The Work Thread
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@Derp
You're unironically better coming down to Louisiana for law school, then, if you can't take the obviously preferable route of going in Spain. The civil law is a strange beast. -
That feeling when you've been out sick for a full week at a really critical time, but you totally couldn't help it, but you still feel crappy and are consumed with the growing fear that people think less of you for having been away, and that you'll never be able to make up ground loss for being sick and taking care of yourself.
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I've been working with my current company for just over two years now and things seem to be going well. I got my responsibilities upgraded soon after joining then I was promoted and given my own team to manage. So this was good. The money is good. The title is nice.
On the other hand... it turns out I had completely underestimated how time-consuming this management thing takes. It is insane; all the meetings, writing of documents, keeping track of people's performance, doing one on ones.... shit, that's a lot of stuff. But it's fun and I still like it - perhaps because it's new and still a novelty, and even if it's taken my focus off of the purely technical stuff.
What truly caught me unaware though is all the... other requirements. For example now I have to dress the part - apparently it's a not-so unspoken rule that people will judge you based on that in ways keyboard jockeys (which I am, at least at heart) never have to worry about since the expectations are simply not there. No, I need better pants; yes, I need dressy shoes. And for sure I have to wear button-down shirts; gone are the days of sportsy, cool UA fun fabrics.
Those were not responsibilities I was prepared for. I'm not and have never been the guy who walks into fancy suit stores; I own suits but if I wear one more than once a year it'll be for a funeral or something. Now, it seems, that will have to change. I'm not so sure how I feel about all that yet.
- He who takes offense when not intended is a fool. He who takes offense when intended is a greater fool.
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@Arkandel I admit, as 'the tech writer,' the attire thing is a little weird.
There's no dress code here. We have one girl who is full goth all the time. Another who wears jeans with a studded belt, tanktops or band tees. No one batted an eye at my 'artfully torn tee over tanktop' combo last week.
But hell if I don't plan those outfits. Those are for the days I have no meetings because a lot of my meetings involve upper management. I think they'd all be totally fine if I was jeans-and-band-tee, but I feel like I need to represent a little.
Saying the quiet parts out loud since 1996.
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@Auspice It's more like... I don't really suffer from imposter syndrome, that's simply not me. I don't feel out of place among managers or directors. I talk freely to our VPs.
But walking into a fancy place selling high end clothing does do... something to mess with my head. I don't know why - the guys working there are grunts like everyone else. But I while I don't feel judged I do feel self conscious and that's not something I'm used to.
- He who takes offense when not intended is a fool. He who takes offense when intended is a greater fool.
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@Arkandel I would be intimidated by the salespeople at the high end store men's section, except for the experience I had taking my eldest son to get his first suit. I was so worried he would be looked down on or treated snobbily (his mom is a fat middle aged broad in tees and jeans then and he is trans) but my god was I so very wrong. So much so that i had to go hide so i didnt lose it and embarrass my kid by sobbing at how seamlessly and respectfully and amazing the people that helped him were without even batting an eye. I saw them do that with everyone that came in while we were there. So esp. if you have not really shopped for stuff like that in awhile, I think it's worth it to go to a place that has people on the floor to actually assist you, explain the deal (new promotion, what you are used to wearing, what the expectations are, what your budget is) and then have them help you.
The women's section is much the same way, even though asking for help made me so nervous and fearful of judgement I thought i was going to puke. Same thing, no judgment, a lot of help, suggestions of things I never would have picked out myself but really worked, and totally kept things in budget and versatile.
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I finally landed a job where I can roll up in jeans and a t-shirt every day. I'm not sure I can go back.
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@mietze said in The Work Thread:
Same thing, no judgment, a lot of help, suggestions of things I never would have picked out myself but really worked, and totally kept things in budget and versatile.
This happened to me when went to Breakout Bras (they're a big online store, but they have a physical location where I lived in SC). I was rather anxious about it (I mean, it's a rather intimate garment!), but those ladies were so incredibly helpful.
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Yes, please take down the UAT environment while I'm in the middle of a deadline for documentation.
It's not like I need it or anything.
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I've landed a job at a brand new branch of a company that landed a contract in the area for the first time, and as such, have had the experience of working remotely for an extended period of time ... while there isn't much workload as we try to define the terms of the project. I know things are about to get crazy - I got pulled on because I know exactly how crazy the wireless industry actually is at its peak and thrive in that, and anyone who knows anything about it knows that some major things are about to go down in regards to 5G. But I never realized how much I would thrive working remotely. How much better my focus is just being able to sit in my room.
Not to mention I am cautiously optimistic about management willing to take on a full team and pay them even before we are able to really get moving, just so we all have the opportunity to work together a bit - and the fact that I've worked with about half of my team before.
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@Selira said in The Work Thread:
How much better my focus is just being able to sit in my room.
It takes a very specific kind of person. I do well working remotely. I have 'my' setup, geared towards my needs. People can only interrupt me as I allow (aka enabling/disabling notifications, phone ringtone, etc.).
I'm also capable of resistance. What I mean there is: resistance to 'just run out to do an errand;' resistance to agreeing to a 'short outing;' resistance to getting embroiled too deeply in a game (be it video or MU); resistance to my bed.
The last is actually the one reference I use when people ask about working from home. I got mono when I was 27 (srsly, ridic age for that shit) and had to work every day in view of my bed. I tell people to be 100% honest with themselves about that scenario: could you be exhausted-sick, have your bed right there, and still work? (because there's no taking time off for a month-long deal like mono)
If the answer is 'no,' working from home probably isn't for you. Because it's not the miserable-sick situations that get you. It's the small ones. The 'I'll just take a quick nap...' The 'I'll run out for groceries just this once.'
I am enjoying the office experience because I work with awesome people, but I do miss working from home. (Though I get more exercise this way: 1mile + walking a day due to commute.)
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I am one of those people that can work from home pretty okay. It's going to come down to the new company getting the accommodation letter, though. I don't live far enough away from the office for them to feel I should work from home. The Rheumatologist feels differently (my pain levels going into the office to work have climbed fairly dramatically), so.. they will get a letter.
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This is where I'm at also. I only live about 15 minutes from the office, but my new awareness of the not-new panic disorder I have is making it hella hard to physically go to work. I need to swivel this thing into a remote job, but I'm not totally woke to what that process is.
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Work seems to think 15 minutes is enough time to leave the floor for the break room, treat my low sugar, eat something slow absorbing to keep them level without overcompensating, and get my hands to stop shaking. Apparently I need another accommodation letter.
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@Macha said in The Work Thread:
Work seems to think 15 minutes is enough time to leave the floor for the break room, treat my low sugar, eat something slow absorbing to keep them level without overcompensating, and get my hands to stop shaking. Apparently I need another accommodation letter.
Maybe one of our board lawyers can help you craft a properly threatening (y'know, threats of reporting them to the EEOC since this very well counts, I believe, as discrimination) letter of warning to go with it. There might be some already extant on the web.
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@Auspice I already spoke to my diabetic doctor's office. I'll have one in the mail by the end of the week to give the job.
But I have an interview on Friday for a much better paying gig (I mean WAY better), so if some of y'all could spare me some good thoughts, it would mean a HUGE change up for me.
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So I find myself feeling resentful after getting a pay increase with no promotion. This is odd, because hey, a $1.30 more an hour is awesome, but at the same time...
I don't know why I wasn't promoted. My performance review was fairly stellar, all exceeds expectations with 1-2 meets expectations. I was told I was the only member in my team that met all of my recorded goals from the previous year. I have all the skills necessary for the next level and a good number of ones required for the level past that.
I've never been in trouble or been spoken to about my performance. All feedback has been glowing. And yet. I've been rejected for internal advancement a few times, and each time my feedback has been 'Your answers were all good, but not quite what we're looking for'. So. I'm frustrated because I don't know what to do with that feedback.
Then there's the fact that a contract employee was making $2 more an hour than I was. She's since been hired into a Lead position, while another former contractor that was hired on full time and is a level below me is making the same hourly rate.
I am annoyed and frustrated, but at the same time I don't want to be giving the impression that I'm entitled/whiny/etc. Pair this with the fact that I was out sick due to a medical issue on a super critical week and have since been excluded from meetings, and I am hitting a nice level of constant anxiety.
My plan is to approach my supervisor and ask what I need to work on to qualify for a promotion in the next round... but bleh. Feeling low.
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Part of it may actually be your performance. Not the lack thereof, but the exceptional quality. If you are indispensable in your current position, you are just as likely to be passed up for promotion as those not qualified.
Racism isn't Tinkerbell. It doesn't need you to believe in it for it to exist.
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@Derp said in The Work Thread:
Part of it may actually be your performance. Not the lack thereof, but the exceptional quality. If you are indispensable in your current position, you are just as likely to be passed up for promotion as those not qualified.
This.
This x a million.
I missed out on a lot of promotions and the like in the past because I was too valuable where I was.
Which is why I now purposefully underperform in jobs.
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"I don't want to offend anyone, but...
This looks like shit, your design is shit, and you're shit. (Ok, paraphrased, but this is how it sounded to my ears)
But please, don't take offence or take it personally."
FML. I just want to go back to developing other people's web designs. This having to come up with the web app design sucks.
