Worst work attitude you've ever witnessed

Roquentin · 19-07-2014 07:05PM

pharmaton wrote: »

In my defense, I did a lot of legwork and spent three months chasing that particular role, contacted several areas of HR personally and made my case as it is in an area I'm still studying in. I actually did a paper on the organization itself so knew it inside out and when it came to interview I gave them the whole nine yards. I'm using the experience and completing my studies simultaneously as it has practical application but yeah...so far I feel like the Water boy in that Adam Sandler Movie. I think my final report is going to be massive though.

bobby boucher. "My mommas always right.":pac:

Joe prim · 19-07-2014 07:05PM

Owryan wrote: »

Worked with someone who went home with 144 cases of heineken cans and got away with it.

I used to work in wholesales and one year we found out that every Christmas the various sales reps had left stock with our manager to share amongst the staff, for example bottles of spirits, hampers, tins of sweets and so on.

For years he was taking it home with him or giving it out to customers.

That's what I call gross misbehaviour:D

pharmaton · 19-07-2014 07:06PM

Tarzana wrote: »

Give it time, it sounds like you've only been there a couple of weeks! Now, you could be right, and it could just turn out to be a complete crock of shít. But just make sure to do all you can to make more out of it. Be enthusiastic. If that doesn't work, at least you can say "Well, I tried!"

I applied for a non-Jobbridge internship a few weeks back and they were very upfront about the fact that there would be a lot of envelope-stuffing! :pac:

only a week, they're just breaking me in gently

Roquentin · 19-07-2014 07:07PM

groucho marx wrote: »

The winds of sh!t lol

a sh!t leopard cant change its spots

:D:D

god i love trailer park boys. must watch another one now

groucho marx · 19-07-2014 07:13PM

Roquentin wrote: »

a sh!t leopard cant change its spots :D:D

god i love trailer park boys. must watch another one now

Do it,stare into the sh!t abyss randy :-D

Sand · 19-07-2014 07:15PM

porsche959 wrote: »

The guy in the story above certainly sounds like a loony but I have worked in places where the performance management system is basically used as an excuse to bully and distract attention from lack of competence of the senior management team, i.e., keep the middle management in line.

I know from my perspective, I was pretty disappointed with HR. This is the clearest (and indeed only really clear) sacking case I've come across in my time. And they were completely toothless. They knew well themselves from their initial conversations with him, and his rambling, paranoid, confused complaints that he was wasting their time. Yet they still put one of his colleagues - a young junior guy - through the full complaints process: several interviews, requests for evidence that he was innocent and so on. Now, I assured the junior that he was going to be fine, but he was still put through it, hanging over his head for several months.

Given how useless HR were when dealing a straight up sacking case, I would really doubt they would be any better at representing an employee with a genuine case of bullying. Certainly, I find myself often having to fight for employees against HR, rather than them doing anything positive.

@partyguiness

I love the way nobody here has addressed the bad attitude from the employee. She was asked to pass a message to one of her colleagues when he came back from lunch about certain items of stationary running low (which is part of their remit and for everyone- not just me). That's all. Nobody was asking her to get off her chair during lunch and clean boots like some posters have formed in their own little heads.

I think the problem is you should have dealt with it yourself, there and then. You didn't which doesn't say much for your ability to influence someone if you cant deal with some fairly tame "backchat" from a 17 year old when you are a senior in the company. I mean if that's the worst attitude you've encountered in the workplace? Really?

You could have dealt with it nice. You could have dealt with it by laying down the law in no uncertain terms. Instead you got someone else to do it for you and chortle about it.

There's no part of your story where your behaviour is impressive.

EyeSight · 19-07-2014 07:23PM

Tarzana wrote: »

I hate Jobbridge.... but internships will involve menial labour sometimes. You've only just started! Hells, even paying jobs with titles and standing can involve menial labour. Sometimes shít just needs to get done. I don't think anyone should think themselves above that kind of work because often, in any job, there is just stuff that needs to be done and needs people of all levels not to be namby pamby about doing it.

One of my jobs was lab- and office-based, and my line manager, with 40 years experience and an incredibly stressful job, would down tools to help us clean the labs if someone was out sick or at a course or whatever and we were short-staffed.

I need to disagree here. I think it's a shame that internships have a reputation of being about fetch post and coffee for the full timers. That's not an internship, that is getting admin or "support" staff and it just wastes the interns time.

In college I had to do an internship. The college made sure with the company i would not be making coffee for people etc. I had a choice of a few companies and chose one multi-national because they bragged about how much i would learn and they had a few cool projects. How wrong was I. It was 6 months of sitting in front of a computer surfing the web. Which gets boring fast!
They gave me some minor tasks and i would finish them really fast and ask for more but they kepts saying "i thought that would keep you occupied for the week. Maybe we can find something else later." I need to point out that i was not doing a bad job because they offered me a sizable offer to work full time after i finished college.
Flash forward to the company I am in now and the interns do real work. We pay them, we interviewed them and know what their capable of and they want to work on projects. I wish mine was like that. No when they interview for a full time job they have good work experience to talk about

To the poster who had this issue, I wouldn't put up with it. You seem to really want to work in this area. Either keep asking for them to give you work(they might be relieved to have some off their plate) or look for another one

Aphex · 19-07-2014 07:29PM

RoboRat wrote: »

I was told regularly in my last job that I had a terrible work attitude because:
(a) I wasn't flexible with my time. I worked on average an extra 2 - 3 hours a day for no extra pay for 6 years until I got the hump. It wasn't the pay, it was the complete lack of gratitude that got me annoyed and the fact that it became 'expected'.

(b) I was considered uncooperative. This was because I was a realist and rather than nodding my head and saying yes, I would be honest. Every single time I was uncooperative I was proven to be right.

(c) I was grumpy and difficult. Only because I never got any gratitude and was constantly being slagged or threatened with sacking by my boss whenever he was in a bad mood. Funnily enough, my co-workers to this day have stayed in touch.

(d) Bad at timekeeping. I came in late ONE morning due to car problems and was called into the office and given a verbal warning. Never took into account that I was usually the first there and one of the last to leave and rarely took a lunch break.

My ex-boss just loved trying to break me and he almost did but I still laugh at the fact that when I left, they thought I would be easy to replace. They have had to take on two people and still outsource some of what I used to do.

Man up dude, this happens everywhere!

Cienciano · 19-07-2014 07:31PM

[QUOTE=partyguinness;91348105 I guess the jobsworths here with their obsecure job[/QUOTE]
There's that word again.

partyguinness wrote: »

Girl turns around and says: ' They are downstairs in the stationary cabinet
Me: 'So what are you saying to me?"
Girl: 'You can get them yourself'
Me: (laughing) No that's your job

From the guy who's in disbelief that he might have to walk downstairs to get a folder :pac:

Tarzana · 19-07-2014 07:34PM

EyeSight wrote: »

I need to disagree here. I think it's a shame that internships have a reputation of being about fetch post and coffee for the full timers. That's not an internship, that is getting admin or "support" staff and it just wastes the interns time.

You're missing the point. So many jobs, some with standing, involve mundane, every day tasks. It is a tad uppity to think yourself above them. You can still learn a lot. If it continued that ALL the intern was doing was menial stuff, then yeah, that's a problem. But to be sniffy about doing anything menial is displaying a pretty bad attitude.

sdanseo · 19-07-2014 07:43PM

Aphex wrote: »

Man up dude, this happens everywhere!

On the contrary, he'd probably have a decent case for constructive dismissal. His employer's behaviour sounds like bullying.

EyeSight · 19-07-2014 07:46PM

Tarzana wrote: »

You're missing the point. So many jobs, some with standing, involve mundane, every day tasks. It is a tad uppity to think yourself above them. You can still learn a lot. If it continued that ALL the intern was doing was menial stuff, then yeah, that's a problem. But to be sniffy about doing anything menial is displaying a pretty bad attitude.

not really. I am employed to do a certain job. Not to clean. Not to get coffee.
A company should hire admin staff to do that work. It's proven to save a company money - the support work is done more efficiently and the staff you've hired to do your actual work(who are usually more expensive than support staff) can devote 100% of their time to it.

Obviously if i spill coffee on my desk i clean it up. But if my manager asked me to take the bins out or go get the post and distribute it to everyone, i'd have problems. According to you i could learn a lot from that

Luckily I am at a modern company which actually supports this. We are expected to dedicate 100% of our time to our actual work, the support staff are awesome, people work incredibly hard and get rewarded for it and there's no elitism by management - you won't see a grown man yell at an intern for not getting them a folder

pablo128 · 19-07-2014 07:48PM

Cienciano wrote: »

There's that word again.

From the guy who's in disbelief that he might have to walk downstairs to get a folder :pac:

I am a supervisor. I had a lad one day flat out refuse to do anything for me. I told him if he didn't do what he was told, the manager would tell him to do it, and he would end up doing it, and getting a bollocking too.
Both of us ended up sitting in front of the manager, when the sneaky b@stard told the manager I was smoking weed every lunch break. The manager is no mug and saw through it. So he ended up getting a bollocking, and doing what he was told, just like I said to him in the first place.

Back to what I quoted. Why have a dog, and bark yourself?

Tarzana · 19-07-2014 07:54PM

EyeSight wrote: »

not really. I am employed to do a certain job. Not to clean. Not to get coffee.

Alrighty then.

Anyway, you missed the point of what I was saying and I'm not repeating myself.

partyguinness · 19-07-2014 07:57PM

Sand wrote: »

I know from my perspective, I was pretty disappointed with HR. This is the clearest (and indeed only really clear) sacking case I've come across in my time. And they were completely toothless. They knew well themselves from their initial conversations with him, and his rambling, paranoid, confused complaints that he was wasting their time. Yet they still put one of his colleagues - a young junior guy - through the full complaints process: several interviews, requests for evidence that he was innocent and so on. Now, I assured the junior that he was going to be fine, but he was still put through it, hanging over his head for several months.

Given how useless HR were when dealing a straight up sacking case, I would really doubt they would be any better at representing an employee with a genuine case of bullying. Certainly, I find myself often having to fight for employees against HR, rather than them doing anything positive.

@partyguiness

I think the problem is you should have dealt with it yourself, there and then. You didn't which doesn't say much for your ability to influence someone if you cant deal with some fairly tame "backchat" from a 17 year old when you are a senior in the company. I mean if that's the worst attitude you've encountered in the workplace? Really?

You could have dealt with it nice. You could have dealt with it by laying down the law in no uncertain terms. Instead you got someone else to do it for you and chortle about it.

There's no part of your story where your behaviour is impressive.

Ah but you see this was an ongoing problem with this girl (it was my first 'run in' with her) and with other members of staff. She didnt listen to anyone and it got to the stage where the boss had to be told because the lack of co operation was actually begining to impact and 'we' were asked why certain problems were arising when the staf had been drafted in to help. My episode was not the only issue with her that was addressed. In fact that was the milder of the 'incidents' which I genuinely thought was funny as I never in a million years would have spoken to anyone like that at 17-18 but the boss seemed to take it very much to heart.

Hell others even got the 'you're not the boss' so in effect, telling the boss was was really the only option left. We were specifically asked about this girl and others made reluctant complaints. I sat there silently as she really didnt have anything to do with me or my work and I wasnt even thinking about it (BTW this was about 3 weeks later)...then HR turned to me and said "Sure didnt she tell you to get stationary yourself"- I clndt deny it. By the way HR is one lady who I am personally friends with so it wasnt a case or 'running off to HR.'

She had been spoken to quietly several times by others but it was met with a borderline teenage tantrum. It was her first job straight out of school and by her own admission 2 years later, it woke her up.

Quite frankly she will tell you she deserved it but still hasnt stopped the mass indignation on this thread..

Not the worst attitude at all...never said it was.

Rough Sleeper · 19-07-2014 09:29PM

partyguinness wrote: »

Yes a 17 yr old (now 19) with a bad attitude got ****ed from a height and guess what...it never happened again and she is a far better person today for it. Rammed home a few home truths...(her words not mine).

This is the most obviously made-up quote I've seen in my time on the internet. "Hey man that really 'rammed home a few truths,' " pull the other one for ****'s sake.

partyguinness · 19-07-2014 09:35PM

Rough Sleeper wrote: »

This is the most obviously made-up quote I've seen in my time on the internet. "Hey man that really 'rammed home a few truths,' " pull the other one for ****'s sake.

Obviously....:rolleyes:

'...in my time on the internet.'...you're a newbie then. Come back in a few years when your balls have dropped and been around a bit longer..

I'll narrow it down for you..'home truths'...but hey you know best..;)

Rough Sleeper · 19-07-2014 09:36PM

partyguinness wrote: »

Obviously....:rolleyes:

I'll narrow it down for you..'home truths'...but hey you know best..;)

Thanks man, that post really rammed home a few home truths.

partyguinness · 19-07-2014 09:37PM

Rough Sleeper wrote: »

Thanks man, that post really rammed home a few home truths.

You're welcome..:)

Sand · 19-07-2014 09:49PM

partyguinness wrote: »

[/B]

Ah but you see this was an ongoing problem with this girl (it was my first 'run in' with her) and with other members of staff. She didnt listen to anyone and it got to the stage where the boss had to be told because the lack of co operation was actually begining to impact and 'we' were asked why certain problems were arising when the staf had been drafted in to help. My episode was not the only issue with her that was addressed. In fact that was the milder of the 'incidents' which I genuinely thought was funny as I never in a million years would have spoken to anyone like that at 17-18 but the boss seemed to take it very much to heart.

Hell others even got the 'you're not the boss' so in effect, telling the boss was was really the only option left. We were specifically asked about this girl and others made reluctant complaints. I sat there silently as she really didnt have anything to do with me or my work and I wasnt even thinking about it (BTW this was about 3 weeks later)...then HR turned to me and said "Sure didnt she tell you to get stationary yourself"- I clndt deny it. By the way HR is one lady who I am personally friends with so it wasnt a case or 'running off to HR.'

She had been spoken to quietly several times by others but it was met with a borderline teenage tantrum. It was her first job straight out of school and by her own admission 2 years later, it woke her up.

Quite frankly she will tell you she deserved it but still hasnt stopped the mass indignation on this thread..

Not the worst attitude at all...never said it was.

In fairness, that sounds better than the original tale. If it is not a one off incident and was an ongoing pattern of behaviour, fair enough someone had to call her aside and have a word. Clearly though, you weren't able or willing to do it though, so it doesn't demonstrate your "Master of the Universe" credentials.

partyguinness · 19-07-2014 09:58PM

Sand wrote: »

In fairness, that sounds better than the original tale. If it is not a one off incident and was an ongoing pattern of behaviour, fair enough someone had to call her aside and have a word. Clearly though, you weren't able or willing to do it though, so it doesn't demonstrate your "Master of the Universe" credentials.

LOL...I'm not sure where the "Master of the Universe" thing is coming from...:o..as I mentioned I wasnt bothered by it in the slightest- I thought it was funny and had forgotten clean about it (probably because she is a tasty little minx..;)

Clearly the impression formed here is that a young office junior gave me some lip and I ran off squealing to the boss who promptly abused her with me sitting next to her smugly...not like that at all.

Plus I had more important things to worry about than stroppy teenagers...saving the universe is all consuming...:D

groucho marx · 19-07-2014 10:20PM

Did she knock you back...;-) is that what caused the filing cabinet and low in folders emergency situation.

_Kaiser_ · 19-07-2014 11:11PM

partyguinness wrote: »

LOL...I'm not sure where the "Master of the Universe" thing is coming from...:o..as I mentioned I wasnt bothered by it in the slightest- I thought it was funny and had forgotten clean about it (probably because she is a tasty little minx..;)

Clearly the impression formed here is that a young office junior gave me some lip and I ran off squealing to the boss who promptly abused her with me sitting next to her smugly...not like that at all.

Plus I had more important things to worry about than stroppy teenagers...saving the universe is all consuming...:D

Oh dear.. you just keep digging...

I've read the whole thread and I was sorta starting to see it from your side with your post about how the girl's attitude was an ongoing thing and she did the same to others, but then you come out with this.

As someone who manages a department myself, this was a pretty straightforward situation with a young member of staff that could have been handled without you going telling tales to your mate in HR (but not actually reporting the incident), or getting the girl bollocked by your boss because questions are being asked about your own performance, and without you needing to demonstrate what a "big man" you are in the place.

Seriously dude, I'd just quit now if I were you.

DeanAustin · 20-07-2014 07:57AM

RoboRat wrote: »

I was told regularly in my last job that I had a terrible work attitude because:
(a) I wasn't flexible with my time. I worked on average an extra 2 - 3 hours a day for no extra pay for 6 years until I got the hump. It wasn't the pay, it was the complete lack of gratitude that got me annoyed and the fact that it became 'expected'.

(b) I was considered uncooperative. This was because I was a realist and rather than nodding my head and saying yes, I would be honest. Every single time I was uncooperative I was proven to be right.

(c) I was grumpy and difficult. Only because I never got any gratitude and was constantly being slagged or threatened with sacking by my boss whenever he was in a bad mood. Funnily enough, my co-workers to this day have stayed in touch.

(d) Bad at timekeeping. I came in late ONE morning due to car problems and was called into the office and given a verbal warning. Never took into account that I was usually the first there and one of the last to leave and rarely took a lunch break.

My ex-boss just loved trying to break me and he almost did but I still laugh at the fact that when I left, they thought I would be easy to replace. They have had to take on two people and still outsource some of what I used to do.

Struggling to believe this to be honest. (b) particularly is something I've seen a million times - "I'm not cynical, I'm a realist".

The fact you think you were right "every single time" would also ring alarm bells. I've worked with some very talented people and they haven't been right every single time or even close (and will admit as much).

Maybe I'm wrong but this is one of those stories I'd love to hear the other side of.

Optimalprimerib · 20-07-2014 09:14AM

groucho marx wrote: »

The not taken lunch people bug me. Thats their choice,i will down tools and take my break. They then say it like im great but you were slacking taking your legal entitlement of break.

By not taking lunch, your work will degrade, you will become more lethargic and make more mistakes. Very bad for your health. I did it more times than I am proud of but it should not be a trophy to hang over others heads.

20-07-2014 02:43PM

Optimalprimerib wrote: »

By not taking lunch, your work will degrade, you will become more lethargic and make more mistakes. Very bad for your health. I did it more times than I am proud of but it should not be a trophy to hang over others heads.

People not taking lunch is stupid and it annoys me seeing it, though virtually no one does it in my current job except an odd time. We can take lunch when we want so even if you have to do something at a certain time like meet someone you can take lunch after.

If I don't get a good hour for lunch (sometimes I take even longer) I'm not right for the afternoon.

The other thing is people constantly working very long hours. I've no problem doing it for a week here and there coming up to a deadline etc but people are almost proud of the fact they have no life working 16 hours everyday. The simple fact is these people are taking on too much work, you just have to say no to work if you are regularly working 14 or 16 hour days.

shane9689 · 20-07-2014 03:20PM

its these people that usually have no life and use work as a way to avoid personal issues....either that or they owe the wrong person a **** ton of money

Roquentin · 20-07-2014 03:21PM

Isabelle Jealous Ozone wrote: »

People not taking lunch is stupid and it annoys me seeing it, though virtually no one does it in my current job except an odd time. We can take lunch when we want so even if you have to do something at a certain time like meet someone you can take lunch after.

If I don't get a good hour for lunch (sometimes I take even longer) I'm not right for the afternoon.

The other thing is people constantly working very long hours. I've no problem doing it for a week here and there coming up to a deadline etc but people are almost proud of the fact they have no life working 16 hours everyday. The simple fact is these people are taking on too much work, you just have to say no to work if you are regularly working 14 or 16 hour days.

i think the mind as much as the body needs a break throughout the day. To work non stop for the duration of the day would lead to mental exhaustion. One needs to escape

Wanderer2010 · 20-07-2014 03:32PM

Optimalprimerib wrote: »

By not taking lunch, your work will degrade, you will become more lethargic and make more mistakes. Very bad for your health. I did it more times than I am proud of but it should not be a trophy to hang over others heads.

Only sad company men/women dont take lunch in an attempt to look good to the powers above them, an attempt that usually gets them nowhere. You are entitled to your break so take it. These people who play office politics are the saddest creatures of any workplace.

razorblunt · 21-07-2014 08:21AM

:rolleyes:

porsche959 wrote: »

You have lived a rather sheltered life if some bloke taking the odd extended lunch is the worst work attitude you have witnessed!

Maybe so, but the thread subject wasn't "make up a story about" or "what you consider", it was what I've witnessed.

Worst work attitude you've ever witnessed

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