Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Well I think we are definitely at opposite ends of the spectrum in situation. I think I’d need a crowbar to open someone’s mouth.
No one shows any initiative too. I was supposed to hear from someone who was gonna help me out with something. Two days hear nothing. Ask when they get in Thursday as our schedules clashed to meet up. No response. Send him an email asking for help. Oh he says let’s discuss in 15 minutes I call him and doesn’t pick up.
We’re implementing a new process this quarter. Not one person volunteered to say I’ll do x to help get the process moving. They all know what they’re role is - I shouldn’t need to give everyone instructions on how to do their job which they already know how to do.
Are you handling this in a supervisory role or as a team member?
Do you have an office with a door? Are you in cubicle land or in an open office environment? I was in an office for 15 years. But due to growth, I had to move into cubicle land near co-workers who have job duties that require a lot more talking (phone, in person). I wear earbuds often. It doesn't help that I am noise sensitive & am more easily annoyed by unnecessary noise than most others. The noise makes it hard to concentrate & get my work done. My anxiety is high at work.
I am in a cubicle but more time from home. More communication is over Skype so not trying to be a noisy neighbor. I’m not trying to impose day long messenger sessions either. But just doing work and telling people what to do with very little humor or humanity is depressing to me. It is what it is. I’ve been at the company for 8 months, long enough for people to know I exist.
Are you handling this in a supervisory role or as a team member?
I guess somewhere in between. I am higher rank than those folks but they do not report to me. While I may oversee in some ways I execute as well. The first example I gave was different and was a PMO.
I guess somewhere in between. I am higher rank than those folks but they do not report to me. While I may oversee in some ways I execute as well. The first example I gave was different and was a PMO.
I do not understand what you mean by "higher rank". Either you have the authority to designate tasks or you do not.
"No one shows any initiative too. I was supposed to hear from someone who was gonna help me out with something. Two days hear nothing. Ask when they get in Thursday as our schedules clashed to meet up. No response. Send him an email asking for help. Oh he says let’s discuss in 15 minutes I call him and doesn’t pick up.
We’re implementing a new process this quarter. Not one person volunteered to say I’ll do x to help get the process moving. They all know what they’re role is - I shouldn’t need to give everyone instructions on how to do their job which they already know how to do."
Am I wrong to make work a little more than just you go do this for me, thank you for doing that being the only thing to say to someone? Or is work just go do your stuff and go home?
No you aren't wrong. We are at work for many hours of our day for many days a week. It should be fun sometimes.
Every office has its own culture. Years ago, my wife worked in a department of her company that made Stalag 17 look like a party in comparison. When she announced she was pregnant with our second child, the department head literally started keeping track of her comings and goings. My wife took this to her friend in HR who only asked, "So. How much are you going to sue us for?"
After the baby was born, she transferred into a different department. It was the kind of place where unicorns roamed the halls farting rainbows, where confetti was tossed whenever she strolled in the door. Just wonderful, lovely people.
Guess which department got way more productivity out of her?
Hey I’m not trying to throw a party. Work definitely needs to get done and there sure is a lot of it. Just asking to be somewhat pleasant and maybe a tad personable.
Yes I have power over people, but no I’m not their boss.
Interesting. If the OP posted this in the Work and Employment subforum they would hear nothing but complaints about workplaces that force maladjusted introverts to do anything other than grunt monosyllabic replies or tolerate a few moments of idle chat in the break room. Guess its either feast or famine...nothing in between. FWIW, I get you OP. Work is work, but it doesn't need to be a life sentence on a desert island. Good luck figuring out a happy medium in that "culture".
i go to work to get the work done. the workplace culture is very much "do more with less" which means we are perpetually understaffed and people habitually feel overwhelmed with the amount of work to be done and the demands and workload put upon them. if someone were to suggest "hey let's have a potluck" there would be the deer in the headlights look of "don't ask me to bring anything" and scrambling for excuses not to have one.
on the other hand if people are not following through on tasks, or not giving you work that is needed for you to do your job, that can be real passive aggressive. that goes on in the current department i am in, even from program managers who are fairly senior. they "don't have time" for a meeting, they "don't agree" to a timeline, they "don't turn in " proposals needed, they "don't provide" name of point of contact to take responsibility for task. Our practice manager got tired of the run around and refusal to do things that they were asked to do.
She just started documenting dates she requested, and deadlines that passed without submissions, and when we failed to meet performance measures and the director said what's the problem she provided documentation, and she let the director follow up with the program managers who were holding things up. It was the only thing that got results. They had to be held accountable by someone higher up who could follow through and say if this is not done, it affects your performance review. One scheduling initiative was supposed to be rolled out six years ago and still has not been done. SIX YEARS! We are probably the only facility nation wide that has not implemented this. Recently at a meeting a new acting chief could not believe it, he said with some exasperation (he had worked in different facilities nation wide) "even in MONTANTA they have gone live with this, and you still have not?!!" "Get me a timeline and times and weekly reports. This will get done."
so if people are dragging their feet and being passive aggressive, just document clearly and show you have a plan and are attempting to carry out steps. let things take their natural outcome even if a project fails, and then document that. make friends in other departments if you can, get a reputation for being alert and knowledgeable about policies and procedures. then you can be seen as trying to do your job.
Do more with less. That’s so the pitch at my current job and two jobs ago. The middle was normal hours but having one of the nastiest people I ever met in my life as my boss. They’ve all been so much fun.... Anyway, I find it very challenging to have any sort of rapport with the people so far spread out - it’s a weird setup. The people will do what they’re told but no one wants to offer to help out. Maybe I should just start dumping on people...
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
