Tales from the Office Space: Complain about your coworkers

[mouse]

I love when operations managers have no problem pulling people from other support groups to meet their numbers because of their inadequate staffing plans but can't be bothered to pick up a screwdriver because too many meetings or something...

(I have not yet been pulled, but some of us have, and it's the practice and unwillingness to dive in and get dirty themselves that annoys me)

[jwilson625]

Today the electronic message board in the cafeteria had a friendly reminder to, out of respect for your coworkers, please exercise caution opening your car doors in the parking lot so you don't damage others' vehicles

[Allentown]

Two weeks late on sending out a bunch of letters because, among other things, the letter-mailing department keeps coming back to ME, very much NOT in the letter mailing department, with questions like "what should the envelope say?" and "what does the return address need to be?"
Finally got sick of that shit and responded "I dunno, I have no information on that kind of thing, I would need to ask the mailing department" back to the people in the mailing department.

[mouse]

Company recently offered an early retirement package to thin the herd a bit and we had some people in my area take it.

One of the engineers took the opportunity to move his current office to a now empty office because he "didn't want to deal with the high traffic" of the area his previous desk was in.

I know this because literally all week people have been stopping, commenting that he moved, and he then explains how his other spot was too 'high traffic'.

Bro I don't think you solved the problem.

[Renascent]

Boss's Day is creepy (and slavish) as fuck.

It's like someone having the expectation of a gift for not being a wifebeater or some shit. But I'll be the wet blanket again if helps to shut down some of this potluck fever endemic to autumn.

[SnakePlissken]

One of the engineers took the opportunity to move his current office to a now empty office because he "didn't want to deal with the high traffic" of the area his previous desk was in.

AKA "I need an office I can watch youtube in uninterrupted"

[broseph]

The Christian behemoth that ate up my company had a "blessing ceremony" in the parking lot today (the closest employee parking section, which was roped off for a week to keep it open for the ceremony). I was unable to attend, but did get a gift bag. Not a bag full of gifts, mind you, but a gift consisting of an empty bag with the new company logo on it.

I, for one, welcome our new overlords.

[Hiphopapotamus]

The Christian behemoth that ate up my company had a "blessing ceremony" in the parking lot today (the closest employee parking section, which was roped off for a week to keep it open for the ceremony). I was unable to attend, but did get a gift bag. Not a bag full of gifts, mind you, but a gift consisting of an empty bag with the new company logo on it.

I, for one, welcome our new overlords.

It's a bag full of their respect for the beliefs of non-Christians.

[mouse]

I was unable to attend, but did get a gift bag. Not a bag full of gifts, mind you, but a gift consisting of an empty bag with the new company logo on it.

You got a gift bag the same way that lady won a toy yoda hahaha...

[Allentown]

IM: "Hey, did you see my email concerning the thing?"
Me: "Did you see my response from 3 hours ago?"
Them: "Oh, I didn't look. I see it now, thanks!"

[GlasgowJock]

Boss's Day is creepy (and slavish) as fuck.

It's like someone having the expectation of a gift for not being a wifebeater or some shit. But I'll be the wet blanket again if helps to shut down some of this potluck fever endemic to autumn.

I googled this as I thought you were taking the piss. Wow, it's actually a thing in America dating back 60 years.

How is this actually legit given the power dynamic between 'boss' and worker?? Is it widely recognised across the States'?

[Renascent]

Boss's Day is creepy (and slavish) as fuck.

It's like someone having the expectation of a gift for not being a wifebeater or some shit. But I'll be the wet blanket again if helps to shut down some of this potluck fever endemic to autumn.

I googled this as I thought you were taking the piss. Wow, it's actually a thing in America dating back 60 years.

How is this actually legit given the power dynamic between 'boss' and worker?? Is it widely recognised across the States'?

It's observed widely enough that greeting cards are sold for its acknowledgement, though I guess the culture of a workplace probably determines the appropriateness of acknowledging the "holiday." It's likely that one's industry determines this to a degree, as well.

I've worked at places where such a practice would've drawn the ire of coworkers, and the boss probably would've thought the gesture was a blatant, uncomfortable attempt at buying favor. Where I am now, participation is most definitely encouraged, if not expected. I was never comfortable with the practice, though I'm much more comfortable speaking up about it these days. It's an employee's market -- or so I'm told.

When I took over my current team, they regaled me with stories of how they bought their previous boss a Yeti cooler for her husband's fishing boat, various pairs of shoes and purses, and even a hotel/spa getaway with an open bar tab (apparently their former boss drank a lot more than they anticipated, which became a point of contention when a worker's husband took a look at their credit card statement the following month). And, unsurprisingly, when one of them got a poor work review, they threatened to run upstairs to let the wrong people know about all of the wooing that took place.

I remember telling them that the whole concept of buying shit for a higher-up creeped me the fuck out, and I neither expect nor want gifts to be bestowed in celebration of my "fairness" as a boss. I don't want to collect tithes from people making less than I do.

An email got sent last week from a colleague, requesting a meeting with myself and others to plan what we were gonna spend money on for Boss's Day this year. I fired off a reply to indicate that I'd no intention of taking food off my family's table in order to show fealty to someone making double or triple what I make in a year, simply because of a made-up holiday that everyone around me insists on observing. At least one of the recipients didn't much care for my reply, despite my attempt to keep it civil: the recovering cancer patient with no immediate dependents feels that I should show some appreciation for "superiors," and has been giving me the stink eye ever since.

The subject came up again at the tail end of a meeting on Thursday, with another group of colleagues. They wanna collect $120.00 or so to buy some motherfucking plants for two of our bosses (we normally buy a case of beer for the third one). Same group of folks wants to plan a potluck to commemorate the start of football season, and another potluck for a reason they've yet to decide upon.

I hate spending money at work.

I told them that it'd be fucking wild if my wife felt compelled to buy me a gift to show her appreciation for me not being a wifebeater. Or if I bought an uncle a gift to thank them for not being a child molester. Or if I bought a gift for a cop for not being too handsy during a traffic stop.

I see no reason to part with money to thank a boss for being "fair" or "professional." My boss definitely does far less work than I do; until I kicked a lot of dust about some of the more questionable assignments I was responsible for, she (and her boss) didn't even know what my job entailed.

I'm not contributing to funding ineptitude and more cushions for somebody else's soft, underworked ass -- certainly not because of Patricia Bays Haroski.

In the end, I gave up $20.00 for the goddamn plants. Colleagues saw my point, but my "principles" were making the room uninhabitable.

[murphyreedus]

I googled this as I thought you were taking the piss. Wow, it's actually a thing in America dating back 60 years.

How is this actually legit given the power dynamic between 'boss' and worker?? Is it widely recognised across the States'?

I've never heard of Boss's Day, but it sounds like the definition of "Hallmark Holiday."

[aurelius]

How is this actually legit given the power dynamic between 'boss' and worker?? Is it widely recognised across the States'?

No. I have never experienced or heard of that in my 27 years of working in Texas, Oklahoma, and Colorado. Could be a practice in specific States but sounds like a toxic work place 100%.

My work used to have everyone at the company donate to a political organization that lobbied for development in our area. Relatively small amount of $25 per year. I was at the manager's meeting where that was discussed. Hearing the ownership try to defend it was...awkward. The ownership believed that employees should be invested in the success of the business like the ownership was. Which is nonsense because the employees are not owners.

Lawyer wayed in: Essentially the company can donate whatever it wants within the confines of the law. But yes, that practice was an actionable tort claim against the company. The company can't require employs to do shit with their own money. And it shouldn't even ask as the power dynamic makes asking suspect. That practice was ended.

[GlasgowJock]

Thanks for the anecdotes folks.

Renascent, what you describe sounds insane to me personally. In such a dynamic the 'bosses' should be demonstrating their appreciation for the workers as the latter usually find themselves taking on the former's 'responsibilities'/ job roles. I would perhaps find it understandable if someone had came into a local area, built a business from the ground up with their own capital and enabled gainful employment for a bunch of locals though even then I think demonstrating your appreciation by being diligent, hard working etc should be sufficient.

It's such an alien concept given when I was in the army, superiors would capitalise on opportunities to show appreciation for the lower ranks rather than vice versa.

[hector]

Boss's Day is creepy (and slavish) as fuck.

It's like someone having the expectation of a gift for not being a wifebeater or some shit. But I'll be the wet blanket again if helps to shut down some of this potluck fever endemic to autumn.

I googled this as I thought you were taking the piss. Wow, it's actually a thing in America dating back 60 years.

How is this actually legit given the power dynamic between 'boss' and worker?? Is it widely recognised across the States'?

It's observed widely enough that greeting cards are sold for its acknowledgement, though I guess the culture of a workplace probably determines the appropriateness of acknowledging the "holiday." It's likely that one's industry determines this to a degree, as well.

I've worked at places where such a practice would've drawn the ire of coworkers, and the boss probably would've thought the gesture was a blatant, uncomfortable attempt at buying favor. Where I am now, participation is most definitely encouraged, if not expected. I was never comfortable with the practice, though I'm much more comfortable speaking up about it these days. It's an employee's market -- or so I'm told.

When I took over my current team, they regaled me with stories of how they bought their previous boss a Yeti cooler for her husband's fishing boat, various pairs of shoes and purses, and even a hotel/spa getaway with an open bar tab (apparently their former boss drank a lot more than they anticipated, which became a point of contention when a worker's husband took a look at their credit card statement the following month). And, unsurprisingly, when one of them got a poor work review, they threatened to run upstairs to let the wrong people know about all of the wooing that took place.

I remember telling them that the whole concept of buying shit for a higher-up creeped me the fuck out, and I neither expect nor want gifts to be bestowed in celebration of my "fairness" as a boss. I don't want to collect tithes from people making less than I do.

An email got sent last week from a colleague, requesting a meeting with myself and others to plan what we were gonna spend money on for Boss's Day this year. I fired off a reply to indicate that I'd no intention of taking food off my family's table in order to show fealty to someone making double or triple what I make in a year, simply because of a made-up holiday that everyone around me insists on observing. At least one of the recipients didn't much care for my reply, despite my attempt to keep it civil: the recovering cancer patient with no immediate dependents feels that I should show some appreciation for "superiors," and has been giving me the stink eye ever since.

The subject came up again at the tail end of a meeting on Thursday, with another group of colleagues. They wanna collect $120.00 or so to buy some motherfucking plants for two of our bosses (we normally buy a case of beer for the third one). Same group of folks wants to plan a potluck to commemorate the start of football season, and another potluck for a reason they've yet to decide upon.

I hate spending money at work.

I told them that it'd be fucking wild if my wife felt compelled to buy me a gift to show her appreciation for me not being a wifebeater. Or if I bought an uncle a gift to thank them for not being a child molester. Or if I bought a gift for a cop for not being too handsy during a traffic stop.

I see no reason to part with money to thank a boss for being "fair" or "professional." My boss definitely does far less work than I do; until I kicked a lot of dust about some of the more questionable assignments I was responsible for, she (and her boss) didn't even know what my job entailed.

I'm not contributing to funding ineptitude and more cushions for somebody else's soft, underworked ass -- certainly not because of Patricia Bays Haroski.

In the end, I gave up $20.00 for the goddamn plants. Colleagues saw my point, but my "principles" were making the room uninhabitable.

Never heard of Boss's day until now. That is wild that the people who pay you want to ritualistize you returning some of your pay.

[mgil]

Boss's Day is creepy (and slavish) as fuck.

It's like someone having the expectation of a gift for not being a wifebeater or some shit. But I'll be the wet blanket again if helps to shut down some of this potluck fever endemic to autumn.

I googled this as I thought you were taking the piss. Wow, it's actually a thing in America dating back 60 years.

How is this actually legit given the power dynamic between 'boss' and worker?? Is it widely recognised across the States'?

It's observed widely enough that greeting cards are sold for its acknowledgement, though I guess the culture of a workplace probably determines the appropriateness of acknowledging the "holiday." It's likely that one's industry determines this to a degree, as well.

I've worked at places where such a practice would've drawn the ire of coworkers, and the boss probably would've thought the gesture was a blatant, uncomfortable attempt at buying favor. Where I am now, participation is most definitely encouraged, if not expected. I was never comfortable with the practice, though I'm much more comfortable speaking up about it these days. It's an employee's market -- or so I'm told.

When I took over my current team, they regaled me with stories of how they bought their previous boss a Yeti cooler for her husband's fishing boat, various pairs of shoes and purses, and even a hotel/spa getaway with an open bar tab (apparently their former boss drank a lot more than they anticipated, which became a point of contention when a worker's husband took a look at their credit card statement the following month). And, unsurprisingly, when one of them got a poor work review, they threatened to run upstairs to let the wrong people know about all of the wooing that took place.

I remember telling them that the whole concept of buying shit for a higher-up creeped me the fuck out, and I neither expect nor want gifts to be bestowed in celebration of my "fairness" as a boss. I don't want to collect tithes from people making less than I do.

An email got sent last week from a colleague, requesting a meeting with myself and others to plan what we were gonna spend money on for Boss's Day this year. I fired off a reply to indicate that I'd no intention of taking food off my family's table in order to show fealty to someone making double or triple what I make in a year, simply because of a made-up holiday that everyone around me insists on observing. At least one of the recipients didn't much care for my reply, despite my attempt to keep it civil: the recovering cancer patient with no immediate dependents feels that I should show some appreciation for "superiors," and has been giving me the stink eye ever since.

The subject came up again at the tail end of a meeting on Thursday, with another group of colleagues. They wanna collect $120.00 or so to buy some motherfucking plants for two of our bosses (we normally buy a case of beer for the third one). Same group of folks wants to plan a potluck to commemorate the start of football season, and another potluck for a reason they've yet to decide upon.

I hate spending money at work.

I told them that it'd be fucking wild if my wife felt compelled to buy me a gift to show her appreciation for me not being a wifebeater. Or if I bought an uncle a gift to thank them for not being a child molester. Or if I bought a gift for a cop for not being too handsy during a traffic stop.

I see no reason to part with money to thank a boss for being "fair" or "professional." My boss definitely does far less work than I do; until I kicked a lot of dust about some of the more questionable assignments I was responsible for, she (and her boss) didn't even know what my job entailed.

I'm not contributing to funding ineptitude and more cushions for somebody else's soft, underworked ass -- certainly not because of Patricia Bays Haroski.

In the end, I gave up $20.00 for the goddamn plants. Colleagues saw my point, but my "principles" were making the room uninhabitable.

You work in a poopy place.

Luckily, I work in a place where lawyers love to make things equitable because of multiple unions.

I’m not a boss, I’ve played in (project management kind of stuff) in the past, and am simply a “smart person” at work who makes more. I do buy donuts (not Dunkin’ because those suck) sometimes for the younger employees. That seems to make sense. Workplace morale is important.*

*current leadership seems to not be getting this point clearly.

[SnakePlissken]

Boss's Day is creepy (and slavish) as fuck.

It's like someone having the expectation of a gift for not being a wifebeater or some shit. But I'll be the wet blanket again if helps to shut down some of this potluck fever endemic to autumn.

I googled this as I thought you were taking the piss. Wow, it's actually a thing in America dating back 60 years.

How is this actually legit given the power dynamic between 'boss' and worker?? Is it widely recognised across the States'?

It's observed widely enough that greeting cards are sold for its acknowledgement, though I guess the culture of a workplace probably determines the appropriateness of acknowledging the "holiday." It's likely that one's industry determines this to a degree, as well.

I've worked at places where such a practice would've drawn the ire of coworkers, and the boss probably would've thought the gesture was a blatant, uncomfortable attempt at buying favor. Where I am now, participation is most definitely encouraged, if not expected. I was never comfortable with the practice, though I'm much more comfortable speaking up about it these days. It's an employee's market -- or so I'm told.

When I took over my current team, they regaled me with stories of how they bought their previous boss a Yeti cooler for her husband's fishing boat, various pairs of shoes and purses, and even a hotel/spa getaway with an open bar tab (apparently their former boss drank a lot more than they anticipated, which became a point of contention when a worker's husband took a look at their credit card statement the following month). And, unsurprisingly, when one of them got a poor work review, they threatened to run upstairs to let the wrong people know about all of the wooing that took place.

I remember telling them that the whole concept of buying shit for a higher-up creeped me the fuck out, and I neither expect nor want gifts to be bestowed in celebration of my "fairness" as a boss. I don't want to collect tithes from people making less than I do.

An email got sent last week from a colleague, requesting a meeting with myself and others to plan what we were gonna spend money on for Boss's Day this year. I fired off a reply to indicate that I'd no intention of taking food off my family's table in order to show fealty to someone making double or triple what I make in a year, simply because of a made-up holiday that everyone around me insists on observing. At least one of the recipients didn't much care for my reply, despite my attempt to keep it civil: the recovering cancer patient with no immediate dependents feels that I should show some appreciation for "superiors," and has been giving me the stink eye ever since.

The subject came up again at the tail end of a meeting on Thursday, with another group of colleagues. They wanna collect $120.00 or so to buy some motherfucking plants for two of our bosses (we normally buy a case of beer for the third one). Same group of folks wants to plan a potluck to commemorate the start of football season, and another potluck for a reason they've yet to decide upon.

I hate spending money at work.

I told them that it'd be fucking wild if my wife felt compelled to buy me a gift to show her appreciation for me not being a wifebeater. Or if I bought an uncle a gift to thank them for not being a child molester. Or if I bought a gift for a cop for not being too handsy during a traffic stop.

I see no reason to part with money to thank a boss for being "fair" or "professional." My boss definitely does far less work than I do; until I kicked a lot of dust about some of the more questionable assignments I was responsible for, she (and her boss) didn't even know what my job entailed.

I'm not contributing to funding ineptitude and more cushions for somebody else's soft, underworked ass -- certainly not because of Patricia Bays Haroski.

In the end, I gave up $20.00 for the goddamn plants. Colleagues saw my point, but my "principles" were making the room uninhabitable.

You work in a poopy place.

Luckily, I work in a place where lawyers love to make things equitable because of multiple unions.

I’m not a boss, I’ve played in (project management kind of stuff) in the past, and am simply a “smart person” at work who makes more. I do buy donuts (not Dunkin’ because those suck) sometimes for the younger employees. That seems to make sense. Workplace morale is important.*

*current leadership seems to not be getting this point clearly.

My last job had these wierd expectations too. My job now my boss is a Gen Xer and could care less about boss's day. That said, Renascent lives in Louisiana and being from there, theres a lot of backwards work culture ideas embedded there. One being that "everyone should be grateful to work here" and it's usually a shit job too. The "we're hard workers" mentality is on steroids and oddly enough the people that preach that the most are usually the one's that aernt that productive.

[Renascent]

In such a dynamic the 'bosses' should be demonstrating their appreciation for the workers as the latter usually find themselves taking on the former's 'responsibilities'/ job roles.

Yeah, this was the crux of my counterpoint. I should clarify that most of the pressure to participate in this ritual originates from the lower ranks (see Snake's comment below) for some assbackwards reason.

While my boss would likely be disappointed that I didn't buy them anything, it's my evenly-ranked colleagues who'll take it upon themselves to be absolutely outraged by my insolence. Which is weird to me.

You work in a poopy place.

Heh, yeah, I know. Biding my time, and making full use of the few remaining perks.

My last job had these wierd expectations too. My job now my boss is a Gen Xer and could care less about boss's day. That said, Renascent lives in Louisiana and being from there, theres a lot of backwards work culture ideas embedded there. One being that "everyone should be grateful to work here" and it's usually a shit job too. The "we're hard workers" mentality is on steroids and oddly enough the people that preach that the most are usually the one's that aernt that productive.

Yep. It's like a collective case of Stockholm syndrome.

[mouse]

I hate spending money at work.

"I don't come here to spend money" is my default response to anyone looking for cash around here. I'm sure it annoys people but they don't have the guts to let me know apparently.

I don't pitch in for boss gifts even for bosses I like, dept potlucks (those actually don't seem to happen post-rona now, one good thing that came out of it I guess), don't donate to political BS that I found out existed, and I don't contribute to any of the tax-write offs charity drives that pop up this time of year...

Personally I'm uncomfortable with it both ways... we currently have a boss who tries to do little things like that for us, i.e. we are going out for lunch this week... and while the sentiment is nice I still don't like it. I'd much rather see that appreciation at the end of the year in my paycheck versus little gifts and get-togethers.