Types of Problems in Your Workplace

[Siúil a Rúin]

Actually punched someone?

Ha.
No, I just had someone ask me to play something I wrote and then tell me it was weird and sounded like a disturbed person wrote it. It would have been funnier if the person saying it wasn't likely a clinically diagnosable sociopath. Wait, that makes it funnier I suppose.

I'm the only music teacher in the entire school who could tolerate this person who has high conflict disorder. She is kicked out of every gym in town and kicked out of many counselors offices. I worked with her for over five years, but usually just take the punches. I have a kind of professional apathy towards her. Although overall I'm getting genuinely sick of people and their problems. It's why I'm going to become a programmer and deal with only logical problems from deep in the forest surrounded by bunnies, trees, and happy clouds.

 

[EcK]

Ha.
No, I just had someone ask me to play something I wrote and then tell me it was weird and sounded like a disturbed person wrote it. It would have been funnier if the person saying it wasn't likely a clinically diagnosable sociopath. Wait, that makes it funnier I suppose.

I'm the only music teacher in the entire school who could tolerate this person who has high conflict disorder. She is kicked out of every gym in town and kicked out of many counselors offices. I worked with her for over five years, but usually just take the punches. I have a kind of professional apathy towards her. Although overall I'm getting genuinely sick of people and their problems. It's why I'm going to become a programmer and deal with only logical problems from deep in the forest surrounded by bunnies, trees, and happy clouds.

HEY! LEAVE THE NT JOBS TO NTS!
I dabble in programming. Well I don't WANT TO but apparently sometimes it takes more time to tell a programmer what to do than to do it so... ya know...
Programmers often wont do things 'perfectly' as it takes time to customize a stylesheet, optimize spacing etc. bla bla bla for the sake of making it 10% better. Not cost effective for them I suppose...
Or maybe they're just terrible people. Jury still out on that.
[MENTION=12103]Poki[/MENTION]

 

[Poki]

HEY! LEAVE THE NT JOBS TO NTS!
I dabble in programming. Well I don't WANT TO but apparently sometimes it takes more time to tell a programmer what to do than to do it so... ya know...
Programmers often wont do things 'perfectly' as it takes time to customize a stylesheet, optimize spacing etc. bla bla bla for the sake of making it 10% better. Not cost effective for them I suppose...
Or maybe they're just terrible people. Jury still out on that.
[MENTION=12103]Poki[/MENTION]

Depends on programmer. I personally suck at visual design. Most people come to me for crunching stuff because I can throw together something really quick. Whether it be macros, Excel formulas, parsing data, etc. But I don't do spacing, for prettyetc. For aesthetic reasons. I will tab it or table it or make it easily readable, but pretty, nope. That's the job of our visual designers. I can do anything visually you want, that's just something that has to be spelled out...picture is best.

I don't have alot of faith in programmers with that said. I have worked with quite a bit and I end up in same boat as you, I was working on a single sign on functiinality, not SAML between java and .net and I had to the encryption/decryption part in .net for him even though he is a .net guy and I havnt touched vb since vb6. I frequently find myself telling alot of people to do their jobs until they become competent because it's easier and faster to explain it all.

 

[EcK]

Depends on programmer. I personally suck at visual design. Most people come to me for crunching stuff because I can throw together something really quick. Whether it be macros, Excel formulas, parsing data, etc. But I don't do spacing, for prettyetc. For aesthetic reasons. I will tab it or table it or make it easily readable, but pretty, nope. That's the job of our visual designers. I can do anything visually you want, that's just something that has to be spelled out...picture is best.

I don't have alot of faith in programmers with that said. I have worked with quite a bit and I end up in same boat as you, I was working on a single sign on functiinality, not SAML between java and .net and I had to the encryption/decryption part in .net for him even though he is a .net guy and I havnt touched vb since vb6. I frequently find myself telling alot of people to do their jobs until they become competent because it's easier and faster to explain it all.

Well most people have difficulty distinguishing between a good and a bad programmer. And then personality comes into play etc. Alot of them just don't seem to want to learn new skills after a while. A whole bunch of them is just not that smart, so a language based on logic has its challenges for them.

I was just on the phone with this guy who keeps fucking up projects then talks to you arrogantly on the phone (I was asked NOT to scream at him anymore) 'oh that thing we discussed well you didn't write me a novel about every detail of it' (but of course he considers himself to be a badass senior software architect).
It's like : he is two weeks late on it. he didn't answer the phone for a week. There were 3 points to modify. two of them based on fuckups in your previous code. HE CHARGED US FULL RATES ON THIS. Of the 3 points 2 were so majorly bugged I couldn't even call them functional. So I just don't get how he checks his code.
Then has the balls to ask me to essentially, not waste his time. Oh and you refused to make a correction on the code claiming the redirect loop in some countries had nothing to do with you. (so I spent 2 hours researching and trying to find the reason in what has to be the less user friendly code I've come across in my life). and today he tells me the problem is to be solved code-side (ie: he fucked up) and may I please hurry up and tell him if he should correct it (for a fee well over market value of the service).

I'm just waiting for the moment he will ALL LAST, deliver the original codes to me (which he was supposed to do 3 months ago) so I can just give it to a 15 year old kid in China to do instead. I'd rather learn mandarin than deal with this ass. Last project I must have spent an extra 70 HOURS working to make up for his fuckups and damage in client relationship. and the guy had the balls to ask for 40% MORE money than quoted and make it seem like a favor.

The funny thing is he's not a BAD DEVELOPER, he's rather good. But he's such a condescending, client bashing ass that I just would go out of my way not to work with him.

I swear, I want to slap him so badly.

 

[Poki]

Well most people have difficulty distinguishing between a good and a bad programmer. And then personality comes into play etc. Alot of them just don't seem to want to learn new skills after a while. A whole bunch of them is just not that smart, so a language based on logic has its challenges for them.

All that comes natural to me. I started dabbling at 5 years old with programming a commodore 64. Never got serious in it until I got my first job aas a technician and I wrote a bunch of stuff to make my job easier and they had me fan it out to other technicians and groups and that was the start of my being a programmer. My degree is in electronics. I learn anything and everything which is why they stuck me as lead. I know so much about everything that I can work with dba, sys administration and either understand what they are saying or figure it out really fast. Most others on my team won't touch any of that. They are strictly java programmers. I manage our version control, our build scripts, our development environments, expertise , plus I get just as much programming as they do done, plus anything else that gets thrown my way. And generally don't work more then 8 hours a day

 

[EcK]

All that comes natural to me. I started dabbling at 5 years old with programming a commodore 64. Never got serious in it until I got my first job aas a technician and I wrote a bunch of stuff to make my job easier and they had me fan it out to other technicians and groups and that was the start of my being a programmer. My degree is not electronics. I learn anything and everything which is why they stuck me as lead. I know so much about everything that I can work with dba, sys administration and either understand what they are saying or figure it out really fast. Most others on my team won't touch any of that. They are strictly java programmers. I manage our version control, our build scripts, our development environments, expertise , plus I get just as much programming as they do done, plus anything else that gets thrown my way. And generally don't work more then 8 hours a day

seems interesting. I have some strange client request document to make before the conference in .. 10 minutes. (i hate document making. should have done it earlier) so I have to go hang myself now

I'm the go-to guy for all strangest clients / corporate cultures / constant project updaters / 'can we do that now for tomorrow'. Makes me feel special and stuff.
Next goal: get a higher ratio of normal clients so I can be done with each in half the time before starting to get annoyed by procedures.

 

[Poki]

seems interesting. I have some strange client request document to make before the conference in .. 10 minutes. (i hate document making. should have done it earlier) so I have to go hang myself now

I'm the go-to guy for all strangest clients / corporate cultures / constant project updaters / 'can we do that now for tomorrow'. Makes me feel special and stuff.
Next goal: get a higher ratio of normal clients so I can be done with each in half the time before starting to get annoyed by procedures.

Loo, yeah. Good luck. That's how i am with programming. Means your good at what you do

 

[EcK]

Loo, yeah. Good luck. That's how i am with programming. Means your good at what you do

Yeah depends, right now I'm just a bit tired. I learn quite quickly I guess and tend not to be something to be impossible. Though I'm not some kind of record holder. I'm just worried this is taking me away from developing some core skills. I want shorter projects because I have a short attention span. Hard projects are fun but at some point I'd rather just not deal with the 5th brainstorming conference I'm trying to disuade the client from and just be done with 3 projects by then.

 

[Poki]

Yeah depends, right now I'm just a bit tired. I learn quite quickly I guess and tend not to be something to be impossible. Though I'm not some kind of record holder. I'm just worried this is taking me away from developing some core skills. I want shorter projects because I have a short attention span. Hard projects are fun but at some point I'd rather just not deal with the 5th brainstorming conference I'm trying to disuade the client from and just be done with 3 projects by then.

I understand. I miss the days of a technician where when you leave for the day you give the work to someone else and it's no longer yours. And most likely done by the time you come back. Where a three day project is a major issue that needs to be fixed.

As opposed to projects you own that no one else can really take over and lasts weeks and weeks. When you leave for the day it will be exactly as you left it the next day.

I can tell you from experience, the difficult stuff is what causes you to grow as a person the most and the fastest. Just gotta take breaks before you go insane.

 

[Siúil a Rúin]

I know of a guy who lives in the forest alone and sells cacti online. He just finds them, digs them up and ships them out. Maybe that's what I'll do.

It's true that people are difficult in all scenarios. Sorry to hear about the annoyances programmers deal with. Here I was hoping you mostly get to work with robots.

Edit: In my ideal scenario I'm hoping to create a bunch of educational apps and make money off of stuff I create online. I've had modest success in self-publishing on amazon. Online has a lot of potential for making money providing an automatic service like an app or a class because there is no limit on the number of people who can purchase it, and it doesn't require more time with each person. If you can create something of need and interest and make sure it is easily available through search engines, it seems possible to get a decent chunk of change. It's just a matter of figuring out the exactly right service and get it out there.

 

[Siúil a Rúin]

It could be an interesting and useful thread for people to discuss what it is like to work in their career. It provides an insider look at the problems that typically occur in any given workplace. Also, it is an opportunity to blow off steam about the frustrations and types of problems you deal with each day. This includes every type of job/career.

 

[Siúil a Rúin]

[MENTION=8936]highlander[/MENTION]
I started a thread about issues in the workplace
http://www.typologycentral.com/forums/academics-and-careers/79910-types-workplace.html#post2550806
This exchange here between [MENTION=5643]EcK[/MENTION] and [MENTION=12103]Poki[/MENTION] (and a little from me) is interesting and it would be better if it doesn't end up in off-topic posts, since this is a "confessions" thread. Would you be up for having this continue in this other thread?

 

[Siúil a Rúin]

I'm a freelancing musician who mostly teaches private lessons and as an adjunct at colleges.

1. The biggest problem is financial. There is no retirement, health coverage, etc, and the pay is both low and variable. Last summer half of my students left on vacation, so I'm still recovering. At best I teach 30 students and a couple of classes online as well as other freelancing activities, so I'm pretty busy with a lot of different tasks. It can get overwhelming to remember all the separate details I'm responsible for maintaining with schedule and money.

2. Overall it is socially exhausting for me, and I am hoping to find a way to deal with a fewer number of people. The online teaching is nearly perfect and I can't complain about the people interactions much. Sometimes people are unhappy or turn things in late, but I'm rather laid back so it hasn't been a source of bother. I have friends who also teach online, and some institutions are very strict, micromanage every grade, and pay very little. It can be unpleasant, but my online gig is mostly ideal. The private lessons can be uplifting and fun when students are interested and parents positive. There are some parents who actually throw tantrums when you don't reschedule lessons or give money back when they don't show up. I'd say about 10% behave horribly when you don't do everything they want. People tend to think you just float in the ether waiting to teach them, and that you should be available anytime they want you to be. I also end up with a certain percentage of very difficult students who are negative, insulting, and a bit of a drag. One kid farts and burps on purpose because he doesn't want to take lessons, but his mother makes him. The problems aren't as bad as at a college or university because the social problems tend to be extremely childish from parents and students when they don't get something they want. In higher ed institutions the negativity and back-biting is more nuanced, layered, and filled with subterfuge, so I prefer the childish nonsense over that. I do get worn down by the sheer numbers of people I have to interact with every week. It is easily 100 different people.

3. A third issue is the lack of intellectual challenge. Like many of my peers I have graduate degrees and have accomplish complex, high level work, but am rarely paid for those efforts. Once freelancing you are paid only for help with beginners, so it can wear you down with the mind-numbing aspect. It would be better to have a job that challenged me to think, but without the added social challenges of groups and competition. I'm not certain if there is such a thing, but hopefully going into business for myself, creating things to sell is a start.

I'm working towards adding another component to my career that involves fewer people, better pay, and the option of more stability. I'd like to work a couple of years full-time at least to get into a retirement program because I'm not a young person.

Anyway, let's hear about yours!

 

[EcK]

[MENTION=8936]highlander[/MENTION]
I started a thread about issues in the workplace
http://www.typologycentral.com/forums/academics-and-careers/79910-types-workplace.html#post2550806
This exchange here between [MENTION=5643]EcK[/MENTION] and [MENTION=12103]Poki[/MENTION] (and a little from me) is interesting and it would be better if it doesn't end up in off-topic posts, since this is a "confessions" thread. Would you be up for having this continue in this other thread?

I ve made my first comment in regards to your own desire to be a developer. Both [MENTION=12103]Poki[/MENTION] and I are into related fields ans he is passing his invaluable wisdom of life hacking (god i hate this expression) onto my feeble mortal shell.

Isnt the purpose of the thread to help people
Have you no heart

 

[Redbone]

People are unhappy with their jobs and roles in general. The workload is high and the pay is much lower than the surrounding hospitals. We are transitioning to another system as well and job cuts were a possibility. Plus, there is the normal stuff that goes on in people's personal lives.

It's stressful for me because people will come down to my office and discharge a lot of that on me. It's usually when their work day is ending and mine is beginning. It's hard for me to not listen or cut someone off when they are in distress, so I hear them out. I really don't want to know all that stuff...not all the damn time.

Don't get me wrong, I think the people I work with are fine but it's hard sometimes and I really often just want to be left alone. I worked by myself on Monday and I was so glad (I am partnered with another person and I feel like his wife on an emotional tip). Being an Ne-dom makes me reactive even when I don't want to be and it can be hard to pull in and block everything outside of me out...I truly wish for it at work.

 

[Yama]

I don't have "career" experience but I have low wage job experience:

-McDonalds.
Makes you work on holidays and you don't get extra compensation (you're not allowed to request holidays off). Customers treat you like shit because working in fast food means you're subhuman. The money isn't worth the type of daily crap you put up with. The management is terrible and turnover is higher for them than for actual working employees. It quickly sucks out your soul, life, and hope.

-Fry's customer service.
Makes you work on holidays and you don't get extra compensation (you're not allowed to request holidays off). Customers treat you like shit because they only come to visit you when they're angry about something. The money isn't worth the type of daily crap you put up with. The management is terrible and turnover is high for both management and actual working employees alike. You are taken for granted by literally everyone. It quickly sucks out your soul, life, and hope.

-Supplemental instruction for philosophy of logic.
Fucking awesome. I got to pick my own schedule, make my own hours. But they cap you at 10 hours and you have to be a student to work there where I was so when I graduated I had to leave. Other than that there's literally no problems.

 

[cascadeco]

I don't have "career" experience but I have low wage job experience:

-McDonalds.
Makes you work on holidays and you don't get extra compensation (you're not allowed to request holidays off). Customers treat you like shit because working in fast food means you're subhuman. The money isn't worth the type of daily crap you put up with. The management is terrible and turnover is higher for them than for actual working employees. It quickly sucks out your soul, life, and hope.

If you need to stay in fast-food, you should consider shifting to Starbucks, at least. Work environment is decent, you get good benefits, and aesthetics/etc are way more positive than a McDonald's would be. From what I hear, McDonald's especially is pretty bad.

------

I have had actual 'careers' in the past, which I could write about if anyone's interested, but I left them because I didn't want to be in an office environment/uber-corporate culture / at a desk / at a computer any longer, and had gotten myself into a bad box of being in more of a BA/PM role, which I really really hated.

--------

I'm currently at Starbucks, 'just' a barista, but, it has lots of positives that my desk jobs didn't have. I don't have to pretend that I'm wanting more responsibility and wanting to 'move up', I am able to be on my feet, moving around, doing stuff, for most of every day (which I love), I can interact with people a lot more and I enjoy bantering with my coworkers, even if on the negative side on bad days I really, really, really, REALLY feel my age (working with mostly 17-24 year olds), and I love the flexible schedule. I have the benefit though of being in a pretty functional store / great team, with great manager. I consider myself lucky... I know other stores can be different/far worse.

Downside is the small % of customers who are total assholes, the fact that some of my coworkers are pretty immature and dramatic (due to young age / still figuring things out I think), though that doesn't bother me per se, and low wage. But hey, I knew that going into it so the low wage was my choice. Also, too, I am seeing over time that it too has quite the strong corporate element, it's just not as obvious, or is of a different vibe/sort, than corporate financial institutions which I had previously been in. So the corporate hand in policy can take a toll on me/ in the work experience.

/ still figuring out life

I should also add that bigger-picture, it's of more importance to me to try to build my art/photography, and have more income coming in through that. The challenge of that is possibly the same as what you run into with your music, [MENTION=14857]fia[/MENTION] -- stable income, building an audience, and having income coming in at all through that outlet. For me, the ongoing thing is to try to figure out the marketing / web presence side of things, which I may need to outsource at some juncture just because it's not at all my skillset.

 

[miss fortune]

first 12 posts moved from confessions thread at request of OP

 

[Siúil a Rúin]

I should also add that bigger-picture, it's of more importance to me to try to build my art/photography, and have more income coming in through that. The challenge of that is possibly the same as what you run into with your music, [MENTION=14857]fia[/MENTION] -- stable income, building an audience, and having income coming in at all through that outlet. For me, the ongoing thing is to try to figure out the marketing / web presence side of things, which I may need to outsource at some juncture just because it's not at all my skillset.

I hope that can work out for you. I think a lot of it is just "accidentally" coming up with something that resonates with people. One thing to think about in creative endeavors, is that most people are stressed and anxious, so if there is a way to create things to help lower stress, I think people might buy it. I know the photos/art you post are very beautiful and uplifting. I certainly hope there is a way to make money from it, so you have more time to relax and travel. You could make photography and art books to sell on amazon through CreativeSpace or find a good place to produce prints (better idea). You upload your pdfs and they review them for logistical/technical issues. The printing costs are half of what they have been for me through print shops. They have a 24 page minimum on books which can be up to 8.5x11. I think you can also sell prints on amazon. I'll message you a link that popped up once for me on amazon. For art, books are generally less sellable than postcards, prints, etc.

Edit: actually one thought just struck me - since you travel, you could make photography books about your travel and present them as virtual trips that other people can take by buying your books? Or like an inside look at…[country].

Apologies if I'm going overkill, but this is where my head is at right now. I've uploaded a bunch of material to amazon, the majority of which is for beginners, but it includes everything. I'm also going to create a few dozen ambient, stress relieving music/video tracks to sell, and am learning about web technology first to create a couple dozen fun, educational apps for beginners, and then perhaps finish the degree to be employable. I really need to get some automated income as I get older, and why not use one's creativity to make something someone will want to buy for a modest fee? There are seven billion people on planet earth, so even if an incredibly small percentage of people wanted to buy your print or my book, we could feel like we've hit the big time. The actual little time would be the big time when you're just one little person creating stuff in the world.

 

[Cellmold]

I work and have worked minimum wage jobs, usually retail. Essentially it's the only thing I seem competent at and even then...not much.

I'm currently working between two jobs. One retail (mainly on the till) and the other is working for some family friends who run a haulage company and I assist one of the directors with office work...invoicing, filing....well basically administration.
My main point of contention and which generates the most issues for me is consistency. Routine is not my strong point (I'm not sure what is, but routine it is not) as I have the unparalleled ability to do the same thing a different way hundreds of times. I also have poor memory recall which in the retail job causes enormous problems as I cannot remember faces, who I served or what I served them.

I have improved with time at those aspects, but still don't find them an easy fit. In the admin style job I tend to get overwhelmed by having to visually deal with lots of literal data. For example going through a huge list of invoice numbers to see what has and hasn't been paid or where something isn't adding up on a statement for a customer and what the missing amount is and where it comes from or matches to. That and using Sageline.....I dislike Sage. Also getting invoices right for different customers under the extremely specific and exacting methods set out by my boss. There's always some detail or process I miss and I think she despairs of me ever getting much better.

For the retail another problem is the social anxiety. I don't think it's really improved anything for me by being essentially on an exposed line of attack all the time, where you are open to verbal abuse and emotional explosion at any time and seemingly without warning. At first I thought it had helped me to deal with people, but truth was I strain myself so hard to not explode that when I finish I'm exhausted and I immediately retreat into myself with a vengeance. Denied of the ability to zone out and detach when faced with immediate problems and social discourse (primarily due to sound based interruptions ie: loud and obnoxious customers) my brain appears to take malicious revenge in the draining of my energy and enthusiasm for when I'm not working.

Noise agitates me and the job is extremely noisy. Music on the tannoy, children screaming when their weathered & defeated benefit mothers cannot be bothered to reprimand anymore. Loud talking small-talkers who want to make every detail of their lives your problem and the beeping of the actual till; a pneumonic to your life beeping slowly away.

Then of course there are internal office politics and staff conflicts. In themselves natural and to be expected (plus this latest retail job seems to have a fairly good team overall) but in the past the places I'd been at seemed to be filled with the unhinged, by comparison to which I actually looked sane for once.

One issue at the retail outlet is that many of the younger staff are extremely rigid in their approach to shifts and it is a fairly popular opinion amongst those who aren't so rigid (or maybe not so open to being honest) , especially the middle management, that the manager should be stricter on enforcing shift patterns and equal load. Mainly because the younger ones just want to go out and get drunk, so they don't like doing late or early shifts. However they aren't the only ones who want to go out.

Dealing with actual customers is a separate issue about which I could write entire transcripts of hatred and misanthropy. Anyone who has worked in service to the general public usually knows these pains though.

I'm constantly looking for a way out, as there is always a choice of some kind. But I have little evidence to guide me to something I'd be attuned to and even less drive to move me.

There is probably a lot more as well....but I'll leave it there for now.