People who never seem to leave the office

c68zapdsm5i1ru

There's a couple of people where I work and, no matter how late you leave or early you arrive, their cars are in the carpark and the light is on in their rooms. If you get emails from them they are often at 11 o'clock at night or on Sat or Sun and they are constantly cancelling leave because they are 'too busy' to take it.

I've worked with people like that before and, when they eventually retired or moved on, their replacements seemed to have no problem getting the job done during normal working hours.

Just wondering if any of you on here spend long hours in the office, constantly bring work home with you, and how you don't crack up having little or no time away from work?

McMurphy

People like that can only fall into one of two categories.

Lick arses, or incompetent.

kieran.

and its generally the latter !!

sbsquarepants

Adonis Sweet University wrote: »

If you get emails from them they are often at 11 o'clock at night or on Sat or Sun and they are constantly cancelling leave because they are 'too busy' to take it.

Well, that's teachers for you. (Sorry, I couldn't resist:D)

I know people like that too, it's a waste of a life if you ask me.
No joke - there's a guy I work with who once took 4 hours off for his own mothers funeral despite being owed something like 10 weeks of holidays. We weren't even particularly busy at the time - he's just a clown!

begbysback

Adonis Sweet University wrote: »

There's a couple of people where I work and, no matter how late you leave or early you arrive, their cars are in the carpark and the light is on in their rooms. If you get emails from them they are often at 11 o'clock at night or on Sat or Sun and they are constantly cancelling leave because they are 'too busy' to take it.

I've worked with people like that before and, when they eventually retired or moved on, their replacements seemed to have no problem getting the job done during normal working hours.

Just wondering if any of you on here spend long hours in the office, constantly bring work home with you, and how you don't crack up having little or no time away from work?

Emails can now be sent from phone whilst watching television and drinking coffee.

If you don't pay the leccy bill then no need to knock the light off in the evenings.

tomwaterford

My old boss used be like this....be ringing everyone asking random questions around 8 or 9 pm that could wait until morning


After few weeks of this...I just stopped answering him

__..__

I worked with a guy who used to be in the office late and sent emails at 11pm etc.
Then I was at a wedding in the hotel right behind our office. Our hotel room window overlooked the window of the office.
I went up to the hotel room a few times during the night, the last time being about 11pm.
The fuker was playing solitaire every time I looked over.

I'm another place one of the guys used to send emails just before midnight. I saw him writing one one day about 4pm so noted the contents. The next morning I got that same email in my inbox. The time.sent was 11:30pm. He had written it earlier and dialled back in to click send so it looked like he was working at that time.


All about appearances.

Neon_Lights

__..__ wrote: »

I worked with a guy who used to be in the office late and sent emails at 11pm etc.
Then I was at a wedding in the hotel right behind our office. Our hotel room window overlooked the window of the office.
I went up to the hotel room a few times during the night, the last time being about 11pm.
The fuker was playing solitaire every time I looked over.

I'm another place one of the guys used to send emails just before midnight. I saw him writing one one day about 4pm so noted the contents. The next morning I got that same email in my inbox. The time.sent was 11:30pm. He had written it earlier and dialled back in to click send so it looked like he was working at that time.


All about appearances.

You can schedule to send in Outlook fyi

B.A._Baracus

begbysback wrote: »

Emails can now be sent from phone whilst watching television and drinking coffee.

If you don't pay the leccy bill then no need to knock the light off in the evenings.

That's actually interesting... Never thought about that before.

So pretty much start logging in to your company email from your phone, leave your office light on then fire emails off in the evening from home and promotion here I come lol.

__..__

Neon_Lights wrote: »

You can schedule to send in Outlook fyi

I know someone who did that too. It backfired when there was a problem with outlokk and the email went every minute until the morning. It was priceless.

Steampump

Some people prefer the office to being at home with the family. Some people use the office as a means of running away from themselves, it serves as a distraction to avoid existential angst.

LimeFruitGum

Jeez, that's crazy that he took only a half day for his own mothers funeral. Bet he even checks his work email on Christmas Day. He's going to burn out.

AnneFrank

__..__ wrote: »

I worked with a guy who used to be in the office late and sent emails at 11pm etc.
Then I was at a wedding in the hotel right behind our office. Our hotel room window overlooked the window of the office.
I went up to the hotel room a few times during the night, the last time being about 11pm.
The fuker was playing solitaire every time I looked over.

I'm another place one of the guys used to send emails just before midnight. I saw him writing one one day about 4pm so noted the contents. The next morning I got that same email in my inbox. The time.sent was 11:30pm. He had written it earlier and dialled back in to click send so it looked like he was working at that time.


All about appearances.

why did you keep going up to your bedroom, powdering your nose ?!!

Working class heroes

tomwaterford wrote: »

My old boss used be like this....be ringing everyone asking random questions around 8 or 9 pm that could wait until morning


After few weeks of this...I just stopped answering him

And that's why he's your old boss....

begbysback

B.A._Baracus wrote: »

That's actually interesting... Never thought about that before.

So pretty much start logging in to your company email from your phone, leave your office light on then fire emails off in the evening from home and promotion here I come lol.

Also, just to make it complete - buy 2 identical cars, and leave one outside the office - CEO in a year

tomwaterford

Working class heroes wrote: »

And that's why he's your old boss....

Yas....I left

c68zapdsm5i1ru

I remember when I used to post on another forum that someone started a thread asking people how many hours a day they worked. Posters were falling over themselves to rush on and tell everyone how they started at 7am and rarely got home before 9pm and usually ended up putting in a couple of hours at the weekend......
It was as if working long hours was some kind of status symbol that made you superior to the 'losers' who worked their contracted hours and then went home to their families/interests/social life.

It was actually quite sad and I hope most of them came to their senses (this was during the celtic tiger) and realised that sacrificing large chunks of your life to work in order to feel important was just a huge waste.

sbsquarepants

LimeFruitGum wrote: »

Jeez, that's crazy that he took only a half day for his own mothers funeral. Bet he even checks his work email on Christmas Day. He's going to burn out.

He's a total gobshíte to be honest with you. Harmless enough, but just has nothing resembling a life outside of work.
Wouldn't be me!

__..__

AnneFrank wrote: »

why did you keep going up to your bedroom, powdering your nose ?!!

Once was for a sh1t.
A couple of times were for the babysitting rota.
And the last time was to sleep.
I might have gone for another sh1t at some point in the day too but I can't remember. So there could have been two sh1ts.

Coffee Fulled Runner

My manager hasn't taken a days holiday expect for Christmas since I joined the firm in 2001. Every week is a six day week for him and often doing 7 day weeks. Longs hours too. I think it's a sad life as he has nothing else going on expect for work. If he was paid a hourly rate it would be something but it's a salary.

sbsquarepants

__..__ wrote: »

Once was for a sh1t.
A couple of times were for the babysitting rota.
And the last time was to sleep.
I might have gone for another sh1t at some point today too but I can't remember. So there could have been two sh1ts.

Coke fiend. No doubt about it:eek::eek:

__..__

Adonis Sweet University wrote: »

I remember when I used to post on another forum that someone started a thread asking people how many hours a day they worked. Posters were falling over themselves to rush on and tell everyone how they started at 7am and rarely got home before 9pm and usually ended up putting in a couple of hours at the weekend......
It was as if working long hours was some kind of status symbol that made you superior to the 'losers' who worked their contracted hours and then went home to their families/interests/social life.

It was actually quite sad and I hope most of them came to their senses (this was during the celtic tiger) and realised that sacrificing large chunks of your life to work in order to feel important was just a huge waste.

And they probably posting all day on boards while telling people how hard they worked too

screamer

Adonis Sweet University wrote: »

I remember when I used to post on another forum that someone started a thread asking people how many hours a day they worked. Posters were falling over themselves to rush on and tell everyone how they started at 7am and rarely got home before 9pm and usually ended up putting in a couple of hours at the weekend......
It was as if working long hours was some kind of status symbol that made you superior to the 'losers' who worked their contracted hours and then went home to their families/interests/social life.

It was actually quite sad and I hope most of them came to their senses (this was during the celtic tiger) and realised that sacrificing large chunks of your life to work in order to feel important was just a huge waste.

You'll probably find that a lot of them are now occupying the top jobs in the companies they work for. Some people take immense pride in their career and furthering it and don't see any effort spent in pursuit of their goal as a "waste". Others don't. It's horses for courses really.

Pac1Man

Adonis Sweet University wrote: »

I remember when I used to post on another forum that someone started a thread asking people how many hours a day they worked. Posters were falling over themselves to rush on and tell everyone how they started at 7am and rarely got home before 9pm and usually ended up putting in a couple of hours at the weekend.......

That's just letting everyone know they have an 'important' job.

What a life to live though. Some people have carved out an expensive lifestyle which can only be funded by this carry on.

rgace

Probably fiddling the books and worried they'll be found out if they leave the office.

4068ac1elhodqr

Simply tell 'em that after 5/6pm you reside in an Electro-pollution-free environment (no internet, no phone).
That you belong to some new age religion that refuses 2.4GHz wherever possible. That you can only be reached by Pigeon messaging.

Many desk-jockeys will often run back to their desks for aldesko lunches, within seconds of getting some limp vending machine sandwinch.
That's a quick way to getting a poor back, get up, stretch, walk and seek some fresh air.

McMurphy

AnneFrank wrote: »

why did you keep going up to your bedroom, powdering your nose ?!!

That's a fair question (coming from someone who spent almost 3 years in an attic)

c68zapdsm5i1ru

screamer wrote: »

You'll probably find that a lot of them are now occupying the top jobs in the companies they work for. Some people take immense pride in their career and furthering it and don't see any effort spent in pursuit of their goal as a "waste". Others don't. It's horses for courses really.

That's fair enough. But a lot of these people seem to look down their noses at people who just want to work regular hours, or create an awful culture in workplaces where people who want to go home at a normal hour are made to feel bad and as if they're not pulling their weight. That's an unhealthy attitude and is detrimental to family and community life.

meeeeh

I'm not a fan of long hours but it depends on the situation. I know quite a few people who were working very long hours during the recession to keep the business afloat. I also know some who are working long hours so they don't need to go home. Then you have seasonal nature of work, a lot of accountants will be busy now and not so busy some other time of the year. It also depends on some other responsibilities or deadlines, not every job can be evaluated the same way.

lawred2

Adonis Sweet University wrote: »

There's a couple of people where I work and, no matter how late you leave or early you arrive, their cars are in the carpark and the light is on in their rooms. If you get emails from them they are often at 11 o'clock at night or on Sat or Sun and they are constantly cancelling leave because they are 'too busy' to take it.

I've worked with people like that before and, when they eventually retired or moved on, their replacements seemed to have no problem getting the job done during normal working hours.

Just wondering if any of you on here spend long hours in the office, constantly bring work home with you, and how you don't crack up having little or no time away from work?

I have zero respect for fools like that.

Paully D

No one thinks "I wish I worked more" when on their death bed. It'll be thoughts of "did I spend enough time with my family?" "did I do enough for my kids?" etc.

Go in on time, work hard, go home on time.

lawred2

__..__ wrote: »

I worked with a guy who used to be in the office late and sent emails at 11pm etc.
Then I was at a wedding in the hotel right behind our office. Our hotel room window overlooked the window of the office.
I went up to the hotel room a few times during the night, the last time being about 11pm.
The fuker was playing solitaire every time I looked over.

I'm another place one of the guys used to send emails just before midnight. I saw him writing one one day about 4pm so noted the contents. The next morning I got that same email in my inbox. The time.sent was 11:30pm. He had written it earlier and dialled back in to click send so it looked like he was working at that time.


All about appearances.

the appearance of being a knobhead

lawred2

Paully D wrote: »

No one thinks "I wish I worked more" when on their death bed. It'll be thoughts of "did I spend enough time with my family?", "did I do enough for my kids?" etc.

Go in on time, work hard, go home on time.

Simple. Exactly that.

I would only work 20 hours a day if I was making money every single hour of that day i.e. as a market trader

Salaried with an annual bonus? Not a hope in hell.

meeeeh

Paully D wrote: »

No one thinks "I wish I worked more" when on their death bed. It'll be thoughts of "did I spend enough time with my family?" etc.

Go in on time, work hard, go home on time.

How do you know that?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

There used to be suspicion of people who worked before and after everybody else and who did not take leave, as this was quite often the MO of people engaged in fraud. They couldn't afford the risk of bringing found out if they weren't there and somebody else was dealing with their work.

seachto7

Anyone who sends you emails before 9 or after 6pm should be spoken to. Tell them politely to not send you emails in the evening, as you won't read them, and if they continue, you'll complain them. F**k that sh*t.

screamer

Adonis Sweet University wrote: »

That's fair enough. But a lot of these people seem to look down their noses at people who just want to work regular hours, or create an awful culture in workplaces where people who want to go home at a normal hour are made to feel bad and as if they're not pulling their weight. That's an unhealthy attitude and is detrimental to family and community life.

On the flip side I worked in offices where we'd have the **** hit the fan regularly and there were a few people who'd always stay to help out whilst the jobsworths ran home. That's also not a healthy attitude and very detrimental to teamwork.

DivingDuck

I'd rather pick at work for twelve hours, taking regular breaks to read/surf websites/go for a stroll/IM friends/mess about doing nothing, than work very hard for six hours and do something completely different for the other six. That's because my interests are mostly computer-based or can be done in short half-hour blocks. Other people want to get their work done and get the hell out ASAP because their interests require long chunks of time or for them to be away from work to participate (time with kids/hill-walking/drinking sessions etc.).

Both are fine. Different people prefer different things. So long as everyone gets their work done on time and to standard, why get upset about it?

meeeeh

seachto7 wrote: »

Anyone who sends you emails before 9 or after 6pm should be spoken to. Tell them politely to not send you emails in the evening, as you won't read them, and if they continue, you'll complain them. F**k that sh*t.

Does that mean someone on the other side of the planet has to work according to your working hours? As long as you are not expected to respond outside your working hours you are fine.

screamer

seachto7 wrote: »

Anyone who sends you emails before 9 or after 6pm should be spoken to. Tell them politely to not send you emails in the evening, as you won't read them, and if they continue, you'll complain them. F**k that sh*t.

Yeah..try working in a multi national company with offices all over the world.......

razorblunt

It can be incredibly frustrating working with these people, especially if you're new or it's a competitive workplace.
I worked in a place that was like that before, gradually over time it changed as people refused to play the silly game and ended up leaving. The folk staying all hours stayed there and it was quickly evident in the vast majority of cases it was to the detriment of the team, project and department.

As someone said it was only after people like this do leave and the replacement works "normal" hours that its seen it was all a show.

Always watch out for folk with the 11pm emails too, they're either on a delay or logging in to click send.

Saying that though, some folk may work late due to personal issues e.g. breakups and its just easier being in the office than somewhere that now no longer familiar to welcoming to them.

rizdub

__..__ wrote: »

I know someone who did that too. It backfired when there was a problem with outlokk and the email went every minute until the morning. It was priceless.

similar funny incident happened with my friend many years back when there was no smart phones. we were in a meeting room and he was presenting something on projector from his laptop and during the presentation we can see a new outlook email coming from his email id to the team !
everyone laughed and realized how he used to send late automated emails when no one was in office..

whoopsadoodles

seachto7 wrote: »

Anyone who sends you emails before 9 or after 6pm should be spoken to. Tell them politely to not send you emails in the evening, as you won't read them, and if they continue, you'll complain them. F**k that sh*t.

Unless you are getting notifications on your phone then what difference does it make? We don't all work in a 9-5 world.

I used to be like that OP. The workload just increased and increased and increased and if I didn't do it no one else would. I would constantly ask for help and I was told no "recession....cant afford it....etc etc"

I was incredibly good at my job. Eventually I changed careers but stayed with the same company and they hired someone new. She also works early and late and they hired 3 more staff to help her. I was very foolish for allowing myself to get stuck in that rut but I couldn't see the wood for the trees while I was in the middle of it.

pilly

I think it all depends on the give and take. I work long hours coming up to an audit or when a particular project has to be completed but also get time off if I need to go to the doctor/dentist etc. without using up leave so it works both ways.

I have previously worked in a multi-national though where the Financial Controller left the building for about 6 hours a day in total, never took holidays, not even a bank holiday. Turned out he just had no life and nothing else to do basically.

topper75

screamer wrote: »

You'll probably find that a lot of them are now occupying the top jobs in the companies they work for. Some people take immense pride in their career and furthering it and don't see any effort spent in pursuit of their goal as a "waste". Others don't. It's horses for courses really.

But we are not horses. We are human beings. We are all in the treadmill by necessity, but when people don't stop and smell the roses - well, the rasp of the reaper's whetstone echoes in the background just the same. Where then this pride?

I don't know if I go with the bang of a speeding lorry or with a gasp staring at the ceiling of a hospice riddled with cancer. But I do know my last thought will not be "Gee you know I wish I spent more time at my work".

Jobs OXO

Santos Unimportant Billionaire wrote: »

There used to be suspicion of people who worked before and after everybody else and who did not take leave, as this was quite often the MO of people engaged in fraud. They couldn't afford the risk of bringing found out if they weren't there and somebody else was dealing with their work.

Doing a mo-mo with the bo-bo is what most people do ! Silly

c68zapdsm5i1ru

screamer wrote: »

On the flip side I worked in offices where we'd have the **** hit the fan regularly and there were a few people who'd always stay to help out whilst the jobsworths ran home. That's also not a healthy attitude and very detrimental to teamwork.

Yes, but that's not what the thread is about. Of course, in any job, there's times when it's all hands on deck and everyone has to stay a bit late or come in on a Saturday. But people who do this all the time, even though no one else needs to stay on late, and try to create a culture where working your contracted hours and then going home is frowned upon are seriously detrimental to a healthy workplace in my opinion.

pilly

Adonis Sweet University wrote: »

Yes, but that's not what the thread is about. Of course, in any job, there's times when it's all hands on deck and everyone has to stay a bit late or come in on a Saturday. But people who do this all the time, even though no one else needs to stay on late, and try to create a culture where working your contracted hours and then going home is frowned upon are seriously detrimental to a healthy workplace in my opinion.

I agree, it especially causes tensions if it's the boss who's working these hours because others feel like they're expected to do it also.

DivingDuck

topper75 wrote: »

I don't know if I go with the bang of a speeding lorry or with a gasp staring at the ceiling of a hospice riddled with cancer. But I do know my last thought will not be "Gee you know I wish I spent more time at my work".

Your last thought won't be, no. And that's fine; you have every right to decide your priorities and pursue those.

Other people feel differently, and have different priorities. Maybe they don't want a family, maybe scenery and travel doesn't impress them or affect them, maybe they don't enjoy sport. Maybe all they want is to feel like they contributed something to the world, or maybe their work is very mentally stimulating to them, or maybe they like having a concrete progress bar they can measure their accomplishments by, or maybe they are racking up huge pots of money to spend in their retirement or pass to their children.

I don't know why people struggle to accept that other people feel differently and want different things, even if they can't personally understand the appeal of those things. Just because it's not the central point of your life doesn't mean it isn't for others, or that it's wrong for others to make it their focus.

As long as they're not trying to wrestle you into behaving the same way, it shouldn't be an issue for anyone else.

freshpopcorn

I have a relative who was one of these people. When the company had to close a department a few years ago. He was quietly told by bosses a few weeks in advance to switch departments and he's really climbed the ladder in the workplace since.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Jobs OXO wrote: »

Doing a mo-mo with the bo-bo is what most people do ! Silly

I have absolutely no idea what any of that means.

And probably just as well too.