Annoying things your work colleagues do all the time? #3

[Messychaotic - one word]

I popped in to a client's office before to pick up a box of something he wants me to start working on first thing tomorrow. It's night-time where I am, and I have a key and permission to go in at anytime.

I was confused and surprised to see someone sleeping in the reception area (in a sleeping bag - I went in very late and woke them up when I flicked all the lights on)!

My client has two offices on this floor; the rest of the floor is leased by another business altogether (including reception). Given that's where they were sleeping, I'm going to assume that they are somehow related to that business.

It's very odd and concerning ... nobody should be sleeping in offices! I've never seen this person before, although I only pop in occasionally so don't know everyone who works there, but now I can't stop thinking about it. I texted my client to let him know because I thought someone should be aware; in his usual style, he just texted back, "thanks."

They weren't the cleaners, as - weirdly - they've never had any ... people just clean up after themselves and occasionally once in a blue moon someone will get the vacuum cleaner out and give the floors a going-over.

So, so strange.

I'm so relieved to report back on what the situation here was.

I called into the same office this morning to drop some things off, and the person I saw sleeping in the reception area the other night was there with someone else; they were dressed in overalls and wearing hardhats, while looking at some plans they'd pinned to the wall. I said "Hi," and they smiled and said "Hi" back.

As I was about to leave, the person I saw sleeping there the other night came in and introduce themselves and explained that they're working on some infrastructure project that has to be monitored closely in case any alarms are triggered, so that's why they stayed over (obviously my client had mentioned to them that I'd asked why they were doing that).

I'm so relieved it was all above board; it is concerning from a health and safety point of view too - I'd hate to think what would happen if a fire broke out and nobody knew there was someone in there.

 

[theweekend]

The culture at my new employer has an extreme obsession with small talk. Now I am not one for pleasantries, I don't add (in my opinion) unnecessary "how are you"'s to every IM and email, but duck me it is insane how much time they dedicate to it.

Mondays are my busiest day, I have to work over my hours as standard and I'm in meetings from 10am to EOD. I'm in a team of 6 and throughout the day I have multiple back to back meetings each with a different combination of those team members. We also have multiple group chats for each of the different streams, as well as a team-wide chat and then a team chat without management etc.

I was on AL last week and got asked first thing how my holiday was on direct IM by 4 of the other 5 members. I then got asked how my holiday was on the team-wide chat and in the sans management chat. First meeting was with my line manager and another team member, 10 minute chat about my holiday there. Next meeting, also with my line manager and another team member, another 10 minute chat about my holiday. Team-wide meeting - you guessed it, asked about my holiday again. Please bear in mind each individual has already heard my response at least once on direct IM, team IM, sans management team IM, and at least one other meeting, if not all 4.

I hate it so bleeping much and I just don't understand it, they take it so seriously and expect you to give them a lengthy detailed description of how your weekend was. They do round the rooms every Monday where everyone has to talk for at least 10 minutes about their weekend as if it's not already been discussed ad nauseum in the team chat!!! And "yeah it was good thanks" does not suffice, they grill you like it's a bleeping job interview and if you try and give a brief generic response they will sit silently to force you to continue!!

It is the weirdest thing ever and puts me in such a bad mood, its so pointless and inefficient and by the time I get to the meeting with senior management after lunch I literally want to scream when they ask me how X was.

 

[rosemarina]

I would HATE that. What’s wrong with them?

 

[Bhatforlashes]

The constant pressure in my job to be working towards the next level. Don't get me wrong, goals drive us forward and I want keep upskilling but I don't want to manage people or become a senior leader. I've worked myself up to a position where I'm well paid for what I do and I can still check out at the door. It allows me to pursue interests outside work and keep my sanity. The prospects of dialling into late /early calls and the constant hustle just doesn't appeal to me. If that makes me unambitious then so be it. We can't all be directors and VPs, why can't employers recognise the value in their bread and butter support staff.

 

[Tommyb]

The constant pressure in my job to be working towards the next level. Don't get me wrong, goals drive us forward and I want keep upskilling but I don't want to manage people or become a senior leader. I've worked myself up to a position where I'm well paid for what I do and I can still check out at the door. It allows me to pursue interests outside work and keep my sanity. The prospects of dialling into late /early calls and the constant hustle just doesn't appeal to me. If that makes me unambitious then so be it. We can't all be directors and VPs, why can't employers recognise the value in their bread and butter support staff.

This exactly. My boss is always assuming I want his role in a year or two. He works longer hours than me and weekends. I don't want that. I'm happy on my good salary with work life balance thanks. But you can't say that? Also just because this role is enough for me it's looked down on like I should always want to be stressed out!

 

[Bhatforlashes]

This exactly. My boss is always assuming I want his role in a year or two. He works longer hours than me and weekends. I don't want that. I'm happy on my good salary with work life balance thanks. But you can't say that? Also just because this role is enough for me it's looked down on like I should always want to be stressed out!

I've worked closely with senior leaders over the years and I can attest that nothing ages a person as quick as the stress of their high powered jobs. I've known c-suite executives on insane salaries, fancy car, house the lot but they can't even take a holiday without checking emails. They live in an out of suitcases touring airports for business meetings. They can't know their kids well and they don't seem happy despite the 6 figure salary and obscene bonus. I'll take my modest house, car and paycheck any day safe in the comfort that I get to log off on my evenings and weekends and forget about work.

 

[Ensay]

The culture at my new employer has an extreme obsession with small talk. Now I am not one for pleasantries, I don't add (in my opinion) unnecessary "how are you"'s to every IM and email, but duck me it is insane how much time they dedicate to it.

Mondays are my busiest day, I have to work over my hours as standard and I'm in meetings from 10am to EOD. I'm in a team of 6 and throughout the day I have multiple back to back meetings each with a different combination of those team members. We also have multiple group chats for each of the different streams, as well as a team-wide chat and then a team chat without management etc.

I was on AL last week and got asked first thing how my holiday was on direct IM by 4 of the other 5 members. I then got asked how my holiday was on the team-wide chat and in the sans management chat. First meeting was with my line manager and another team member, 10 minute chat about my holiday there. Next meeting, also with my line manager and another team member, another 10 minute chat about my holiday. Team-wide meeting - you guessed it, asked about my holiday again. Please bear in mind each individual has already heard my response at least once on direct IM, team IM, sans management team IM, and at least one other meeting, if not all 4.

I hate it so bleeping much and I just don't understand it, they take it so seriously and expect you to give them a lengthy detailed description of how your weekend was. They do round the rooms every Monday where everyone has to talk for at least 10 minutes about their weekend as if it's not already been discussed ad nauseum in the team chat!!! And "yeah it was good thanks" does not suffice, they grill you like it's a bleeping job interview and if you try and give a brief generic response they will sit silently to force you to continue!!

It is the weirdest thing ever and puts me in such a bad mood, its so pointless and inefficient and by the time I get to the meeting with senior management after lunch I literally want to scream when they ask me how X was.

That's so odd. I'm quite a private person so, while I'll share a few things I did at the weekend, I generally keep it brief as it's got nothing to do with my job. Repeated grilling would make me very uncomfortable.

 

[Rodneytrotter]

I've realised that the person I work with is a total control freak. Anything anyone does she'll have a problem with it and have to 'tweak'. Get a life!

 

[DollyDiamondxo]

The woman who sits next to me quite literally never shuts up. She’s constantly talking to anyone and everyone at the loudest possible volume or phoning colleagues in other teams to have a gossip then when people inevitably get fed up, she starts talking to herself . Like doing a running commentary throughout her day, eg ‘I’ll finish x, then I’ll go to the toilet and then make a start on y’. Every single day!

Meanwhile, I’m rocking back and forth in my chair praying for silence.

I can so relate to this! A colleague at my last job was the same, it sounds funny but it’s actually irritating. I think it’s down to loneliness at home - when I politely said ‘I wish I was as chatty as you on a morning I’m not a morning person’ she said it’s because her husband leaves before her on a morning so she doesn’t have anyone to talk to. Well my heart bleeds, elderly people go weeks without talking to anyone! I said that thinking she’d reign it in but she didn’t. Who wants a deep conversation at 9 am? Good morning and I’m good lol. She said ‘If I’m annoying you just tell me and I’ll shut up’ like I basically did and she still didn’t. Couldn’t cope with two minutes of silence, maybe that’s just me as an introvert lol

 

[ChastityDingle]

The culture at my new employer has an extreme obsession with small talk. Now I am not one for pleasantries, I don't add (in my opinion) unnecessary "how are you"'s to every IM and email, but duck me it is insane how much time they dedicate to it.

Mondays are my busiest day, I have to work over my hours as standard and I'm in meetings from 10am to EOD. I'm in a team of 6 and throughout the day I have multiple back to back meetings each with a different combination of those team members. We also have multiple group chats for each of the different streams, as well as a team-wide chat and then a team chat without management etc.

I was on AL last week and got asked first thing how my holiday was on direct IM by 4 of the other 5 members. I then got asked how my holiday was on the team-wide chat and in the sans management chat. First meeting was with my line manager and another team member, 10 minute chat about my holiday there. Next meeting, also with my line manager and another team member, another 10 minute chat about my holiday. Team-wide meeting - you guessed it, asked about my holiday again. Please bear in mind each individual has already heard my response at least once on direct IM, team IM, sans management team IM, and at least one other meeting, if not all 4.

I hate it so bleeping much and I just don't understand it, they take it so seriously and expect you to give them a lengthy detailed description of how your weekend was. They do round the rooms every Monday where everyone has to talk for at least 10 minutes about their weekend as if it's not already been discussed ad nauseum in the team chat!!! And "yeah it was good thanks" does not suffice, they grill you like it's a bleeping job interview and if you try and give a brief generic response they will sit silently to force you to continue!!

It is the weirdest thing ever and puts me in such a bad mood, its so pointless and inefficient and by the time I get to the meeting with senior management after lunch I literally want to scream when they ask me how X was.

I would hate that. I had a manager at one stage who would ask what my plans were for the weekend. Sometimes I said I had no plans and she would sigh and say oh I would love a weekend like that . As if someone was forcing her to be such a social butterfly - not.
She and her husband went to their holiday home about an hour's drive away every weekend and most likely went out drinking. That was it.
Also she was a nasty creature and that made the pretence of chitchat/ must show interest in team, even more annoying

 

[JustmeKC]

I find the awkward small talk so annoying too. These people are my work colleagues, not my friends. It’s lovely to get along and be friendly, but they don’t need to know the ins & outs of my life. I’m generally quite a private person and having to discuss my life outside of work makes me feel like I’m back in primary school having the write my ‘news’ on a Monday of what I did since I left school Friday

 

[DollyDiamondxo]

I find the awkward small talk so annoying too. These people are my work colleagues, not my friends. It’s lovely to get along and be friendly, but they don’t need to know the ins & outs of my life. I’m generally quite a private person and having to discuss my life outside of work makes me feel like I’m back in primary school having the write my ‘news’ on a Monday of what I did since I left school Friday

Totally agree! Because my last job was so quiet, more staff than custom, I was often having to just chat to my colleagues as we’d be stood around all day. If you work somewhere what isn’t busy (I’m talking one customer every 3 hours sometimes) you need to get on with your colleagues, if you don’t it’s a nightmare. I’d rather lone work, or work in a big place with loads of staff, then there’s nobody getting personal. I got tired of having their unwanted opinions forced down my throat. Can anyone tell I’m glad I aren’t there anymore

 

[emmer_moans]

The constant pressure in my job to be working towards the next level. Don't get me wrong, goals drive us forward and I want keep upskilling but I don't want to manage people or become a senior leader. I've worked myself up to a position where I'm well paid for what I do and I can still check out at the door. It allows me to pursue interests outside work and keep my sanity. The prospects of dialling into late /early calls and the constant hustle just doesn't appeal to me. If that makes me unambitious then so be it. We can't all be directors and VPs, why can't employers recognise the value in their bread and butter support staff.

AMEN! This is me. I have seen how miserable my friends and family are who line manage people. Not for me, thank you! I work bloody hard but I like the option of being able to log off at 5pm and jump into my hobbies. My Dad was seriously ill with stress once due to managing. My husband line manages plus does some specialist tasks himself and he is exhausted all the time. I can't put myself through that. It does piss me off though that a lot of people equate not wanting to manage people with 'not being driven enough'.

 

[JustmeKC]

The constant pressure in my job to be working towards the next level. Don't get me wrong, goals drive us forward and I want keep upskilling but I don't want to manage people or become a senior leader. I've worked myself up to a position where I'm well paid for what I do and I can still check out at the door. It allows me to pursue interests outside work and keep my sanity. The prospects of dialling into late /early calls and the constant hustle just doesn't appeal to me. If that makes me unambitious then so be it. We can't all be directors and VPs, why can't employers recognise the value in their bread and butter support staff.

This is very annoying too - if everyone WANTED to be management they wouldn’t cope with that either! I want to progress but not to manage people, especially snowflake types who are only short of bringing their parents into meetings with them. There’s so much you cannot say or ask these days that I’m just not interested in walking on eggshells to get my job done.

 

[JOHN1967]

The culture at my new employer has an extreme obsession with small talk. Now I am not one for pleasantries, I don't add (in my opinion) unnecessary "how are you"'s to every IM and email, but duck me it is insane how much time they dedicate to it.

Mondays are my busiest day, I have to work over my hours as standard and I'm in meetings from 10am to EOD. I'm in a team of 6 and throughout the day I have multiple back to back meetings each with a different combination of those team members. We also have multiple group chats for each of the different streams, as well as a team-wide chat and then a team chat without management etc.

I was on AL last week and got asked first thing how my holiday was on direct IM by 4 of the other 5 members. I then got asked how my holiday was on the team-wide chat and in the sans management chat. First meeting was with my line manager and another team member, 10 minute chat about my holiday there. Next meeting, also with my line manager and another team member, another 10 minute chat about my holiday. Team-wide meeting - you guessed it, asked about my holiday again. Please bear in mind each individual has already heard my response at least once on direct IM, team IM, sans management team IM, and at least one other meeting, if not all 4.

I hate it so bleeping much and I just don't understand it, they take it so seriously and expect you to give them a lengthy detailed description of how your weekend was. They do round the rooms every Monday where everyone has to talk for at least 10 minutes about their weekend as if it's not already been discussed ad nauseum in the team chat!!! And "yeah it was good thanks" does not suffice, they grill you like it's a bleeping job interview and if you try and give a brief generic response they will sit silently to force you to continue!!

It is the weirdest thing ever and puts me in such a bad mood, its so pointless and inefficient and by the time I get to the meeting with senior management after lunch I literally want to scream when they ask me how X was.

That's annoying as hell. I am like you, don't enjoy pointless small talk with people who couldn't care less how your holiday was.

 

[Phoenix Lazarus]

Anything anyone does she'll have a problem with it and have to 'tweak'. Get a life!

I hope no-one there has a vasectomy.

 

[Bhatforlashes]

I've realised that the person I work with is a total control freak. Anything anyone does she'll have a problem with it and have to 'tweak'. Get a life!

Had one of those in my last place. She was so controlling that she let a new admin go for printing too much She had to put her stamp on everything that came through her department and had to put her two cents in any everything that went on in the company. How utterly draining.

AMEN! This is me. I have seen how miserable my friends and family are who line manage people. Not for me, thank you! I work bloody hard but I like the option of being able to log off at 5pm and jump into my hobbies. My Dad was seriously ill with stress once due to managing. My husband line manages plus does some specialist tasks himself and he is exhausted all the time. I can't put myself through that. It does piss me off though that a lot of people equate not wanting to manage people with 'not being driven enough'.

Yes this! I'm driven to enjoy my life and stay healthy through achieving balance, not running myself into the ground hustling for a company that would let me go in a heartbeat, if needed. Why do I need an extra 30k that I probably won't see through taxes and an onslaught of extra work. Anyone I know who manages others is stressed to the gills and wishes they could just focus on their own workload. Imo, the clever ones are those who have a decent salary but can switch their mind off when they exit the building.

 

[ChastityDingle]

I find the awkward small talk so annoying too. These people are my work colleagues, not my friends. It’s lovely to get along and be friendly, but they don’t need to know the ins & outs of my life. I’m generally quite a private person and having to discuss my life outside of work makes me feel like I’m back in primary school having the write my ‘news’ on a Monday of what I did since I left school Friday

Exactly. I think getting along, and being polite and friendly is more than enough.
I don't want to feel I have to give an account of everything I do outside work - which sometimes might be damn all (see my post above ) So glad I no longer work with that fake witch.

 

[DollyDiamondxo]

Exactly. I think getting along, and being polite and friendly is more than enough.
I don't want to feel I have to give an account of everything I do outside work - which sometimes might be damn all (see my post above ) So glad I no longer work with that fake witch.

I used to feel bad when someone would say ‘so what did you do all weekend’ I am a person who sometimes doesn’t like to leave my house bar walking the dog, and I’d feel soooo judged if I said ‘nothing’ and why should I when it’s my free time to choose what I do with it! I used to make things up lol or they’d ask about my dating life.. which was pointless because I could have the most exciting date ever and not tell them as it’s none of their sodding business! Lol. I had a job a few years ago where it was so busy we only had time to greet our colleagues hi and bye, during the day we’d barely have time to breathe with the workload. I should’ve stayed there really!

 

[Hope96]

One of my ex colleagues sent me 34 WhatsApp messages in one sitting yesterday whilst I was at work and I've still not gone on the app because I cba. I feel bad because his wife has kicked him out and I've been kind to him but the messages and calls are bloody excessive. He's even asked me if I know someone who will go on a date with him.