ok.. this was over 6 years ago Mr/Mrs. Anon and a team of us were over there as part of a data migration project for Carrefour. We did most of the work here in Canada and went over there ro run the scripts and help the team. I was working full time at a consulting firm at the time so I apologize for using the word contract but we used that lingo in the office even though we weren't independents.
Et finalement, je suis franco-ontarien. Mon grammaire fait dure (so please bear with me). J'ai rien contre la France (I'll leave that to our friendly neighbours to the south).
I was merely answering the original question which was "What was the worst conditions you've worked in"
How does working in France for 3 weeks in the summer sound? Oh, did I forget to mention that it was 32c outside and there was no AC? Oh, did I mention that the guy who sat across from me (no cubicles) was about 280lbs and did not believe in deoderant? Or that he smoked cigarettes and cigars all day long? Going home with a headache everyday was fun... Pretty hard to code in those conditions I must say!
I agree with this notion entirely... I took 4 months off work last year. I gave my last client 4 months notice before I left and they begged me to stay on for another month when it was time for me to leave. I said sure but I would only work 2 days a week.
During those 4 months I took off, I left chilly Ottawa in December and visited some friends in California for about 3 weeks and spent some time re-evaluating what I wanted out of life. I've been through work burnout a couple of times and I promised myself that I wouldn't let it happen again after I had a relationship fail as a result of it.
As for working for free, I don't agree with it. You are paid for a 37.5 hour workweek or whatever you sign for when you get hired. Any extra time you do should be rewarded somehow (and not with the promise of keeping your job either) because that is time taken away from your personal life.
I have some friends at Accenture who are fed the whole "Up or Out" crap speech at their town hall meetings. After putting in 60+ hour work weeks, for months, they were given a speech on how things have been going well but they really needed people to sacrifice their time at home to make the project succeed.
My friend then told me that several of her teammates were in tears because their family life was already suffering enough and then they were told that they need to sacrifice more (without pay of course). My friend is almost done the project she is working on there and then she is leaving because she doesn't believe in their attitude that family is last on the priority list.
Some people have noted though that it is your choice to work the 60+ hour work weeks. And someone mentioned that working for a workaholic who doesn't have kids or good friends is tough as well because they expect you to do the same. I agree, I've been there and you are made to feel guilty if you leave at 4:00pm even though you showed up before everyone else (7:00am) I used to get comments about "banker's hours" but I told them that I was at work while they were crawling out of bed.
Hopefully the article will turn on a couple of lightbulbs in peoples heads and make the world a better place because they will spend some more time with the people they love (and who love and need them in return).
>LOL. That's funny. How do you explain the push for $500 levies on hard drives? Yea, keep burning mp3's, you won't be able afford the media or HD's.
Well then we'll have to make a deal.. the US will create a black market (I can see it now... a pickup truck with a load of hard drives going down back roads making seemingly random drop offs in the bushes and picking up blue bags of money) for us Canadians for storage media and we'll supply the music. Deal?;)
>>i thought extoic sports cars are for people with penis envy.
No No.. you got it all wrong... the Mazda Miata is for the 40 year old guy who is going through a mid life crisis. The useless SUV (BMW, Acura, Mercedes, etc..) is for the guy who is insecure and wants to feel like a "Big Man"...
>>i thought extoic sports cars are for people with penis envy.
No No.. you got it all wrong... the Mazda Miata's is for the 40 year old guy who is going through a mid life crisis. The SUV is for the guy who is insecure and wants to feel like a "Big Man"...
Yeah, I enjoyed the first 1/2 of TR 1 as well...
You had to know they would throw in a jumping puzzle though. That's when I heard the groaning in the audience. I almost half expected to see the words "2 lives left" in the upper right hand corner of the film screen...:)
Correct me if I'm wrong but it seems to me (I'm not an auto-industry buff by any means) that all the efficiency improvements have been coming out of Japan for the past 4-5 years or so.
The American companies are not known for their innovation. They are known for their inexpensive low-end vehicles and their SUVs. From what I can see, they are merely hopping onto the bandwagon so they can appear to be environmentally conscious and pick up the customers who will "Only Buy North American" (cue the music...etc..)
If someone can point me to some links that show that Chrysler, Ford or GM have come up with some groundbreaking fuel efficient technology in the past decade and that it HAS been impletmented into the auto-industry, I would like to read them.
On a side note, I'm not sure if many people realize this but some mini-vans are less fuel efficent than SUVs. I don't mind that so much because mini-vans actually serve a purpose - unlike the Acura/BMW/Lexus SUVs that will never ever see a dirt road and are only bought by people who feel that it is prestigious to own one.
I see my friends who have 3 and 4 kid families struggle with a sedan
I fully agree with you on this Pioneer. I stopped watching TV at the age of 17 because my father flicked the channel too much and I started experiencing a LOT more in life.
Those 20-30 hours that the average person watches TV are hours you are not exercising, reading, visiting family/friends, volunteering or participating in a community event. I understand that TV is good as an escape for a 1/2 hour after work sometimes but it should not be used as a crutch to avoid life (like alcohol, drugs, the internet or anything that you can lose yourself in)
As for the Bhutan thing, think of it this way. Speaking as a Canadian, content on TV has changed quite a bit since it was first introduced. We have had time to adjust to the fact that the word bitch is acceptable on TV among other things as grisly death scenes and casual use of drugs.
The TV we watch reflects our current state of society and we are used to seeing it. Now you shove this "advanced" TV we watch onto a nation that has not had time to adapt to our way of living and you can imagine their is going to be a culture shock of some type.
After reading a lot of posts here, I have to agree with the people who say that TV definitely has an impact on our society but only to a certain point. Personal responsibility also has to play into that but that is something people seem to have a problem with lately.
If you don't agree with this, consider this situation.
You are a teenager watching a show which has several people vying to be the last person standing at the end of a game. To win, you have to befriend people, manipulate them, lie to them and then backstab them. In the end, the winner who is able to dupe everyone else receives a large cash amount. Sounds entertaining right? I'm sure most people can figure out that I'm talking about Survivor..
Okay now if you teach young people that this is the way you win and get ahead in life, what do you think they will do in their lives or if they are presented with a situation like that?
These people are also taught what happens to the nice people. Sure they place 3rd and 4th but that's not 1st place right? And in our society, Winning is everything right? I mean that's what important in our culture.
I know people will say "We are responsible people and we know the difference... It's just entertainment.". I know that you do, but do you think your subconscious has not seen that example as well as hundreds of others that we are exposed to every year? It begins to ingrain itself into your psyche.
Children and teenagers are even more impressionable than adults are (well most of them) and this is what we are teaching them.
>Just make sure that you don't give them so much >information that they feel they no longer need >your services, as that could also be a dangerous >move.
You know, as a consultant, I try and try to fight this stereotype in the industry every day. I was taught early in my career that my job as a consultant was to work my way out of a job.
I was hired because I was an expert in a certain area that the company was lacking in. I do the job, train others how to do it and move on. Done and done. If you want long term stability and want to horde information become a full time employee.
What irks me is that while I do this, I see other "consultants" come in at 10:00am, leave at 3:00pm and while they collect their $900 for the day, they surf the web, train themselves on Java and managed their portfolio. Now wonder consultants get lumped in with the leeches of society.
I know not everyone can get a good 'boss' to report to but the ones I've had have been great. By working myself out of a job, they recognize that I am a leader and can get the job done. Once I complete the task, they give the maintenance to people who enjoy that style of work. This of course frees me up to take on the new and exciting stuff. I realize that there is work that is boring and monotonous that can turn into long term stability for a consultant but to withhold useful information from a client is only betraying your work ethic. I'm sorry but I was brought up to do the best job I can and that's what allows me to rise to the top of the pack because I am honest and forthcoming with informtion. If they don't use it, then it's not my problem but I know that I did what I could. As a result, I've been getting calls for job opportunities at least 1x every 2 weeks for the past 2 years. Can most of the consultants who horde their information claim that?
Sorry about this rant but it's been building for a while... I'm not lashing out at you in particular Tom but just the overall philosophy of hoarding information that you really should be offering. It merely shows that people are insecure about their skills and they wish to hold onto what they have instead of developing themselves into something better. Sure, you can use the argument that there is political gain by not putting everything out on the table but that's your spin. Deep down inside, you know the truth.. it all boils down to greed...
My $3.25
Darcy
I have to agree with madfgurtbn on this. People are stuck in the car world and cannot see what is happening to the environment as a result. I'm not going to go into detail as we've all heard it before but I do want to say something else.
I'm amazed at the fact that so many people post their self-centered scathing comments and ask why would anyone choose to use this instead of walking?
Have you taken a look at us North Americans lately? You can tell that most of us don't walk as often as we should (rampant obesity problems) and people tend to forget that there are a lot of people who don't have fully functional bodies whether is be old age, sport injuries or disabilities that have impaired people's walking ability.
I'm quite thankful that I have full mobility as I love sports and pushing my body to it's limit. But I always pause and think about things when I see someone young in a wheelchair and wonder what kind of issues would I find by being in a similar situation.
I'm just amazed that people who can be so smart and intelligent replies can forget that there are 6 billion other people on this planet and everyone has different priorities. If the product isn't for you, there is no need to lambast it. You can merely say "It's not for me" or "It's too expensive right now" and appreciate the fact that this product can/will enhance someone else's quality of life.
My 2 cents,
I can see the use of tablets in many instances other than just meetings and lectures.
If I were were working out in the field (Inspections in a mine/factory, doing inventory, surveying, research in the forest), I would love to have a tablet rather than a notebook that I would have to set down on something.
I agree with most people here that it would be more beneficial to non-geeks because we are always at our computers anyways. Unless of course, you wanted to write code while you were using the washroom but I'm not that diehard.
my 2 cents
Slashdot Mirror
ok.. this was over 6 years ago Mr/Mrs. Anon and a team of us were over there as part of a data migration project for Carrefour. We did most of the work here in Canada and went over there ro run the scripts and help the team. I was working full time at a consulting firm at the time so I apologize for using the word contract but we used that lingo in the office even though we weren't independents.
Et finalement, je suis franco-ontarien. Mon grammaire fait dure (so please bear with me). J'ai rien contre la France (I'll leave that to our friendly neighbours to the south).
I was merely answering the original question which was "What was the worst conditions you've worked in"
Sorry for being honest!
Darcy
Worst working environment eh?
How does working in France for 3 weeks in the summer sound? Oh, did I forget to mention that it was 32c outside and there was no AC? Oh, did I mention that the guy who sat across from me (no cubicles) was about 280lbs and did not believe in deoderant? Or that he smoked cigarettes and cigars all day long? Going home with a headache everyday was fun... Pretty hard to code in those conditions I must say!
L8r
Darcy
I agree with this notion entirely... I took 4 months off work last year. I gave my last client 4 months notice before I left and they begged me to stay on for another month when it was time for me to leave. I said sure but I would only work 2 days a week.
During those 4 months I took off, I left chilly Ottawa in December and visited some friends in California for about 3 weeks and spent some time re-evaluating what I wanted out of life. I've been through work burnout a couple of times and I promised myself that I wouldn't let it happen again after I had a relationship fail as a result of it.
As for working for free, I don't agree with it. You are paid for a 37.5 hour workweek or whatever you sign for when you get hired. Any extra time you do should be rewarded somehow (and not with the promise of keeping your job either) because that is time taken away from your personal life.
I have some friends at Accenture who are fed the whole "Up or Out" crap speech at their town hall meetings. After putting in 60+ hour work weeks, for months, they were given a speech on how things have been going well but they really needed people to sacrifice their time at home to make the project succeed.
My friend then told me that several of her teammates were in tears because their family life was already suffering enough and then they were told that they need to sacrifice more (without pay of course). My friend is almost done the project she is working on there and then she is leaving because she doesn't believe in their attitude that family is last on the priority list.
Some people have noted though that it is your choice to work the 60+ hour work weeks. And someone mentioned that working for a workaholic who doesn't have kids or good friends is tough as well because they expect you to do the same. I agree, I've been there and you are made to feel guilty if you leave at 4:00pm even though you showed up before everyone else (7:00am) I used to get comments about "banker's hours" but I told them that I was at work while they were crawling out of bed.
Hopefully the article will turn on a couple of lightbulbs in peoples heads and make the world a better place because they will spend some more time with the people they love (and who love and need them in return).
Have a good weekend folks.
Hyperhyper
>LOL. That's funny. How do you explain the push for $500 levies on hard drives? Yea, keep burning mp3's, you won't be able afford the media or HD's.
;)
Well then we'll have to make a deal.. the US will create a black market (I can see it now... a pickup truck with a load of hard drives going down back roads making seemingly random drop offs in the bushes and picking up blue bags of money) for us Canadians for storage media and we'll supply the music. Deal?
>>i thought extoic sports cars are for people with penis envy.
No No.. you got it all wrong... the Mazda Miata is for the 40 year old guy who is going through a mid life crisis. The useless SUV (BMW, Acura, Mercedes, etc..) is for the guy who is insecure and wants to feel like a "Big Man"...
>>i thought extoic sports cars are for people with penis envy. No No.. you got it all wrong... the Mazda Miata's is for the 40 year old guy who is going through a mid life crisis. The SUV is for the guy who is insecure and wants to feel like a "Big Man"...
Yeah, I enjoyed the first 1/2 of TR 1 as well... You had to know they would throw in a jumping puzzle though. That's when I heard the groaning in the audience. I almost half expected to see the words "2 lives left" in the upper right hand corner of the film screen... :)
Correct me if I'm wrong but it seems to me (I'm not an auto-industry buff by any means) that all the efficiency improvements have been coming out of Japan for the past 4-5 years or so.
The American companies are not known for their innovation. They are known for their inexpensive low-end vehicles and their SUVs. From what I can see, they are merely hopping onto the bandwagon so they can appear to be environmentally conscious and pick up the customers who will "Only Buy North American" (cue the music...etc..)
If someone can point me to some links that show that Chrysler, Ford or GM have come up with some groundbreaking fuel efficient technology in the past decade and that it HAS been impletmented into the auto-industry, I would like to read them.
On a side note, I'm not sure if many people realize this but some mini-vans are less fuel efficent than SUVs. I don't mind that so much because mini-vans actually serve a purpose - unlike the Acura/BMW/Lexus SUVs that will never ever see a dirt road and are only bought by people who feel that it is prestigious to own one.
I see my friends who have 3 and 4 kid families struggle with a sedan
I fully agree with you on this Pioneer. I stopped watching TV at the age of 17 because my father flicked the channel too much and I started experiencing a LOT more in life.
Those 20-30 hours that the average person watches TV are hours you are not exercising, reading, visiting family/friends, volunteering or participating in a community event. I understand that TV is good as an escape for a 1/2 hour after work sometimes but it should not be used as a crutch to avoid life (like alcohol, drugs, the internet or anything that you can lose yourself in)
As for the Bhutan thing, think of it this way. Speaking as a Canadian, content on TV has changed quite a bit since it was first introduced. We have had time to adjust to the fact that the word bitch is acceptable on TV among other things as grisly death scenes and casual use of drugs.
The TV we watch reflects our current state of society and we are used to seeing it. Now you shove this "advanced" TV we watch onto a nation that has not had time to adapt to our way of living and you can imagine their is going to be a culture shock of some type.
After reading a lot of posts here, I have to agree with the people who say that TV definitely has an impact on our society but only to a certain point. Personal responsibility also has to play into that but that is something people seem to have a problem with lately.
If you don't agree with this, consider this situation.
You are a teenager watching a show which has several people vying to be the last person standing at the end of a game. To win, you have to befriend people, manipulate them, lie to them and then backstab them. In the end, the winner who is able to dupe everyone else receives a large cash amount. Sounds entertaining right? I'm sure most people can figure out that I'm talking about Survivor..
Okay now if you teach young people that this is the way you win and get ahead in life, what do you think they will do in their lives or if they are presented with a situation like that?
These people are also taught what happens to the nice people. Sure they place 3rd and 4th but that's not 1st place right? And in our society, Winning is everything right? I mean that's what important in our culture.
I know people will say "We are responsible people and we know the difference... It's just entertainment.". I know that you do, but do you think your subconscious has not seen that example as well as hundreds of others that we are exposed to every year? It begins to ingrain itself into your psyche.
Children and teenagers are even more impressionable than adults are (well most of them) and this is what we are teaching them.
>Just make sure that you don't give them so much >information that they feel they no longer need >your services, as that could also be a dangerous >move. You know, as a consultant, I try and try to fight this stereotype in the industry every day. I was taught early in my career that my job as a consultant was to work my way out of a job. I was hired because I was an expert in a certain area that the company was lacking in. I do the job, train others how to do it and move on. Done and done. If you want long term stability and want to horde information become a full time employee. What irks me is that while I do this, I see other "consultants" come in at 10:00am, leave at 3:00pm and while they collect their $900 for the day, they surf the web, train themselves on Java and managed their portfolio. Now wonder consultants get lumped in with the leeches of society. I know not everyone can get a good 'boss' to report to but the ones I've had have been great. By working myself out of a job, they recognize that I am a leader and can get the job done. Once I complete the task, they give the maintenance to people who enjoy that style of work. This of course frees me up to take on the new and exciting stuff. I realize that there is work that is boring and monotonous that can turn into long term stability for a consultant but to withhold useful information from a client is only betraying your work ethic. I'm sorry but I was brought up to do the best job I can and that's what allows me to rise to the top of the pack because I am honest and forthcoming with informtion. If they don't use it, then it's not my problem but I know that I did what I could. As a result, I've been getting calls for job opportunities at least 1x every 2 weeks for the past 2 years. Can most of the consultants who horde their information claim that? Sorry about this rant but it's been building for a while... I'm not lashing out at you in particular Tom but just the overall philosophy of hoarding information that you really should be offering. It merely shows that people are insecure about their skills and they wish to hold onto what they have instead of developing themselves into something better. Sure, you can use the argument that there is political gain by not putting everything out on the table but that's your spin. Deep down inside, you know the truth.. it all boils down to greed... My $3.25 Darcy
I have to agree with madfgurtbn on this. People are stuck in the car world and cannot see what is happening to the environment as a result. I'm not going to go into detail as we've all heard it before but I do want to say something else. I'm amazed at the fact that so many people post their self-centered scathing comments and ask why would anyone choose to use this instead of walking? Have you taken a look at us North Americans lately? You can tell that most of us don't walk as often as we should (rampant obesity problems) and people tend to forget that there are a lot of people who don't have fully functional bodies whether is be old age, sport injuries or disabilities that have impaired people's walking ability. I'm quite thankful that I have full mobility as I love sports and pushing my body to it's limit. But I always pause and think about things when I see someone young in a wheelchair and wonder what kind of issues would I find by being in a similar situation. I'm just amazed that people who can be so smart and intelligent replies can forget that there are 6 billion other people on this planet and everyone has different priorities. If the product isn't for you, there is no need to lambast it. You can merely say "It's not for me" or "It's too expensive right now" and appreciate the fact that this product can/will enhance someone else's quality of life. My 2 cents,
I can see the use of tablets in many instances other than just meetings and lectures. If I were were working out in the field (Inspections in a mine/factory, doing inventory, surveying, research in the forest), I would love to have a tablet rather than a notebook that I would have to set down on something. I agree with most people here that it would be more beneficial to non-geeks because we are always at our computers anyways. Unless of course, you wanted to write code while you were using the washroom but I'm not that diehard. my 2 cents
Eid Eid is correct. He used to head up Corel Computers here in Ottawa before it went bust.