Posted on 11/18/2013 4:50:55 PM PST by Crazy Jim
>> Great project! Interesting work! Nice people! But the office environment is the pits.
Could be a sign of a well-run company that purposely spends as little as possible on overhead so they can grow the business (and hopefully take care of the employees). I worked for such a company once. It paid off VERY well.
On the other hand, it could be a sign of a company in trouble, or owner/management with a “squeeze everything and everybody”.
Tell you what — if they pull any shenanigans come payday, I wouldn’t cut them much slack. If any.
Just my 2c worth.
Do you have your own works space?
Start there.
Clean up what you can in your spot, make it as presentable as possible, and maybe others will notice and work on their own as well.
Shabby is one thing. Dirt is another.
Maybe some duct tape over the hole in the floor. It probably won’t help with sound transmission, but does give visual privacy.
1. Find something you like to do.
2. Figure out how to get paid for it.
Then it’s not “work.”
If it’s that bad, turn it down. You’ll be better off in the long run
Just keep your head down and remember why you are there. Perhaps you can make a difference. You can leave for a better job after a little time if it feels like the best thing to do.
I just finished the most miserable job imaginable. It was cramped, in a mold infested, windowless building with the most unprofessional, rabid, narcissistic, back-stabbing, hostile people you can imagine. But the work was very real. The kind of work that saves lives. US soldiers lives.
I’d have quit long ago if it hadn’t been for that. But it was fulfilling. I also gained some really great experience and have moved on to a better(career-wise) job.
Best of luck in whatever you decide!
You may be working for slobs, or a company too broke to redecorate. Maybe management is planning a move to new offices so why fix up the old dump. Perhaps management prefers to give generous raises & bonuses vs. buying carpet & painting. Or perhaps they only enrich themselves at your expense.
Every person has his/her limits.
Mine was a self obsessed, sadist of a boss that insisted on my listening to motivational tapes in my free time - instructions he violated with his every utterance. You know you are in deep doodoo when, after excusing yourself to the restroom, he follows & stands outside the stall & pontificates. At that point I would have gladly swapped my job for a nice boss with an outhouse for facilities. The day I told him to stick the job up his @$$ lifted a huge burden from my life.
lol!!!
I recently got a job that I love and is the best job I’ve ever had. It’s in a building built in the 1920s. The temperature is never comfortable. They’re doing renovations, so it’s loud and smelly. The bathroom is barely lit and isn’t restocked as often as it should be. My male co-workers often complain of the smell in their restroom and similar stocking situations. BUT, the people are great, the work is great, and that makes the rest bearable. We just “grin and bear it”. It certainly beats other jobs I’ve had where the facilities were fantastic but the work/managers were horrible.
you might be assuming too much positive repsonse from the managers.
they may not take requests to fix up the place positively, they may take it as an insult and a who the hell do you think you are personal attack on them. especially if its a small,and/or family owned and run business.
seeing they have a really nice building they take clients too, not knowing hardly anything else about this, it sounds like they know they are stiffing their workers in a crappy place for whatever rationalizations there are.
Sounds yuk the main concerns being the mold and the hole in the toilet - mention them to others in passing see if any have tried before!
Some people just don't mind or even expect a certain amount of disarray and lack of attention to facilities. I've been in plenty of factories like that.
In other cases the management is thrilled if an employee or employees decide to take some improvement upon themselves. I've seen that happen too.
Your warning about potential blow back from the management is important, one needs to stick around enough to see what the dynamics are before potentially rocking the boat.
ping
I agree, except to start looking for another gig right away. It takes more than a year to find a better job in today’s economy.
One further thing I recommend is to view this as an opportunity to work on becoming an executive. Read the book “Executive Leadership” by Albert Ellis and in your interviews, say that it is the perfect training ground for becoming an executive. That’s a code word for saying that you’re surrounded by a$$#0[3$ and since life gave you lemons, you’re making lemonade. Most people don’t realize it but executives by & large are surrounded by such people.
Also this:
The One Minute Manager
http://www.amazon.com/One-Minute-Manager-Kenneth-Blanchard/dp/0688014291/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1384927366&sr=1-1&keywords=one+minute+manager
That’s your complaint? Keep your mouth shut.
Suck it up. It sounds like you worked at Disneyland for 40 years.
“So what you’re saying, really, is you’re working with your wife?”
Post of the day, right there!
>> That’s your complaint?
Yeah, I figured the risk of losing a limb was the problem, but I guess someone’s gotta speak up for the dirty heads, mold, and decor... unlikely the wife’s place.
The job sounds like an opportunity, Crazy Jim.
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