All right...not going to quit my job, but my co-worker just sucks.

[ChadTower]

I find the easiest way to avoid such things is to be the most competent person there.  Be better at your job than those around you and people listen to you before they listen to others.

Makes life easier, in the long run, to produce high quality work.

I'm sure once Peale has been doing this as long as that jerkwad he will be substantially more skilled than jerkwad. 

[RetroJames]

"HE'S NOT MY DADDY!"

My brother actually yelled "She's not my mother" once when we were trying to get him out of the mall during a tantrum... we had more cops on us than if Dunkin Donuts was burning down.

That's a whuppin'

[ChadTower]

It certainly was.

[RayB]

Peale, there's no hope for you there. Find another op to work for. You have experience now.

Everyone suggesting how he could fight back. I don't see it happening. The way Peale described himself, he's the classic "nice guy" with anxiety problems when things get heated. That personality type is real easy to step all over if youre the Mumbles type. There could be recourses at a larger company, but when it's so small and Mumbles seems to have Boss wrapped around his finger, well there's no hope.

I think the only thing left to do would be to meet with the boss. Tell him everything that's been going on, then end the meeting with your resignation.

PS: You can also submit your story to: www.officepolitics.com   

[ChadTower]

Dear Office Politics, please teach me how to answer the following question:

Why are you choking me? 

[TMS]

Is the mumbles guy your "manager" if so it doesn't sound like he is very good at managing. I would go to his boss and tell him in a tactful manner that you know you are making some mistakes, but you think it is froma lack of managment. Explain to him that you are not getting direction from mumbly joe and therefore have to make decisions on your own as to how you spend your time project-wise.

[ChadTower]

Once again, for reference: 

One boss, three employees, no company structure.

That is the whole operation.

[markrvp]

Yeah, it sounds like everything that happens there is word of mouth.  I imagine the boss would rather hire someone new than have to write down job assignments. 

It also sounds like the boss feels like Mumbles will take care of whatever needs to be done.  When you have a boss like this that doesn't like to actually be at the job and/or have to be heavily involved, they will usually overlook a whole lot in someone like Mumbles as long as Mumbles gets the work done without hearing any complaints about him.

You're SOL until you become more valuable to the boss than Mumbles.

[missioncontrol]

Mumbles wouldn't be very important to the boss if he had a shattered knee cap.......

but anyway

If your planning on quitting stand up to the man. 3 different outcomes could occur.

He kicks your ass.
You kick his ass.
You both get fired.

hey doesn't matter if you get fired you were planning on quitting anyway.

[hyiu]

Hi Peale:

I'm sorry to hear your situation...
and quitting your job or not is your call...

but WHEREVER you go to work... whether its a 3 man company, or  a 30,000 employee corporation... there'll ALWAYS have things like this happens EVERYDAY.  And you'll alsways find someone like Mumble... company politics.. and these kinds of things simply goes hand in hand with all businesses.

What you'll need to do to those guys is to "strengthen" yourself...

stand up to them, and don't take crap from them....
there is NO blurring out if someone is accusing you....
Simply DENY it, but prepare to show proof...

It might sound not logical... if you decide to work there...
BE VERY DETAIL.... like the earlier post, ask for details, and if treated not fairly, and is being accused, BLOW UP ON HIM !!!
This is called a "Pattern interrupt"... that will interrupt his normal "Pattern" of stepping on you, and if you blow up on him bad enough, it will make him think twice before crossing the boundaries again....

guys like Mumble... if you are willing to stand up to them a few times, they'll know who they can step on, and who will put up a fight every time to make his "stepping on" NOT FUN and NOT EASY... and they'll back away from you...

whatever you decide, good luck to you...

[DrewKaree]

I think I found out that Mumbles has a cousin

I find the easiest way to avoid such things is to be the most competent person there.  Be better at your job than those around you and people listen to you before they listen to others.

[SirPeale]

So...on Monday, in anticipation of the boss chewing me out for the Skee incident and for my 'habit' of working on 'non-priority items'  I head to the boss' house, ultimately to get some prizes for some machines we just ordered, but also to get the chewing over with.  I drove the company van.

After his schpiel, he told me *exactly* what he wanted me to do with the prizes.  And as he'd JUST chewed me for "only retaining perhaps 80% of what I'm told" I paid particular attention to what he was telling me.

Now, once upon a time our company had three buildings at our facility.  They all call them first building (the office) second building (the pinball building) and the third building (the shop, and where the games are kept).

Some time ago the owner made an agreement with boss to have him give up the second building so a machine shop could take it's place.

But the designation has stood; first building and third building.

Since the machines were brand new, we wanted to run them, so the prizes needed to be loaded.  Boss showed me which boxes he wanted me to bring to the third building (and I marked them with an astrisk right in front of him), and then he said:

"you may as well leave the rest here, so the first building doesn't get cluttered."

Now, I've never called them first or third building; always the office and the shop.  So I know I wasn't imagining this.

I clarify: "here?" (pointing to the van).

Him: "yeah."

I do as he asks.

Yesterday, Mumbles and Cool Guy have to run to town to fix a jukebox, so they snag the van.  When they get back:

Mumbles: "Hey Peale, what's with the prizes in the van?"

Me: "Well, for whatever reason, boss wanted to keep them there."

Mumbles: "He did?"

Me: "His exact words were 'leave them here so the first building doesn't get cluttered.'"

Few hours later, I hear from Cool Guy that boss exclaims that he would have NEVER said that.  That I had misunderstood, and he wanted the prizes in the third building for testing, and the rest in the first.

So now I *really* look like I don't listen.  I just can't win.

[Bones]

Round about now I would start throwing the ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- at the fan big time. If you know you were in the right, put it to your boss. Review his own words to him and ask what the ---fudgesicle--- he expects.

Don't let these cocks walk over you man. It really is a matter of self respect now more than ever.

[menace]

sounds like your boss is an ass too.  if someone can't even admit to a small thing (because really its not like you misplaced a 30 million dollar order) then this SOB ain't worth working for--I would confront and depending how it goes quit or at the very least get back some self respect.  Some people actually like being told off or being stood up to--makes them think they hired a "tough" employee.  Of course he might like brown nosers and if thats the case get out of there pronto and work for his competition.

[DrewKaree]

Some people actually like being told off or being stood up to--makes them think they hired a "tough" employee.  Of course he might like brown nosers and if thats the case get out of there pronto and work for his competition.

Mumbles the ass hat sounds like anything BUT a brown noser, but you're right about the rest.

Having some prizes sitting in a van where they haven't caused ANY problems doesn't seem like anything to even comment on, much less defend "his position" on the whole situation.

It sounds like not only have you been sold down the river by Mumbles, but he took your oars and cut the fuel line to the motor. 

Self respect is easy to claim for any of us who don't have a problem speaking, but I'm guessing the more worked up Peale gets, the worse the problem will be, which will result in AssHat Inc believing they got the best of Peale no matter what he does, although bringing up the situation to the boss IS the way to handle this. 

I've never understood why people allow stuff to fester at work.  If it bugs someone, usually it's because of an incompetent person, you're doing the WORK for the incompetent person and not being compensated enough for doing 2 jobs at the same time, or you ARE being compensated enough for your job and you simply don't care enough to risk losing your well-compensated job.

Sounds as if you were looking for ideas here that'd go with what I think you've already made up your mind about.  Stop procrastinating, stop tying your innards up in knots, and get on with your life.  At the very least, your wife deserves a happy you, so enjoy your Thanksgiving, give thanks for realizing you need to get off the Ass Hat Express, and quit on Friday.

The decision to quit is just as hard as looking for another job, but way more freeing once you've done it.

[ChadTower]

That's probably the best advice given yet.

If you know what you need to do, just do it and get on with the rest of a good life.

[SirPeale]

Mumbles the ass hat sounds like anything BUT a brown noser, but you're right about the rest.

You couldn't be more wrong.  Swears at the boss whenever he's not around...kisses his ass big-time when he is.

[SirPeale]

That's probably the best advice given yet.

If you know what you need to do, just do it and get on with the rest of a good life.

Good advice from all.

I'm going to stick with it long enough to find something else.  If I quit now, I've got nothing to fall back on.

[mccoy178]

I worked at a place where we installed pool tables, swimming pools, and furniture.

[RandyT]

Peale, sorry to hear you are having problems at the job.

I've worked in everything from blue to white collar jobs, been self-employed and a mixture of all of them all at once.  I have about 22 years of work experience with many varieties of idiots, nincompoops, and jerks at the helm and on the floor next to and below me.  There are some tidbits of advice I can offer.

1)  Learn to shut it off.  I don't mean that you should "fiddle while Rome burns", but there are things that are important and things that aren't.  Learn to differentiate the two and live a separate life after quitting time.  All of the gut-wrenching and self-induced stress in the world will not change what is happening at work.  No point in putting yourself through it.

2)  Ask questions. Lots of questions.   Don't ever be afraid of "looking stupid".  This will do a number of things: it will enrich you and make you more valuable once you learn the answers.  It will help to avoid misunderstandings that will make you look stupid.  It shows the people you are asking the questions to that you respect the knowledge they have.  And, it shows the boss-man that you are trying to learn.  But be smart about how you do it.  Tact and diplomacy is important.  If you don't understand something, don't assume the answer is flawed because you don't understand it.  Ask a clarifying question or re-phrase the original one.  But you should try to understand the answers before moving on.  Also, try not to ask the same question over and over again.  Work to understand the principles behind the answers and learn how to apply them to different circumstances.  Even if you don't agree with them, you will at least be able to understand how the other guys are thinking, which will allow you to do some basic decision making of your own that won't tick them off.

3)  Do not question the pecking order.  The problem with dookheads who are over you is that they are over you.  They have years of experience working in the environment and sometimes have nearly non-severable relationships with higher-ups.  If they aren't complete morons, they will have an advantage over you in nearly every situation.  This doesn't mean that you don't have a chance of succeeding there, only that you may need to "pay your dues", "do your time" and basically grow yourself to the point where the dookhead will begin to view you as a "peer."   Does this mean you need to take his abuse until that happens?  Absolutely not.  Profanity and/or personal abuse is unacceptable, and you should do your best to convey that to "mumbles" without escalating the situation if at all possible.  You should also be sure that you can understand the difference between someone  who may be frustrated with your work performance, and someone who is coming down on you for no reason at all.  Some individuals are just "coarse" by nature and it's hard to see the legitimate criticism within the poor presentation.  But that doesn't make it less valid.  Once you earn some respect, then start working on fixing the stupid stuff (because by then, you'll know for sure if it really is stupid.)

4)  Don't waste your time with an unworkable situation unless you are willing to give up a big chunk of your soul in the process.  Sometimes, the benefits of "hanging in there" far outweigh the satisfaction of telling them where they can go and what they can do when they get there.  But sometimes, you have to call a duck, a duck and see that you may not be able to do what is asked of you (reasonable or not), or that the organization is just so completely out of control that continuing to be a part of it is a personal and professional net minus.  Make sure that you can honestly say to yourself that you did everything you could, and if you can say that without reservation, just move on without looking back.  Sticking it out long enough to find a new job is probably advisable though .


Anyway, I could write volumes on what I have seen, experienced, acted upon and the results of situations like these.  But ultimately, every situation and individual is unique, and you are the only one that can determine the best course of action for you.

Good luck,
RandyT

[RayB]

I've never had to deal with ---smurfy--- situations like this, but I have developed a habit due to the fact that whatever job I have had, I tend to juggle lots of tasks: I take notes.

It's not very hard to write down on a small notepad what tasks you need to do any given day. This would benefit you in many ways:

1. If you ARE screwing up, it will reduce the screw-ups since you can refer to your notes instead of relying on your memory.

2. Take down the notes in front of the person assigning you the tasks. If it's your boss, this will make you look diligent and organized.

3. If there's ANY ambiguity, ask for clarification right away. (Sounds like you do that already)

4. When you get stabbed in the back, you have proof that you weren't imagining things. You could have gone back to your boss (in private) and showed him, that he said to leave them in the First building.

It's ok to confront your boss sometimes. In a case like this, you really have nothing to lose, cuz either you shut up and be miserable, or you talk to the boss, and maybe some good comes out of it. If you're diplomatic and non-confrontational, it might work out. Especially when you show him the notebook he SAW you write in.

[Jabba]

Actually, the boss sounds like a bit of an ---sufferer of cranial-rectal-inversion--- himself. Sounds like you clarified things with him. Looking for another job will be a nice fresh start for you...

[SirPeale]

This sucks.  I'm about to walk out the door, and I just don't want to.  I hate feeling like this.  Heck, I couldn't even play my *own* arcade machines this weekend.

When a fun thing isn't fun anymore...

[ChadTower]

Take one shot at sitting down with the boss and addressing the whole situation.  Bring notes on paper if you have to, but be sure you bring up every point you need addressed.

The results of that meeting should be one of two things:

a) he understands your concerns and promises to take steps to address them / he understands your concerns and explains to your satisfaction why they cannot be changed

or

b) you resign

The job is worth taking that one last shot at working things out.  If you can't work them out that way then it is time to move on.

[mccoy178]

If you do have some sort of sit down with the boss, I think it would be really funny if you used arcade terms for everything.  Like when you resign, you could same something like, "game over" in an automated voice or the pacman noise when he gets ate.  Smash T.V. sound bites would probably apply as well.  "Great Prizes!" and "YEAH!!!"

Anyways.....................................................................................

[ChadTower]

Except that this meeting is for being taken seriously.

[RayB]

Take one shot at sitting down with the boss and addressing the whole situation.

[ChadTower]

It's true, which may be why he waits a month to have this conversation.  He doesn't have to have it tomorrow.  Line up a new job, get the offer, talk to current boss, stay/quit and take new job.

[DarkKobold]

3)

[SirPeale]

So someone I know told me a company down the road is hiring.  Went visiting after work today.

The company is Vermont Circuits.  I stopped by (personnell was closed) and found myself with this chick with a totally hot body.  She put me in touch with someone that knew what was going on, and he took my name and number down.

Positions available include a 'driver' which ferries the completed circuitboards to the customers for testing, and there is a lot of overtime available.  I'm already working a ton of it, but at a flat rate, so monetary compensation is a plus.  Will discuss everything tomorrow.

[ChadTower]

Nice!   

[Bones]

Good luck man.

[Jabba]

There ya go...nothing better than a fresh start.

I agree with Dark K as well on this item.....

[markrvp]

Good luck, I'm pulling for you!

[HaRuMaN]

I hope you get it...   

[Kremmit]

I hope you get it...   

The job, or the chick with the totally hot body?

[pointdablame]

I hope you get it...   

The job, or the chick with the totally hot body?

wouldn't we be proud about either one?

[DrewKaree]

I hope you get it...   

The job, or the chick with the totally hot body?

Somehow I'm guessing by your comments that one is better than the other, but no matter what way I look at it, I just don't see a downside to either one

[Zakk]

If you get this new job, pay attention and don't screw it up too this time

[SirPeale]

You guys shouldn't get too excited...all I've done is stop in and give them my name and number.

And Zakk: