Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with Work and office

Inexpensive desk lamp with adjustable brightness?

Scientist — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 09:12:50 -0800

I'm looking for a nice, inexpensive task lamp to put on my desk at work. It should have adjustable brightness (low/high is fine) so that I can have either a little or a lot of light, as required. Free-standing, not clamp-on. $30 or less would be ideal. Help? I often find myself at work wishing that I had a lamp on my desk to that when I am doing detailed work I can get a better view of what I'm doing. Where I sit, all the light comes from behind me and if I am doing something fiddly it can be hard to see well enough as I tend to block my own light.

I'd like to have a lamp with a free-standing (rather than clamp-on) base so that I can move it around the desk, and which has at least a high and a low light setting. The bulb should be shrouded well enough that I can use it to flood my desk without having to stare into a naked light source.

Other than that, it doesn't need to be fancy. I don't care much what it looks like or what it's made of as long as it's at least moderately sturdy. I would prefer a warmer light (so maybe an incandescent or halogen lamp, unless there's an LED one that makes a nice warm white) as the place where I work is lit by those nasty six-foot fluorescent tubes and it would be nice to have something a little less clinical-feeling.

Does anybody know of a light like this? Maybe you own one? Please let me know, I'd be overjoyed.

Working with employee cynicism

tzb — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 04:40:12 -0800

How to work with employees who don't like what you're doing, but won't work towards making things better? Specifically vocally negative long-term employees who think they know it all, but refuse to share their wisdom beyond flat-out complaints because it's "not their job"? My department underwent a large-scale restructure about a year ago with about half the team made redundant. Since then we have enacted a huge number of changes to our processes, including making all staff members multi-skilled. This has led to some big advantages, but unfortunately whenever a new process is introduced there is a large amount of employee cynicism. Specifically there are a few long-term employees who had been in very specialised roles who now work with the rest of the team in fulfilling our departmental work. We have an open policy where employees are encouraged to have a dialogue with their seniors and the department managers about any concerns or suggestions they have. This stretches from open invitation to discuss in the office, alone in 1-to-1 time all the way to an anonymous e-mail "Comments" box.

The main problem I'm experiencing is the vocal negativity and cynicism of these few long-term employees. In order to respond effectively to their concerns we have asked that employees investigate perceived problems, report the outcomes to their seniors and allow us to make changes accordingly. The response to this was "Well, it's easier to do nothing than even raise the problem if we have to do the digging". Yes, it is. But it's also part of your job. "Oh, so it's part of my job now? It's not in my job description!" etc. I'm firmly in the school of thought that criticism without investigation is pretty much flat out unhelpful.

We've introduced many measures to make employees feel supported and we listen to their concerns, which weren't in place for 4 of the 5 years these people have worked here - all we ask is that a considered suggestion is presented as well. Some things are just difficult! I also wouldn't mind these continual criticisms so much if they weren't loudly blurted out in front of the entire office. It is a few individuals who feel like this but they're bringing down the morale of the whole team. My goal is to have a happy team, working productively in partnership towards improving our relatively ramshackle processes. Instead it feels like a constant battle to demonstrate every single changed process has been through through to the nth degree - something entirely impractical in our situation. And the louder they shout, the more the team take their side.

So, what I'm really asking is suggestions for tackling this endless cynicism. It's getting to the point now where I wake up at night thinking about my personal primary cynic, mentally replaying or preparing for the barrage of comments I face on a daily basis for policies I've introduced or worked on, and spend half the day with my head down biting my tongue as they "think aloud" about how they're supposed to be doing their job. They themselves think it's terribly funny, "I should set myself a time limit where I'm not allowed to moan" etc. We have spoken to each individual at length about how unproductive this attitude is but the company policy is that employees are encouraged to voice their opinions, so it's tricky ground. Any agreement the cynic has made to communicate more productively has been swiftly forgotten. Previously I've tried to involve this person in the policy making process, thinking this would help, but they were so critical and uncooperative with our clients it meant an absolute standstill of work, so that didn't really work.

Perhaps it's worth mentioning that when the senior job roles were advertised to staff, none of these individuals applied. And perhaps also worth mentioning I previously got on very well with the individuals concerned, as I have for the first 4 of my 7 months in the senior role.

It's making me very unhappy. I wonder if perhaps the problem lies with me and want to do whatever I can to make my otherwise interesting and fulfilling job survivable. Thanks for any suggestions you might have.

Stand in the place where you work

Miko — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 14:18:03 -0800

Should I get a standing desk? Please share your pros and cons, and any tips! We're moving to a new office with new stuff, and I'm thinking about requesting a standing desk there. I used to be a fit person but my sedentary job is not doing me any favors. I work at a desktop workstation about 4 hours/day, and the rest of the time is mostly spent sitting in meetings.

What should I be aware of before I make the jump?

Are there "accessories" you'd recommend that I should put in for at the same time, like a tall stool for days when I've had enough standing, or a mat to stand on?

I expect I will still have a small meeting table and some office chairs as well as the workstation.

If you switched, did you like it, hate it, or something in between? Did you notice an improvement in your health at all, or not really?

Thanks for your responses!

Automated PDF modification

mnemonic — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 13:55:40 -0800

Is there an automated way of placing elements from one PDF file into another? Open to coding this via Python if a relevant module exists. I have two pdf's, Doc 1 and Doc 2. All pages in both documents are US Letter sized. Doc 1 contains large tables of values (generated in Excel with PDFCreator), one per page; this is the only content on the pages. Doc 2 contains pages with my company's border, and header info (title, page # etc.). Doc 1 tables go into Doc 2 bordered pages. I would like an automated way of taking the tables of Doc 1, and placing each into a separate page in Doc 2, without overlapping elements.

I'm decently proficient in Python and think I could code something if some pdf/vector graphics handling modules exist. I've done nontrivial programming with the xlrd3 module for working with our Excel files. How I think the code for this might work:

Open Doc 1, Doc 2 as vector images
For each page in Doc 1, Doc 2:
- Get content bounds in Doc 1
- Scale content in Doc 1 to fit in Doc 2 borders
- Insert in Doc 2 at [coordinates]

What Python modules would I need to do this? Or any other approaches would be welcome.

Notes
- This task recurs in my work every few weeks, and the pages can total over a hundred. I handle this currently by printing out Doc 2 (page borders), then refeeding the pages into the printer and printing Doc 1. This is inconvenient because the printer often fails to grab the pages, and because I have to run back to my computer to issue the next job (it's not actually 2 files each time, more like 14 separate pairs of such files, that must be printed separately), and occasionally I can get tripped up by coworkers printing over my pages.

- I often paste Excel tables directly into Word docs. This fails here because the formatting gets mangled in Word from having lots of merged cells and landscape oriented tables in portrait orientation pages. I can sort of transpose the tables in Excel, and set the text orientation in Word to vertical, but each table requires a ton of cleanup, and there are many of them.

- I can manually combine the docs by opening the PDFs in Inkscape (or other vector illustrating program), but again, 100+ tables. Inkscape opens up one page at a time.

Help organize and streamline my work process, pretty please

rachaelfaith — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 08:52:59 -0800

Can you suggest a system that could help a group of employees manage a long, many-stepped process? We're driving ourselves bonkers in the meantime. So, the process in question is for creating an item for sale online. The product is selected, imported, assigned data (size, color, etc), has photos taken, and about a zillion other steps in between and after. In total there are about 30 steps, multiplied over 3 to 4 different vendors. Four to six people are currently involved with this process, and it's a pain to communicate back and forth about what's done for which products and what's next and where there's a hold-up and so on.

Here is a list of the steps for one of our vendors.

Currently we're using a spreadsheet I whipped up, but there are more steps than there used to be, more products coming in than there were previously and it's inefficient and inconvenient to access and interact with.

Is there some sort of program we could have written, or a website we could create that has check-boxes for each step, or something creative I'm not thinking of? Our company isn't small enough to have one person manage all the steps, nor large enough to have 'departments' to forward things to when a step is complete.

Also, these items arrive and are worked on/completed on different timelines, so it's important that they can be accessed and updated individually.

Can you help me come up with an organized solution?

Welcome to Big Brother: Office Edition.

Anonymous — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 09:13:03 -0800

Office Crush Filter: We work in a tiny office. Is this still worth pursuing? I’ve been working in an office of less than 12 people for under a year now. I have a coworker who at first struck me as very quiet and even cold. In the process of trying to work better with him, he started opening up to me a lot more after a few months, to the point where now he’s teasing me in staff meetings, telling jokes ("Anyone come in yesterday afternoon?" "Nope, totally quiet. I stripped down and worked naked after you left."), and otherwise appearing to flirt with me (it’s not normal to claim that someone is seducing you when you send an office email about making lunch plans, right?) and I’m crushing pretty hard. In some ways he seems interested in me (out of nowhere the other day he asked me where I lived) and in other it seems like he’s avoiding me (would rather speak to a coworker over the phone when calling in when the information was general and anyone could have taken the message but I happened to pick up the phone; avoids being alone in the lunch room with me). We have had occasion to confirm that we are both single. All touching has been rare and accidental.

In addition to being confused and unsure if I’m reading things correctly, it has gotten to the point where my boss seems to have concluded that something is going on, because we have conversations like this:

Boss: We’ll be having lunch, and then convening at $time, and then you can come back here with X.

Me (outwardly calm): -- or, whoever will be driving back this way. I appreciate that people are open to carpooling.

OR:

Boss: … so that was my vacation. How were things at the office with you and X?

Me (again, outwardly calm): Everything was fine - $other_coworkers were there too, of course. You know that X has been busy with Y project; I avoid bothering him unless it's important. [True.]

This is my major problem with expressing overt interest in my coworker – not only will it be awkward if he turns out to not really be interested in me (I’ve never told someone I had a crush on them and had it end in something other than awkwardness, rejection, and that person disappearing/going incommunicado. I wish I were exaggerating.) but the impact will be amplified because our office is so small and we see each other every day. Additionally, because the office is so small, everyone knows if my coworker tells a joke and I giggle, or if I go for a coffee run and he suddenly invites himself along. Surely everyone would notice if the dynamic suddenly changed between us, and we can't get away from each other - would it turn into a situation where one of us would have to leave? I don't want that at all.

I am very sensitive to the fact that we are in the office to work above all things, and I am very careful to limit the time we spend talking, partially because we both have things to do and partially because I feel eyes on me and ears listening when I talk to him about anything. I don’t want to make the work environment difficult for anyone, and it makes me wonder if pursuing him is subsequently impossible and I'm just not thinking straight. When I bring up the subject to friends, they change the subject.

Previous AskMes have me believing that extra-office dating is theoretically possible so long as ground rules are in advance, but I have to find a way to approach him first, if that is the right thing to do. Is this a risk worth taking, given the evidence, the close quarters, and the potential for fallout? If so, how should I go about it?

Certain details necessarily omitted. Throwaway email: openofficesecret@hushmail.me

What are the dates for the 9th and 20th business day for the rest of this year and all of next year?

reenum — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 13:36:36 -0800

I need to quickly figure the 9th and 20th business days of each month for the rest of 2012 and all of 2013. Preferably not in a manual fashion. I've checked online, and all the calculators are for calculating the number of days between two dates.

Excel has a WORKDAY function, but also seems to be designed to figure out how many business days are between a specified start and end date.

What I need to find out is what the dates for the 9th and 20th business day are for each month for the rest of 2012 and for all of 2013. I'd prefer not to have to look off a calendar and do it manually.

Civilian Review Committees for Federal Employee Decisions

CollectiveMind — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 16:11:42 -0800

How does the idea of a civilian review board for previewing the firing and disciplinary actions of federal managers against civilian employees sound? Currently, a small number of federal employees are protected by a union. Converserly, there are reams of documentation by the Office of Personnel Management and case law by federal attorneys that protect employers, managers and administrators against all level and manner of accusations by employees. At a number of county, state and municipal levels, oversight committees exist to evaluate the decisions of policymakers and administrators, whether it is police departments, utility companies, etc. I wonder if the same kind of oversight would give more protection to federal employees in light of the impunity with which managers demote, promote, discipline and fire employees. This, in light of the numbers of employees retiring and not being replaced, and therefore, doing double or triple duty. I am not asking this as a jumping off point for a debate about Federal employee benefits or security or anything like that. I am asking only about what you see as the strengths and weakness of such an idea. It seems to me that although the government may be operating within the letter of the law, they may not be operating within it's spirit regarding the disposition of employees always, i.e. legal but not just. And I understand there are ocassional mistakes or miscarrages. But this is a buyer's market for employers and as anybody who has been fired knows, sometimes, it's nothing to do with performance, and sometimes, it's everything. Thanks.

Help this Mac user learn PC software for job hunt

hrj — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 16:25:42 -0800

How can I improve my computer skills for job hunt when I use a Mac and the software is for PC? I recently posted about my career conundrum, and got some great advice.

I met with a career counselor today who will help me with my resume, and formatting towards the type of jobs we think would suit -- primarily Sales Operations/Analyst positions.

He suggested I take classes to brush up on my Excel (I self-taught a lot for my MBA program, but I used Office 2008 for Mac), learn SQL querying and VBA.

What is the best way for me to learn these things? I'm having a hard time finding classes and would prefer to learn online, but without a PC I'm not sure if that is possible.

I am in Austin, TX.

Thanks in advance and I appreciate any help or resources you can suggest.

Cthulize a small lamp

colin_l — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 11:43:32 -0800

MakerFilter: at work, I have a couple of LED lamps we use to monitor build status. Help me Cthulu-ize them. These are the color-changing USB lamps that we use to monitor build status. They're about 3" tall and 2" diameter. They rise off the desk on 4" posts.

I want to make them glow through some kind of Cthulu mask so it's not just a boring light. I could just whack a hat over them, but it would probably have to be custom made (or shrunk) given the size difference.

I could wrap something like this fanny pack around post, but then it would just be a light on top of a thing.

I could cut up one of these dice bags, but I'm dubious.

Any bright ideas?

We appreciate you enough to give you a discount!

Danithegirl — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 12:17:31 -0800

Work Filter: My boss and I want to find a way to let our clients know we have provided to them a discount on our account covering letter to them without sounding like "a douche bag" or slimy. What wording do you use on your letters to convey this? We want to have a sentence we can use to show appreciation to our clients for their business. We currently use "Please note that we have reduced your account by $$$ as a discount to you" - but we both think it makes you look like like a jerk.

Any suggestions?

How do I fix my social reputation at work?

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 19:03:02 -0800

What would you suggest for improved social skills, fitting in, decreased awkwardness, and undoing a reputation for being annoying at work? I'd especially love help for nerds with social anxiety who need to fit in with mainstreamy socialite sorts of people. Where to begin? I did not make the best first impression at my current job. This is an industry that is tightly networked, and I will probably need to meet with these folks down the road. I have only been done with school for two years, and been in this position for one year. I've come across as sensitive, anxious, rigid, guarded and obnoxious. In my previous position I got on well with everyone; they appreciated and accepted me and had nothing but good things to say. At my current position, not so much.

**If you don't want to read my lengthy explanation, please note I put my main goals at the bottom. I've included everything that might be important in getting some awesome MeFi-quality feedback so of course, this is a diatribe.***

Why Have I Had Trouble in This Position?
I decided I wanted to do really well and put myself under too much pressure. This was also a permanent position where the last one was a temporary one. The culture at my current place is a mainstreamy and cliquish one; at the former it was laid back but professional. My boss at the current place had a work style that triggered me emotionally and the previous boss was much easier to work with. Expectations were clear as mud here, and at the previous job they were laid out well. Possibly most significant, at this position no one has our own space. At the previous position I did lots of traveling and could decompress easily. I can be very task-oriented and perfectionistic, and I'm working with folks who are far more people-oriented.

Please note those are all just factors. I know ultimately it is my own actions that I need to address and I can't control the factors that led to me making such an interpersonal mess of my position. I accept responsibility and now I'm trying to do damage control with the consequences.

Although I have put myself in an unpleasant social position at work, in other settings this doesn't typically happen. I have two other social groups besides my friends-only group, and in those two other social groups I am accepted and invited to participate in social things. In both groups I've used self-deprecating humor to mention these personality quirks and in both cases people have seemed surprised to hear about how I've come across in this job. So it is something about how I presented myself, and how I've mixed with those in power, and how I just got really neurotic about all of it.

Part of the problem is the culture is set by "mainstream" and socially savvy personalities... I was more of the nerdy brainiac in school (compared to the gone-Greek folks in power, where going Greek usually means some exclusivity and preppy-ness and knowing some kind of social code that those outside this world don't really get as easily). I get on with quirky people much more easily.

What I Do or Have Done Wrong - Problem Behaviors
I was really sensitive when I started this job, took it too seriously, expected perfection of myself, and I'm sure I was a chore. Plus due to misunderstanding my supervisor got really irritated with me early on when she was forming an impression.

I engage in some mild forms of attention-seeking when I feel ignored. There have been days where I answered questions that people were asking others (not me), and days where I'd make a quick on-topic comment and hear crickets. You're probably cringing by now - and so am I. I'm really rather ashamed of this behavior and ready to change it for good. (I stopped talking out of turn and stopped taking feedback so hard, so progress, but there's still lots to do.)

I'm in therapy to address the underlying issues - depression, social anxiety, ADHD type issues, and early loss that led to being commitment-phobic and afraid of bonding with people. I'm working on my communication skills, but feel a bit like I need to overhaul my personality to make any headway at my current job.

I really need help cleaning up the mess I've made. There's so much I want to fix or change and I don't know where to begin. I know the key is probably to make changes without discussing it and let others just notice the difference. I did this with the sensitivity - as I adjusted to the job I became less sensitive. Eventually I asked if others had noticed and they had. But I need to do much more to fix this stuff. Not sure where to begin.

You remember the supervisor that got upset with me? She has become my boss since I started the job. I do not know how to go about improving the relationship. In the past I have tried and she has denied that anything needed to be done. I tend to be really direct instead of subtle and she works on subtlety. There is a history of communicating in a kind of social code that she expects others to guess. I wasn't socialized in that world so I have trouble with that code.

(A few years ago I wondered if I had some kind of autism spectrum thing but I don't think I do. I think I just have ADHD, social anxiety and nerdy socialization. Which can look Asperger's sometimes. Besides, this doesn't happen in all settings. Just the current work situation - and occasionally work makes me feel so needy and insecure that I can use some of these unfortunate traits with one or two friends.)

My goals
Improved reputation at work
Improved sense of others valuing my contributions
Improved social skills (less ADHD type obnoxious behavior)
Improved perception of me by the boss
Better emotional/social intelligence
Better communication (saying "the right things")
Presenting as less self-absorbed and insecure

I am looking for basic tips for how to be in the world in a more secure way, as well as resources I can draw from - whether they are websites or books. I'm not in a position to spend lots of money on this, but it is very important to me.

Before you ask, I'm not currently trying to find other work, and would like other suggestions aside from that one. My goal is not really to make my current work environment perfect because I fear I screwed the pooch too much for that. Rather, I want to improve it as much as possible, and in the process I'll learn the skills that will help me make a better impression at my next job. Leaving now won't fit with my five-year plan. I don't see any signs that they want me out of the position. I just want to make the "unofficial" stuff better.

How are well-dressed lab rats shod?

tchemgrrl — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 08:02:56 -0800

Classy, not-too-ugly shoes. Level of difficulty: for a lady, chem and clean room lab appropriate (no heels, foot completely covered). I work in a research facility, and am very, very slowly working on updating my "this is the bare minimum required to look like a grownup" look. I'm having trouble with shoes.

I need shoes that are not open on the top in any way--not ballet flats or mary janes or anything like that. I can't have heels because they damage clean room suits, and heels make me fall down anyways. The options at the shoe stores are very minimal and sad-looking, but I'm hoping that someone has a magic word that isn't "Danskos", as that's the only thing I wear right now.

(If it helps, here's a picture of me wearing what I normally wear to work--dark pants, solid color top with mimimal detail (often a button-down, and often with a sweater), everpresent clogs. Like I said, I'm working on it.)

I can't correct my boss, can I?

Anonymous — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 14:56:15 -0800

My bosses misuse words in very official, very important documents. Can I do anything about this? I'm at a new job as the lowest person on the totem pole in a law firm, and it's driving me nuts that the attorneys in my office send out extremely important templated letters with tons of misused words. For instance, instead of saying they'll get back to a client, they always write, "We will revert back to you." They write "magnanimous" to describe something large. "Consequently" appears at random, such as "Consequently look over these documents for review, then revert back to us." They use "utilize" in place of "use" (which drives me crazy, but I know isn't as obnoxious as the other misuses).

Is there anything I can do about this? My instinct is to keep my head down and shut up, but I can't help but worry the firm is embarrassing itself. I also hate signing my (very unusual) name to these documents; it's such a small world that eventually someone I know will receive one. I once made a small correction to a letter before it was sent out (I took out the word "irregardless") and received a friendly reminder from an attorney that I'm meant to follow THE EXACT TEMPLATE they give me when I write letters.

Please let me know if there's any delicate way I can bring this up with my superiors or if I should just do the easy thing and keep this to myself. I don't want to be seen as the stuck-up new person who doesn't understand office hierarchy but it's sort of mortifying.

How do I not look pregnant?

cobain_angel — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 21:33:54 -0800

How do I improve my posture? I worked for three years as a busgirl/server in a busy restaurant. Then, about a year and a half ago, I got a job as a secretary in a finance company, which means I spend pretty much all day sitting down. I've noticed a significant change in my posture since I got this job- my belly seems to poke out more, giving me a kind of pregnant appearance. My back also seems to be scrunched up quite a bit, making my butt protrude more. I started noticing the change about 3 months ago, and it seems to be getting worse.
I suspect this is due to weak abs, but I don't really have the time to exercise. I pretty much sit all day, at work and at school. I try to walk to school more often (~15 minutes) but it's harder during winter when it's so cold. I considered taking an exercise ball to work, but sadly my job requires me to sit at the front desk, so exercising there is not a possibility. Another problem involving my job is that I have to wear business casual/formal, which means I wear high heels often if not daily. They are not very high (about 3.5 inches at the highest, usually more about 2), but I feel like they add to the problem.

Is there anything I can do to help improve my posture? Perhaps some exercises I can do while I sit? I would really appreciate any suggestions. Thanks!

(I am 5'3 and ~112 pounds, if it helps)

Are quality ballet flats worth it? Do you resole them?

Hawk V — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 14:52:46 -0800

Are quality ballet flats worth it? Do you resole them? I just graduated from university and I'm looking to enter the workforce. I live in Vancouver, Canada, so the attire is almost universally business casual (heck people would wear polarfleece and sometimes even yoga wear to the office).

I'm looking for good ballet flats to wear with pencil skirts, and I've been eyeing these ones by Clarks with leather uppers. What holds me back from purchasing them is that I don't want to buy a nice ballet flat just to destroy it within months.

I don't drive; I walk and take public transit anywhere. It's always raining in Vancouver and there's sometimes salt on the sidewalks. I usually wear boots and oxfords, and I take decent care of the ones with leather uppers (moisturizing, polishing, waterproofing, etc.). They get worn at the heel often but that's okay since I can get them resoled.

I'm hard on my existing ballet flats, but they're all cheap--like $15 and less. They're cute but made out of synthetic materials and are essentially disposable. Since the soles are so thin, they tend to wear down on the heel to the point that it rips the upper, and I have to throw them out after a season.

So should I buy nicer ballet flats or stick to the cheap stuff? How long do your ballet flats last? Do you resole them? How do you maintain them?

Shoe recommendations are also welcome, but my preference is for ballet flats, especially with a pointy toe or an almond toe. I don't like the look of loafers with pencil skirts and I don't like heels, not even kitten heels. I don't like Mary Janes either because I already look young for my age, and Mary Janes make me look like I'm 10 years old. But I can live with a ballet flat with a small wedge heel if it doesn't look clunky. For price, my upper limit is $100 if it can stand up to five years of regular use.

I don't know how to play this game

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 07:08:28 -0800

Do you have tips or resources that would help an overly earnest "nice guy" type navigate political maneuverings at work? A team has been formed for a special project with a fairly substantial budget. I am new to this project and new to working at this level with a budget this large. There are two other members that are clearly trying to take over the project for their own personal benefit. (I mean they want to get each other booted off the team- it's like a money pie that everyone wants control of). I simply want the project to succeed and am being 'courted' by each person. One has even offered writing a line item into the budget to increase my salary. They both want my alliance.

Basically, I have two savvy individuals trying to manipulate me and I'm really in over my head. I've come to see that information is power and consequently have been overcome by distrust. It has even leaked into my relationships with other coworkers who are not on this team, now when I'm asked about something I immediately think why do they want to know that- what's their agenda?

Yet I also know that even though people have their own agendas, they also have good ideas and can make a positive contribution to the team- so what do I do?

It's crazy making! I'm not naturally competitive, I'm a poor liar- I don't seem to have any of the skills associated with being good at this stuff. But I want to be smart and not get bowled over by people. I also don't want to inadvertently screw over other people by being too upfront and honest with untrustworthy people.

So, do you have any tricks or tips for not being an easy mark or on how to resolve these types of power conflicts? Are there books that have helped you deal with similar situations? Are there characters in film/tv that illustrate a skilled but morally good/neutral political navigator?

if you wish to respond privately: pawninthegamemefi@gmail.com

How to handle accidentally being overpaid for a year?

Calicatt — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 17:40:10 -0800

Made an error in timesheet tracking...best way to handle it? So: way back when I started my job, my direct supervisor (who is no longer with the company) gave me the wrong info about how to fill out my timesheet. Basically I was under the impression that we got half hour lunch paid, but were given a full hour, therefore subtracting .5 of an hour from an 8 hour day with a 1 hour lunch. The schedule has been made with me having an hour lunch each full shift I worked, and I put down 7.5 hours for each full shift on the timesheet, and every week it was signed by the same person who made the schedule. So I thought all was well.

After working there for a year and now finally eligible to join the union, and I discovered that this is not correct. Our contract states that I'm supposed to be given a half-hour lunch, unpaid. Now, I only work one full-shift per week, but after a whole year, that adds up.

I contacted my union rep (a coworker) who basically suggested that I not mention it to anyone, and that I not make a big deal out of it. But I have a guilty conscious (even though I didn't do anything intentionally wrong!) And going forward I'm going to need to change how I do things (ie either ask for a shorter lunch or start filling in my hours differently) and I can't help but think that someone is going to notice this.

On the one hand, I feel like I should take the union rep's advice. On the other, if it is later discovered that I made this error, then I'm pretty sure that I'd be fired, and I love my job!

So the options, as I see them are to either minimize it, and just fill out the timesheet correctly in the future (as the union rep suggested) or go to HR and explain what happened and suffer the consequences.

I am not very savvy at office politics. In fact, I quite hate them! I don't mind paying the time back or even writing a check for the difference. But I really don't want to lose my job, which I guess could happen either way.

Anyone else been in a similar pickle? Any advice?

How soon is too soon to ask to work from home?

Anonymous — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:40:11 -0800

I started a new job a month ago. I like my job and I like my co-workers, but what I would really like is to work from home. When should I ask or should I ask at all? Here's the background: The main office space of my work is absolutely packed to the gills, but work has another office space close by, which is where my desk is. No one in my department works in that space with me. It's a pretty solitary job; I do virtually all of my work via computer and have a laptop and a login to work from home. I can go days without seeing my supervisor; we mostly communicate through email and very occasionally the phone (I could probably count on my fingers the number of times I've actually used my work phone). Many other employees work remotely, either from their homes or on the road visiting customers, but they don't live in the town where the company is headquartered (I do).

Desks are at a premium in the main space and they're also becoming dear in my office space; the other team in my office space is going to be expanding soon and will need a desk for a new employee. There's currently talk of moving me to the main space, but I'm not sure where they can actually put me.

My work requires concentration and attention to detail. I'm in an open-concept office with a number of other people; coworkers have said they couldn't do what I do there. If I moved to the main space, I'd be in the same situation. Also, I'm the only person doing the work I'm doing; I work with others in my department via email but my role is very different from theirs.

I understand there are a number of reasons why my supervisors would be wary of letting me work from home: no one else living in town and working there does it; I'm brand-new and they don't know me and my work ethic well enough yet; being part of the team is part of company culture; and it may set precedent that they don't want to set. On the other hand, if I worked from home, I'd probably be happier and more productive (I've worked from home before, so I'm used to it and like it), there would be more office space, they'd save money on my monthly parking pass, maybe it's a precedent to set that would be beneficial to the company, etc.

Let me say that I'm very, very grateful to have any job in this economy and it took a long time to finally get one. I certainly don't want to jeopardize it, but I think I'd be much happier working from home and just coming in as needed, which I could easily do. I also have some anxiety that would be easier to control at home. I could get a doctor's note for it, but I'd prefer not to mention this to my superiors if I don't have to, especially this early in the game.

This is long and vague for anonymity's sake, but here's the actual question. Is it too early to ask to work from home? (While I feel like it probably is since I'm not well-established there and I haven't gotten past the probationary period, I also feel like it would make sense to ask before I'm moved somewhere else.) If not soon, then when should I ask? Should I ask at all or should I just suck it up and go into the office like most people do every day?

What to consider when designing the layout of an IT office?

cad — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 11:11:58 -0800

Goodbye cube farm! Help me redesign the layout our IT office! I’ve recently been asked to lead an initiative to redesign the physical layout of our office floors at work. My management wants to shift from a cube farm to a layout that will better promote project team communication and collaboration. The thought is that by creating an environment that encourages open communication and collaboration, we’ll see increased productivity, code quality, reduced delivery timeframes, etc. In addition, we want to try and make the office a bit more…fun. Our fluorescent lights, tan walls and drab carpets aren’t helping to create an exciting environment

Some context: I work in the IT field and our project teams are made up of folks in many of the traditional roles (Developers, Technical Lead, Business Analyst, Functional Lead, and Project Manager).

What should we consider when designing the physical layout? What elements of your physical work environment do you like? What would you change? I’d love to hear any of your thoughts and ideas!

Inventing a promotion. Possible?

Buffaload — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 07:47:03 -0800

Machievelli Filter: I see an opportunity at my office. Briefly -- there's a satellite office that's struggling and frustrating the silverbacks here at the main office. Satellite office has no manager. It's unclear what the gameplan is but for weeks I've heard remarks like, "What we going to DO about those guys?" and "I don't have time to do their jobs for them!"

To me, the answer is obvious -- send me down there once or twice a week to provide some guidance and continuity. Without boring you with the minutiae of my work, perhaps we can just stipulate it's clear to me what needs to be done.

The satellite office people aren't bad at their jobs, they're just getting mixed messages from the mothership. Currently I'm not a manager but I am in a responsible, creative position that requires a lot of independent judgment.

So this would involve inventing some kind of job/promotion for myself.

I am not sure I've ever successfully hatched a "big idea" with the boss, especially one that could benefit me personally (I would want at least a small raise, for example.)

What do I do? Keep my mouth shut and wait for them to think of a solution themselves? Write a proposal of some kind? Make it seem like it's their idea somehow? I'm lousy at this. If it's my idea, would I have to offer to do it at my current pay (for free??)

Any office-ninjitsu or straightforward advice appreciated.

a more pleasant job I can support myself with while I work on my art?

fireflies — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 12:57:41 -0800

What other jobs can am I qualified for that I could support myself on, but still give me time to pursue art? Or is my frustrating job as good as it gets without more qualifications / experience? Originally I was going to ask a question about whether my current job is as bad as I think it is. I've since decided that my job is tolerable, but if I can get a better one, I'll try to do that. So now my question is: what better jobs are out there that I could actually be hired for, and still have time and energy to pursue my art?

I graduated from college about a year and a half ago with an art degree. Art is what I want to do but I still have a very long way to go before I could at all support myself with it. I've had my current job for about 9 months; one of my worries is that it will look bad on my resume that I haven't worked there a full year. When things go well at work, it's great for me - I get insurance; my commute is short and easy; and since I'm the sort of person who works really well with a consistent routine, I've been drawing more since I got this job than when I was unemployed.

But when my job isn't going well, it really messes with me. Busy weeks wipe me out so I don't have energy to draw or socialize. It takes over my brain, which I don't like because I have no interest in this field. My job is usually done by someone with a degree in the field my company is in, but they hired me so they didn't have to pay me as much. Plus I wasn't trained properly, and no one has time to devote to training me, so I often only learn new tasks when there's a deadline to do them and everyone is frustrated that I haven't done it yet. Everyone in the department assigns me tasks, but they don't communicate and we don't have meetings, so no one knows when I'm busy, or overwhelmed, or when my workload is light, or when I meet a tight deadline, or anything. My immediate supervisor is a nice guy, but he hates his job and basically only has to deal with me when I mess up, so I only hear from him when he's frustrated that he was interrupted to deal with me. A big deal for me is, I moved here to the Bay Area after college because I enjoy the culture, and am a very progressive, hippie-ish woman, but the culture at my office is instead corporate, male-dominated, filled with conservative people who commute in from the suburbs and tease me about my politics (and more often my perceived politics, it's not like I'm constantly bringing up politics at work!). My dislike of the work I have to do and the environment I do it in is making me more lazy. All this is messing with my self-image, because in work that I like, like my art and my academic studies, I consider myself a very thorough, detail-oriented person.

I've tried to come up with ideas for what I could do that would be better, but I'm stuck. My friends with jobs have complaints similar to mine, so I have trouble getting perspective on whether I would have this issue with any office job and would screw myself over by starting over elsewhere.

Other things I like and am interested in: writing; research; animal welfare; food politics; social justice. I have some background in programming and web design, but not a degree in the former or great portfolio in the latter, so it's more something to distinguish me from other entry-level office workers than a real career path. I don't have a car, so can't work too far away or somewhere not accessible by public transit. I need insurance. As implied by my complaints above, being well-trained and having consistent tasks is huge for me.

I know this is long. I realize that what my question comes down to in a big way is that the best jobs are specialized and require high qualifications, that essentially, I want a good job without having to put in a lot of investment. Really, while I would love a good job, just a decent one would be fine - something like my current job without the stress and poor communication would be just fine. But how do I find that?

What am I qualified to do? What jobs / fields have I overlooked? How can I fell whether a prospective job would have a culture that fits with me? Have I eliminated something I shouldn't? Am I being unrealistic or whiny? I'd especially like to hear from people who found rewarding jobs not long after college, in a crappy economy, with an arts degree, because right now that sounds like a fantasy.

High School Bemusical

Anonymous — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 07:10:55 -0800

I thought I was part of the crowd, but it appears I am not - what can I do? There’s someone at work - let's call her J - who is pretty much universally disliked – she’s very negative, very difficult to get on with, has strange religious tendencies, can be rude to people if she feels they are not conforming to her standards of behaviour, and tends to be bad at picking up social signals – she will keep speaking to you when others would notice you were trying to get on with something (to the point of you picking up the phone to speak to someone), or I will often go over and ask her to do something for me (she is my assistant) and she will start talking about something utterly irrelevant. Most of the time I can completely see why people dislike her, but sometimes it makes me uncomfortable mainly because, as irritating as she is, I know that I don’t always fit with the norms of what people do and it seems a bit like bullying (although some who work closer with her say she is a very unpleasant person).

For example, a few weeks ago another colleague, who was leaving, sent round an e-mail asking if anybody was allergic to dogs, because she wanted to bring hers in on her last day. Nobody responded, so the dog came in, and J started complaining that she was ‘dangerously allergic’, that the allergens were in the air-con and making her feel bad even if she was on the other side of the office, and complained to senior management. This was pretty melodramatic and in part seemed like making a fuss (‘dangerously allergic’ = that it’s on your work file, apparently), but then there was a group of people who started e-mailing each other about how ‘unreasonable’ she was being and then finding pictures of her on Facebook with dogs. I don’t particularly like the girl but when I hear about things like this it seems very mean and also makes me wonder what they might be saying about others...I’ve also heard people say things like ‘nobody likes her here, why doesn’t she just fvck off?’

Anyway. Today I went over to talk to someone else in my office and I saw a message on the work MSN on their screen, complaining about J, and, written as I walked over, ‘here comes no.2’. And this was from someone who I consider to be a good friend in our office – we have gone for drinks after work, chatted a lot, texted each other, and arranged to do things out of work. I really like her, and I thought we were, in a colleague-type way, friends. This feels like a kick in the gut (and I know that sounds bad, ‘oh no I’m just like the person that everyone dislikes’) because for a long time she and I have got on well enough to have personal chats or spend time outside of work, and now it feels like at the least she is being rude about me behind my back. It's quite difficult for me to feel at ease with other people and I was glad we got on well, so this has upset me a lot.

Not really sure what to do, to be honest. Of course, it was nosey of me to look at someone’s screen (I am a very fast reader and can read whole paragraphs just by glancing over or walking past someone's computer) and I can’t bring it up without being paranoid, but I’m really upset just now. I feel a bit betrayed, if it isn’t melodramatic. I’m attending psychotherapy at the moment – it’s a group session – and a lot of this is making me feel how at odds I feel in group situations, particularly those that involve judging tone or social norms, and I feel like maybe I’m not as good at it as I think I am. I worry a lot about what other people think of me, and I don't go out to drinks after work often, partly because I am often travelling at the weekend and partly because I find those situations extremely difficult and tend to compensate by drinking too much or sitting in a corner being quiet. (I've never been diagnosed with an ASD, FYI, but people in the past close to me have wondered whether this is the case.)

How do I find a job where I'm useful?

allseeingabstract — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 10:47:43 -0800

I've found what bothers me about my office job -- my position and what I do is utterly useless. What I do has absolutely no effect on anyone, nor does it increase my employer's profit or success in any measurable way. I've realized this is what leaves me absolutely drained at the end of the work day, though I've spent the day sitting at a desk. It also makes me dread going to work in the morning because I could not feel more like a cog in the machine. What are some jobs where I can actually feel useful or needed, or feel like I'm contributing to society? Here is some more info about me, if it helps narrow down jobs/careers:

* I'm 29, live in the western U.S.
* College degree in philosophy
* Have worked as an EMT, barista, dogsitter, video editor/videographer, and now excel office drone.
* Limited financial means to take up another college degree and I have terrible GPA so grad school is not really an option

I guess there are the classic "helpful to society" jobs like police, firefighter, etc. but I am not really the right kind of person to be a police officer and firefighting doesn't interest me too much.

Ideas?

Not in the basement yet...

trillian — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 10:32:31 -0800

I got moved to a much smaller desk at work (I kinda feel like Milton) and now everything feels really crowded. How can I increase the empty space on my desktop? What can I move or rearrange? Is there any magical desk accessory that can help me? I do have two built-in file drawers as well as a cabinet above my desk (also built-in), but those are mostly full. I have one shallow drawer that's also full. I don't have any shelves, but I might be able to get permission to add one or two.

Here's what's on my desk:

*office phone
*standing framed 4x6 photo of my son
*regular keyboard, flat-screen monitor, and tower (I may be able to get permission to move the tower to the floor)
*vertical-slotted plastic file-holder thing
*plastic inbox tray
*little box/tray of scrap paper for phone messages, etc.
*water bottle I bring to work every day
*work notebook, 8.5x11
*mousepad

The only remaining space isn't large enough for me to open up my notebook and lay it flat so that I can see both pages.

The only thing i thought of so far is a phone stand so that I can put my scrap paper, etc., under it. What am I not thinking of? This new desk is driving me crazy and it's making it hard to do my work.