Crazy work rules - what's yours??

dazberry

So we're moving to a new(refurbished) building - its very plush - and everything is new (it smells like a furniture shop its that new). I should be excited - I get a real window - and a new comfy chair.

Of course the noise levels are going to be terrible its all open plan and now IT development are beside sales - who'll be over every two minutes anyway because they can't tell the different between IT support and IT development. Need some quiet development time - try listening to your walkman - oh no - banned. There's already a ton of paranoid rules around flip-charts and whiteboards which drive me demented (no static information radiators in our development methodology so) - but as part of the move some new rules have appeared which include:

1. One personal (familyseque) photograph may be kept on your desk on condition it is framed. I'm sure there's a severe size restriction on it too. The means that anything else non work related is banned.

2. Putting coats on back of chairs in banned - and now must be hung up in designated locations.

None of these are anyway major - but the more this goes on the more I find the whole place sublime and the more I can't take these people seriously at all. My exit strategy is now underway - but its had me thinking - what crazy rules do you have to suffer in your workplace... ???

D.

run_Forrest_run

yikes, they banned headphones and you sit so close to sales!! That's not good. I would be lost if they banned headphones where I work! I have a good pair of Technics closed back 'cans' and sometimes I put them on just to drown out the ambient noise, no music on, just the headphones themselves will dampen things down a bit!

Anyway, not so much as rules but this place has gone mad lately on saving energy...well they claim they care so they have put up lots of childish signs all over the office with stupid joke-like messages on saving energy by turning off PCs and lights. It's gone so bad now that people turn off the lights on the landing which makes it dangerous because you can't see if anyone is coming in from the other side of the door with a hot cup of tea in hand...there's been a few near accidents.

They don't seem to really care though about saving energy and global warming, if they did perhaps they would replace some of the large 2 litre engine company cars that the bosses drive with something more eco-friendly..purely a case of 'do as I say, not as I do'.

Oh yeah, we had a problem with flies in the office once and it turned out that the cleaners were not really emptying/cleaning the bins regularly (not their fault, the company were too mean to actually pay them to do it every day!) so the company banned the use of bins around the desks, now we must take our litter to the manky bin in the kitchenette!

luckat

I worked in a newspaper for a while where the internet was banned, making it difficult for sub-editors to fact-check things like the correct spelling of politicians' names, correct dates of Dail reports, etc, and for reporters to do easy background in researching stories.

The management responded to the wails of the journalists, but kept "shopping" sites banned - whereupon the features department blew up, because they couldn't check the prices of books, get information from estate agents' sites, etc.

AFAIK, the same paper still bans YouTube and its like, to the irritation of the funny-pieces-on-the-back writers, who can't check out rumours of ritual humiliation of gardai and politicians.

Gordon

run_Forrest_run wrote: »

They don't seem to really care though about saving energy and global warming, if they did perhaps they would replace some of the large 2 litre engine company cars that the bosses drive with something more eco-friendly..purely a case of 'do as I say, not as I do'.

Sounds like there is an opening for someone to post up similar posters notifying management of this inequality/hypocrisy. I'm sure he wouldn't be seen in the dark stairwells either!

seamus

luckat wrote: »

I worked in a newspaper for a while where the internet was banned, making it difficult for sub-editors to fact-check things like the correct spelling of politicians' names, correct dates of Dail reports, etc, and for reporters to do easy background in researching stories.

The management responded to the wails of the journalists, but kept "shopping" sites banned - whereupon the features department blew up, because they couldn't check the prices of books, get information from estate agents' sites, etc.

AFAIK, the same paper still bans YouTube and its like, to the irritation of the funny-pieces-on-the-back writers, who can't check out rumours of ritual humiliation of gardai and politicians.

Em, wow. An business that makes its living on research and investigation, banning the biggest research and investigation tool since the newspaper was invented. Pretty retarded.

The thing about earphones can be justified. There's nothing more annoying than walking up to someone to talk to them and having to tap their shoulder and then get the, "why are you interrupting my music listening" look from them. If you work in a job where people don't need to talk to you, fine. If you have colleagues or customers that need to talk to you, wearing earphones is being a pain in the ass.

run_Forrest_run

Gordon wrote: »

Sounds like there is an opening for someone to post up similar posters notifying management of this inequality/hypocrisy. I'm sure he wouldn't be seen in the dark stairwells either!

dead right Gordon but you would be a marked man for sure..but it is tempting to do it early in the morning before people arrive in. Total inequality..they even have the nerve to reserve two of the extremely limited parking spaces for themselves while anyone unlucky enough not to get a space has to walk a bit from the overflow in the bad weather etc. And then they preach to us that there are no barriers in the company!!

run_Forrest_run

seamus wrote: »

The thing about earphones can be justified. There's nothing more annoying than walking up to someone to talk to them and having to tap their shoulder and then get the, "why are you interrupting my music listening" look from them. If you work in a job where people don't need to talk to you, fine. If you have colleagues or customers that need to talk to you, wearing earphones is being a pain in the ass.

yeah, U have a point but at least you tap on their shoulder, the muppets in this place just walk up to you, while clearly seeing you have headphones on they proceed to talk to you!! After a second or two I realise they are talking to me and take my phones off and just say "What?". How thick are some people!

eth0_

Where I work there are very little in the way of rules, we are certainly allowed to wear headphones - in fact we get noise isolating Sennheisers or etymotics earphones for free from our inventory department :-)

One thing that does annoy me is that there is no rule about playing music through speakers. There are some guys who sit near me who drive me nuts sometimes playing music through pretty high power JBL speakers with a big bass unit - also paid for by our employer.

Any time i'm having a crappy day in work I just think of the places i've worked in previously with their stupid rules like what you can and can't have on your cubicle wall, how much time you can spend on the internet etc. I never want to work in a 'normal' company again!

dazberry

run_Forrest_run wrote: »

so the company banned the use of bins around the desks, now we must take our litter to the manky bin in the kitchenette!

Ah yes I knew there was a third thing. We had a bin cull last year - x 50%, now they will be all gone - with designated points on each floor where rubbish may be deposited. The good news is that there are 3 or 4 different bins at each point for different types of recyclables. Giveth with one hand and taketh with the other.

D.

eth0_

run_Forrest_run wrote: »

the muppets in this place just walk up to you, while clearly seeing you have headphones on they proceed to talk to you!!

AARRRRGGHHH!!!! That drives me insane! As I said above, I use noise isolating headphones in work so I can't hear anything other than the music i'm listening to. Yet colleagues still come over and stand there saying "eth0_.....eth0_..."

And then I don't realise they are there until I get that uncomfortable feeling that someone is standing behind me. Grrr - just send me an IM, it's quicker!

run_Forrest_run

eth0_ wrote: »

Where I work there are very little in the way of rules, we are certainly allowed to wear headphones - in fact we get noise isolating Sennheisers or etymotics earphones for free from our inventory department :-)
..

wow, now that is a perk! I would love a pair of Sennheiser phones for my DJ hobby, erm, work of course!

Aglomerado

Our IT policy is quite strict. It limits the use of company resources for
personal purposes, which is perfectly reasonable, for resource and productivity reasons. There is an intranet for announcements, items for sale, social club stuff etc. But I discovered recently how completely insane the policing of this can be.

I placed an ad (similar to some of the other ads already up there) on this recently and was told to remove it immediately. My - so far unblemished - discipline record was even mentioned! (And no, the ad wasn't advertising tutorials on How to Make a Molotov Cocktail.)

Yes, I took it down, but the others are still there...

AARRRGH

Not where I work now, but in a previous job you had to ask to go to the toilet.

In another job you were only allowed use one plastic cup (the water cooler ones) per week.

Needless to say I didn't last very long in either place

milltown

eth0_ wrote: »

Yet colleagues still come over and stand there saying "eth0_.....eth0_..."

Jaysis! That's your real name??!!

breadmonkey

dazberry wrote: »

1. One personal (familyseque) photograph may be kept on your desk on condition it is framed.

Lol. Can you just imagine the d1ckheads sitting around, coming up with this stuff?!

Jfla

I'm serious about this, I work for intel and there is a rule that states you stare at a person for more than 3 seconds. You can be reported to HR for such a violation!!!!

gufcfan

A mate of mine works for an international pharma company in Galway and he is always logged onto bebo and will answer any comment nearly instantaneously.

And no, this isn't a case of the pot calling the kettle black. He works the evening shift so i'm at home when i'm online.

I got a telling off at a previous workplace, for using the internet for "personal use". I wouldn't mind if it had been true, but I was trying to source some parts for the place. I knew dam well not to use the net for personal as I found evidence of my usage being monitored, coupled with the fact that my PC was in an open area, where what I was doing could be seen miles away. I was accused of using the net too much, in front of nearly all the managers in the main office. I asked the manager in question to produce proof of any website he deemed inappropriate or unrelated to work. He threatened me by saying "stop digging a hole". I responded by stating my wish to make an official complaint to the HR manager. That's where the conversation ended.

I had to give a document to the person in question a document a few days later... When i came into the office and walked over to the desk, i noticed he was on youtube. I left the pages down on the desk and said "i'll come back later, when you are done watching youtube", making sure everyone in the vicinity, got the gist of what i said... It made my day so it did...

seamus

Jfla wrote: »

I'm serious about this, I work for intel and there is a rule that states you stare at a person for more than 3 seconds. You can be reported to HR for such a violation!!!!

Intel is a perfect example of a place that has a legal department that's too large and management paranoid about everything.

Apparently the American-style over the topness is the same across all of their buildings worldwide. I know a contractor working in Leixlip and there are stories of the handrails on the stairs having a "backup" handrail fitted, just in case the first one fails (this may not be in Leixlip). Health & Safety gone mad.