this post was submitted on 31 Jan 2025
179 points (97.9% liked)
Work Reform
10355 readers
425 users here now
A place to discuss positive changes that can make work more equitable, and to vent about current practices. We are NOT against work; we just want the fruits of our labor to be recognized better.
Our Philosophies:
- All workers must be paid a living wage for their labor.
- Income inequality is the main cause of lower living standards.
- Workers must join together and fight back for what is rightfully theirs.
- We must not be divided and conquered. Workers gain the most when they focus on unifying issues.
Our Goals
- Higher wages for underpaid workers.
- Better worker representation, including but not limited to unions.
- Better and fewer working hours.
- Stimulating a massive wave of worker organizing in the United States and beyond.
- Organizing and supporting political causes and campaigns that put workers first.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
That shit is just not true
How much time I waste on the telephone or senseless meetings, which could be really answered by text, wouldn't occupy a couple of people for an hour and I wouldn't need to be ripped out of focus ...
Maybe it really depends on the kind of work we're talking about. But managers sometimes don't seem to understand that I need to get an idea/concept in my head down in code (or at least some notes) right now, because it could be lost forever and it will take hours to get back to the a viable solution.
But yeah, just quickly call me about some stupid contract thing, where a translation isn't correct...
I was in a meeting yesterday afternoon that I could have summarized in two paragraphs.
In fact, I did summarize it in 2 paragraphs earlier that day. And sent it to everyone on the invite.
Imagine my surprise when all 12 people start panicking because they don't know the answer to something I put in the email. Turns out no one even read it.
That's why they like in-person meetings. So they don't have to read.
Yeah, that's the worst of it
How much time I spent writing eloborated mails, never got an answer, only to here in a meeting, the someone immediately demands answers and estimations from me - which I sent out to all members of this fucking meeting 2 weeks ago
"this could have been a meeting" said no one ever.
Saving that one.
Also chitchat has no records, only emails count when your boss is pushing you in front of the bus because he fucked up big time. How many time have I seen people say "I never said that you're lying" when their little project failed...
Exactly!
I was accepted a proposed timeline based on promised resources, which I never got.
And when shit hit the fan, they just said, but it's your timeline?!
That was the point, where I promised myself, I'll do nothing important anymore on the phone, because I'll need written evidence.
And just a few months later, I was in that exact position, where I was blamed that something wasn't ready, which was promised to the customer.
But as I had everything written in mails, what I've promised to accomplish, I could show, that everything there was actually finished and only the stuff managers promised, which I have objected to, was just horse shit.
Can't trust anyone.
They will act friendly on the phone, just to throw you under the bus, when the heat comes up.
I love my coworkers but I've been bitten in the past and now I only trust emails, even for small projects and even if I can't be fired.
In the past, the CTO of a company destroyed the Linux servers by putting random commands in bash (he only knew Windows). They tried to put the blame on me, I printed all the emails where I warned them that it was the worst idea ever and said something like "you suck, it's your fault, don't try to sue me, I quit." There is no need to put your whole life (personal and money) in danger because one idiot cannot do his job.
Oh totally, I’d much rather chat or text. Instead of having some long ass meeting, or being dragged into a meeting that really didn’t need you.
I find it much more offending, when I'm the only one in the meeting who talks, because nobody knows shit, and afterwards they aren't even able to write the stuff I said in their stupid document. So they send me the document - on some share of course, because we're all working together - so I could have just skipped the meeting and written/filled out their fucking document in the first place.
And when that shit is actually finished, they spent 15 minutes congratulating each other how important this was and how great everyone did.
While nobody of them actually did anything, because they couldn't understand a word.
I'm just so fucking sick of it...
Yes in that way school did really prepare you for real life with group projects. 😅
Have they ever heard of Teams calls. I swear managers are so out of touch it's not funny
Sadly most of my meetings are now on fucking teams
I really detest this garbage
Hate them almost as much as in-person meetings lol
The thing is, there are some 30 second conversations that are more prodictive but they are few and far between. They mostly involve people who have trouble communicating via text because they assume a bunch of intent and additional context that doesn't exist. Those types of people love working in offices and gossiping and writing articles about how awesome office work is.
It is one of those 'can be true, but not that often when people communicate' situations. Plus it leaves the opportunity for people to remember their own version of the conversation...
Weirdly enough, this is exactly the kind of people who will insist on being super empathetic and having super high emotional intelligence.
If people would be able to actually formulate their question, a text based conversation would be quite more productive.
But as they usually don't even really know what they want to know and only have a vague idea, they need to talk, so they can get down to the point of their original problem.
As a technician/sw dev this usually the problem, when managers call me.
They call, because they have a problem they don't understand. If they would have a clue, I could give a short precise answer.
But because they lack the correct words or don't even really know what the problem is, they want to talk, so they can hide their incompetence and guide the conversation to their actual problem.
Maybe I'm just really pissed after all those years of senseless calls.
To be fair, I sometimes also use calls, when I need fast answers. But then it either really is a fast call or I have a discussion about a problem, where I'm not exactly sure how to proceed and need a second opinion.
And that's the point. I'm not sure on those cases on how to proceed and need a discussion. Just like the people calling me.
But their questions are usually none to be discussed, but only not well formulated, because they don't know their shit.
I don't have anything against colleagues calling me for help and I spent 30mins discussing possible approaches.
But being on the phone for something that would be much better handled per text, because my answer is maybe complex and then I need to send it out as mail anyway, because my counterpart doesn't understand it... This is just a waste of time, because of incompetence
Yeah, and those same people are the reason most meetings suck. Good meetings exist when eveyone is on the same page or are able to get up to speed quickly instead of dancing around whatever the actual topic is. Or doing those stupid 'teambuilding' time wasters and try to make everyone else care about sports.
Yeah... Start of the year is always an exercise in patience, when everyone spends 20mins to just wish everyone a new year and how their holidays were.
For fucking Christ, I've better things to do then this bullshit pseudo socializing, that's absolutely worth nothing.
Will happily drink a beer with some of my colleagues, but that shit is just wasting time professionally