a tipping point I’ll sneak into his office and change it while he’s in a meeting. ---
**Author:** ![Macca26](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/13edae/32.png) [@Macca26](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Macca26)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/7372 "2014-02-24T16:37:28Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > I send an e-mail, reminding people that they have a lecture to watch on Friday that week from noon to two. There’s a flyer for the whole series attached to it too. I get an e-mail saying “the flyer says that all the lectures are from 12-2. Does that mean the lecture this week is from 12-2?” I have to deal with questions like this every single day from my coworker. I design signs, he quotes signs. He’ll sit there, looking straight at my proof, with clearly marked sizes all over it in the standard positions. “What’s the size of this sign?” he will ask. I will tell him that it is written on the proof he is looking at. “Oh. Ok. So it says here the sign is 60"W x 30"H. Is that the size of the sign I should quote?” Yes…yes, that is correct. Every day. No matter how many times I tell him anything, it never sticks. I tell him, “If the email just has a link in it and literally nothing else, it’s spam and delete it without question.” He questions it, every single time. Every. Single. Time. Of course he’s also surprised that the weather may change from warm and sunny in the morning to cold and rain in the afternoon. “Unbelievable” he mutters. “Unbelievable.” ---
**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:** [February 24, 2014, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/7373 "2014-02-24T16:48:26Z")
> [@Macca26](#): > > Every day. No matter how many times I tell him anything, it never sticks. I tell him, “If the email just has a link in it and literally nothing else, it’s spam and delete it without question.” He questions it, every single time. Every. Single. Time. Sounds like what he actually wants is for someone to screen his inbox and only pass along emails that he needs to see. ---
**Author:** ![Macca26](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/13edae/32.png) [@Macca26](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Macca26)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/7374 "2014-02-24T18:01:02Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Sounds like what he actually wants is for someone to screen his inbox and only pass along emails that he needs to see. Oh yes, he used to be some bigshot bigwig CEO and still runs in that sort of groove despite now working as the quote guy at a miniscule 6-person company. “I’ve never been technical. I hired technical people to do that for me.” is what he says about it. Bullshit. He’s just too lazy or too self-important to properly comprehend a sentence or two. He claims to not even be able to handle writing down that someone’s asking for say, a blue awning as opposed to a green one - too hard, too technical, please do it for me. If someone so much as wants to tell him an email or phone number to write down as contact information he foists them off on me immediately even if I haven’t even spoken to them at all. It’s especially awkward when they ask a question and I have to pass them back to him - why couldn’t he just handle it himself is a mystery. It IS his job to answer phones and gather leads. I’m not paid enough to be his personal secretary on top of my work when he’s perfectly capable of doing it himself. Except he’s stubbornly not, and I just repeat myself every day. (And people wonder why I’m looking for a new job) ---
**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:** [February 24, 2014, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/7375 "2014-02-24T18:15:13Z")
You people are _all_ giving me an aneurysm! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2014, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/7376 "2014-02-25T00:07:51Z")
> [@j666](#): > > Did this person perchance cc a boss, who might be instructing them to attending a different meeting or perform another task this Friday between noon and two? Nah. Unless they’re a Ph.d. their bosses either are required to watch the lectures too, or were before they were certified themselves. ---
**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:** [February 25, 2014, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/7377 "2014-02-25T01:10:11Z")
Kelevra, I thought the worst I encountered was someone who used the “Subject” field to start their email text. So you’d get emails like Subject: Since yesterday we were Body: Discussing the new team project, I wanted to suggest blah blah … … Which is also an unholy bitch to run searches through. But still, yours beats mine by a mile! ---
**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:** [February 25, 2014, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/7378 "2014-02-25T01:27:12Z")
Suggestion: when you get an email like that, resend it to yourself, and rewrite the subject line so it’s useful. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2014, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/7379 "2014-02-25T01:49:16Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Nah. Unless they’re a Ph.d. their bosses either are required to watch the lectures too, or were before they were certified themselves. Ahh. So the Boss has instructed the Emailer to go to a meeting in the Boss’s place, instead of attending the lecture. Even though the Emailer will be the one actually performing the activities related to the lecture. Or I just assume stupidity runs uphill. ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2014, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/7380 "2014-02-25T15:13:02Z")
And another in the “Why Must You Make Something So Simple So Difficult” category: Every month a different co-worker is responsible for assigning coverage duties for our team. That worker sends out an email around the 20th, telling people to put any days off / conflict days on the calendar. We give 5 days or so for our coworkers to consult their personal calendars and add the notes to the team calendar. It’s pretty simple. For example, I have an appointment on the 6th, so I noted “No Missy” on the 6th. A coworker is on vacation for a week, so she noted “No Lisa” every day that week. The scheduler is then responsible for NOT putting a person on for that day. I finished March’s calendar about 30 minutes ago. I’ve already received 2 emails wanting to know they were scheduled such-and-such day. Because there was nothing indicating you couldn’t? I’m not going to apologize for not knowing your secret schedule. One had the temerity to say she didn’t read the email I sent about getting days down (she doesn’t read her emails often - she proudly noted) and didn’t realize we were so close to the end of the month. That’s my problem…how? We used to be able to sign up for our own days, until it became a problem due to a few coworkers who waited until the last minute and couldn’t/wouldn’t take what days were left. I thought I worked with adults. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2014, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/7381 "2014-02-25T15:31:31Z")
[petulant teenager] Adults are the worst!![/pt] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401.md?page=368) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401.md?page=370)