#Office Culture

[american-boyboss]

[clove-pinks]

How to call off from work in 1846, by John Leech.

[victusinveritas]

[o-kurwa]

America was playing 3D chess by withdrawing and we were all just too dumb to see it

[uchidachi]

Office culture bitch time let’s go

For anyone who doesn’t know, cartoons and jokes from the 80s/90s complaining about how terrible cubicles are were doing so because they were comparing them to private offices or office rooms that were shared between a few workers who were on the same team.

Cubicles allowed everyone to be moved to massive open spaces, with only fake walls between them, and each person had less usable space and less privacy than they previously enjoyed. And some people still had to share those spaces so they weren’t even providing additional quiet/privacy to those who had previously been sharing an office.

Open-plan seating is worse than cubicles, by removing privacy entirely and pretending that open space shared by 50 workers is “usable” to anyone. There’s no personal space, no sound-baffling, and often you don’t even get your own reserved seat! Open-plan seating is a plague on office culture, masquerading as a “positive” alternative just because people disliked cubicles.

[silvermoon424]

I'm just being bitter and ranting at this point, but I love how in every corporate job I've had I've been snitched on by a coworker for reading books, complaining about something, taking too many bathroom breaks, whatever. I have literally never snitched on anyone despite seeing some shit and some people make it their entire personality to get involved in office politics and police what their coworkers are doing.

Most of my coworkers have been cool people, but some of them were definitely the "teacher, you forgot to assign homework!" kids in school. Guess that translates to a lack of worker solidarity, smh. Marx is crying.

[blaaaaask]

I tried out one of those personality quizzes and got INTJ-T.

Didn't even realize they had that extra letter.

Anyone else take one of these and you're like 'Well, that certainly explains a lot.'

Quote from the website:

Some personality types are drawn to jobs that require nonstop teamwork and interaction, but INTJs tend to prefer positions that offer independence. By working alone or in small groups, they can make the most of their creativity without constant interruptions from curious coworkers or second-guessing supervisors. They really do believe that if they want something done right, they’d better do it themselves.

End quote.

So, this leads me to a kind of funny story. I quit my desk job about a year ago because they wanted to change remote workers(3+ years) to "hybrid" (aka, slowly change us from our remote positions to in-office for X amount of days. I'm not stupid, I know eventually this would lead to going back to full time in-office. This is just them slowly boiling the frog.)

I, of course, resisted. Sent emails, had meetings, jumped through 100 different hoops. It was literally causing me so much stress that my doctor was trying to recommend anxiety meds (please note, the anxiety was not there until this stupid debacle happened?) I would write/tell HR endless reasons why I could not return to in-office working any longer (pre COVID times), but each person I had to talk to never read half the crap I wrote. And they kept saying 'well, would it be fair though?' Which, I pointed this out, that there were numerous people in various departments who were men who were within similar driving distances as myself who were staying remote and were not being questioned. But I, as a female, and all the female coworkers I had talked to, were facing the same requests.

I didn't want to be 'that girl' that pointed things like that out, but uh, it felt like a glaring oversight.

My department head had also just changed, and instead of having a boss who was eager to help me (he said as long as you're working, do whatever works.) New boss was like 'you need to follow the rules, I am not going to support you.'

So, with the issue sitting before me of 'do I follow their rules just because it pays well?' or 'do I leave, and pursue something I love?'

I quit.

I put in two weeks, which was hellish but freeing.

I have not looked back. My department was ultra small, so it felt sad to drop the ball on them like that, but I am not to be fucked around with. And I have put everything into my art here, my writing, and trying to build my own income. It is going slow (as in, I am making nothing right now) but what can I say? I absolutely love what I'm doing now.

Will I need to go back into reality at some point and get another job? It's possible.

Am I going to keep trucking away otherwise? You bet.

Moral of the story: Fuck those fucking fuckers, hahaha. But seriously, if you have found a means to work in an environment that works for you, do NOT feel like you have to change it!!

As I told them in my emails: if you're getting into gardening, and you have multitude of plants with varying needs, you tend to them following those instructions. Some need direct light. Some need dark spaces. Some like it hot. Some like it cold. You cannot uproot all your plants and put it into one box because 'it is easier to water that way.' You will kill off some of your most unique plants this way. You will end up with all of the same plants.

Also just random tldr: Fuck office jobs. And office culture.

Okay thanks for reading my rant. :)

[cannabisexual]

whoever decided what the standard rules were for "professionalism" in business culture, i hope they're stuck answering emails which find them well for all eternity

[mbrainspaz]

Someone at work: thanks! you’re the best!

Me (internally): oh jeeze, I’m literally just doing my job. In fact I should’ve had this done 3 days ago but I got distracted. *spock voice* your enthusiasm is unwarranted.

[paytato435]

Office culture is so fucked it melts my brain. Here is a painful conversation I had this morning:

I'm in charge of answering the office phone and I get hundreds of formal and pedantic marketers trying to sell our business all kind of things. It's normal, but I can't stand faking polite to conversations I am so painfully disinterested in. A few minutes ago I got a phone call and the conversation opens to a man being so personably impersonal that instead of letting me know what he is calling about he only asks me how I am doing. No clarification of who he is speaking to, no introduction of who he is or what he needs, just... "Good morning ma'am how are you today?"

I hate this job.

I, good employee that I am (barely), tell him I'm doing fine and ask him how I can help him. It's direct, and moves the conversation to what is strictly necessary.

"I'm doing alright, how can I help you?"

This motherfucker answers:

"I'm doing well, thanks for asking! Can you connect me to <employee name>?"

Brother... WHAT DID I ASK YOU?

It was such a confidently personable thing to say that I didn't even notice he said that at first. My dialogue tree stalled for a moment, trying to process what he had said. Thankfully, he had added who he wanted to speak to so I could transfer him before I completely fell apart.

Jesus Christ. "Personableness" in the office is so fake and useless it actually causes me to break down and not be able to focus on what someone actually needs. I need to get out of here.

[victusinveritas]

[avengersnewb]

Hot desking is the ultimate humiliation.

We are family but you don’t have your own bed, your desk, your own 1/300th of the house. You just come in and see where you can find decent spot to spread your blanket on the floor and sleep. Wanna have a photo of your kid in the living area? How about we give you a drawer you can put it in when you go out and bring out and hold it when you come back?

But please do come back.

We love you.

We are a shitty exploitative abusive family.

[beanneversean]

Possum Kingdom.

[delphinidin4]

Terrible idea: JobCore

aesthetic collections based on the absolute worst in office culture, late-stage capitalism, and hustle culture. Filled with slogans that sound like something your CEO tries to motivate you with during all-company meetings. No images of nature scenery or anything truly beautiful: every single thing shown is ugly and/or boring: bare-looking offices, ugly office buildings, excel spreadsheets. people who are into jobcore are called 'boss babes' (regardless of gender) or 'business majors'. ultimate dystopia. hilarious but also terrifying -- with a side of boring. this is the way the world ends: not with a bang, etc.

[dancingbirdie]

My coworker: How come we never see you at the communal lunches?

Me: I do not enjoy being perceived.

[the-august-one]

"I just don’t think this idea has the merit it needs to be successful, but that’s just my take."

This is the politest phrasing I've ever seen for 'your idea is dumb' and I'm stealing it.