Let's bitch about our stupid, annoying co-workers

a student in one of the classes I'm supervising (but not teaching) has not been able to get into MS Teams or our system for two days. I was not available to help monitor yesterday due to leading my own training, and today I have five classes I'm watching, whereas the managers for this rep have just the one.

Instead of considering human error as a possibility, they just started IT tickets every time, having the password reset. she's on her third password now, and she claims it 'doesn't work' and insists she's typing it in correctly.

In 5 minutes, I logged in using those credentials and they worked without issue. why are so many people technologically challenged? why does everybody assume it's always a 'technical problem' and not consider the fact that some people shouldn't ever touch a computer.

I am working with a group which includes a fairly large age range (20s - 80s) -- yesterday I observed a meeting where a very well-intentioned younger person (probably about 30) wondered why the group was not doing collective work in google docs ... "the olds" have a lot of problems with google docs. Why that is? I don't know. One of the consultants that regularly works with my org is "an old" and he also struggles with google docs, so everything gets sent back and forth in word and excel.

Being in my late 40s, I have a sense of humility about it, because it won't be that long before I, too, am an old.

I wonder how much of it comes down to how people were trained to use computers/software. I know in high school in the mid-90s we were taught about security and how we should never, ever allow others to use or access our documents, so I could imagine someone older and more settled in their ways being kind of flummoxed by the turnaround to everything being shared and collaborative. Fortunately I was (am, he asks hopefully) young enough to see the progression towards collaborative working and seeing how it made more sense and could be more intuitive. I don't know, I can see how the idea of everyone accessing everything might feel kind of anathema to people of a certain age.

I think some of it involves working in the cloud, and where things are stored, and how to access the shared files, and that some people have mirrored copies of the Google Drive on their desktops that sync with the cloud versions, and others don't, such that there are different ways to access and work in Google Docs as opposed to "one way" which ... for people who learned computers as middle-aged adults (as opposed to as kids), could be challenging and annoying.

I had a co-worker who was supposed to be updating a shared Excel file, then save and close it down, and every single time would manage to save a local copy and work on that. This was pre- anything syncing to clouds.

lol we had that issue a LOT

ugh my coworker does this all the time & and t drives me round the bend

i do all her updates in the shared cloud version then the (downloaded, desktop) version she sends to her client is completely different & wrong raaaaaagh

my coworkers are roughly mid 40’s to late 50’s so we’re probably all technically olds

looking at Neanderthal’s issue a bit back and, having experienced it, I wonder if the support never checked to make sure the person was using both username and password, and if they even could connect to anything at all. who knows, maybe Teams was trying to authenticate to a previous job with new credentials

software is terrible and maybe the skill to work around that is not something a sane person should require off job

(She’s probably just fucking it up tho)

the frustrating thing for me is that although I know *some* troubleshooting, I'm not an IT person, have no background in it, and one of the things that made me leave my previous role was that as we continued to upgrade or change platforms, more unique quirks that nobody knew how to solve kept popping up, because we often rushed things into production with insufficient testing/product knowledge. and these things would affect the quality of my team's work and I'd get blamed even though I had no control over it or idea how to fix these things. I'd get pulled into several-hours long triage calls to 'help fix' where all I'd do is every 4 hours or so test something, while I was supposed to be doing my real job.

so I become a full-time trainer and it was heaven for a bit because outside of a handful of minor tech issues that are simple enough for me to solve, I had NONE of that to worry about anymore...

...until the pandemic and everybody started working from home. the day before class begins, everybody is supposed to receive their equipment and test it the day before class starts, and there's literally supposed to be a checklist they're supposed to complete with each person.

the location managers never do what we demand ask them, they don't keep us in the loop on who is having problems or has tickets open, 25% of the hires don't show up to the check-in to set up equipment and enter Day 1 of training having set nothing up. and now we're shipping equipment rather than having people pick it up, and after 2 months of trying that, haven't improved. People get damaged equipment in the mail because the dummies don't pack the shit properly (like literally 5% of all monitors shipped get cracked in transit).

so we get to Day 1 of class and we can't even properly teach because 30% of the class has concurrent technical issues of varying complexity, some of which I know how to fix, some I don't, and we can barely teach because we're stopping every 2 minutes to put our fingers in another hole in the dam and screen-sharing with someone. at least 10% of people have tickets open that prevent them from accessing systems and they don't get resolved until Day 2. the people who didn't get their equipment sometimes don't get it until Day 3 (and then they have to be moved to a later class because they're too far behind).

and then the most audacious fucking thing I saw is that apparently one of our partner sites actually TERMINATES new hires who have equipment issues beyond their control and fall too far behind in class. No finding another assignment for them, moving them to a later class, no...the assholes actually term them. how in the fuck do you have the balls to take away a job (even if temporary) you offered someone because the IT department that sent them equipment fucked up or something Gremlin-y happened?

they actually wrote that in the IT escalation request - "Please help fix this issue as soon as possible or we will have to term this employee". what in the actual fuck.

it's hell right now, and people blame WFH but it's like....we've had a year to get this right and we've actually gotten worse at it :). and now I spent my time being amateur IT guy which is WHAT I CAME HERE TO AVOID.

like every class, we have one or two people who literally don't have a work computer trying to attend training for 2-3 days, not able to see anything, just listening on their phones (or pulling up MS Teams on their phone in Guest mode on a tiny screen).

and then leadership asks WHY IS ATTRITION SO BAD

(why don't they have a work computer? since we ship the equipment so close to the training start date, any delays in parcel shipping timing basically fuck the delivery. some hires are stupid and go out of town the weekend it's supposed to be delivered and aren't there to sign for it. a hire gives their wrong address. but mostly just delays in shipment.)

Xps to sarahell
I was forced into taking over scheduling for our two stores even tho I almost never work in there, so I decided we weren’t doing these stupid fuckin paper calendars anymore (do you know how hard it is to keep paper schedules updated for two stores, the boss, and me, when people are constantly asking for time off and switching shifts??) and I switched to a google sheet. but I had to twist my boss’ arm to get her to ok it. For months I had to keep sending her screenshots of the sheet bc she just just refused to figure out how to look at it on her ph using the sheets app. She’s in her late 60s but she also just doesn’t try, even when it benefits the business to update the technology we use.

I’m also dealing with a staff member who keeps dumping her personal issues on me in long winded texts, when I’m not actually working, then when I reply and inform her of the boundaries she’s violating (which I’ve clearly stated to her) she tells me she’s busy with her family, as if I’m the one imposing on her. FYI I have never met this woman in person, but bc I’m a senior staff member she’s decided that I’m somehow responsible for managing her emotions and talking her off the edge of a panic attack whenever she gets worked up over something. Like, I now unwillingly know she grew up in cult, has been sexually assaulted, her ex’s parents are dying, she gets heavy periods, and she was also sexually assaulted *over the phone* the other week.

just1n3 -- omg, ugh, I am so sorry. Yeah it's the "just doesn't try" part that can make you just want to quit. ... your co-worker sounds like ... one of my clients tbh.

My primary co-worker has actually become way more self-aware about many of his annoying habits. It's become quite nice, actually ... and he actually has demonstrated that he has a sense of humor. Like, this guy is a classic namedropper. The most hilarious example so far has been a couple years ago when we were discussing our org's Google Drive and file systems. I think I was complaining that one of our clients seemed incapable of putting files in folders. And my co-worker responds, "I actually know the guy who invented the folder."

So the other day we were talking about what drew us to be members of and organize DIY venues, and he was talking about going to punk shows as a teenager in the 80s, and mentions Fugazi, and says, "You know, my friend, Ian, who I talk to every other day." And I said, "You talk to Ian MacKaye every other day?" And he said, "No, I was joking. I don't know Ian MacKaye personally."

Haa... I've got no beefs with anyone at my company, but that last one hit home.

We've been switching our subscriber email database from one company to another, which has involved a lot of Zoom meetings where we and the new service study spreadsheets. Exciting!

One "random" subscriber they brought up was a guy who's well-known to us, but maybe not to a bunch of Chicagoland tech workers. Nonetheless, a co-worker pipes up and goes on to describe the guy's social standing, "He was a member of Gov. Clinton's administration and has since created a very successful company that ..." and the rest of us were "Shut. Up. And. Quit. Embarrassing. Us. In. Front. Of. The. Yankees. Please."

one of my instructors got this email from an actual team manager today (only edited for redacting names):

"Thank you for reaching out I have had a conversation with (REDACTED) regarding his constant system issues he did reach out on Friday due to system issues however it was 6 pm and IT was no longer in the building to assist , This morning he reached out as well regarding system issues IT did take control of his computer and notice he does have a defective computer he is supposed to come in today to switch out his computer and he will be staying on site until the end of the day, I did inform (REDACTED) that if he continue to have system issues after this then he will have to come back to office permanently to work. As far as his assessments I have received 1 and 2 from him, He is adamant about getting 3 and 4 done today after training I have also spoken to him and asked why hasn't he shared his assessments with (REDACTED) and (REDACTED) he responded that he thought they were supposed to be shared with his TL I informed him to please send over all test scores to (REDACTED) and (REDACTED) once he has finished 3 and 4. I do apologize on his behalf and please know that you guys will have assessments 3 and 4 by tomorrow. Thanks for all you guys do."

The coworker who is trying to "get back" at our bosses for eliminating the work from home option by cooking fish in a SHARED FUCKING OFFICE every day this week just might drive me to quit. Three days in a row I'm so nauseous I can't eat lunch.

I love fish. I would never cook it in an office. what the actual fuck.

that'd get you dropped out of a window here

David Lynch to thread!

When people microwave fish it is bad enough.

lol, to be clear, she did microwave it. It's atrocious. Two of us said something to her yesterday and her response was, "if they are going to make me come in every single day, they have to deal with my food smells". EXCEPT THE BOSSES AREN'T HERE TO SMELL IT AND YOU ARE PUNISHING THE REST OF US.

yeah that reads more like "I want to eat fish and this is the excuse I have found that suits it"

you need to cook something REALLY stinky tomorrow

My mind is reeling with possibilities of how to top this. I'm mostly just stunned, every place I've ever worked had a basic understanding that some foods were just not okay for an open office meal.

I've got nothing against fish, in fact I've enjoyed some wonderful seafood in my life, but there is something about the smell in a non-restaurant setting that absolutely nauseates me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7t8eoA_1jQ

I mean there are also people in the office that don't find fish delicious and are overwhelmed by the aroma in any environment. one of my classmates in 4th grade kept screaming at me to put down my tuna fish sandwich cos he was too grossed out to eat his lunch.

maybe a cow shit bagel will top things

When I was office sitting, we had a guy who'd nuke fish and stink up the area. Berating him made no difference. Some folks are gleefully wankers.

Close quarters makes any mild smell more noticeable and the bad smells (fish, buttery popcorn, over-applied perfume/cologne) nausea-inducing. One guy used to OCD have plain toast every day, and I got to hate that smell.

Yes. Also have a weird thing as my sense of smell ever so slowly comes back after COVID, I am somewhat extra-sensitive to whatever I do smell.

Yes. Also have a weird thing as my sense of smell ever so slowly comes back after COVID, I am somewhat extra-sensitive to whatever I do smell.

strong smells can trigger headaches for me and i would straight up murder someone who was heating up fish everyday.

jon is this the same co-worker who made popcorn every day years ago

haha, good memory! Nope, that was at my old job. No more popcorn but I can say that fish is NOT an upgrade.

some foods were just not okay for an open office meal.

honestly, a lot of these biases end up being super white supremacist in practice tbh. Like, whenever I see / read someone complaining about "how dare someone microwave fish in a shared office," I think, "what whitebread middle American racist shithole did you come from that makes you confident that fish smells bad, followed by, can you stop being an asshole."

When we first moved to England from China my wife wanted to take a lunchbox of freshly cooked, hot food to my son at his primary school, which was literally a one-minute walk across the road, so surely NBD, yes? We were surprised that the school flipped out about this every time, the policy was, either you have cold sandwiches or you have fried stuff from the canteen, wanting anything else was taken as an insult to the school. They inspected the food and gave us pamphlets about healthy eating which seemed to be written for parents who thought it was OK to feed their kids exclusively on crisps, it was really clear that they thought "don't know what that weird foreign stuff is, but it must be bad." So yeah, I also feel there is something really wrong with work/school lunch.

Im a sometime fisherman son of fishermen from an island off an island in the atlantic ocean and i can confirm that not wanting your shared workspace to smell of reheated fish is not super white supremacist

lol

xp - you are white though, yes?

I actually like the fish smell, so I guess we all can be glad that I don't share a workplace with you

Holy shit, I’ve seen a lot of bullshit on this board in the past but being called a white supremacist for believing that fish is not okay for a shared workspace really takes the fucking cake.

Jesus.

Here’s a good one. My boss made a homophobic remark about a gay coworker and I complained about it and got fired.

fucking hell Shaun, that's horrible. I suppose you've been given a gift being out of a work environment like that but it's still awful.

here's an Australian article about the issue:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-14/is-dislike-of-smelly-food-actually-cultural-intolerance/8891618

This article also refers to the racist component of complaining about food smells
https://roguecollective.ie/ten-microaggressions-in-the-workplace

it shows up in this tv show:
https://www.esquire.com/uk/culture/a36133403/adjani-salmon-dreaming-whilst-black/

sarahell what kind of fish was that??

I have heard of people going crazy over smells they aren't used to, curries and whatnot, that's their problem yeah.

In my previous office someone bought a plastic pouch for cooking eggs in the microwave. A few of us had to beg her to give it up cuz we thought we were going to pass out. She didn't seem to have a clue what we were smelling.

i don't think "fish" unlike curry, kimchi, etc. is associated with a race or ethnicity. popcorn also smells bad. as do cheap candles. i also do not like the smell of overripe bananas. def wouldn't think of complaining about a person's cultural food.

also people just microwave fish for longer than they should, would probably be fine otherwise

Lots of stuff that is actually delicious makes grim smells in an office microwave.

not to mention it's distracting. I love fish but smelling it for hours while I'm trying to work is not pleasant. esp after i've eaten, am not hungry anymore, and not likely to be enticed by its smell.

also yeah, not really getting "fish" as a cultural thing! unless it's a type of fish that is a regional delicacy (Japanese freshwater eel), as opposed to say, salmon or haddock, which are eaten everywhere, it's not the same thing as like complaining about someone's tandoori chicken or Jamaican meat patties.

a coworker made a bastardized seafood “bouillabasse” and brought the whole lot of it in a crockpot to work, and set it up in a empty cubicle in our work area as an “hey i made soup” station where it stayed all day

pretty sure that smell seeped into my skin and is still there

it was not cultural at all, it was “9 kinds of fish/shellfish simmering all day is not a smell you want in the work area”