# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/121 "2010-11-16T20:09:58Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > And the fact that billions of Christians celebrate it as a religious holiday, to greater or lesser degrees. What the fuck does it matter if it used to be a minor holiday or if some parts of it were borrowed from other religions? We’re talking about Christmas as it’s celebrated now, where it’s one of the two most important holidays for one of the world’s largest religions, in all its various iterations. > > . Actually, quite a few Christians sects do not celebrate or observe Christmas. And, _as it’s celebrated now_ is secular, as my cites have shown. Have you ever used a cite? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/122 "2010-11-16T20:14:43Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > … boggles my fucking mind. Too late. ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/123 "2010-11-16T20:32:15Z")
**DrDeth** , would you please back away from the whole “Is Christmas secular or Christian?” debate and return to the workplace griping? ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/124 "2010-11-16T20:33:36Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > So is Frosty. But they are all secular. Santa Claus has almost nothing that remains from Saint Nicolaus. Yes, but you were arguing that Christmas trees don’t have anything to do with Christmas because they were adopted from pagan traditions. So, by that same reasoning, because Santa Claus was adopted from Christian traditions, he’s a religious symbol. I’m not saying it’s a good argument. I’m just applying \*your \*shitty argument to other things to point out how shitty it is. > [@DrDeth](#): > > They do call it Christmas, they even say “Happy Christmas”. But they prefer other terms. And, it’s not that it happens at the same time, its the same holiday. Ah, I see, you were just making your argument shittily. > [@DrDeth](#): > > I never said that, again youre making shit up. I love it when people try to claim that they never said things that are immortalized on a website. On the previous page of a thread where they’re trying to backpeddle. Comedy gold. Here we go: > [@DrDeth](#): > > Nor is the holiday a Christian holiday, it’s secular. […] Nor do [my Pagan friends] have any objection to being wished “Merry Christmas”. If it wasn’t to help prove that Christmas is a secular holiday, why else would you give this example in an post that is entirely about “proving” that Christmas is a secular holiday? Do you often post information that’s completely irrelevant to the point you’re trying to make? I really love [this compilation album](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courage_and_Consequence) a friend put out that I finally got around to listening to this weekend. > [@DrDeth](#): > > And, _as it’s celebrated now_ is secular, as my cites have shown. No, your cites have shown that it’s \*also \*celebrated \*by some people \*secularly. That doesn’t mean that Christmas is an exclusively secular holiday or that it’s not offensive to non-Christians to be required to celebrate it. ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/125 "2010-11-16T20:35:42Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > No, your cites have shown that it’s \*also \*celebrated \*by some people \*secularly. That doesn’t mean that Christmas is an exclusively secular holiday or that it’s not offensive to non-Christians to be required to celebrate it. … or that it’s annoying to non-Christians that it’s the only holiday being celebrated. Which I think was what I intended to gripe about in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/126 "2010-11-16T21:17:56Z")
> [@Scuba\_Ben](#): > > **DrDeth** , would you please back away from the whole “Is Christmas secular or Christian?” debate and return to the workplace griping? \*\* Too late!\*\*😛 (no- just kidding, I’ll drop it. Ok, it’s a mild hijack, coming off from a legit on-topic post, I am sure this will come up again and again as the holiday season gets going) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/127 "2010-11-16T21:21:09Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Yes, but you were arguing that Christmas trees don’t have anything to do with Christmas because they were adopted from pagan traditions. So, by that same reasoning, because Santa Claus was adopted from Christian traditions, he’s a religious symbol.. Again, I never argued that. Your own boggled mind came up with that. However, by the reasonable request of \*\*Scuba\_Ben \*\* I’ll drop this. ---
**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:** [November 16, 2010, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/128 "2010-11-16T21:46:59Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Okay, I’m not sure myself what **Dr.Deth’s** gripe is now. I think there are trees involved in it somewhere. Sorry, I just realized that I got **Scuba\_Ben** and **Dr.Deth** confused! Uh, for what it’s worth. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/129 "2010-11-16T21:59:14Z")
It is worth nothing! _Nothing!!!_\*\* :dramatic violas: ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/130 "2010-11-16T23:26:13Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > It is worth nothing! _Nothing!!!_\*\* :dramatic violas: When I win the lottery, I’m gonna hire myself a couple of viola-ists (that can’t possibly be the right word) to follow me around and punctuate my dramatic pronouncements… ETA: And maybe a guy with a tin whistle to cue that I’ve made a funny. Life would be much more fun with a soundtrack. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/131 "2010-11-17T01:59:51Z")
Dear Boss: allowing co-workers to have veto power over each other’s time off requests is a bad, bad idea. ---
**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:** [November 17, 2010, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/132 "2010-11-17T02:07:29Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > Dear Boss: allowing co-workers to have veto power over each other’s time off requests is a bad, bad idea. …the hell? Yeah, that sounds like a spectacularly bad idea. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/133 "2010-11-17T04:34:47Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Sorry, I just realized that I got **Scuba\_Ben** and **Dr.Deth** confused!) Easy to do, with two such incredibly charming and intelligent gentlemen.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/134 "2010-11-17T14:03:14Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Easy to do, with two such incredibly charming and intelligent gentlemen.😃 Oh shush. You’re making yourself blush. Um… er… ah… Oh right. Workplace rants. My office’s HVAC is on a zone system. My floor has two zones. Each zone has one thermostat. So far, so good. My gripe, though, is that the thermostats are in the southeast-facing offices with full windows. Those offices get direct sunlight much of the day, meaning that the rest of the floor flip-flops between chilly and stale. In every season. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/135 "2010-11-17T14:39:27Z")
Christmas? Christmas? Oh yeah, that’s when we get two company holidays, except the CEO always forgets that the 24th is a company holiday and thinks we’re all going to be in the office. Asshole. There are never any “happy holiday” emails, or bonuses, or treats in the break room, or anything. My fucking office sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/136 "2010-11-17T15:30:49Z")
Our warehouse has some kind of air makeup system, I don’t know all the details involved except it keeps air moving into the warehouse. That’s what it’s supposed to do. What it really does is go down. All the time. The wind picks up, the weather turns, whatever, something buggers it up and there is an imbalance in the pressure between outside and inside, and more importantly for me between the warehouse and the front office. I can deal with the doors suctioning shut, that’s easy to deal with (at least the internal ones, the doors from the warehouse to outside are fun to try and open when this happens) but what I can’t deal with is the constant high pitch squeal/wail/banshee any time a door is closed completely. And since we are a secure facility (customs and head office requirement, I’m sure some would find it laughable but it is secure enough for a warehouse that ships PVC extrusions) the doors MUST be closed. It’s right near the upper register of my hearing, which gives me a headache. Not just a headache, but tension right down my neck and shoulders like constant nails on a chalkboard (which I could deal with easier). Prop open a door (which often promptly gets closed) put in ear plugs (which don’t help with the high pitch) by the time I’m going home I’m a mass of headache and tension. Which doesn’t help me since I need to study for my final next week. Grr. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/137 "2010-11-17T16:26:32Z")
> [@Flutterby](#): > > O…what I can’t deal with is the constant high pitch squeal/wail/banshee any time a door is closed completely. And since we are a secure facility (customs and head office requirement, I’m sure some would find it laughable but it is secure enough for a warehouse that ships PVC extrusions) the doors MUST be closed. > > It’s right near the upper register of my hearing, which gives me a headache. Not just a headache, but tension right down my neck and shoulders like constant nails on a chalkboard (which I could deal with easier). > > Prop open a door (which often promptly gets closed) put in ear plugs (which don’t help with the high pitch) by the time I’m going home I’m a mass of headache and tension. Which doesn’t help me since I need to study for my final next week. Grr. Perhaps you might try noise reducing headphones? ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/138 "2010-11-17T16:43:28Z")
I may have to try that, as long as I don’t get called on the carpet for listening to stuff when I should be working or taking phone calls. (I can’t quietly listen to music and keep it to myself while I can still do my job but mr two cubicles over can play music so we all can hear and has his WORK supplied phone ringtone set to Sexy Bitch). Thankfully either the door has been allowed to be propped open or the intake is working today because all I bear is the usual hum of the office. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/139 "2010-11-17T17:13:30Z")
> [@Lacunae\_Matata](#): > > When I win the lottery, I’m gonna hire myself a couple of viola-ists (that can’t possibly be the right word) to follow me around and punctuate my dramatic pronouncements… I had people submit applications in high school to be my drum-playing sherpa: cart my shit around and play a rimshot\* every time I say something funny. \*Yes, yes, it’s technically a sting, not a rimshot. Nobody cares. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401/140 "2010-11-17T18:28:33Z")
They’re playing Christmas music in the cafeteria. Make it stop. Or just hold off on it for another 10 days. Srsly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workplace-griping-anyone/560401.md?page=8)