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Job woes/wins

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Thought I’d post this. 

After losing my job at Tesco (my own fault but I hated it there) I have been working as a dominos delivery driver for about 4 years. It was fine at first but over the years people have moved on and the current drivers there are just in it for themselves and try to run it. So been looking to get out. Luckily one of the drivers that I did get along with left too and had given me the information to get into the job he is now at. And now I am too. I now work for a company that does school and private runs for disabled and special needs children. It usually involves a run in the morning and one in the afternoon. At the moment it’s mainly the private runs but when school starts back up there will be a lot of those runs. 

Im now home in the evenings and have weekends off again. 

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On 19/08/2019 at 12:06 PM, BowserBasher said:

Thought I’d post this. 

After losing my job at Tesco (my own fault but I hated it there)

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This happens after every holiday or half term but I always struggle to go back to finishing at 5pm. 4pm seems to work really well for me but it's a good thing that nobody comes in my office all that much because I've been less than useless this afternoon (only slightly worse than usual I'm sure).

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I'm not sure if this is a good stuff, bad stuff, or this thread post as it contains elements of all three. The overall wrapping element is the job so I guess this is the best place for it.

The company for the job I was offered a few months ago have taken a crazy amount of time to get my visa sorted. We're talking two and a half months vs. the usual one week it should take. This means I'm the same amount of time late in starting, which is very bad for them as the project I'm leading is due in January, and very bad for me as it is a huge pay rise which I've now missed out on for two months.

On the good stuff, it's meant that my notice period is extended and I'm currently sat in an airport lounge waiting to fly to Tokyo for TGS. I have no meetings, obligations or any official business to take care of while I'm there. The last week of my current job is basically an all-expenses paid holiday in Tokyo to catch up with my friends.

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9 hours ago, will' said:

I'm not sure if this is a good stuff, bad stuff, or this thread post as it contains elements of all three. The overall wrapping element is the job so I guess this is the best place for it.

The company for the job I was offered a few months ago have taken a crazy amount of time to get my visa sorted. We're talking two and a half months vs. the usual one week it should take. This means I'm the same amount of time late in starting, which is very bad for them as the project I'm leading is due in January, and very bad for me as it is a huge pay rise which I've now missed out on for two months.

On the good stuff, it's meant that my notice period is extended and I'm currently sat in an airport lounge waiting to fly to Tokyo for TGS. I have no meetings, obligations or any official business to take care of while I'm there. The last week of my current job is basically an all-expenses paid holiday in Tokyo to catch up with my friends.

Remind me where your new job is based...

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On 07/09/2019 at 7:17 PM, Ashley said:

Remind me where your new job is based...

I'll be based in Singapore mostly with regular travel to Manila.

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Work has been horrendous lately and last week was killer.

Everything is so busy and chaotic and had hoped things would calm down a bit since publicly I'm leaving at the end of October (truthfully I'm sticking around until start of December but not telling people until the last possible moment).  A while ago they decided to get another team of developers to work in a different department (and be paid more for less responsibilities!) and everything went tits up last week. One of them is pretty rubbish/amateur and something they did broke literally every record and it was on us to fix it (yay for backups) and apparently the onus is on us (me...) to show him how he could have done better and really I haven't got time for that shit. It came to light Monday morning and I came in early on Tuesday morning (because we didn't want to be trying to update the whole database during working hours) to fix it but the person that was supposed to restore the database didn't so I dd the same on Wednesday. Tuesday-Thursday we had handover from some external contractors on something they've done and we put forward a list of 78 items that were bugs/issues/general usability kind of stuff. I then nominally had Friday off sick as I was exhausted but still did some stuff. Another project they were supposed to go live with today was suddenly derailed on Wednesday when the team responsible for testing suddenly announced they wouldn't be able to do any testing until March.

I'm off today and enjoyed a day of relaxation (as I've also been working on a website for someone else over the weekends) but I am dreading tomorrow.

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I asked a year ago if there was a possibility I could go full time at the school, boss told me we could discuss it at the upcoming one on one meetings where job roles were being sorted out. We have still yet to have those meetings and everytime I bring up the fulltime stuff I get told to wait until those damn meetings.

I'm just done with it now. Even if I got offered fulltime I don't think I'd take it. I've had such a shit week with staff going around me after I gave them the answer they didn't like to another IT guy despite the stuff not being part of his job (thankfully he backed up what I said) and just the constant complaints we get that something won't work right, even though they bought systems without consulting the IT department or having any real plans on how they want it to work until after they bought it. This latest one being a sign in system for staff where the staff sign in bit isnt reliaible enough and doesnt split staff into categories for fires etc. Something we could have told them if they'd bothered to talk to us first.

The reason I've stayed here for so long to be honest is fear. I was unemployed and unhappy for a long time and I'm afraid to go back to that but I'm just reaching the point where something needs to be done otherwise I'll be just as unhappy either way.

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I'm sorry to hear that you've both been having a rough time at work lately @Ashley and @Happenstance it sounds like you've both got a lot going on. :(

It seems like you're also being asked to do a lot of stuff which isn't in your job descriptions as well, this seems to be a thing in a lot of places and it's definitely not right at all.

Ashley, I hope that you find something that you're happier doing after December, I really do, there's loads of places which would be lucky to have you, N-Europe's lucky to have you. :D

Heck, it would be great if we could make this place a job for every staff member as well as a hobby, that's the ideal I think, so long as the passion is there and the balance. :peace:

Who knows, maybe one day? Even if not though, it's still really great to write for N-E whenever we get the time. :smile:

Happenstance, I've felt similar to how you feel for a long time, in fact... sadly it got beyond that for me, not just the being part-time for so many years and definitely not wanting full-time even if I was ever to be offered it (which I know was never going to happen) but I was at the point of dreading going into work every day... luckily I was fortunate enough to work with some really lovely people, that wasn't the problem for me, which makes it harder because I do miss a load of people that I used to work with as well as customers who I used to serve, you can prbably see where I'm going with this but I left my job where I'd been for over thirteen years... this happened months ago and I haven't been back since as I honestly can't due to how the place was making me feel. :hmm:

Now, being unemployed isn't exactly easy (far from it) and I can remember what it was like being unemployed before I got a proper job but now? Besides missing people, I don't really miss the work or the environment, it wasn't the same as what I signed up for a long time ago and even a lot of people who I knew have either left or been forced to leave due to the company making various cuts, of course it's Tesco so this has been happening at a lot of stores but it doesn't make it right and it has had a huge effect on how the place has felt over time.

Anyway, I hadn't said much about it on the public forum side until now (most of the N-E staff know) but I thought it was about time to say something and I just wanted to say that being unemployed isn't that bad, if the alternative is staying and then making yourself feel even worse but I know it's not always that "easy" heck, it wasn't easy for me to leave but I did and now hear I am... I will say that I am a lot happier overall, even if I don't quite know what I'm going to do yet but I just wanted you to know that you're not alone and if you do want to talk about it at all, don't hesitate to send me a PM or talk about it in here. :)

Edited by S.C.G

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Got into work this morning to find the warehouse manager had quit. He'd only been there 3 months, but was fighting to undo years of bad practises. Now the old (incredibly lazy & negligent) manager is back in charge and acting very smug. Crap start to the week.

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9 hours ago, Happenstance said:

even though they bought systems without consulting the IT department or having any real plans on how they want it to work until after they bought it.

AMEN, BROTHER.

 

We have the "Citrix Receiver" system installed: the advantage is, "you can log in to any computer, and your desktop will be right there!"

 

Only problem is, every time the system updates ... YOUR DESKTOP IS WIPED CLEAN AND ALL BOOKMARKS IN BROWSERS DISAPPEAR!

 

What an advantage! But as the higher-ups said "It's a great system, and it's all you'll ever need!".

 

NOPE

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On 30/09/2019 at 5:14 PM, Happenstance said:

I asked a year ago if there was a possibility I could go full time at the school, boss told me we could discuss it at the upcoming one on one meetings where job roles were being sorted out. We have still yet to have those meetings and everytime I bring up the fulltime stuff I get told to wait until those damn meetings.

I'm just done with it now. Even if I got offered fulltime I don't think I'd take it. I've had such a shit week with staff going around me after I gave them the answer they didn't like to another IT guy despite the stuff not being part of his job (thankfully he backed up what I said) and just the constant complaints we get that something won't work right, even though they bought systems without consulting the IT department or having any real plans on how they want it to work until after they bought it. This latest one being a sign in system for staff where the staff sign in bit isnt reliaible enough and doesnt split staff into categories for fires etc. Something we could have told them if they'd bothered to talk to us first.

The reason I've stayed here for so long to be honest is fear. I was unemployed and unhappy for a long time and I'm afraid to go back to that but I'm just reaching the point where something needs to be done otherwise I'll be just as unhappy either way.

Well the staff moaning about this complained to the bursar, who then tried to arrange a meeting but because I was ill had it without me and then at the end just gave me the same list of questions I originally answered. I’ve now complained to the bursar that I should have been included so another meeting has been arranged. Also getting him to address the fact that we are left out of the loop until after decisions are made and problems caused. I don’t expect anything to come from it but we’ll see. The worst part was that I somehow fell out of the email chain arranging this meeting before I even knew I wouldn’t be in for most of this week so they obviously didn’t particularly care that much to begin with.

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20 hours ago, Happenstance said:

I’ve now complained to the bursar that I should have been included so another meeting has been arranged. Also getting him to address the fact that we are left out of the loop until after decisions are made and problems caused. I don’t expect anything to come from it but we’ll see.

Well I don't know how well I could say that meeting went. I tried to stay calm but I was physically shaking with anger at times that they must have caught onto. Still ended up getting spoken down to because the receptionist "has worked at an IT place before so knows what she's talking about" despite this being my actual job and area.

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1 hour ago, Happenstance said:

Well I don't know how well I could say that meeting went. I tried to stay calm but I was physically shaking with anger at times that they must have caught onto. Still ended up getting spoken down to because the receptionist "has worked at an IT place before so knows what she's talking about" despite this being my actual job and area.

It sounds to be like you did your best under very difficult circumstances, I don't know the details but the receptionist sounds like a right condescending cow who claims to know it all but in reality probably doesn't, OK so she's had some IT experience, it doesn't mean that she or anyone else should be talking down to you or any other members of staff. :hmm:

I'm sorry to hear that it didn't go well, I know that feeling when you're shaking with anger, there's so much you want to say but then you think of all the good it will actually do... ::shrug:

I understand on some level but I hope there are some positive changes in your job soon, I really do as I'm not sure what else to suggest, it sounds like you've done all you can for now.

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Just now, S.C.G said:

It sounds to be like you did your best under very difficult circumstances, I don't know the details but the receptionist sounds like a right condescending cow who claims to know it all but in reality probably doesn't, OK so she's had some IT experience, it doesn't mean that she or anyone else should be talking down to you or any other members of staff. :hmm:

I'm sorry to hear that it didn't go well, I know that feeling when you're shaking with anger, there's so much you want to say but then you think of all the good it will actually do... ::shrug:

I understand on some level but I hope there are some positive changes in your job soon, I really do as I'm not sure what else to suggest, it sounds like you've done all you can for now.

Given how much help I have to give her for basic IT stuff and the amount of times she locks her account by putting in the wrong password I would say her IT experience at this other IT place was being their receptionist.

It didn't help that everytime I tried to explain an issue I got cut off by her with some other excuse or "yes I say it HAS to be done because it does". My argument has never been that the changes she wants wouldnt be helpful (I won't bother going into them, they're boring database stuff) but that they would cause issues so if we really need to do this then there needs to be an actual discussion on why/how and go from there. Not just ignoring my concerns three times now.

Stuff won't get better at my job, I've accepted that. I'm looking everyday for a new job so hopefully something will come from that and on the work end, I've deleted my work email accounts from personal devices and am just going to distance myself from the staff there. No going to the pub, having lunch in the common room etc, just do the job and go home with nothing outside my official job roles even being considered. I bent over backwards to help out here and constantly get shat on so they can get by on their own from now on.

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In that case @Happenstance it sounds like you're doing the right thing by just distancing yourself from the job as much as possible, heck it sounds like you've done a lot for your place of work and you're even trying to steer this glorified receptionist in the right direction when it comes to IT stuff only to be ignored or fobbed off which really is not good at all, you're trying to educate them all on the issues which would be caused by making the changes they want to make so, if they want to go ahead and do it, making those mistakes in the process then sod 'em, at least you tried; it's obviously going to be frustrating though if these problems then have a negative effect on your job as well, which makes it all the more frustrating that they don't seem to want to listen for whatever reason... argh! :p I can feel myself getting frustrated about it now and it's not even my job.

Well, in that case I just hope that you can find something better in the long run because you definitely deserve better than that place by the sounds of it. :peace:

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1 minute ago, S.C.G said:

In that case @Happenstance it sounds like you're doing the right thing by just distancing yourself from the job as much as possible, heck it sounds like you've done a lot for your place of work and you're even trying to steer this glorified receptionist in the right direction when it comes to IT stuff only to be ignored or fobbed off which really is not good at all, you're trying to educate them all on the issues which would be caused by making the changes they want to make so, if they want to go ahead and do it, making those mistakes in the process then sod 'em, at least you tried; it's obviously going to be frustrating though if these problems then have a negative effect on your job as well, which makes it all the more frustrating that they don't seem to want to listen for whatever reason... argh! :p I can feel myself getting frustrated about it now and it's not even my job.

Well, in that case I just hope that you can find something better in the long run because you definitely deserve better than that place by the sounds of it. :peace:

The problem is that it's a school and one of the issues it will cause will be our text messaging service will fail to work so any emergency messages about school closures or even just late returning trips simply wouldn't go out. That should show you the level that they don't think about the consequences of stuff.

That, and the fact that our newly implemented lockdown procedure is to place a megaphone in each building then if the school is locked down we just yell into it for everyone to lock the doors. Fucking genius :laughing:

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20 hours ago, Happenstance said:

That, and the fact that our newly implemented lockdown procedure is to place a megaphone in each building then if the school is locked down we just yell into it for everyone to lock the doors. Fucking genius :laughing:

That's amazing. Horrifically brilliant. It's like something you'd find in a Channel 4 sitcom. :laughing:

One of our pupils called the lockdown procedure "murder drill". :laughing::o:bowdown:

 

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That's a crappy situation to be in @Happenstance, definitely better to move on if it's causing the amount of frustration it seems to be.

Is there some additional reason they seem to want to listen to the receptionist over you? If it's some sort of favouritism, then there's probably not much you can do. If it's something else, it might be worth trying to analyse the situation in more detail and see if there is at least some learning you can take from it to help you in the future.

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15 minutes ago, will' said:

That's a crappy situation to be in @Happenstance, definitely better to move on if it's causing the amount of frustration it seems to be.

Is there some additional reason they seem to want to listen to the receptionist over you? If it's some sort of favouritism, then there's probably not much you can do. If it's something else, it might be worth trying to analyse the situation in more detail and see if there is at least some learning you can take from it to help you in the future.

It’s too long and probably boring of a situation to go into but I’m not even against what they want changing. The majority of the issues come from the lack of discussions beforehand and when I did have a meeting and try to explain any issues I got cut off with every sentence with a lot of empty comments or flat out ignoring what I’d said previously.

The receptionist has added nothing of value to any of this. She has no helpful points or comments, simply demands that the changes must be made with no consideration for what it entails. It’s a continued history of her ignoring what I say because she’s one of those people who thinks they know better in every area.

I’ll leave this now anyway. Each time I talk about it I tend to get wound up again and it’s not worth it. It’s a crappy job working with crappy people and no particular respect for the staff from the higher ups. As I said, until I can find something else I will just do my job and go home.

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Oh @Happenstance I feel you, but get out there, I'm sure someone would love to have you on there team. 

On my own note, its not been nearly 6 years since I started my current job and in April, I asked for a new title/promotion. To cut a rather than long short, I was supposed to have the job by September (we had the contract signed off and wages were being discussed.)

Then the company got taken over.

Promises were made to get the title by Christmas.

More promises..

Finally told a couple of weeks ago IF it happens, it'll now be April next year, but there's nothing to say I'll ever get it.

So today I went for my first interview and I've been invited back for a second. Its been quite the emotional rollercoaster the last few months, I don't even care if I don't get this job, its refreshing to be back on the bandwagon and trying to find my worth in work again. 

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That’s awesome @nightwolf, hope it goes well for you.

Sounds very similar to mine. We’ve just hit half term and gone past yet another promised meeting to sort out jobs. You really start to realise when bosses just don’t give a shit. My boss at this job before the current one I asked about getting more hours and she just flat out told me there wasn’t enough money. A shame of course but at least she was straight with me. Being strung along by this one for a year and a half with false promises of discussion is just shitty.

My current plan is looking for work from home stuff so I can get a chance to relocate to a better area. Problem is of course finding that kind of stuff, especially when you are looking for actual work from home jobs and not just self employed/work for commission stuff. Ah the fun of job searching 😝

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I hate training courses that link to external web pages for news stories etc. Our catering department is doing one at the moment which im overseeing and they've already been tricked by adverts multiple times on the Mirror and Daily Mail websites. One person even managed to install an extention on chrome that she didnt need.

I'm thinking about recommending that we don't allow these kind of courses on School PCs if they can't be trusted.

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The past few months I've been noticing how lazy some people on my team are.  Instead of actually doing work, they've spent half the day on Reddit and Wikipedia.  Even going as far as hiding any piece of work that involved effort into a folder marked "can't work due to lack of info".  The lack of info part is incorrect as if you look on the document, it has the piece you need to be able to link it to a case.  Outside of 2/3 people out of 10, no-one else searches for the case.

I note that this post is ironic as i'm posting online over doing work myself, but i'm off work today myself.

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2020 is now here.

I got my contract extended another year, which I think is a necessity for them at the moment as staff numbers have gone even more to the point that they're getting agency staff to prop us up, as not enough people are getting through the application process. The person who sat next to me has left, which the admin managers are trying to hold me responsible for, but I blame the other staff and they have no intention of doing anything about them, so that's another boost to morale. Her consultants have been shuffled around (with me losing my easiest and gaining two regular ones, effectively doubling my work) with no sign of her being replaced.

3 seniors (including our new one, and the one in nearby department who oversaw us when we lacked a senior) are both leaving in about a month, our senior is being replaced with another staff member, so the work isn't going to be diluted further, but senior duties now overtaken by the admin managers.

Hopefully, I just need to hold off for a few more months though, one of the consultants I work under is getting a grant for some cancer pathway thing, and has said I'm the only one she wants to be her secretary for it. Nothing is concrete so I'm not getting my hopes up too much, but hopefully something to look forward to.

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