You need to talk to the manager, jvc! It’s either that or go Bartleby with the repetition of the phrase “That’s beyond the scope of my role here.”
― butt dumb tight my boners got boners (the table is the table), Wednesday, 8 November 2023 12:13 (ten months ago) link
scope creep is a real menace when it has to do with your job roles
― ɥɯ ︵ (°□°) (mh), Wednesday, 8 November 2023 13:42 (ten months ago) link
I was used to working at a pretty small museum where everybody kinda did everything to help each other out. And it worked because we were all close and the scale was so small.
When I started working at a really big museum, it took me a while to adjust. We had one upper level guy on our crew that really kept an eye out for people doing things that were outside of their scope and I got fussed at pretty regularly because someone in another department would ask me to do something and I would happily do it.
At first it grated on me, but eventually I realized that if I did this one little thing to be nice, the person who asked it of me would assume that this was a thing that people in my department did and they would then always request that of us. Over time, we would wind up with all of these bullshit tasks that somebody else should be doing which hurt our productivity and is possibly taking work (or a job) away from someone else.
― Cow_Art, Wednesday, 8 November 2023 14:29 (ten months ago) link
There was a group that did X,Y and Z at my job. Some of it was extracurricular but they had a reason peer support network and some domain-specific knowledge. They all left for greener pastures. My group inherited this stuff because we were already planning the next phase of X and were somewhat versed in Y. Z could be largely peer-supported.
We get asked about Y and Z all the time. The group that left wasn't actually proficient at X and did many, many things badly. Ideally my job would be mostly working out the ideal way to do X. But here we are!
― ɥɯ ︵ (°□°) (mh), Wednesday, 8 November 2023 14:42 (ten months ago) link
I recently found myself volunteering to help out another department (still under the marketing umbrella, but not strictly speaking "my team") just to have something to do all day. It's worked out well because now I have enough work that I can justify my existence to myself, and the organization sees me as more valuable and has extended my contract through the end of December 2024. I don't recommend this course of action to everyone, but it's worked for me in this one instance.
― Tahuti Watches L&O:SVU Reruns Without His Ape (unperson), Wednesday, 8 November 2023 14:52 (ten months ago) link
my fatal flaw is being a people pleaser who can't stand anybody being 'disappointed' in him so I wound up doing a lot of stuff I shouldn't and like Cow_Art says, then it became expected of me, and my boss kinda rightfully said "well you did it before, why wouldn't they expect you to do it again".
definitely fight scope creep because it might sound pedantic and territorial but it's really fuckin' important.
― a very very unfair (Neanderthal), Wednesday, 8 November 2023 15:12 (ten months ago) link
less than an hour after I type this, I'm in a class observing, and I tell the instructor I'm here as a fly on the wall, since I'll be backing up the supervisor tomorrow, and within ten minutes, he asks me to answer a complicated billing question for the class.
I said I'm observing, not teaching for you! I shut that down pretty quickly
― a very very unfair (Neanderthal), Wednesday, 8 November 2023 16:07 (ten months ago) link
Yeah, I just need to work out the right approach. I broached it once, last week, in a sort of lighter tone like, "I'm not sure this is something I should be taking on right now given X, Y and Z on my plate". He kind of laughed and said, "well someone's gotta do it". So yeah, I need to figure out a constructive way to address it more seriously.
Unfortunately I'm afraid I'm going to get the usual shitty middle manager, "wow you aren't being a team player" dismissive shit.
― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 8 November 2023 16:08 (ten months ago) link
"no, it's just that I'm the catcher and you're asking me why I didn't haul in the fly ball in center field"
― a very very unfair (Neanderthal), Wednesday, 8 November 2023 17:04 (ten months ago) link
from today
https://www.askamanager.org/2023/11/how-to-say-no-to-things-at-work.html
― that's when I reach for my copy of Revolver (WmC), Wednesday, 8 November 2023 18:52 (ten months ago) link
other person: what's my class's assignment after this training?
me at closing time last night: I'll check on the assignment for your class
other person 10 minutes after I log on this morning: any updates?
you mean in the thirty minutes of work that elapsed since my last statement?
― a very very unfair (Neanderthal), Thursday, 9 November 2023 14:48 (nine months ago) link
So the issue I mentioned above has really kind of come to a head and I've requested a 1:1 later today to address it more directly.
Short version, I again spent about 35% of my hours last week emailing admin assistants to coordinate and schedule meetings. But the last straw was yesterday, after two solid days of design workshop meetings, literally the only time my new boss addressed me directly was at the very end when a question came up about scheduling the next round and he looks at me, in front of a room full of senior leaders at our company and outside consultants, and says, "jon/via/chi, scheduling is your area, why don't you get started on coordinating our calendars". Which then led to me being cornered after the meeting with a long list of questions from these senior leaders asking me about calendar openings and scheduling meetings that have absolutely zero to do with me, my position, or even my department.
― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 15 November 2023 14:32 (nine months ago) link
I'm a (very reluctant and disgruntled) EA and this whole thing is insane to me. While I'd love someone else to step in and do the thankless bullshit I have to do daily, I can't help but wonder what the heck is this guy's actual admin doing?! You were right to request a 1:1. Hope it goes well.
― Benson and the Jets (ENBB), Wednesday, 15 November 2023 15:27 (nine months ago) link
Thanks and, again, I really hope its clear that I'm not bashing anyone in that position! It's an often thankless task and I really go out of my way to do things on my own instead of furthering burdening their load.
The time it's eating out of my schedule to these tasks is one thing, and is annoying, but the larger concern is that I'm now being sold to some pretty senior people at our company as "the guy who schedules meetings" and not for any of the other valuable experience and knowledge I bring to the table.
― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 15 November 2023 15:44 (nine months ago) link
So my meeting with my boss about the whole thing was... fine-ish? On the plus side, he did hear, validate and admit his part in how a false perception of my responsibilities/role might have been picked up by others and said he'd help to ensure others know my role is not limited to just scheduling things. The negative side was that he just fundamentally believes that our project managers should schedule all meetings, no matter how time-consuming and laborious, and that is not the duty of our admin team. Which... is fundamentally not how things have worked here and is a complete reversal of the understanding/process in place for the last five years I've been here. But he's the new boss so I guess that's just shrug.gif and his prerogative if he wants to bog down our time with those tasks.
― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 16 November 2023 20:23 (nine months ago) link
Why do so many corporate meetings seem like skirmishes in a never-ending turf war?
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Thursday, 16 November 2023 20:27 (nine months ago) link
Probably because so many middle managers are very precious about their "turf" and, ime, too many of them think they are playing mind games with everyone else but none of those perceived opponents actually give a shit, so it makes for weird vibes.
― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 16 November 2023 20:32 (nine months ago) link
Once again, while I was on vacation, my boss added classes for me to teach that start tomorrow. This is a much more minor course than last time, just 4 hours each day, but a course I've never taught before and there are missing details I have to ask follow-up questions on. fortunately I had surprisingly few emails in my box so I noticed it a bit more quickly this time.
I'll be fine because I am at least vaguely familiar with the course and a quality bullshitter, but I've given up trying to give dude feedback on being more organized. He always acknowledges, commits, and then just does what he always does. Oh well. I get along with him, but he is very much missing the 'communication' skill.
― a very very unfair (Neanderthal), Monday, 27 November 2023 15:32 (nine months ago) link
(today is my first day back, a detail I left out)
― a very very unfair (Neanderthal), Monday, 27 November 2023 15:34 (nine months ago) link
lol, gets dumber. the course I'm teaching is for new hires only, as it's an introduction to our ticket management system. Only, these aren't new hires - they're existing employees who are struggling with the system.
Up until recently, once a new hire graduated our class, they were out of our hands. The managers on their permanent teams would handle any performance issues because they're the ones already evaluating these people regularly. But since these managers have collectively shit the bed, leadership is starting to have my team intervene in these cases, which doesn't make sense.
So the managers of this team approached my boss to ask if we can deliver a refresher training, help them understand the proper way to start tickets for their team. He said we can't - because we teach the basic functionality of the tool, but the permanent teams are the one who are supposed to teach their team's way of doing things within that system, which we are not privy to. so they're like "well ok just give them the intro training again I guess".
which is dumb because they already know these things and will be bored. Now, if I'd had a week and a half of notice, I would have taken the training and modified it in advance, after days of working with managers to understand the problem in question and the scope of what they're looking to achieve and we could have gotten it done in less than 4 hours.
since I only get a day to prepare, I'll still do my best to modify the curriculum, but they're probably going to ask a bunch of questions I can't answer and then complain to their managers after. (19 years of knowledge of how communication works in this firm - I know how this will go)
― a very very unfair (Neanderthal), Monday, 27 November 2023 18:21 (nine months ago) link
finally got the information I needed to have an informed opinion of what was expected this morning. nailed first half of training, bombed second half due to insufficient time to prepare. (seriously, after two weeks out, giving me a new course to teach the next day is never gonna go well).
what really threw me off, though, was my mother yelling GODDAMMIT from inches away from my door. Not only was I leading training, I was recording it, so now I have to inspect the recording and see if it was audible, and then report the incident to my boss.
I was really mad. she knew i was teaching a class and last thing i need now is to get suspended or fired over something I can't control (that isn't gonna happen in this case, but....I don't exactly want to lose goodwill)
― a very very unfair (Neanderthal), Tuesday, 28 November 2023 22:12 (nine months ago) link
I should mention, it isn't just that I haven't taught the course before, it's that I'm not even an expert on the subject and needed time to brush up and refamiliarize myself with the tool itself, which I haven't used in months, because a) I haven't needed to, but b) I was told I WASN'T TEACHING CLASSES ANYMORE.
― a very very unfair (Neanderthal), Tuesday, 28 November 2023 22:15 (nine months ago) link
The negative side was that he just fundamentally believes that our project managers should schedule all meetings, no matter how time-consuming and laborious, and that is not the duty of our admin team. Which... is fundamentally not how things have worked here and is a complete reversal of the understanding/process in place for the last five years I've been here. But he's the new boss so I guess that's just shrug.gif and his prerogative if he wants to bog down our time with those tasks.
wait so you have project managers for project managers? It's that involved? ... I guess, from my limited experience, project managers schedule and organize meetings and that's what they do? ... And some are much better than others (I am sure you are one of the great ones), and some are like this guy who organizes weekly meetings my coworkers go to (but I am not included) ... and this guy has been at weekly meetings about this project for, at this point, almost 6 months, but he seems to only vaguely understand what my coworker is talking about and what the key issues are ... like, how do you not absorb this stuff after doing it for this long?? He has probably listened to my coworker discuss this project and these issues more than I have, and I somehow have a rate of understanding inversely proportional to the amount this guy gets paid vs. how much I get paid?
(this post is mostly let's bitch about stupid, annoying consultants we get stuck working with.)
― sarahell, Thursday, 30 November 2023 05:58 (nine months ago) link
and this guy apparently is not bad "as far as project managers go" (in the words of my co-worker)
― sarahell, Thursday, 30 November 2023 06:02 (nine months ago) link
Yeah, I guess I didn't really clarify that part.. the scheduling in question isn't for one of the projects I'm managing. I'd absolutely expect to schedule all of those, this is for my supervisor's pet planning project.
― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 30 November 2023 15:01 (nine months ago) link
I am consistently shocked by how much absolute fucking idiots get paid to do their jobs badly. But alas, I am apparently unemployable, so...
― butt dumb tight my boners got boners (the table is the table), Thursday, 30 November 2023 15:52 (nine months ago) link
xp - I wish I could help run interference for you with these people tbh. Basically, what I would have said (and I have been in similar situations, though I realize that I can play the gender card and you can't) is: Hey Newboss, *Joan (the admin assistant, I am calling her Joan after Joan from Mad Men) normally did this for your predecessor. She should be the one to do this. She's got a whole system. I could do it if she's slammed, but you should ask her first.
― sarahell, Thursday, 30 November 2023 18:48 (nine months ago) link
love when the thing that determines whether a practice is allowed or not depends solely on the mood and faulty memory of the manager in charge that morning. cool, yes, I'll end that practice that has become commonplace for a year because you didn't have your Cookie Crisp this morning
― STUPID CRAP FACE (Neanderthal), Friday, 8 December 2023 18:11 (nine months ago) link
Opened one of my work inboxes this morning to ~50 emails (I know, I got off easy) from people around the globe reply-alling to an obvious scam.
― Tahuti Watches L&O:SVU Reruns Without His Ape (unperson), Monday, 11 December 2023 20:50 (eight months ago) link
I wish the incompetent coworker who has been posting about the general strike in support of Palestine actually participated in said strike today as opposed to attempting to do work
― sarahell, Monday, 11 December 2023 22:47 (eight months ago) link
I'd like to take a moment away from bitching to say that we had a fantastic time at our office holiday party this weekend. It was a black tie party at one of the nicer hotels in town, and it was a blast. I feel fortunate to work with this group of exceptional people.
OK, back on your heads.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Monday, 11 December 2023 23:43 (eight months ago) link
second non-complaint post (I know, I know - we don't want it to catch on).
i hit my 19 year anniversary with this firm a few weeks ago.
mind boggling to me that I've spent almost half of my life here. had only just written my first ILX shitposts to troll Geir a few months before starting
― STUPID CRAP FACE (Neanderthal), Tuesday, 12 December 2023 20:48 (eight months ago) link
getting us back on topic...
they updated the agent materials for qualified status changes for health for the second time. to make the updates, they sent authors questionnaires to fill out, and then the content team went and applied the changes.
I didn't catch it at the time because I was only answering the questions given, but nowhere in the questionnaire did it actually ask when the change should be effective, just the time that was allowable to report it. Companies vary on this - sometimes it will be effective the day of the event (retroactive), other times could be like first of following month. Only event that is required to be retro is birth.
the content team wrote the content assuming changes are always effective retro to date of event. so a team that had changes effective first of following month and answered the questionnaire would have had their materials updated with incorrect info all over the place.
I can't wait to send the email reporting this
― Formica Jordan (Neanderthal), Wednesday, 13 December 2023 17:11 (eight months ago) link
any time I take a half day, someone will do something inexplicably bad that will require me drafting lengthy feedback for them, and the person who's supposed to fill in for me when I'm out will lose their internet for the day.
fuck you Murphy! lol
― Formica Jordan (Neanderthal), Friday, 15 December 2023 17:37 (eight months ago) link
An old friend of the family got me this part-time job at the local library for special collections and exhibits. It isn't much but it's getting my foot back in the door. It's great.
I get invited to library fundraising and social events. Unfortunately this means I have to socialize with a board member who literally hit on me even though I was clearly with someone else.
Someone brought it up to him and now he's all "I'm cool with just friends", however I still have to see him.
It's not a huge deal to go to a two hour event but so thinks he was crushing pretty hard and as a muckety muck, it was maybe inappropriate. Also "I know you through xyz person" is borderline creepy.
I have stayed home from some gatherings because of it and I don't think I will stick with this job.
― Confessions of an Oatmeal Eater (I M Losted), Saturday, 16 December 2023 18:27 (eight months ago) link
this would be something you would bring up with your supervisor! You shouldn't have to stay home! Ughhh ... I am so sorry you are dealing with that and that you feel like the burden of behavior modification is on you, rather than the board member.
― sarahell, Monday, 18 December 2023 15:43 (eight months ago) link
"Neanderthal, can you create a pre-test? and find some test accounts to use in it?"
"ok"
"hmm good first try but I don't think I'd put the test account scenarios in this pre-test"
....
― Formica Jordan (Neanderthal), Monday, 18 December 2023 17:06 (eight months ago) link
Not a co-worker, but I want to vent about companies that are really bad at the holidays. So we had a consultant drop by our office this morning and make a big production about hand delivering expensive bottles of wine to our department. Which would be nice and maybe thoughtful, except they were only given to five of our nine staff members. Do people not see how thoughtless and insulting this is to make a public production out of handing gifts out to just some of the staff right in front of everyone?
For fuck's sake, send a basket addressed to the entire department/team/group. It isn't hard.
― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Tuesday, 19 December 2023 15:42 (eight months ago) link
if i was receiving I'd have to pop it open on the spot. there's no other way
― maf you one two (maffew12), Tuesday, 19 December 2023 16:54 (eight months ago) link
xp Maybe the public display is the point?
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Tuesday, 19 December 2023 16:55 (eight months ago) link
I'm sure it was the point, to make a big deal of generosity. But it's really landed poorly. This is a consultant that every single one of us works with on a daily basis, so it's not like there was a rhyme or reason for who got the gift.
To be clear, I don't give a fuck. But I now have two co-workers who didn't get the gifts vocally and openly very pissed off and one, who did, very embarrassed for being put in the awkward position. My point is more that sending one large gift basket addressed to the whole group would have avoided all of this shit.
― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Tuesday, 19 December 2023 17:55 (eight months ago) link
that's completely tone deaf and ridiculous. pretty much just asking to create fissures in the group by doing that.
― Formica Jordan (Neanderthal), Tuesday, 19 December 2023 19:25 (eight months ago) link
boss, who is giving me feedback on an MS Forms questionnaire I created: I'm not sure what you mean by this question, can you explain?Me: This is literally your question, I copied it from your source document verbatim.
― Formica Jordan (Neanderthal), Tuesday, 19 December 2023 19:27 (eight months ago) link
lol, what was boss's response?
― that's when I reach for my copy of Revolver (WmC), Tuesday, 19 December 2023 19:31 (eight months ago) link
"oh my god I'm just doing too many things this holiday season"
― Formica Jordan (Neanderthal), Tuesday, 19 December 2023 19:34 (eight months ago) link
No shit.
I had a boss once who would have taken the gifts and placed them in a box, first come, first serve.
Plus some people are tee totalers anyway, isn't wine kind of politically incorrect? I've seen clients just give a big box or basket and you can take wine or cheese, first come, first serve.
― Confessions of an Oatmeal Eater (I M Losted), Wednesday, 20 December 2023 00:06 (eight months ago) link
It's like candy - some people are diabetic. You ask if people want chocolate boxes - if not, have an alternative.
― Confessions of an Oatmeal Eater (I M Losted), Wednesday, 20 December 2023 00:07 (eight months ago) link
I don't want to bother my poor supervisor with this about randy board member - only if the topic comes up. I don't know her that well. Everyone is traumatized from local politics these days.
I grew up with the nabobs from the neighboring city and it's always been this pissing contest whose clout is bigger. I mean I could badmouth the guy to the school superintendent and he would be OVAH, that's kind of sad and scary to be so lethal.
― Confessions of an Oatmeal Eater (I M Losted), Wednesday, 20 December 2023 00:28 (eight months ago) link
Oh and someone wanted me to compile a list of Iranian films - which normally I'm happy to do, but it kind of stinks that they do this now because they "feel bad" that they had been previously ignorant about Iran.
― Confessions of an Oatmeal Eater (I M Losted), Wednesday, 20 December 2023 21:10 (eight months ago) link
"Neaner Neaner, can we add these two people returning from a leave of absence to your training class? they've been gone over a year and were relatively new at the time so they've forgotten everything"
"um...we're on Day 8 already. how are they going to make up 60 hours of material without feeling completely lost?"
*receive 6 Out of Office for the holiday messages, including one from the person who asked me, radio silence from the whopping 2 people who are actually here*
― Formica Jordan (Neanderthal), Thursday, 21 December 2023 15:06 (eight months ago) link