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Threadkiller Dog posted:"Everyone tell us something amusing we down know about you" My fiancée's mom reportedly answered this with "I've worked here twenty years. If there's anything you don't know about me it's because I don't want you to."
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Jan 10, 2024 14:25
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My excel and word are completely broken. Sounds like I've got a few days of doing nothing but staying on the phone with tech support.
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Jan 10, 2024 16:01
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I'm sorry, Jenkl, but it seems that since rebooting didn't solve the problem, Jenkl, that the problem must be on your end, Jenkl. I am afraid you will need to contact your company's IT department and speak with them about it, Jenkl. Is there anything else I can do for you today, Jenkl?
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Jan 10, 2024 16:30
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But Doctor, I am the IT department
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Jan 10, 2024 16:53
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Eric the Mauve posted:I'm sorry, Jenkl, but it seems that since rebooting didn't solve the problem, Jenkl, that the problem must be on your end, Jenkl. I am afraid you will need to contact your company's IT department and speak with them about it, Jenkl. Is there anything else I can do for you today, Jenkl? Too soon, man. It's been escalated to level 2. This is where the cool kids hang out 😎.
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Jan 10, 2024 17:12
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Jenkl posted:My excel and word are completely broken. Sounds like I've got a few days of doing nothing but staying on the phone with tech support. https://i.imgur.com/tx45fUZ.mp4
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Jan 10, 2024 17:31
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Teammate looks to be headed down the ‘transfer or term’ path, partially due to office politics beyond their control but there were rumblings about performance issues as well. Selfishly, I’m most concerned about how this impacts our WFH situation. Our skip level likes butts in seats empire building but left us alone because our schedule is working. Now there’s a concrete example of someone who likely would have benefitted from in-person collaboration and informal brainstorming because they never participated in video calls or chat convos. Could be a cudgel to get the rest of us back in office to help their future replacement.
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Jan 10, 2024 19:46
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Democratic Pirate posted:....they never participated in video calls or chat convos. Could be a cudgel to get the rest of us back in office to help their future replacement. "Work from home isn't effective because this one guy straight up disappeared for a year before we finally fired him" I understand managing a remote team is slightly harder cus you have to do more than just take a spin down the row of cubicles once or twice a day, and instead actually talk to some people and maybe sit in on some calls yourself. But drat. For people who have had to coordinate teams scattered around the world, with the primary work occurring in a time zone exactly 12 hours different, this whole "problem" of work from home is laughable.
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Jan 10, 2024 20:47
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Baddog posted:I understand managing a remote team is slightly harder cus you have to do more than just take a spin down the row of cubicles once or twice a day, and instead actually talk to some people and maybe sit in on some calls yourself. But drat. Yes, this is what some people think. In reality that manager was lovely even then, and WFH just amplifies how bad they are at their job. Outcomes/productivity are what matter. Not rear end-in-seat-hours.
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Jan 10, 2024 20:49
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Managing WFH is legit different from in person. I think you guys are minimizing it. There are pluses and minuses, but I don't think it's realistic to say "It's always better". Some teams it works better, but there exist teams where it provides a ton of challenges to. My teams are almost entirely WFH which is working well but I also have to come to terms with it meaning that some things are a lot harder or have lower quality, some things will be better, and we have to operate differently.
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Jan 10, 2024 20:54
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Lockback posted:Managing WFH is legit different from in person. I think you guys are minimizing it. There are pluses and minuses, but I don't think it's realistic to say "It's always better". Some teams it works better, but there exist teams where it provides a ton of challenges to. You definitely have to operate differently! But having people who are flexible, able to use new technology, communicate effectively even without being face-to-face .... those are all crucial skills for any industry these days. If you and your team don't have those skills, then sure its a problem! But I think it was a problem before, it just wasn't as obvious.
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Jan 10, 2024 21:06
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It obviously varies from role to role, but I keep seeing people trying to hire office-based penetration testers right now and I'm just  at the idea. Is it literally just so you can justify paying rent on the office that lets you have a big fancy desk to show off to your staff? Yes. Yes it is.
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Jan 10, 2024 21:17
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Baddog posted:If you and your team don't have those skills, then sure its a problem! But I think it was a problem before, it just wasn't as obvious. I think this is reductive. I've seen lots of really good engineers who were great in office, struggled when the office was closed, and rebounded when we opened-but-didn't-require-attendance where they just kinda stake out their area. I think it's unfair to say "This person would have been a problem", it's not a problem. They just don't work the same way you do. SA has a certain type of person but people function very differently and I think it's way more complicated than it's being made out to be.
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Jan 10, 2024 21:40
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Baddog posted:"Work from home isn't effective because this one guy straight up disappeared for a year before we finally fired him" More clarification - he’s active in standard meetings and calls but rarely participates in team chats or one-on-one convos with other teammates. That’s where, imo, WFH presents more of a barrier to those lower level peer to peer interactions than in-person work does. It’s not a huge barrier but it’s there and it’s easier to drop off and spin your wheels when you can’t lean back in your chair and ask your colleague a quick question that you don’t want to bring to your manager or rehash it with them a second+ time. Chat programs and virtual calls ideally solve the issue but it’s just different enough that the frequency of those ad hoc convos is reduced, or so I’ve experienced when we transitioned from in-person to now mainly WFH. We’ve had newer hires since him that do a great job of WFH and learning from the team, but this is SA so I’m also doom posting and anticipating the worst case scenario of an exec who sees an opening to get more butts in seats.
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Jan 10, 2024 21:57
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Lockback posted:I think this is reductive. I've seen lots of really good engineers who were great in office, struggled when the office was closed, and rebounded when we opened-but-didn't-require-attendance where they just kinda stake out their area. I think it's unfair to say "This person would have been a problem", it's not a problem. They just don't work the same way you do. I think you're describing the sort of person who has to have this very defined separation of work and home area, who can't focus if there are any distractions, etc. Right? Or maybe they have really tough poo poo going on at home. ok. I definitely agree that there are those types of folks out there, and they can do good work if they trudge an hour to the building to sit in a cubicle and (I'm gonna sound like an rear end in a top hat here) they aren't being allowed to roam aimlessly and endlessly around the halls. But why are companies forcing *everyone* back in to support those folks? Being able to work effectively from anywhere is the skill you want most people to have in 2024, right? Developing (and hiring) that skillset should be a priority, but instead its been flipped around to "we need everyone back into the office so that billy can feel loved and supported."
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Jan 10, 2024 22:02
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Lockback posted:I think this is reductive. I've seen lots of really good engineers who were great in office, struggled when the office was closed, and rebounded when we opened-but-didn't-require-attendance where they just kinda stake out their area. I think it's unfair to say "This person would have been a problem", it's not a problem. They just don't work the same way you do. I was talking about managing, not ICs. And the point is that if you, as a manager, were not already able to quantify outcomes and productivity in the office you aren't a good manager. A remote workforce just makes that even harder, especially since I agree with you that not all employees are able to manage their time effectively outside of the office and many don't even have a proper place to work which makes it harder/potentially impossible. But if you're a terrible manager you wouldn't know who sucks and who doesn't anyway, because checking who's in the office isn't management, it's taking attendance.
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Jan 10, 2024 22:02
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Baddog posted:I definitely agree that there are those types of folks out there, and they can do good work if they trudge an hour to the building to sit in a cubicle and (I'm gonna sound like an rear end in a top hat here) they aren't being allowed to roam aimlessly and endlessly around the halls. But why are companies forcing *everyone* back in to support those folks? All this sounds very resentful of your hypothetical coworker Billy, but it's probably not his fault that you're required to work in an office.
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Jan 10, 2024 22:41
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so I could say that I finally figured out what this god damned cube is doing. Get well Lowtax.
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To be honest I've never known anyone who can't work from home because their time management/self-discipline is bad that's worth employing in-office either. Babysitting is a poor use of a manager's time. In my experience the people who struggle with WFH but perform better in-office are the far-end extroverts who just need to be around people for their brains to function right. But those people are pretty rare in the computer toucher world.
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Jan 10, 2024 22:42
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I finally got equipment (= 1 laptop) to work from home this week! When I got hired I told them honestly I prefer working in office but the flexibility to wfh is clutch. They said that official policy is that it’s up to the team and manager’s discretion (my manager and his team wfh 1/2 roughly from what I’ve seen) and I said I’d definitely want to revisit this discussion after I get up to speed. Well months go by and when I went to revisit it I just get told to talk to IT, make a request to IT, etc I keep making requests, informally messaging, and putting in tickets for it and get shot down every single time. “We have no equipment” “We just hired a ton of people, no equipment” “There are software and licensing issues, so there’s no equipment” “I’m working on it, but there’s no equipment right now” “Boris Galerkin you sure do ask for a lot of stuff, we still don’t have equipment” This Monday morning I walk into the office wide general manager’s office and complain (well, I framed it as clarifying the policy and then conveyed how I’ve been trying to get this done since before the holidays but keep getting instantly shot down even though company policy defers to my manager, and my manager says “ok”). Later that same afternoon someone from IT is asking me what software I need installed on my new laptop. Boris Galerkin fucked around with this message at 23:32 on Jan 10, 2024 |
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Jan 10, 2024 23:26
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spincube posted:All this sounds very resentful of your hypothetical coworker Billy, but it's probably not his fault that you're required to work in an office. billy tends to be vocal about people not being in the office with him
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Jan 10, 2024 23:34
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:It's a 3PL run deathstribution center They are lean. And agile. And athirst! They strike from the angles of the meeting calendar.
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Jan 11, 2024 00:44
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Baddog posted:billy tends to be vocal about people not being in the office with him OK, but there are vocal whiners, and there are vocal whiners with the authority to tell you where your place of work is. Obviously if Billy is the latter then you're out of luck, but if he's the former, putting a bar of soap into a sock and beating him with it is only going to make your arm tired.
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Jan 11, 2024 01:01
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Eric the Mauve posted:To be honest I've never known anyone who can't work from home because their time management/self-discipline is bad that's worth employing in-office either. Babysitting is a poor use of a manager's time. I’m not an extrovert but working from home all the time leads me to being incredibly depressed. I need time in office with other people. I truly don’t gaf about time in seat though obviously. I like hybrid models a lot.
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Jan 11, 2024 01:07
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Jordan7hm posted:I’m not an extrovert but working from home all the time leads me to being incredibly depressed. I need time in office with other people. Yeah same I find it difficult to focus after being at home for days at a time. Even if I try to remove distractions I still prefer just working in an office. Even getting annoyed with coworkers quirks like sniffing or typing loud is strangely comforting. It’s probably because it’s what I’m used to, I wouldn’t force others to come in if they work fine at home.
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Jan 11, 2024 01:13
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In my 20s I tried working from home and failed hard and got depressed. But when covid rolled around a decade and change later I worked from home and did fine, and I feel that I could easily carry on with it if it were still an option. No big point to make other than "ability to work from home" is likely to be situational even for the same person.
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Jan 11, 2024 02:22
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Jordan7hm posted:I’m not an extrovert but working from home all the time leads me to being incredibly depressed. I need time in office with other people. I have a hybrid schedule right now, 3 home/2 office and I've found it works for me pretty well. I go in Tues/Thurs to match the other local IT people so we aren't sitting in a basement alone. I'm pretty introverted, so I'm ok with not being around people, but I've found I feel better if I have some human interaction after a bit. I know the senior management at work doesn't like WFH, but they also know they can't force people back, as we have a huge footprint and don't have the space to hold people everywhere. So they grump about it, but as long as stuff gets done, they deal.
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Jan 11, 2024 03:36
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Boris Galerkin posted:This Monday morning I walk into the office wide general manager’s office and complain (well, I framed it as clarifying the policy and then conveyed how I’ve been trying to get this done since before the holidays but keep getting instantly shot down even though company policy defers to my manager, and my manager says “ok”). Later that same afternoon someone from IT is asking me what software I need installed on my new laptop. Buy him a laptop or I drop a dime to the partners on your AWS spend
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Jan 11, 2024 04:22
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Jordan7hm posted:I’m not an extrovert but working from home all the time leads me to being incredibly depressed. I need time in office with other people. If you’re anything like me, check if you don’t have a vitamin D deficiency. I never had one until I started a 100% wfh role. I’ve always been an upbeat person, but these past few months I was legit depressed to the point where I was getting worried, and then my annual checkup showed my Vitamin D levels at worryingly low levels. After a month of supplements, I really feel like a different person.
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Jan 11, 2024 04:44
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We're "hybrid", which means I need 7 days minimum in the office every month. Today that meant getting up at a decent hour, joining a meeting, taking the late bus in, saying hi to the team in person, having lunch with someone who needs better IT support for his pill-making machines, and taking the early bus home. Yesterday that meant leaving the house at dark o'clock to be on time and in-person for our weekly team meeting, poking at a couple of things I have cooking, and taking the early bus home. I also got to exchange New Years greetings and chat with one of my key contacts in Networking because I randomly ran into him in the hall. I like being on campus. I do NOT like getting up at dark o'clock to do it. Leadership told us they were okay with a productivity hit in exchange for people on campus where we can run into people randomly or have lunch with people we need to build or maintain relationships with. This works out for us because we hire very few shitheads in the first place and the ones that slip through don't last. I told my manager that if I'm on-campus, I'm there to socialize, any work I get done is a bonus. I'm not sure how seriously he took me, and I don't care.
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Jan 11, 2024 05:04
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It’s funny because I feel like I do a good job of socializing while remote just via chit chat over teams but that is only with certain folks. The more IMing (anything from ICQ onwards, and IRC/discord) people have done makes it easier to have a shared set of text chat customs that make it easier. If someone didn’t do a lot of that then it’s a lot more formal and wooden. Anyway it was just an idle thought I had, thank goodness for being an irc dork from way back!
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Jan 11, 2024 05:13
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priznat posted:It’s funny because I feel like I do a good job of socializing while remote just via chit chat over teams but that is only with certain folks. The more IMing (anything from ICQ onwards, and IRC/discord) people have done makes it easier to have a shared set of text chat customs that make it easier. If someone didn’t do a lot of that then it’s a lot more formal and wooden. I am honestly surprised how few people, even people around my age, understand anything IM-related or even basic internetty abbreviations. I set up an online meeting early last year, threw up a screen-share of a word doc that said "BRB in 5 minutes!" and then ran to the restroom, and came back to a bunch of people aasking in call-chat what BRB meant. Then again, two of my coworkers yesterday were talking about Flappy Bird as if it was the hottest thing on the block. Pharma scientists don't seem to get out much?
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Jan 11, 2024 06:19
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LF4M for FDA BRB biochem
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Jan 11, 2024 06:39
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Atopian posted:LF4M for FDA Uhoh GTFO
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Jan 11, 2024 06:47
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Sundae posted:I am honestly surprised how few people, even people around my age, understand anything IM-related or even basic internetty abbreviations. I set up an online meeting early last year, threw up a screen-share of a word doc that said "BRB in 5 minutes!" and then ran to the restroom, and came back to a bunch of people aasking in call-chat what BRB meant. Had this same experience except with 'AFK' when we first started WFH at my previous job. The people I worked with then were sharp as hell, but very much the opposite of extremely online.
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Jan 11, 2024 14:50
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My boss stumped me with YGM you've got mail. He got his start working on some AOL keyword page, so I guess it makes sense.
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Jan 11, 2024 15:26
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Acronyms are only ever a convenience for the writer and mental overhead for readers. Avoid them unless you're going to predefine them IMO.
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Jan 11, 2024 15:44
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withoutclass posted:Acronyms are only ever a convenience for the writer and mental overhead for readers. Avoid them unless you're going to predefine them IMO. does that mean "in my office"
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Jan 11, 2024 15:52
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I got told off once for saying wtf in a group chat. Through experimentation though I've discovered that ""AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHASDFASDFASDFASDFASDFSDDSGJGFCJUFG" is acceptable though.
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Jan 11, 2024 15:56
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FAUXTON posted:does that mean "in my office" 
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Jan 11, 2024 16:13
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Renegret posted:I got told off once for saying wtf in a group chat. Once, I was dealing with a frustrating situation with a foreign colleague. Their requests made to a site staff member were not very well explained, likely due to the language barrier. I had to be the middleman contact trying to interpret what coworker wanted and getting site staff to complete it. After several frustrating rounds of no success, she requested one day that I tell the site something, which I did when I logged in that morning and saw her request. I notified her that I did what she asked and she responded angrily saying that I no longer had needed to do that. Not being able to read her mind, I didn’t know and just responded with “too late!” She notified my manager that this was an “unacceptable harassment” of her because “in Poland (where she is from and working), this is a huge insult”. That sounded like bullshit to me, but I played it like it was real, sucked it up, apologized and told her and my manager that it was not meant as an insult, nor did I have any way of knowing that telling a Polish person “too late” would be insulting.
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