Johnny Coli Posted May 11, 2005 Share Posted May 11, 2005 What if you're on-call 24/7? CW 334036[/snapback] Oh my God. My man, you have an even bigger incentive to do nothing, because you're always on the clock. Avoiding work is a full-time job for unfortunate souls such as yourself. Ok, I think everyone should take a minute (or 30 minutes) out of their day tomorrow to think about others out there like this poor bastard...others out there who have to deal with the twilight zone of getting to go home, BUT STILL BEING AT WORK. Jesus. I'm going to "time manage" my ass off in honor of our brother Fezmid, tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeFerguson Posted May 11, 2005 Share Posted May 11, 2005 I realized today that I really dislike what I'm doing at work. While waiting for my job switch to complete, I've become somewhat apathetic. I think it reached a new low today. I was on a conference call talking about some software release when I decided I was hungry. I put the phone in the desk drawer and got up and left. I never hung it up - if I would have the "beep beep" of the conference service would have signaled my departure. Any one else do this crap? Or is it just my small group at work? One guy actually brought in an old laptop bag that he leaves open on the desk... so when he leaves at 2:30 everyone thinks he's just away in a meeting. 333801[/snapback] It sounds like somebody has a case of the Wednesdays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Coli Posted May 11, 2005 Share Posted May 11, 2005 Just Friday of last week they decided to close the office 2 hours early.....and I was stuck here closing the department down. 334062[/snapback] That's two hours THEY owe YOU, brother. You make up for that lost time, and you make up for it this week. Are you lucky enough to have any video games on your cell phone? I have bowling. Let me tell you, time flys by when you are on the quest for a 300 game. They can track internet usage, but they can't track your cell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeFerguson Posted May 11, 2005 Share Posted May 11, 2005 Peter Gibbons: You see Bob, it's not that I'm lazy, it's that I just don't care. Bob Porter: Don't . . . don't care? Peter Gibbons: It's a problem of motivation, all right? Now if I work my ass off and Initech ships a few extra units, I don't see another dime, so where's the motivation? And here's another thing, I have eight different bosses right now. Bob Porter: Eight? Peter Gibbons: Eight, Bob. So that means when I make a mistake, I have eight different people coming by to tell me about it. That's my only real motivation is not to be hassled; that, and the fear of losing my job. But you know, Bob? That will only make someone work just hard enough not to get fired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcjeff215 Posted May 12, 2005 Author Share Posted May 12, 2005 What if you're on-call 24/7? CW 334036[/snapback] Did I mention that we lost utility power on Sunday and our generator didn't kick in? I spent 6 hours on the phone that night talking NOC monkeys through app-server startup procedures. If I could count the times I've literally slept under my desk for this place without so much as a "thank you" the next day.... I've got blue-collar in my blood. I do what I'm told, I do my time, I put in a damn hard day's work. What happens? I'm left in the same spot because I do it better than most other folks would ever aspire too. We did some work for the Orange County Choppers guys a while back.. I don't think I left that office for a week. Every morning I'd get to hear that big guy yell at my boss via speakerphone. My boss would turn and relay it right back to me... then he'd go home. Pfft. Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost of BiB Posted May 12, 2005 Share Posted May 12, 2005 I love my job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macdaddy Posted May 12, 2005 Share Posted May 12, 2005 I'm playing hooky tomorrow and going stripper fishing on the Hudson. Beers, cigars and hopefully a 25 pounder. After years of giving up my personal days I'm turning the corner. Time to stop and smell the roses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdelma Posted May 12, 2005 Share Posted May 12, 2005 environmental consultant for sixteen years. I hate the industry and trying to make a career move. It extremely hard. Ready to bail and work at home depot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarthur31 Posted May 12, 2005 Share Posted May 12, 2005 Naah, it's just you. Unless you count all the people that surf the web and post on message boards during the day. It's amazing how the traffic here screeches to a halt at 5:00. 333808[/snapback] LMAO! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark VI Posted May 12, 2005 Share Posted May 12, 2005 I'm playing hooky tomorrow and going stripper fishing on the Hudson. Beers, cigars and hopefully a 25 pounder. After years of giving up my personal days I'm turning the corner. Time to stop and smell the roses. 334196[/snapback] Excellent ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted May 12, 2005 Share Posted May 12, 2005 Naah, it's just you. Unless you count all the people that surf the web and post on message boards during the day. It's amazing how the traffic here screeches to a halt at 5:00. 333808[/snapback] That's where I take over KD? 45 degrees, drizzly and nary a screech from the marine band. And to boot, at 0800 today I am off on my long weekend till Tuesday! The only thing that would be better would be a compressed 12 hour on/off schedule! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcjeff215 Posted May 12, 2005 Author Share Posted May 12, 2005 I'm playing hooky tomorrow and going stripper fishing on the Hudson. Beers, cigars and hopefully a 25 pounder. After years of giving up my personal days I'm turning the corner. Time to stop and smell the roses. 334196[/snapback] You've got to do that kind of junk or you'll go nuts! Let me rephrase what I said earlier... I like what I do, but it looses its flavor right quick when you mix corporate politics. If I could be like the only computer guy on an island full of women, then.. THEN I would truly be happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockpile Posted May 12, 2005 Share Posted May 12, 2005 What if you're on-call 24/7? CW 334036[/snapback] How often do you get an after hours call? I used to carry a pager, but it did not go off frequently. When I was in night school, and the Bills played Sunday night, I would have the wife page me to get out of class, but credit for attendance. I was on salary but I got an extra day per week pay whether or not I was paged. I did not mind. When I was on REAL family time: Christmas morning, Thanksgiving dinner, Easter Sunday Church, kid's birthday party, a baptism, etc I would turn the pager off for an hour or two - whatever I needed. Then I would call the service and ask if I had any calls, and would they please test my pager. Now with cell phones, there is voice mail and text messaging so it is easier, but I rarely carry a cell phone unless I am covering someone else. Twenty six years in the same job (same business anyway) this April. Some days are a drag, some are great - isn't that called life? I have had more good bosses than bad ones, and survived the a-holes. We downsized from over a hundred in my department to nine. For a while it was a lot like Survivor - who will be voted off the island this week? Hey, I lose this job - there is another one out here with my name on it. It just probably won't pay as much. As far as net surfing while I work, as I said I am on salary. Generally available from 7:30 to 5PM M-F. Since there are smoking restrictions in NY, people are outside having a smoke several times a day, often for 15-20 minutes (just an observation, not judging them - I used to smoke too), PLUS lunch. I can surf the web and if the phone rings, still take a customer's call. If someone stops by, I casually log off and see what they need. Who is more productive? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted May 12, 2005 Share Posted May 12, 2005 How often do you get an after hours call? It fluxuates. Sometimes I can go a week with only one or two short 20 minute calls, sometimes we get calls at 3am and end up putting in 40 extra hours in for the week. For example, one day towards the beginning of March, we had a server fail and I was up from 4am until 1am getting it fixed. The next day was from 8am-1pm, then 9pm-midnight. Ick. This week's been pretty bad too. Last week there were no calls. For the most part, it just depends on how many hardware problems the servers are experiencing. I do occasionally get comp time off though, generally at a 2-for-1 rate (ie: work 16 extra hours, get one day off). However, I pretty much have to carry a cell phone with me all the time, just in case. Even when my wife and I went to ENgland for our honeymoon, my manager wanted the hotel's phone number, "just in case." That's the problem with being the senior guy... Just ask mcJeff, I'm sure he's experienced the same things in the past. Overall though, my job's good and I can't complain; it's very flexible which is nice (ie: I'm working from home today and tomorrow so the drywaller can do the basement). CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brihs2005 Posted May 12, 2005 Share Posted May 12, 2005 MCJeff... i am too lazy to look up all the old posts... how did your interview with the CEO go? obviously you got the position, but did benefits, salary, etc. turn out the way you wanted? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyDingo Posted May 12, 2005 Share Posted May 12, 2005 Find out exactly what it would take to get your butt fired then back-off 10%. Easy money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcjeff215 Posted May 12, 2005 Author Share Posted May 12, 2005 MCJeff... i am too lazy to look up all the old posts... how did your interview with the CEO go? obviously you got the position, but did benefits, salary, etc. turn out the way you wanted? 334796[/snapback] It went well. They've told me they're going to give me an offer, salary/benefits are inline with what I want. It's a bit less than I've got here, but I was expecting that... it's a different type of position. They told me they can't make the 'official offer' yet because they're making some "changes" and don't want me to get caught up in the mess. I thought it was just a bit of BS, but their recruiter (in house) wants to go have lunch next week and has been making it a point to stay in touch. A bit unorthodox, but believable. The place looks to be a great place to work. I've talked with some of their other employees - they all love the shop. I'm just waiting on that official letter to dump this hell hole (yes, it's really that bad!!) -Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
\GoBillsInDallas/ Posted May 12, 2005 Share Posted May 12, 2005 Do what I did - start your own company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted May 12, 2005 Share Posted May 12, 2005 I have worked my job 20 years, love my coworkers, make great money, get lots of vacation time, I am very well respected by all, I used to love my job but I am really starting to dread it. I work for control freaks now and am losing job satisfaction every day. I dream of some other endeavors but need to bank lots of cash in the mean time. I also am maxing out my 401K at 14,000 a year and would like to keep that up for a few years. I dont know what to do but I dread going to work now. I am ready to tell my bosses that I am losing all job satisfaction when the next time they micromanage me but am not sure if thats the right thing to do. I guess I will grin and bear it for a few more years, get my travels in, contribute to my 401k and bank some serious dinero. I keep happy thoughts in my mind at work and try and never let work get me down, tough as it can be some time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcjeff215 Posted May 13, 2005 Author Share Posted May 13, 2005 I have worked my job 20 years, love my coworkers, make great money, get lots of vacation time, I am very well respected by all, I used to love my job but I am really starting to dread it. I work for control freaks now and am losing job satisfaction every day. I dream of some other endeavors but need to bank lots of cash in the mean time. I also am maxing out my 401K at 14,000 a year and would like to keep that up for a few years. I dont know what to do but I dread going to work now. I am ready to tell my bosses that I am losing all job satisfaction when the next time they micromanage me but am not sure if thats the right thing to do. I guess I will grin and bear it for a few more years, get my travels in, contribute to my 401k and bank some serious dinero. I keep happy thoughts in my mind at work and try and never let work get me down, tough as it can be some time. 335217[/snapback] Ok, rant coming... feel free to ignore =) That about sums it up. I've been at the place I'm at for 7 now. I love my coworkers and I really enjoy what I do. I make a great salary, and I'm accruing vacation at the rate of 6.93 hours a week. That's two months a year. If they'd let me, I could take four day weeks... every week, I'll just stay an hour late on Thursday. I'm very well respected by my peers. I hold what could be considered the highest technical position (there is one higher, my boss has it... but it's 75% management). The problem? The general culture. The position is all figurehead. No one listens to anything I say. I'm responsible - literally - for building all of the infrastructure and product at what is now a public company. I've had - and I've counted them - more than 20 bosses over the past 7 years. I've recently had my lead architect title removed without being told why. It was given to a guy with less experience, less technical knowledge, and less schooling. Everyone thinks all of our projects are "too far below me", so I don't get assigned ANYTHING. I sit there learning new technologies so I'll be worth more to my next shop. Half of the bosses I've had came in under me and were promoted over me, only to get canned within three months. Of course, during that three month tenure they brought in 30% bonuses and employment contracts because they were "management." Couple years back a guy I hired took home 35k in bonus money, I took home $1,200. From my point of view, I've worked my ass off. I don't deserve that. They took my paid parking away, they took some of my access away, they haven't paid me bonuses (but some of my "peers" who happened to have taken the management route have gotten them... as part of the "leadership team."). Yet, they keep promoting the weasels that have it all figured out. Interestingly enough, none of them have had it right. Just last week... I explained to a VP what needed to happen, on a project I lead up, on software I had personally authored. I was ignored. The VP needed operations input, not mine. Fine. A week later, a director of operations called me, asked me what needed to happen... the relayed it onto that same VP... who praised him for saving the day! Of course, the VP then told someone to tell me to make the changes said director had requested. Bah Bah.. I'm not trying to complain, but this thread is starting to bring out the dirt! -Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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