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

[TheGlossy]

Do any of you have to submit timesheets for how long you've spent on certain pieces of work?

I've had one rejected from last week and the Project Manager who rejected it has told me I booked too many hours for the project that week. Apparently I'm not down to do that many hours. She annoys me at the best of times so it's really wound me up today.

Um, but that's how long I spent on it. She puts in a duck load of 'urgent' meetings which all take up my time and that's before the actual work I do for the project. I really want to send her an arsey message along the lines of: "So do you want me to just stop attending all your meetings and stop working on this project then?"

She lives in another world.

The problem is that you have to stick to the contracted hours and budget originally agreed with the client. If you book too many hours, it impacts the profit margin and forecasted revenue for the project and hits the P&L.

Your manager is obviously not managing the project correctly, but her rejecting the timesheet is somewhat understandable.

 

[Ensay]

The problem is that you have to stick to the contracted hours and budget originally agreed with the client. If you book too many hours, it impacts the profit margin and forecasted revenue for the project and hits the P&L.

Your manager is obviously not managing the project correctly, but her rejecting the timesheet is somewhat understandable.

While I understand that, I'm just booking how long I've spent on the project. Budgets aren't my responsibility.

If I don't book honestly to her project, then I'm going to have to inflate the time I've spent on other projects, but the Project Managers for those projects will reject that time as well. Which would be correct.

So I can see myself getting into a roundabout situation where all PMs will say: "Sorry Ensay, can't approve that". And all the arguing about timesheets wastes time.

 

[JustmeKC]

My theory on time sheets is that it’s down to the individual to record it, and management to bill it. So your PM should have a way of moving the time elsewhere if it’s not to be recorded as part of this billable/deductible hours work. Do you record time normally? The reason I ask is that if you do, the time needs to be allocated somewhere so you can’t just pretend you did nothing for those hours.

 

[Ensay]

My theory on time sheets is that it’s down to the individual to record it, and management to bill it. So your PM should have a way of moving the time elsewhere if it’s not to be recorded as part of this billable/deductible hours work. Do you record time normally? The reason I ask is that if you do, the time needs to be allocated somewhere so you can’t just pretend you did nothing for those hours.

I’m not really sure. It’s quite a new concept to me. I was just told to book the time I’ve spent which I’ve done. If there are issues with what I put I expect that to be sorted out by someone else.

 

[JustmeKC]

I’m not really sure. It’s quite a new concept to me. I was just told to book the time I’ve spent which I’ve done. If there are issues with what I put I expect that to be sorted out by someone else.

I’d ask specifically where the time is to be posted to then, and keep your correspondence as back up for moving it. Not wanting to charge so much time on a specific project is understandable, but not giving you an alternative is not, particularly when it’s a new concept for you (seasoned time recorders tend to forget how weird it is for new people!)

 

[TheGlossy]

While I understand that, I'm just booking how long I've spent on the project. Budgets aren't my responsibility.

If I don't book honestly to her project, then I'm going to have to inflate the time I've spent on other projects, but the Project Managers for those projects will reject that time as well. Which would be correct.

So I can see myself getting into a roundabout situation where all PMs will say: "Sorry Ensay, can't approve that". And all the arguing about timesheets wastes time.

I don’t know how your company works, but charging just the budgeted hours on one project shouldn’t lead to you inflating hours on another project (unrelated) to compensate even if you are subject to a utilization rate. Some people did that where I used to work and it was bad when they got caught and were asked to reverse it.

Budgeting may not be your responsibilityunderstand, but when the margin drops on a project due to an overrrun on hours, it drops for everybody and impacts the revenue you’re making individually as well. Working according to budget is the PM’s responsibility for sure but it is also the whole team’s. If you see you’re about to run over, you should highlight to the PM beforehand so they can manage accordingly.

I used to work in a similar setting … This happened a lot. I left because I couldn’t deal with all this stuff.

Anyway, I just wanted to give you some perspective on why the manager is being annoying about this.

 

[Pinhead Larry]

Someone sat at my desk on Friday last week when I was on annual leave, moved the screens around, moved my pen holder, cup stains everywhere, hair everywhere, chair height changed

So annoying but I feel petty to say anything

 

[Bianca Del Rio]

People (colleagues and external) prefixing their emails with “URGENT!!” in the subject line and several more proclamations of urgency in the body of the text. Usually because it’s something they should have dealt with weeks prior, but now it is apparently URGENTLY!! my problem.

Unfortunately I am a petty witch, so your query will now make its way to the very, very bottom of my To Do list and will be dealt with in 3-5 business days and not a moment sooner.

Warm regards,
BDR xx

 

[Heidi88]

While I understand that, I'm just booking how long I've spent on the project. Budgets aren't my responsibility.

If I don't book honestly to her project, then I'm going to have to inflate the time I've spent on other projects, but the Project Managers for those projects will reject that time as well. Which would be correct.

So I can see myself getting into a roundabout situation where all PMs will say: "Sorry Ensay, can't approve that". And all the arguing about timesheets wastes time.

We had an "admin" code that we charged excess hours to (within reason). Ee had to be paid or given time off in lieu and it was to keep track for that. We then sometimes got called in if our utilisation rate when too low as we were charging too much to admin and we would have to justify it.

I often wondered what code we should yse for prepping timesheets as they could easily take 30 mins a week when working on multiple clients

 

[Ensay]

People (colleagues and external) prefixing their emails with “URGENT!!” in the subject line and several more proclamations of urgency in the body of the text. Usually because it’s something they should have dealt with weeks prior, but now it is apparently URGENTLY!! my problem.

Unfortunately I am a petty witch, so your query will now make its way to the very, very bottom of my To Do list and will be dealt with in 3-5 business days and not a moment sooner.

Warm regards,
BDR xx

Haha love it. I hate that as well.

Same when they start meeting invitations like that - usually because they know almost all attendees have already got meetings then, but they're so selfish they think everyone needs to decline pre-arranged meetings to attend their VERY URGENT call. Nah, sod off thanks.

We had an "admin" code that we charged excess hours to (within reason). Ee had to be paid or given time off in lieu and it was to keep track for that. We then sometimes got called in if our utilisation rate when too low as we were charging too much to admin and we would have to justify it.

I often wondered what code we should yse for prepping timesheets as they could easily take 30 mins a week when working on multiple clients

Haha so true regarding a code for filling out the sodding thing. And PMs sending queries about timesheets.

 

[JOHN1967]

We had an "admin" code that we charged excess hours to (within reason). Ee had to be paid or given time off in lieu and it was to keep track for that. We then sometimes got called in if our utilisation rate when too low as we were charging too much to admin and we would have to justify it.

I often wondered what code we should yse for prepping timesheets as they could easily take 30 mins a week when working on multiple clients

This sounds like the Mr. Green, we used to have in our office who used to screw up a lot.


Client rings up, mad as hell, oh sorry, I think Mr. Green dealt with you last time.

Client is happy. As there was no Mr Green, he didn't mind taking the blame either.

 

[Messychaotic - one word]

I discovered today that my strange workplace is one of those that frowns upon people working from home if they have cold and 'flu symptoms ... ummm, isn't that what we're meant to do in this Covid era ... stay home, don't pass on bugs to others, and test regularly whilst symptomatic?

 

[Ensay]

I discovered today that my strange workplace is one of those that frowns upon people working from home if they have cold and 'flu symptoms ... ummm, isn't that what we're meant to do in this Covid era ... stay home, don't pass on bugs to others, and test regularly whilst symptomatic?

Definitely. I hate it when people come into the office when they’re full of a cold. No one thanks them for it.

 

[emmer_moans]

I discovered today that my strange workplace is one of those that frowns upon people working from home if they have cold and 'flu symptoms ... ummm, isn't that what we're meant to do in this Covid era ... stay home, don't pass on bugs to others, and test regularly whilst symptomatic?

I hope we don’t go back to days where you had to come in and share the flu around until it inevitably worked its way around the whole team, making everyone unproductive for weeks. So far, at my place the WFH element (we do 3 days in, 2 days home) can be flexible and people with badly running noses have been able to work from home because noone wants the lurgy!

 

[Pinhead Larry]

I discovered today that my strange workplace is one of those that frowns upon people working from home if they have cold and 'flu symptoms ... ummm, isn't that what we're meant to do in this Covid era ... stay home, don't pass on bugs to others, and test regularly whilst symptomatic?

My manager once rang me 13 times in a day when I had D&V and was WFH because despite me never taking a sick day before, she didn't believe me. She kept asking me to come in the office for the afternoon. Insanity. If you can do your job from home who cares

 

[shadowcat5]

People (colleagues and external) prefixing their emails with “URGENT!!” in the subject line and several more proclamations of urgency in the body of the text. Usually because it’s something they should have dealt with weeks prior, but now it is apparently URGENTLY!! my problem.

Unfortunately I am a petty witch, so your query will now make its way to the very, very bottom of my To Do list and will be dealt with in 3-5 business days and not a moment sooner.

Warm regards,
BDR xx

oh yes this.

A failure to prepare on your part doesn't constitute an emergency on mine

 

[Lalla]

oh yes this.

A failure to prepare on your part doesn't constitute an emergency on mine

Yes, I am very much in agreement with the the 'don't make your emergency my emergency' approach. I have started using this with my (adult) kids too, albeit limited success so far. Might have to put them on a PIP

 

[Tanne1999]

My manager has just sat here and said she doesn’t agree with homosexuality. She thinks it’s a sin, it’s immoral, gay couples shouldn’t have children, and it’s perverted.

I, a very proud bisexual, am absolutely devastated. I feel like quitting. I don’t know how I can work with someone who hates part of who I am.

 

[rosemarina]

I'm not sure which country you're in, but I'd be taking that straight to HR. It's absolutely not ok to express views like that at work*. In the UK, sexuality is one of the protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.


* or anywhere really, before anybody says.

 

[Hope96]

My manager has just sat here and said she doesn’t agree with homosexuality. She thinks it’s a sin, it’s immoral, gay couples shouldn’t have children, and it’s perverted.

I, a very proud bisexual, am absolutely devastated. I feel like quitting. I don’t know how I can work with someone who hates part of who I am.

Report this to HR and her manager as soon as you can... you shouldn't have to quit your job because of her disgusting views. I hope you're ok! x