Tales from the Office Space: Complain about your coworkers

[Renascent]

Why does the HR department continue to get renamed? The names get worse over time…

I'd guess it's an ongoing attempt to steer clear of the stigma of the "HR" name, which is at least as old as Office Space.

[Philbert]

Why does the HR department continue to get renamed? The names get worse over time…

I'd guess it's an ongoing attempt to steer clear of the stigma of the "HR" name, which is at least as old as Office Space.

It is like some people do not understand that if you use a word as the name of something which is not good, the word develops negative connotations, and renaming the original entity only multiplies the negative connotation to another word except for a brief period of transition when no one knows wtf anyone is talking about. Example: Idiot, Retarded, Challenged, Special needs, Developmentally delayed, ( I may have the order wrong) The middle three are used as insults, but each was a replacement for a previous word which had become an imsult. Idiot itself replaced simple to some extent, but primarily it seems in the interest of precision (Idiot, Imbecile, and Moron conveyed a lot of information as descriptors of the differently abled).

[cgeorg]

https://www.vice.com/en/article/7k8je9/ ... un-at-work

France’s highest court has ruled that a man fired by a consulting firm for failing to go out for drinks with his colleagues was wrongfully dismissed.

The man, referred to as Mr T. in court documents, was fired by Paris-based Cubik Partners in 2015 because he refused to take part in team-building activities and weekend social events, which his lawyers argued included “excessive alcoholism” and “promiscuity.”

Mr. T claimed that the “fun” culture in the company involved “humiliating and intrusive practices” including crude nicknames and sharing his bed with another employee during work functions.

The company’s lawyers argued that the former employee sometimes had a “brittle and demotivating tone” toward subordinates, and struggled with feedback and differing points of view.

But the Court of Cassation ordered Cubik Partners to pay Mr T. €3,000 (about £2,500) in damages, and said it would look into his demand for a further €461,406 (about £400,000) at a later date.

[Allentown]

"With regard to this request, I understand the desire to ensure proper execution of information build in our key systems. I know you are aware that our BRD is key to capturing these build needs in specific BUC's along with specific ownership. My understanding is that the 'official approvals' are obtained from those stakeholders/ leadership associated with each BUC area of ownership."

Signed: MS, PMP, CSM who we had to talk off a panic ledge a few weeks ago about an emergency issue online which was finally resolved when he showed his screen and I informed him he had his magnification set too high and he just needed to scroll down on his screen.

[Hiphopapotamus]

"With regard to this request, I understand the desire to ensure proper execution of information build in our key systems. I know you are aware that our BRD is key to capturing these build needs in specific BUC's along with specific ownership. My understanding is that the 'official approvals' are obtained from those stakeholders/ leadership associated with each BUC area of ownership."

Signed: MS, PMP, CSM who we had to talk off a panic ledge a few weeks ago about an emergency issue online which was finally resolved when he showed his screen and I informed him he had his magnification set too high and he just needed to scroll down on his screen.

I admire his ability to say so little with so many words.

[CheekiBreekiFitness]

https://www.vice.com/en/article/7k8je9/ ... un-at-work

France’s highest court has ruled that a man fired by a consulting firm for failing to go out for drinks with his colleagues was wrongfully dismissed.

The man, referred to as Mr T. in court documents, was fired by Paris-based Cubik Partners in 2015 because he refused to take part in team-building activities and weekend social events, which his lawyers argued included “excessive alcoholism” and “promiscuity.”

Mr. T claimed that the “fun” culture in the company involved “humiliating and intrusive practices” including crude nicknames and sharing his bed with another employee during work functions.

The company’s lawyers argued that the former employee sometimes had a “brittle and demotivating tone” toward subordinates, and struggled with feedback and differing points of view.

But the Court of Cassation ordered Cubik Partners to pay Mr T. €3,000 (about £2,500) in damages, and said it would look into his demand for a further €461,406 (about £400,000) at a later date.

Just a normal day in France.

[mouse]

Thursday Afternoon: hey guys heads up the call is gonna go out to ask people if they want to do incentivized overtime to help with end of year revenue. You'd get to pick what days/hours you can do or want, and might have some say in what products you'd be working on. No commitment, they just want to know who'd be interested.

Friday Morning: nah fuck you guys you're gonna do your normal day hours building until the end of the month, you go where we say when we say. Maybe we'll get you donuts.

[EggMcMuffin]

I don't work in an office but this chick at my shitty retail job has one of those fucked up fetishes for Latino dudes and is constantly sexually harassing me and every other Spanish speaking person in the building. She has a habit of claiming anyone who rebukes her advances is sexually harassing *her*. She does this awesome thing where she will talk to us in broken Spanish in a really gross, patronizing manner.

Does work ever stop being pure unmitigated torture? Can I just have one normal workplace? Like I understand that I am the modern day equivalent of a serf but Lord Have Mercy

[Renascent]

Does work ever stop being pure unmitigated torture?

I've been told that, if you work for yourself or own the means of production, it ain't so bad.

I don't work in an office but this chick at my shitty retail job has one of those fucked up fetishes for Latino dudes and is constantly sexually harassing me and every other Spanish speaking person in the building. She has a habit of claiming anyone who rebukes her advances is sexually harassing *her*. She does this awesome thing where she will talk to us in broken Spanish in a really gross, patronizing manner.

I won't comment on the meat of this (don't feel like arguing with offended persons about whether or not the fetish is real or imagined in "post-racial America"), but if you think your manager or HR (if there is one) is going to do something about it, I would highly advise you report it.

As you already outlined, I think you know where this kind of situation usually goes if you "rebuke" this kind of entitled person emphatically enough, and that's a battle you likely won't win, given the parameters you describe.

Been there, done that; either bring the situation to the fore, or start looking for somewhere else to work. Boredom plus misguided attraction is a shitty combination in any work setting.

[5hout]

Does work ever stop being pure unmitigated torture? Can I just have one normal workplace? Like I understand that I am the modern day equivalent of a serf but Lord Have Mercy

Every workplace is weird or sucks in its own special way.

Unrelated:

Manager calls me up to do (I'm coming back from paternity leave so easing in). "Can you respond to email from X with an estimate of how long it'll take for us to handle that request? It's the 6th one we've so it shouldn't be too hard"

Me: "That was sent to us by mistake, we don't have any of the information, database permissions or clues to how they want it done. Person Y handled requests 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. Let's loop them in and see if they actually need us.

Manager: "Are you sure we don't have any work to do? Maybe we should just handle it"

Me: "We cannot do it correctly because we do not have the ability to export half the information they want, or to view it at all"

Manager: "Well, if you're sure I guess we can email Y and see. Do you think he knows what to do?"

Me: "He did the previous 5 correctly, and I do not have the permissions to even try and recreate what he did and we have to reach out to him for permissions anyway"

Manager: "I emailed Y and CC'd the client. The client said the request was meant for Y. Is there anything we should do?"

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Fucking 1 week off for hunting then a few off for kid and I'm completely out of shape for dealing with this shit. Feels like pounding nails in with an eyeball. I love/hate taking time off because of this. Sometimes feels easier to just keep a constant drip of nonsense going so I don't get used to rational thought. It's not even bad, it's just 30m spent (billable thank the lord) on a 5 second "Hey I think this was meant for Y can you confirm?"

[CheekiBreekiFitness]

I don't work in an office but this chick at my shitty retail job has one of those fucked up fetishes for Latino dudes and is constantly sexually harassing me and every other Spanish speaking person in the building. She has a habit of claiming anyone who rebukes her advances is sexually harassing *her*. She does this awesome thing where she will talk to us in broken Spanish in a really gross, patronizing manner.

Does work ever stop being pure unmitigated torture? Can I just have one normal workplace? Like I understand that I am the modern day equivalent of a serf but Lord Have Mercy

That happens when you're attractive my dude.

[Renascent]

I don't work in an office but this chick at my shitty retail job has one of those fucked up fetishes for Latino dudes and is constantly sexually harassing me and every other Spanish speaking person in the building. She has a habit of claiming anyone who rebukes her advances is sexually harassing *her*. She does this awesome thing where she will talk to us in broken Spanish in a really gross, patronizing manner.

Does work ever stop being pure unmitigated torture? Can I just have one normal workplace? Like I understand that I am the modern day equivalent of a serf but Lord Have Mercy

That happens when you're attractive my dude.

Uh, yep.

I had this Asian co-worker once (actually, no I didn't). Gorgeous woman, looked like she was lifted right from a scene in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (or something like it). She never paid me much mind, and I really wanted her attention. She really just wanted to get her work done and go home. Anyway, I'd let out these loud kiai screams any time I was in her vicinity -- at the printer, near the water fountain, on the elevators. It was very cute, though she probably didn't realize it herself, because she was too busy being worried about me sexually harassing her or some shit. Harumph.

Sometimes I'd wear a kasa to work and ask her what I should eat for dinner: moo goo gai pan, or chankonabe, or bánh mì. When she'd scrunch up her face in response -- as if she was looking at a ball of slime erected before her -- I didn't pay that shit any mind. One time I said to her, "Me so horny! How about you?" She turned down my advances, and interpreted my statement as sexual harassment (instead of a compliment, like she should've), so I had to strike first.

I went and told everybody I could that she was sexually harassing me.

Eventually she learned how this game was supposed to go. Once she figured out I was doing all this because she was attractive, she realized that my behavior was perfectly okay. After all, I was a jam-up guy, and obviously well-adjusted to my environment, which included people of various ethnic backgrounds. So she'd twirl her hair around her fingers and smile obediently any time I came around to do my Sonny Chiba impressions, because she learned to be grateful for my "compliments." As she should be.

We're golden now, and any time I'm blessed to work with similarly exotic co-workers like the aforementioned woman, I run through the same routine as before. Works nearly every time.

Only the uptight ones seem to take offense, as if there were more appropriate ways to show my genuine interest. They should wanna lap up all the compliments that get thrown their way, don't you think?

[Totally not being sarcastic, by the way]

@EggMcMuffin, based on the concerns you explicitly mentioned, you probably know this already, but any sort of attention you're receiving primarily centered around your ethnic background might be suspect from the start. We used to call them "ethnic-hunters" back in the aughts.

But there is room for a conversation between two consenting adults, though this woman doesn't seem mature enough for it. Still, if you decide to get your dick wet, I hope you are well-compensated.

I missed a lot of shots I don't regret not taking, years ago, because I could not properly get "into character," if you catch my drift. I like rap sometimes, but apparently never enough for what some of my would-be southern suitresses from across the tracks required for their "needs." I don't kinkshame, but I wasn't mentally ready for that at the time.

And with that, Renascent climbed his snowflake ass atop his clumsy steed, in his bewoke boots, and rode away from the Castle of Social Justice™, in search of change plates scattered by the recent winds of plague.

For it was time to bench.

[dw]

You were really hoping someone would give you the opportunity to write that.

[Renascent]

No, D.

I was taking a shit and decided to check the boards, as is habit.

And I was dismayed, D.

Dismayed.

I (reasonably) did not expect any replies to address the sensitive subtext of Muffin's post, despite the fact that the post itself wasn't simply a lamentation of sexual advances from a coworker in whom Muffin has no interest.

The (seeming) implication that followed -- that workplace sexual harassment is an honor reserved for attractive people -- was odd, especially considering the glaring lack of acknowledgement for the rest of the quoted text.

And the type of behavior described -- especially in a work setting -- is still harassment if it's not welcome. Doesn't matter if the recipient is attractive, ugly, smelly, or whatever. People get sexually harassed at work even when the aggressor (please don't recoil at that word) doesn't demonstrably find them attractive.

I hope you are not dismayed that you cannot get that kind of, uh, reaction out of me.

I still love you, D. We just can't see eye to eye.

Mwah.

[CheekiBreekiFitness]

@Renascent My post was mostly lighthearted, and a way to tell @EggMcMuffin he's probably good looking. If it offended you or anyone, it wasn't my intention, and I apologize. And of course I agree with you that sexual harassment is never OK in any situation.

[Renascent]

@Renascent My post was mostly lighthearted, and a way to tell @EggMcMuffin he's probably good looking. If it offended you or anyone, it wasn't my intention, and I apologize. And of course I agree with you that sexual harassment is never OK in any situation.

No worries at all, dude. I was not offended by it, but I figured if the (original) post was going to be addressed at all, there was more to say on the issue. I took it upon myself to do the extra addressing, since it is a situation that I (and others who probably don't even post or lurk here) am intimately familiar with.

I'm well past giving a shit about whose feathers get ruffled every time one of the Coloreds shows up and takes the gas out of a thread. By this point, it's old hat.

Me and Darkwing... we're like Gillespie and Tibbs. We have... a thing.

It's complicated, but not really.

Having said that, if she's doing the same thing with other coworkers who share the common trait of a Latino background, then -- if I were in Muffin's shoes -- I'd find it hard to entertain, let alone even laugh at.

Some people don't even have the spoons to fathom the necessity of such a conversation, so they get pissy when race-related topics on the internet devolve into conversations where race you-know-what is a discernible factor. Otherwise, if such a topic arises, it must only be discussed on their terms, so they sound reasonable. Or smort.

Muffin clearly works with an idiot who's used to the petting zoo/porridge-tasting routine, which can be tiring to navigate after a while.

I can empathize -- even in my old (and tired) age.

(And yeah, he's not a bad-looking dude at all).

[ChasingCurls69]

No, D.

I was taking a shit and decided to check the boards, as is habit.

And I was dismayed, D.

Dismayed.

I (reasonably) did not expect any replies to address the sensitive subtext of Muffin's post, despite the fact that the post itself wasn't simply a lamentation of sexual advances from a coworker in whom Muffin has no interest.

The (seeming) implication that followed -- that workplace sexual harassment is an honor reserved for attractive people -- was odd, especially considering the glaring lack of acknowledgement for the rest of the quoted text.

And the type of behavior described -- especially in a work setting -- is still harassment if it's not welcome. Doesn't matter if the recipient is attractive, ugly, smelly, or whatever. People get sexually harassed at work even when the aggressor (please don't recoil at that word) doesn't demonstrably find them attractive.

I hope you are not dismayed that you cannot get that kind of, uh, reaction out of me.

I still love you, D. We just can't see eye to eye.

Mwah.

The forbidden R-word is sometimes one of those.topics where you can see sometimes the apple doesn:t fall as far from the Rippetoe tree as it would like to think.

[Renascent]

No, D.

I was taking a shit and decided to check the boards, as is habit.

And I was dismayed, D.

Dismayed.

I (reasonably) did not expect any replies to address the sensitive subtext of Muffin's post, despite the fact that the post itself wasn't simply a lamentation of sexual advances from a coworker in whom Muffin has no interest.

The (seeming) implication that followed -- that workplace sexual harassment is an honor reserved for attractive people -- was odd, especially considering the glaring lack of acknowledgement for the rest of the quoted text.

And the type of behavior described -- especially in a work setting -- is still harassment if it's not welcome. Doesn't matter if the recipient is attractive, ugly, smelly, or whatever. People get sexually harassed at work even when the aggressor (please don't recoil at that word) doesn't demonstrably find them attractive.

I hope you are not dismayed that you cannot get that kind of, uh, reaction out of me.

I still love you, D. We just can't see eye to eye.

Mwah.

The forbidden R-word is sometimes one of those.topics where you can see sometimes the apple doesn:t fall as far from the Rippetoe tree as it would like to think.

Thought it was just me.

[dw]

Such intoxicating power, and so pithily employed. I hope I use it for good!

[Renascent]

Churlish post gets terse response.