The Swamp

Posted: **Wed Nov 21, 2018 4:46 pm**

sancarlos wrote: ↑Wed Nov 21, 2018 4:29 pm
A_B wrote: ↑Wed Nov 21, 2018 2:13 pm If he was quick to light up your smoke, too, I'd have some suggestions.

(I think letting someone know about their personality is a good thing, yes)
But, was there someplace that he'd rather be?

Well, he is looking for a Job...

Posted: **Tue Dec 04, 2018 8:24 am**

Oh my fucking god I hate being a manager so fucking bad.

Posted: **Tue Dec 04, 2018 8:53 am**

giff
hit me up on skype if you're on the ledge. not heading back to Houston this year (in Austin today, Dallas next week) but happy to be a sounding board

Posted: **Tue Dec 04, 2018 8:54 am**

elflaco wrote: ↑Tue Dec 04, 2018 8:53 am giff
hit me up on skype if you're on the ledge. not heading back to Houston this year (in Austin today, Dallas next week) but happy to be a sounding board

Can tell me how to talk to nearly 50 years olds who are arguing about a fucking xmas tree without calling them bitches (which I already did loud enough this morning while venting to a co-worker)?

Posted: **Tue Dec 04, 2018 8:59 am**

Giff wrote: ↑Tue Dec 04, 2018 8:54 am
elflaco wrote: ↑Tue Dec 04, 2018 8:53 am giff
hit me up on skype if you're on the ledge. not heading back to Houston this year (in Austin today, Dallas next week) but happy to be a sounding board
Can tell me how to talk to nearly 50 years olds who are arguing about a fucking xmas tree without calling them bitches (which I already did loud enough this morning while venting to a co-worker)?

Treat them like the five-year-olds they are and take the Christmas tree down.

Posted: **Tue Dec 04, 2018 9:24 am**

Sabo wrote: ↑Tue Dec 04, 2018 8:59 am
Giff wrote: ↑Tue Dec 04, 2018 8:54 am
elflaco wrote: ↑Tue Dec 04, 2018 8:53 am giff
hit me up on skype if you're on the ledge. not heading back to Houston this year (in Austin today, Dallas next week) but happy to be a sounding board
Can tell me how to talk to nearly 50 years olds who are arguing about a fucking xmas tree without calling them bitches (which I already did loud enough this morning while venting to a co-worker)?
Treat them like the five-year-olds they are and take the Christmas tree down.

That was part of the argument. Two people put it up, a third comes in and is upset because apparently she is using our office to store her tree. She was mad they did it without asking her but told them to keep it up. But they went back and took it down anyway, so then there was a shouting match about it.

Posted: **Tue Dec 04, 2018 10:19 am**

Where are facilities or building services or management?
We are definitely not allowed to have a tree. Fire hazard.

When I get to the office I will post our "holiday" rules, you should suggest them.

Posted: **Tue Dec 04, 2018 10:22 am**

Stalin would have just had them all killed.

Posted: **Tue Dec 04, 2018 10:24 am**

Giff wrote: ↑Tue Dec 04, 2018 9:24 amBut they went back and took it down anyway, so then there was a shouting match about it.

Sometimes I wonder how good of an employee I am, relatively speaking, and then I read or hear a story like this and feel more secure.

Posted: **Tue Dec 04, 2018 10:36 am**

Absolutely. There are people in the office so insane and they are still here. I could almost surf porn and I'd still be ahead.

Posted: **Tue Dec 04, 2018 10:56 am**

We get this memo every November. If you have an office, you should copy to avoid stupid arguments.

[+] spoiler: From popcorn garlands to LED trees, holiday decor has come a long way over the years. If you've been thinking about turning your workspace into a winter wonderland now that the season is in full swing, here are some decorating guidelines.

•In order to maintain a professional image and respect the varying beliefs of visitors and co-workers, decorations must not be visible from the hallway.
•Placement of anything on exterior windows is prohibited.
•Don’t place anything with adhesive (stickers, tape, etc.) on any interior glass windows/partitions/dividers. The adhesive either lifts the film from the glass or leaves residue/colour behind.
•Don’t use thumb tacks, nails or tape on the walls.
•Don’t obstruct the flow of light in the office. Our space was designed to maximize the availability of natural light for everyone. Those in offices should not hang things on the glass sidelight or door or pile items in front the glass.
•All holiday decorations must be taken down by Friday, January 4.

Fire and Safety regulations for any decorations requiring electricity:
•All extension cords and/or electrical decorations must meet all Canadian Standards Association requirements, be a minimum of 16 gauge wire, be equipped with a ground plug, and be properly plugged into a wall outlet. Multiple extension cords may not be connected to each other.
•Don’t hang things off of the T-bar ceiling.
•Pay special attention to the condition of electrical cords, which can fray, leading to a short.
•When you leave your desk, even if it is just for lunch or a meeting, all electrical decorations must be turned off.
•All electrical decorations should be fire retardant.
•Electrical cords (extension or light cords) may not be routed under doors or across hallways.
•Use LED lights only, as anything that is incandescent may be a fire hazard and is energy inefficient.
•Please be aware that plugging in additional devices may lead to a breaker having to re-set due to the extra load.

Remember, no one wants to be a Grinch - these guidelines were designed to address safety concerns, be respectful of varying beliefs, and prevent damage to our offices. If decorations do not align with these guidelines, Facilities will regretfully have to request that they be removed.

Posted: **Tue Dec 04, 2018 11:36 am**

mister d wrote: ↑Tue Dec 04, 2018 10:24 am
Giff wrote: ↑Tue Dec 04, 2018 9:24 amBut they went back and took it down anyway, so then there was a shouting match about it.
Sometimes I wonder how good of an employee I am, relatively speaking, and then I read or hear a story like this and feel more secure.

Well, I know I'm a shitty manager, at least to people like this, so I'm going to try to move positions before it negatively effects my career here.

Posted: **Tue Dec 04, 2018 11:38 am**

I don't mind they do it, just a) don't do it during business hours, lunch excluded and b) don't be a twat about it.

Posted: **Tue Dec 11, 2018 3:59 pm**

phxgators wrote: ↑Fri Nov 02, 2018 2:12 pm So this is taking an interesting turn. I vented about this a little earlier this week on Twitter, so you may have seen some of it there...

My boss, that I recently transitioned to, called both my only other local developer coworker and me this week. Were were both told to cut the "negative water cooler talk" and were talked to, among other things, about our productivity, no longer being able to work from home, and expected to be at our desks 9-5 every day, little to no flexibility. The "negative water cooler talk" stems from us complaining, to each other, that we keep hearing about schedule concerns, but they keep changing what we are building to. We've essentially restarted our work 3 times in 6 months. I had also been previously asked to not ask him technical questions, because he was too busy. Or maybe we just hate teamwork here.

Since I have some things scheduled already where I needed to work from home (wife of out town, have to take kids to/from school, etc), I am being given a "chance to transition out of my behavior". Asked about what happens next time my wife is out of town - "you can take PTO". When asked about working from home during recovery from knee surgery, he says "I'll ask".

All of this is being passed up to my boss's boss from someone and given the people around here, it has to be my product manager and/or my old boss. My developer coworker and I finally got a quiet minute to talk today, and we have separately come to the same conclusion. We have 3 sites, with the smallest group here. If they get rid of us, our product manager has no local developers. Weird, right? Except he has been vocal about wanting to move back to the area of his hometown, which is near one of our other sites. We both think he's try to get us to leave so he can talk his way into having the company pay for him to move back home.

And our boss, who in my recollection has not visited here since I started this position, has talked about coming to town next week. We both wonder if he's coming here to let us go. I tend to think that's not the case, otherwise why have the call this week? But I'm prepared for the possibility. Luckily my resume is up to date and I have an iron or two in the fire.

Anyway, done ranting for now...

Last week I heard from my boss, checking in to see how things are going and with more valuable feedback. Things like "there are still concerns getting funneled to me from Colorado Springs." When asked for details I get "general concerns," absolutely nothing actionable. But he wanted me know so I could apparently do something about it. He said he would try to get more information and get back to me. Side note - he never did make his way out here to visit, so I've still personally met this guy only on my one trip to Folsom.

I sent him a follow up email today, since I hadn't heard anything back. Asked if he had any more details on what I could be improving on. His response:

"The concerns were coming from management (via CS) but no other details beyond that.

In my career, I found the best approach is to kill an incorrect/bad perception as soon as possible by doing the opposite of whatever seems to be the issue. Over time, these things will be forgotten and your great work will shine through."

Great, that clears it up.

I have something that may be in the works to make a change, but if that falls through I think I am going to set up a meeting with HR. State my case, show them this email, and ask for guidance on what I should do. Try to get out in front of any repercussions that may be coming my way for not living up to some invisible standard.

Posted: **Tue Dec 11, 2018 4:11 pm**

did you email him back and straight up say "ok, so what seems to be the issue?" or is that a bridge too far

Posted: **Tue Dec 11, 2018 4:21 pm**

Brontoburglar wrote: ↑Tue Dec 11, 2018 4:11 pm did you email him back and straight up say "ok, so what seems to be the issue?" or is that a bridge too far

I've asked him what the concerns are, directly, twice. I've told him that if I don't know what the issues are, I can't fix them. That was his response the second time.

Posted: **Tue Dec 11, 2018 4:34 pm**

That sucks. And, as you probably would guess, HR is quite unlikely to help you out. They have a vested interest in supporting management in all cases except when there is obvious egregious behavior. So, it might hurt more than help to bring them into it.

Posted: **Tue Dec 11, 2018 4:36 pm**

That’s frustrating. Sorry.

Posted: **Tue Dec 11, 2018 4:45 pm**

sancarlos wrote: ↑Tue Dec 11, 2018 4:34 pm That sucks. And, as you probably would guess, HR is quite unlikely to help you out. They have a vested interest in supporting management in all cases except when there is obvious egregious behavior. So, it might hurt more than help to bring them into it.

Honestly, I've been wavering on that a lot. It's definitely why I haven't gone to HR already. I figure at this point, I may need to cover myself a little. If they do decide to try to get rid of me I can point to where I asked for feedback on where I can improve. But I am absolutely aware that if I go to HR, it will most likely get back to my boss, and then will make things worse.

Posted: **Tue Dec 18, 2018 12:45 pm**

phxgators wrote: ↑Fri Nov 02, 2018 2:12 pm ...
My developer coworker and I finally got a quiet minute to talk today, and we have separately come to the same conclusion. We have 3 sites, with the smallest group here. If they get rid of us, our product manager has no local developers. Weird, right? Except he has been vocal about wanting to move back to the area of his hometown, which is near one of our other sites. We both think he's try to get us to leave so he can talk his way into having the company pay for him to move back home.
...

My developer coworker today, saw plans for the office renovation going on at the site mentioned above. On it was an office with the name of our product manager on it...

Posted: **Fri Feb 01, 2019 3:09 pm**

It's all over. Gave notice this morning effective immediately. Since I couldn't work from home after my knee surgery, I did the next best thing. Get a new job. Looking forward to a fresh start after taking a week off.

Posted: **Fri Feb 01, 2019 3:12 pm**

Congrats.

Posted: **Fri Feb 01, 2019 3:23 pm**

Good luck man. Eff em.

Posted: **Fri Feb 01, 2019 3:49 pm**

phxgators wrote: ↑Fri Feb 01, 2019 3:09 pm Since I couldn't work from home after my knee surgery, I did the next best thing. Get a new job.

That might be the most kickass thing I've ever read.

Posted: **Fri Feb 01, 2019 4:59 pm**

Thanks guys. The wife is probably happier than me, so I stop being in a shitty mood about work all the time!

Posted: **Fri Feb 01, 2019 7:21 pm**

That's awesome congrats!

Fuck them for not making a simple concession and fuck the project manager.

Posted: **Fri Feb 01, 2019 7:32 pm**

phxgators wrote: ↑Fri Feb 01, 2019 3:09 pm It's all over. Gave notice this morning effective immediately. Since I couldn't work from home after my knee surgery, I did the next best thing. Get a new job. Looking forward to a fresh start after taking a week off.

In your exit interview, make sure you tell them exactly how your boss sucks and does/did sketchy things.

Posted: **Fri Feb 01, 2019 9:11 pm**

And don’t forget to throw the torch on the bridge last thing!

(I don’t that’s going to apply here of course)

Posted: **Fri Feb 01, 2019 9:52 pm**

Pretty sure this bridge has been napalmed.

Went straight in to HR this morning. Handed her a letter saying I was resigning immediately. She asked if there was anything they could do and I just laughed and said when you can't trust your leadership there is nothing left to do. As it turns out my HR person for my part of the organization sits in Maryland. But the local person was great in trying to get everything coordinated. Once we got the paperwork sent over from Maryland, she walked down to my office to collect my laptop. I hit send on a pre-written email detailing some of the reasons I was leaving (as a reply to an email from my boss talking about having general concerns, but couldn't offer any details) to my boss, his boss, my product manager, and HR. I didn't go into too much depth because, honestly, I just didn't feel like it was worth it at this point. But I made it clear that I was being talked about by my superiors to other coworkers and all the way up to a VP without anyone ever talking to me and that I could never get info on what it was I was supposed to improve on.

So we walk from my office back up to HR, sign for the laptop being collected, then head off to a conference room to call Maryland HR to walk through the paperwork. She answers my call and says "I was going to ask why you were leaving, but I just saw your email. Well, wow." She said they clearly have some things to look into.

All in all, HR was great today. They got me processed in a reasonable amount of time and were very helpful. Even had friendly conversation about the Doctor Who decorations on the desk of the local HR person. Best part of the day, I didn't even have to talk to my boss or product manager. I just hit send on that email and logged off.

So yeah, there's no crossing that bridge again.

Posted: **Fri Feb 01, 2019 10:34 pm**

Posted: **Fri Feb 01, 2019 10:41 pm**

Fuckin' A

Posted: **Fri Feb 01, 2019 11:42 pm**

Huzzah!

Posted: **Sat Feb 02, 2019 8:06 am**

Nicely done.

Posted: **Sat Feb 02, 2019 9:47 am**

Now I want to read that email. It could be a great template for the future!

Posted: **Tue Feb 05, 2019 8:28 am**

Congrats man!

Posted: **Fri Feb 08, 2019 3:42 pm**

First world problem: The pen selection in my office is terrible!

Posted: **Fri Feb 08, 2019 3:54 pm**

A_B wrote: ↑Fri Feb 08, 2019 3:42 pm First world problem: The pen selection in my office is terrible!

First shot fired in the War Against Coal.

Posted: **Fri Feb 08, 2019 4:01 pm**

The Sybian wrote: ↑Fri Feb 08, 2019 3:54 pm
A_B wrote: ↑Fri Feb 08, 2019 3:42 pm First...prob.e...pen.is terrible!
First shot fired in the War Against C...

Posted: **Fri Feb 08, 2019 4:05 pm**

rass wrote: ↑Fri Feb 08, 2019 4:01 pm
The Sybian wrote: ↑Fri Feb 08, 2019 3:54 pm
A_B wrote: ↑Fri Feb 08, 2019 3:42 pm First...prob.e...pen.is terrible!
First shot fired in the War Against C...

For second, I thought you were either making fun of my inability to quote correctly, or I thought I fucked up again.

Posted: **Fri Feb 08, 2019 4:11 pm**

The Sybian wrote: ↑Fri Feb 08, 2019 4:05 pm
rass wrote: ↑Fri Feb 08, 2019 4:01 pm
The Sybian wrote: ↑Fri Feb 08, 2019 3:54 pm
A_B wrote: ↑Fri Feb 08, 2019 3:42 pm First...prob.e...pen.is terrible!
First shot fired in the War Against C...

For second, I thought you were either making fun of my inability to quote correctly, or I thought I fucked up again.

That's how they get you. Rass is Swampgaslighting you.

The Swamp

CUBE LIFE! Office Etiquette

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