Quote :

"I'm not really against my coworkers borrowing things, but they could put them back or not hide them or whatever."

I know how you feel. My boss always keeps the cash box key on him and the parts van key on him. The other week I couldn't make change for a customer because my boss took the cash box key home with him and took the day off to go to a funeral. Then today I needed to drive to Burlington to make a deliver and he had drove off on a business trip with someone else and left the key to the parts van in his pocket. He had to drive back just to give me the key. Someday when I'm in a bad mood and know how to do the job I am planing on telling the district managers how he takes the company truck home sometimes, or to lunch. You're not supposed to do that.

10/30/2015 12:39:52 AM

Quote :

"Fuck off, contractor, and follow our company's policies."

Employees who treat you like shit just because you have the word "contractor" on your badge.

(It sounds like in your case the guy legitimately caused problems but some folks where I work just have a holier-than-thou attitude towards all contractors.)

10/30/2015 12:45:17 AM

No Mr Manager, I don't care if you don't like the approval policy for this action. Also being a massive dick to me because you're unhappy about it isn't going to get me to budge. You're going to follow it to a T or I'm going to call in an HR airstrike and shit all over your day.

10/30/2015 8:41:58 AM

^^ Yeah, I'm not like that, either. But this guy is hellbent on ignoring all of our internal policies, cause "it's not how he did it on another contract." Dude's not even contract-to-hire. Know your role, man.

^ Hah, I almost called in an HR airstrike on a jackass today who was taunting a woman with food who was fasting for a religious observance.

10/30/2015 8:50:26 PM

AutoCAD across a series of tubes. IT DON' WORK THA WAY.

10/30/2015 9:03:35 PM

Quote :

"you're supposed to dump water out of an electric kettle? ive never done that or seen anyone do that"

You're boiling the water every time...

10/31/2015 12:40:14 AM

It's more about mineral build-up and the like from constantly reusing and adding to the water instead of dumping it out and letting the thing dry out. It's what they recommend you do on the instructions to maximize the life of the kettle. I used to have a steam humidifier (an awful purchase) which had the same mineral build-up issue (more rapidly though as it was designed to boil-off and rapidly accumulated nasty shit on the heating pad).

I'm not saying it's unhygienic or unsafe, it's obvious that boiled water isn't going to contain killer bacteria or something after sitting for a week/month.

10/31/2015 12:42:28 PM

Yeah if you dump water out every time though you're kind of wasting water. I think you're supposed to used filtered water in those anyway to reduce mineral build up. At least it's recommended.

10/31/2015 12:56:37 PM

Stop using an electric kettle, this is America and we drink coffee like normal people

10/31/2015 3:33:13 PM

Quote :

"AutoCAD across a series of tubes. IT DON' WORK THA WAY."

Tell me about it. I'm in charge of our Autodesk remote installs, and the first action in every one is to copy all of the source locally. Because it doesn't work for shit otherwise. I can't imagine trying to run any of it over a network (except for checking things in and out of the vault).

11/1/2015 2:24:45 AM

Trying to stay motivated now that I work from home... Not really an "annoyance" I know, but any tips from other stay-at-home workers? Been working from home about two months now and it can be tough to stay on track some days.

11/2/2015 10:03:46 AM

don't log into TWW during work hours.

11/2/2015 11:04:48 AM

^ Good suggestion. But, if no one logged on during work hours, wouldn't TWW really be dead?

11/2/2015 11:16:54 AM

Get ready for work the way you would if you were still in an office. Working in PJs or whatever is great sometimes but I think it's easier to slip into fuck-it mode that way.

I pretty much never follow this advice, but it does help when I do.

11/2/2015 11:30:53 AM

another planning meeting to learn how to be "susessful"

11/2/2015 11:42:40 AM

Quote :

"tips from other stay-at-home workers"

have a designated work only area, it helps me to know that when I am in my office area that I am doing work, not something else.

11/2/2015 11:46:54 AM

Thanks. I definitely put on real clothes and have an office - although it's more jeans and t-shirts than shirts with buttons and khakis. I think it's more the lack of social interaction that's tough to replace.

11/2/2015 12:01:13 PM

when I really need to get shit done I go to the library and telework. but all of my correspondence is via email - I don't have to talk to people on the phone but on rare occasions.

11/2/2015 12:32:14 PM

Quote :

"tips from other stay-at-home workers"

*Adjust your computer's hibernation settings so that it doesn't log you off (vpn/chat/irc/email) after you are dicking around with something at home for an hour or so.
*Adjust any chat applications that may show your status as idle/away after a certain period of inactivity, so you can dick around with other stuff without raising suspicion.
*Give severely inflated estimates of work time needed for your tasks so you have extra time for dicking around.
*Only take scheduled calls from known numbers, so you don't unknowingly answer a work call while having the sound of whatever you are dicking around with in the background
*Let everyone know you are AFK from time to time (just as you would be in the office for coffee, bathroom, lunch, etc), to encourage more email communication vs live chat or calls. This will free up dicking around time.
*As a follow up to the previous tip, don't respond to emails immediately or even within the same day in some cases. Your inflated work estimates should display a priority over responding to emails quickly and give the illusion of "too busy to respond even read this right now". This will give you a major time increase to your dicking around sessions.
*Delegate. Find your specific niche and anything that is not exactly in your wheelhouse (and yours alone), pass onto someone else. If you have an email for a request that could also fall into some other coworker's workstream, then cc that coworker on a response and maybe feign some ignorance or heavy workload so that they may jump at the action item instead of you. Eventually you can ween the initial requestor off your back and have them email that coworker directly to remove yourself from the process. This can provide long term time gains to your dicking around schedule.
*Go outside. Whether for a walk, jog, out to lunch, or just general dicking around. Get out there.

11/2/2015 3:17:32 PM

IT decided to remove all admin account access this weekend without telling anyone. Which wouldn't be so bad if I didn't need admin access to compile my code (it has to compile into program files, yeah, I know, dumb). It also wouldn't be bad if they didn't lock down the C drive for non-admin accounts to where you can't even open folders you don't own; this is made worse by the fact that when an admin account creates a folder in the root of the drive, that account doesn't automagically "own" the directory like it normally would on any sane group policy.

You of course realize where this is going. All my code was created in a folder directly off the root of the C-drive. But I didn't have ownership of it, because who the fuck thinks to change the folder properties after creating a folder to take ownership of it. And now I can't access any of my code. Or support tools. Or database query cheats. And we had a major production issue today.

11/2/2015 11:22:49 PM

Could use some advice as I am pretty pissed, confused, and upset by a work situation.

State job and boss hasn't gotten any of us raises for two years, even though he says we are doing good jobs and getting strong annual reviews. Most recently our Director (bosses boss) left so we have an Interim. Boss has been pretty frank with all of us that he is working to get us promotions. No reason to doubt him, but tough to do this when nobody is in charge of the department.

Last Friday we get paid and two of my coworkers are talking quietly to each other about "did yours show up?" and looking at their paychecks. Boss calls them in individually on Monday and immediately afterwards they go looking at their checks online. So now I'm thinking that he got them raises and left me out. One of them has the exact same job title as me, we started within a month of each other, and we have always had the exact same salary. Again we both get great reviews and I don't begrudge her getting a raise, but I'm fucking pissed at my boss for doing this while apparently blowing smoke up my ass. If he was giving me bad reviews and saying I wasn't getting my job done I would not be so ticked. The other problem is I don't really know for sure that they got raises so I don't want to go to my boss and find out it was something else instead and piss him off. But with the N&O posting state salaries it could be a few months or so, but eventually it will be posted online and then no way he can hide it. We already lost two coworkers to higher pay this year so you would think he would try to at least throw us a bone.

11/5/2015 6:35:31 AM

Have you talked to your coworker(s)? I know it's typically in bad taste, but I think it could be warranted here. This way you'd at least know for sure if they did get raises and have some ammunition when you go to speak to your boss.

11/5/2015 7:00:49 AM

What causes someone to stay at a job where that happens?

11/5/2015 7:57:18 AM

^^i agree...especially if you're fairly close/comfortable with your coworkers.

11/5/2015 8:28:24 AM

Or just go the backwards way and one day say something like "Man it sure would be nice for us to get raises at some point wouldn't it..." then see if they have that awkward look on their face and maybe you get lucky and they say yeah we just got one didnt you?

11/5/2015 8:49:12 AM

The computer got all screwed up some how and some things only work in chrome while others only work in explorer now. Other things work the first time after you log back into windows, but then lock up after you try to use them a second time. I had to deal with all of that while I had 3 technicians nagging at me to get some parts over nighted starting in the late afternoon. On top of that the other branches wouldn't transfer the one part we needed that they had in stock. When one finally did, their parts manager was out and a technician was trying to run the parts counter and didn't know what to do. The UPS site was kind of a pain in the ass and the company website wouldn't work in windows when I tried to submit an overnight order. I went in through chrome and submitted it at 4:59 pm. I'm pretty sure 5 pm is cutoff though. I hope they send it out.

Oh and all of this happened while my boss was out sick again. He's been fighting a cold all week.

There, now I feel better!

11/5/2015 5:57:59 PM

Update and vent session, sorry forgot about this as life has gotten in the way and didn't give me time to dwell on it. I was totally right. Boss called me in to office and straight up told me he got shot down on some of his requests. I told him I don't understand how I get a good performance review and he's telling me I have been doing a great job and its now been two years since I got a pay raise. He said I was on the "priority list" for a raise next year and he wanted to tell me as he doesn't really keep secrets in our team. Plus as UNC system employees our salaries are public information, so its pretty transparent when somebody does get a raise.

As to why I stay, I do really like where I am at, my boss, and my coworkers. But fuck that if he can't get me a raise and but gets my coworkers one, I am done. I have occasionally looked at positions that have come up at other Triangle universities, etc. Unfortunately my job is rather specific (classroom AV/IT support) so its not the easiest thing to find a job in the field that is open, especially since I have almost a decade with the state. I just really don't get why my coworker who started at the exact same time, does the exact same job, has the same job title, and both got equally great reviews would get a raise but I would not. She and I have always been equal and I have respected that. Ugh, so done with this shit.

11/10/2015 12:42:22 PM

Quote :

"She"

Problem solved

11/10/2015 12:51:33 PM

^Not trying to be that guy but I noticed both of my female coworkers got raises, including somebody who only started this year. That is bullshit.

11/10/2015 1:43:49 PM

Man, that BLOWs for your JOB.

11/10/2015 1:44:29 PM

It sucks but a lot of it is the blow back from all the complaints about same work for less pay so jobs are trying to cater to women so as not to appear sexist. Granted there were good reasons for those complaints so I am not saying they shouldn't, but things like this tend to happen now. Obviously there is no proof and it could have nothing to do with that, my response was half joking half serious.

[Edited on November 10, 2015 at 2:25 PM. Reason : .]

11/10/2015 2:25:12 PM

Yea I have know idea if that is what happened, but perhaps that would explain why my bosses hands were tied? I have not spoken to other male coworkers to see if they got raises or not.

11/10/2015 2:32:10 PM

> hold multiple design review input sessions
> invite all end users
> go through 4 design revisions with review sessions each time
> get buy in from all users
...
> project starts
> "whoa whoa whoa, you can't do that! why do we need to do this work?! we need an emergency meeting to review this, i don't understand the need for this!"

[Edited on December 8, 2015 at 9:50 AM. Reason : you were in the meetings mofo]

12/8/2015 9:49:41 AM

^ hopefully someone kept minutes.

12/8/2015 1:03:01 PM

Minutes are always kept and distributed, and they agree this will be a change order and potentially delay penalties, but it's still annoying

12/8/2015 2:06:38 PM

somebody brought their grandson toddler to work. baby has been screaming/crying at the top of his lungs all day. even with my office door shut it's like he's standing right beside me. I feel bad for the people in cubes...

12/11/2015 3:19:44 PM

If it was socially acceptable for them to sob, they would too

12/11/2015 3:21:02 PM

just leave and work from home

12/11/2015 3:26:11 PM

"This high-profile publication needs to be edited, designed, printed, and back from the printer by next Wednesday."

"OK, where's the copy for it?"

"We don't have it ready. But this needs to be printed by next Wednesday."

...

"Remember, we need this for a big event next Wednesday."

"Fine. Where's the copy for it?"

"It's not done yet. You still have to have your part finished so it can go to print."

How do you design and print a publication without any text?! It's not something I can research and write myself this time, either.

[Edited on December 11, 2015 at 3:36 PM. Reason : sss]

12/11/2015 3:35:38 PM

You can do it

12/11/2015 3:46:13 PM

Man fuck the holiday rush. Everything needs to be done before 24th, then 1.5 weeks off. HALP

12/15/2015 6:41:26 PM

Earlier this week the guy who is in charge of the entire parts department at our headquarters in Charlotte drove to Raleigh to try to teach me some of the things about my job that I haven't learned yet. We stood around, talked, went to lunch, and then he left. Before he left he said he would show me some of the things I don't know how to do next time he comes. Then they send e-mails to my boss about how some things aren't done on time, or done right. Maybe someone should actually take the time to train me instead of just telling me they would like me to take on a little more responsibility.

12/18/2015 10:56:30 PM

did you discuss back to the future?

12/19/2015 9:53:54 AM

My boss was fired today and about an hour after he left a new guy came in for an interview and then before that guy left another guy had already arrived for an interview. I was really hoping they would hand everything over to me. Oh well!

1/7/2016 4:47:35 PM

demand an interview

make a fucking scene

1/7/2016 6:25:11 PM

^ This. Find the job listing and apply for it.

1/7/2016 7:38:47 PM

^^^ Have they seen your awesome Halloween costumes? How could they turn you down.

1/7/2016 10:50:27 PM

QA logged a defect today and assigned it to me which is identical to the one I rejected three weeks ago. Why did I reject it? Because it's for an application that our team doesn't maintain or even have the source code to. Seriously, what the deuce.

1/8/2016 1:35:35 AM

fucking gossipers

pieces of shit

1/8/2016 1:36:48 AM

I got an e-mail today from my boss telling me that I needed to let the guy from the other branch who is helping out this week "Run the point and have as much access to the computer as he needs." No wonder they didn't ask me to be the manager. They have no clue how much I really know. I actually showed the guy helping out this week how to do a lot of things when it comes to looking up parts and I know more about purchasing orders than him too. He also knows nothing about our customer base since he is from another region. I don't know that I am all that offended, but it was kind of annoying to get an e-mail like that.

1/12/2016 7:10:33 PM