Damn, that looks so good. I bet it tasted even better.
Question, what do you/ did you do to get through the work day when day after day the internal frustration of dealing with constant bullshit from all sides starts/started to wear on you? Granted, I work myself up a positive attitude when I walk in the door but behind my mask I'm saying "fuck you" while my eyes just smile. It's amazing the drama, immaturity, idiocracy and total lack of caring on display. March to the overlords beat. Decisions with no common sense. Second guessed on decisions made. etc. I do understand some of the overall frustration across the board but it wears on ya. I got big shoulders and a strong constitution so I'll make it till I decide not to. What would get "you" through?
and, no, randomly urinating in the coffee pot is out of the question :)
I like to start off with my "artillery" ears. Who? What? What about thursday? Why are you mumbling all the time? Then progress by finding out what subject annoys certain people and TALK about it all the time. Like talking about my cat to dog people or my dog to cat people. Or about Jesus to atheists. Things like that. People stay away from ya real quick.
ReplyDeleteI work in a chemical plant. There are days when I just tell people I gotta check something in the field and I walk around for several hours. I've been working there 15 years, I know all the hiding spots. At that point I'm at work, but I'm not working. Other times I just shut my office door and pretend to be deep in project work. I've gotten up and walked out of meetings before. Came close to getting fired a few times, like when I told the production manager I'm not putting down false info on an environmental report - that shit will get you personally prosecuted. It comes and goes in waves, there are some extremely bad years but as managers are moved around there are sometimes good years. As long as it pays the bills, I put up with it.
ReplyDeleteAsk myself whether I think I can outlast them. If the answer is no, it’s time to shop for a new gig. Also, give yourself something to look forward to at the end of the day. Carve out 30 minutes of transition time. Don’t bring the BS home even if it’s grinding on you at work. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteGood morning, that looks like some excellent grub.
ReplyDeleteDepending on the premise of the bullshit, I either smile, say ok and keep on working, or put on the stink eye face and keep on working.
I usually get pissed and hostile. I find a new job and leave w/ a bang! 1 time, parked my work truck under an acid drip, deleted my phone, tossed the keys in, locked the doors, and shut the truck. Told the boss where to stick it as I left the job site. Another time, I cooked salmon in the office microwave. Threw half in the boss' garbage and shut his door for the weekend. My coworkers had to bail on Monday! Once I get pissed off, I get a new degree or new job. I flip jobs every few months now, sometimes.
ReplyDeleteDocument, document, document.
ReplyDeleteEventually, the wheels come off the buss and they look for sacrificial victims. Get it in writing with a signature at the bottom.
"You want it when? Which job do you want me to stop? Put it in writing." or "You want 1020 instead of 8620. Great! We have it in stock. Put it in writing." or "Break down the set-up because your job is more important. No problem. Get the other guy's signature on the work-order but I will keep working on this job until you give me a copy."
It is amazing how much bool zhit disappears when they have to leave tracks in the snow.
This! This is how you switch management from wielding a whip to becoming your fraidy-cat friend!!!
DeleteYes!!!
DeleteTime for a vacation....might be five minutes, might be two weeks...
ReplyDeleteMentally, I do the Marine Corps thing, be polite but have a plan. Inwardly it helps. Like ER Joe, I document everything at work. It is CYA, not OCD.
ReplyDeleteOutwardly, I have to have something to do that I like. Working on a project, helping a neighbor. Visiting with close family. Some days, reading this blog is like a sanity pill, I need those more often now it seems...
In my office I had pictures of everyone's dogs, cats, and other pets. Amazing how when they came in to bitch about something they looked at the pictures (not just their own) and mellowed out and you could see it in the eyes. Had a rule though---New pictures every other month. Might sound crazy but it worked.
ReplyDeleteDad said after he retired, on demand, "I was tired of the bullshit". Father-in-law said the same thing after he closed his business but in a politer way. Employer owner said the same thing after he handed the rains to his son. Dad's phrase stuck in my head continuously for years. When the son offered a 50 percent pay cut, I got to say your number 1, since I had been saving for 40 years. Haven't worked since been the best days of my life especially those with the father in law in his last days.
ReplyDeleteTPTB can always put the thumb on you when you want/need to keep your job. Just bit my tongue in the earlier years but still ran circles around people but I was a little bull headed like most Irish. I wish all of you well in your survival till escape. May God bless all the days of your life.
I finally got tired of the bs and retired early @ 62 and never looked back. We sold our property, bought a little hobby farm and I’m the mellowist man alive 😂. Tending chickens, raising my own beef and generally do whatever the heck I want.
ReplyDelete38 years of government bull with the Air Force was enough.
My best defense is to follow the suggestion/order to the T. If I can get a written order/note stating what is to be done, so much the better. The best one was when my a-hole supervisor ordered me to replace all circuit boards in a cabinet with spares all at once. After arguing that was not a good idea, I finally relented and did just that. I knew we didn't have spares for all the boards and also that the spares were problematic. Lessons were learned.
ReplyDeleteI stated stoned till i had to go back to work. Now iam Retired an i stay stoned all damn day good times these lol .
ReplyDeleteJust stay stoned an say FUCK IT
ReplyDeleteJust stay stoned an say FUCK IT
ReplyDeleteRetired last month after 38.5 years in Law Enforcement. "I was tired of the bullshit." Many thanks FI!
ReplyDeleteTo expand on what ER Joe said: Keep CYA files. From the mechanical design/drafting world--Kept dated paper copies of each iteration of the engineering changes, just in case somebody claimed "I never told you to do that!" Kept all email conversations in a separate file, for same reason. If something was REALLY controversial, emailed a copy home so it couldn't be erased with my work system files.
ReplyDeleteParanoid, yes. But some places are just like that, unfortunately. Practice CYA, and you'll probably never need to use it, but it's there if you need it.
I worked 25 years for a state agency. I kept copious cya files, copies on paper of all correspondences etc. I figure it took me at least 2 hours a week, and a lot of paper. Productivity at its finest! I had a co-worker accuse me of threatening to kill him in an email that he waved around for all to see. State patrol showed up. I told the investigator to simply get the ip and routing data. Came from the jagoffs house computer to his work computer. He was a "favored one" so it was all just dropped. CYA CYA CYA!!
DeleteI work from home and the house is empty for 2 to 5 hours every day. I yell maniacally on occasion...
ReplyDeleteI worked hazmat response for years. Every call, I got to deal with some ego tripping responder/leo/health care worked etc... out to prove they were smarter than the scientists in tyvek suits. After 15 years developed a death glare to rival a gunny sergeant. Became a chemistry teacher and get to use the glare on any admin or teacher that trots out some new bs. Watching them squirm and shrink away is one of the only satisfying things I got.
ReplyDeleteI've been an elected official for 16 years. For the first half of it, it was a constant battle with other local officials, elected and appointed. Hardest part was subduing my native Irish berserker inclination to rip off their arms and beat them to death with them. Careful attention to and knowledge of Statutes has won the day for me many, many times. What is my authority, what is my responsibility, and most importantly, what does anybody else know about it? If you are well versed in the details of what you are supposed to be doing, and nobody else is, you can sometimes wiggle yourself some additional authority or flexibility by judicious application of the blarney. Dogged perseverance, carefully restrained hostility, sprinkle it all down with a little good, old fashioned ridiculousness, and never hesitate, when other people start throwing shit, to be the one throwing the shit with the rocks and broken glass in it.
ReplyDeleteDriving home one night--swing shift, off at 0130) I just asked myself: "How much longer can I keep doing this BS?" Well, I sat down and figured it out; 10 hour shifts, four days a week, minus the vacation time and holidays....it came out to about 2500 shifts to go. I kept ticking them off, one day at a time, like hash marks on a cell wall. Years went by, and people started asking "How many more to go?" And I could always say "435 to go!" I had pegged 65 as a retirement date, but the grind and stress were starting to get to me. I bailed a year early, and now three years later I can honestly say "NO REGRETS!"
ReplyDeleteI found a job where I work alone, and only see the boss on rare occasions.
ReplyDeleteIf I may ask, what kind of job? I'd prefer to work alone if possible...
DeleteI walk after work. One plus one plus one. One hour walking there. One hour drinking beer. One hour walking back. Plus a few minutes sneaking into back alleys to pee.
ReplyDeletehttps://tinyurl.com/y3qtkpbm
These young buggers opening all their craft breweries are doing one hell of a job saving mankind.
The Annex Ale Project, to which I refer with great respect, has 8 neighbor brew pubs within 10 minutes walk, all of similar high quality, and which also keep the days trouble and frustration at bay.
Retired after 53 years i the computer field. I barely tolerated stupid managers, but by and large had a lot of GOOD ones. Had one manager tell me to schedule all emergencies 2 weeks in advance, and get his blessings. All of us laughed at him for two years afterward.
ReplyDeleteRemember your higher purpose.
ReplyDeleteALWAYS have a higher purpose.
"If you have a WHY, you can do any WHAT."
Remember, "Time and I can take on any two."
Managers have short work lives.
I've had 6 in 13 years. This too, shall pass..
Thanks for all the suggestions, ideas and sharing your own personal habits. Some are already in use and there's a few others I can add to the arsenal with one exception. Chams90 at this point in my career I'm not sure that would work. I tried it a few times back in the day and all I got was hungry. :)
ReplyDelete"Chocolate is my friend."
ReplyDeleteThis's my mantra; a few dozen repetitions, and I'm good.
Any questions to interrupt my reverie, and the victim gets my 'psycho smile' with a slow whisper countdown from 'ten-n-n...', 'nine-n-n...'.
I am real good at 'psycho'.
The comedy channel on iHeartRadio, and vodka. Good vodka.
ReplyDeleteIn my younger days I said as long as I don’t have to go home with or get in bed with; I can put up with it. The older you get the less willing you are to put up with the BS.
ReplyDelete