6/28/11

What do you hate about your job?

Everybody has something they hate about their job. If there wasn't something to hate about it, they wouldn't have to pay us to do it, right? Maybe it's the restriction of not being able to do whatever you want to every day. Maybe it's a person that drives you nuts, or a report that's so unnecessarily complex, you just wanna expose yourself no mononucleosis (sp?) to avoid it.

For me, it's being the last person in line. I'm the go-to guy that people bring their work problems to and I solve them. It's not part of my job to give up, or say I don't know, or say it's not part of my responsibility. It's my job to solve what no one else has been able to solve. And, sometimes that puts me in the uncomfortable position of being demanding. Unfortunately, of all the skills I possess, that's the one that I am weakest in.

To be a good demander, you have to have the patience of Job, never be snarky, never offend, but never give up. Me, I get tired of being patient and asking and waiting. I do it for a while. Then I lose patience and I growl. Loud. Too loud.

Okay, I get results, and that's what my boss likes. But, I don't like how I get them and I don't know any different way. I thought that over the years, I'd get better at it. But I haven't. Oh, sure, sometimes I can get results with a smile. Some people are receptive to my requests and are glad to share what they know or point me where I need to check. But, there are other people who will smile back at me and 5 minutes later, forget everything I said. And those are the ones I'm most likely to growl at.

I mean, it's one thing to answer my questions with an "I don't know", but it's a whole 'nother thing altogether to say "it's not my responsibility". I don't get to do that in my job and I don't think that's how other people should do theirs. But, they do. And, I don't handle it well. But, I continue to get results, so I keep being the one sent to get what is needed. And, I keep being uncomfortable with my lack of skill in this area.

I couldn't do it at all if it weren't for my winning personality. Somehow, I manage to piss people off and yet maintain good working relationships with most of them. Okay, maybe something way short of friendship, but a working relationship nonetheless. My boss likes that, too.

But it's still uncomfortable.

Okay, everyone have a great day. Clearly, I have something I need to go handle and I'm not looking forward to it. But, you know what? This too shall pass and the sooner started, the sooner finished.

Lane

9 comments:

birdmommy said...

At least they take you seriously when you growl! Whenever I get annoyed and make a vaguely threatening comment about what someone/something is doing at work and how it is messing up my job, the response is usually 'You're so funny', or even worse 'You're threatening to punch someone in the head? That's so cute!'
I'm pretty sure I haven't been 'cute' since I was 6 (pigtails and pinafores - gotta love a mom with a Tasha Tudor obsession!)

Frog Quilter said...

What is your job?

BlueRidge Boomer said...

Been there..!! One of the many reasons i took an early retirement....in my present job i can't seem to convince people that river flow is measured in cubic feet per second not MPH...aaaahhhhh!!!

Enjoy

Margie said...

I'm retired. :) When I was working the things I hated most were meetings and paper bs. Doing patient care was the good part of being a nurse.

lw said...

I get around growling by being pleasantly persistant. I show up at their desks several times a day, being polite and looking increasingly desperate. It has trained most people to respond quickly to my emails, since they know I will not be giving up anytime soon.

Shay said...

Lane I hear you 100% . In my job I'm the fixer too. And I have days like the one you werent looking forward to today where I know I'm going to upset someone and I LOVE to be everyone's friend so that colours my work life on at least a weekly basis .

I handle it this way:I am pleasant and concilatory as often as possible , I try to bring people round to my way of thinking and sometimes I just demand it gets done a certain way if I have good reason.

Im still learning to let all the ick go at the end of the workday .Im pretty sure thats something I'm never going to fully master.

(It's Wednesday morning here and I'm mulling over something that happened yesterday for crying out loud!)

Michelle said...

I had a boss once who told me that if I felt strongly about something, and someone was making me feel uncomfortable, to say what I had to say, state my point....and in the end, the person I aimed my unhappiness at MIGHT not like me,(probably very likely he/she would NOT) BUT that person would know EXACTLY where I stood without any doubts, and that person would also respect me. I have to admit, he was right. You can't make everyone like you, no matter how hard you try, and usually we are the ones who carry the burden.(I learned this the hard way...I thought to be a good person, I needed to have everyone like me.) The other person does not care, so you need to do what you need to do and stand tall, strong and firm, and live with less STRESS.
Blessings,
Michelle

Anonymous said...

Hi Lane,
Perhaps its my personality but I tend to use a bit of humour in my message.... "Please don't make me put you through the paper shredder today, I already have too much to do" or, "Please don't make me visit you every hour, on the hour, I am only 5 feet 2 and I don't wish to get any shorter by walking the soles of my feet away". Of course I always smile sweetly (not sarcastically) and I've always repaid them in some small way. It could be just by getting them a coffee when they are bogged down, or just asking if they are ok. Then they know that you are not the ogre, you just have to get a job done with their help. Use the Fish philosophy... Play, be there, make their day and, choose your attitude.

Good luck and keep blogging, Di

Elizabeth said...

I hate that there are no clear policies and procedures (or if there are, nobody knows them) and it feels like we're flying by the seat of our pants all the time. Half the time I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing, so I make it up as I go along. Everything is done on a case-by-case basis, so what applies to one situation does not apply to another. As much as we complain about it, people need boundaries!
xo -E