Office Atmosphere

[Shaka_Khan]

What's your take on this?

I noticed a lot of hostility and mistrust amongst the workers. They don't express it much to each other. They talk behind each others' backs. There's a worker who's jealous because another one got promoted. They were good friends before and ate together. Now I don't see them talk to each other. The woman who got promoted sensed the hostility from her "friend" and so they started to talk behind each others' back and betray each other. Then there are managers and CEOs who get paranoid about getting voted off. They don't want to take responsibility for the mistakes and blame it on others instead. Fortunately, this isn't the case where I work because it's not owned by shareholders and it's a family-run business. The owners don't have to worry about being voted off. It's the manager whom we worry about. I heard my client talking about his own paranoid manager, and I read books on large companies that had paranoid CEOs. If a lower ranking worker does a good job and gains credit for it, the manager could feel threatened by it.

I know that not all businesses are like this, but too many businesses that I know of have worker relationship problems. This is the case with the office that I work at (although not with the owners). It's a very uncomfortable atmosphere in which the workers pretend to like each other but talk behind each others' back. There are arguments once in a while. These arguments are intense because it's from anger that has been built up for a long time. Most of the time, the office is totally silent. I have to see this five days a week and it's making me want to get away from this place. I believe that they feel the same because I can tell that they can't stand each other.

[Shaka_Khan]

Right now, I have a problem with the head of our department. He created two errors, but now he want's me to be responsible. I told him that we shouldn't have business with a customer that hasn't paid us for over a year. He didn't tell us that he arranged another business arrangement. I think he was greedy so he took the risk. The customer didn't pay us again and now our supplier has their products put on hold, which is a waste of time and money. Now he wants me to drive alone to that customer firm, which I have to drive 2 hours to. This is the first time that he asked me to do this. He has never gave me work to do besides drive him to the customers. Another error that he made was that he lowered the amount of supplies to a loyal customer of ours and gave it to a larger company instead. Our suppliers have lowered their production to cut costs so there has already been a lack of supplies. He wants me to drive 3 hours to our loyal customer and apologize.

[Fragony]

Nasty, research showed that 30% of managers are basicly psychopaths. Normally I would say find another job but right now..

[Papewaio]

Emmigrate to Australia. Just don't do it by boat.

[Husar]

My boss once cleaned a clogged toilet even though it was actually my job...
Can't say I'm unhappy.

I don't work at an office though.

Anyway, if my boss ever asked me to go somewhere and apologize for a mistake he made I'd probably ask whether I should apologize on his behalf or that of the company in general.
You see, when my instructions aren't clear enough, then I ask, it would put him into a position to be more clear and if he'd say I should apologize on my own behalf then I'd tell him it wasn't my mistake afterall, in a polite and matter-of-fact kinda way.
I'm not sure how long I'd keep my job that way, but then again I'd keep some integrity and honesty.
Sometimes it can help to just not care and do whatever though, I don't know your boss, if he's intimidating in some way and you really need the job then just go and apologize and don't think too much of it, I apologize to customers for all kind of things just to make them go away.

[Cute Wolf]

my office often smelled alcohol... and everyday, we always have stuffs involving alcohol... oh yeah, it's 100% true

i work in chem laboratory... we use alcohol to clean up stuffs, dissolving things, and many more things except for drinking

[Papewaio]

That's fairly normal on Friday afternoons.

[HoreTore]

At my first "proper" job, my boss always bought beer and pizza whenever we worked overtime. Gawd, I miss that place....

Anyway, Shaka Khan, your aituation sounds like a clear case of bad management, suitable for a dilbert strip. Some people in middle management thinks it's the job of those under them to promotore their career, instead of it being the managers job to enable those under them to progress and perform at their best for the good of the company. When in middle managementm you're not a Boss. You're an enabler, a facilitator. You are still an employee, and your job is not to further yourself, but to further the company.

[aimlesswanderer]

Emmigrate to Australia. Just don't do it by boat.

Yes, if you can afford to fly in by plane then you are apparently not a criminal, shouldn't be locked up for years on end, and are not worthy of radio shock jocks (and politician) rantings.

If you can work in the mining sector (warning: possibly in the middle of nowhere, but it pays lots) come here by all means.

[Cute Wolf]

Emmigrate to Australia. Just don't do it by boat.

well, I'm looking forward on this... can I swim to Australia?

(not really emigrate, just wanna spend a year or two wandering arround)

[Vladimir]

well, I'm looking forward on this... can I swim to Australia?

(not really emigrate, just wanna spend a year or two wandering arround)

Heh. Walkabout.