Being in the working world, I find that corporate society frowns on pleasure time. Companies give workers earned vacation time but yet, when the rank and file workers want to take the time off, there are road blocks imposed. In addition, many executives/managers want their workers to work overtime without pay or comp time.
I can theorize that it is based on our "Puritan Work Ethic". One of the rules with the Puritans was besides on looking down on enjoying sex was the looking down on enjoying life. Their premise was life was suppose to be miserable. This Puritan attitude permeates American Society to this day. In any job, if all the work is done, it is frowned upon to do something that you enjoy but instead, some useless, busy work is assigned even though it accomplishes nothing. Many people in Gen-X & Gen-Y piss off executives since they don't buy that bullshit and are vocal about it.
There are a couple of instances that I am familiar with. There was a kid who had problems with a given teacher. He saw the teacher someplace outside in public during non-school hours. The kid basically had some "words" with the teacher - called him an a-hole or told him to f*** off but nothing threatening. The kid got a three day suspension.
Another instance, the college I went to, a year after I graduated implemented a "reciprocal agreement" with local law enforcement. If a student got in trouble such as MIP, DUI or even speeding, the student would have to appear before Student Affairs to "explain themselves".
What's next? Kid cuts in front of their english teacher in the grocery store line and that teacher gets them expelled for it?
One of the reasons why the USA is hated not only by others of the World especially in the Islamic countries but also the Liberal/Left Wing faction is because the ordinary, common person has a lot of leeway to make decisions about their life without elitist interference. In most other countries, the common person has to basically bow down to the elite.
In Europe, there are still some old social rules that you cannot patronize certain restaurants if a member of the lower class even if you can afford to go there. In other words, the common person is told, "you better know your place!" In the Middle East, the imans or Islamic Religious rulers dictate how you live your life even to the type of clothes you wear such as jeans not being acceptable.
In this country, it is the liberals that have disdain towards common people. On the surface, they say they care so much for the common person but yet, look at people like John F. Kerry and similar people. They send their kids to elite private schools. Live in gated communities. Control neighborhood HOA's where pickup trucks are not allowed or must be parked inside a garage. Many corporate executives are liberals and the same type of disdain is shown towards rank and file workers. A person I know had a manager that was a proud Liberal Democrat and he was a jerk when it came to taking vacation. This person was told that vacation was a company benefit but it was considered a privilege to use it when and how. That manager also mentioned that the company gives him leeway to regulate the vacation benefit to where it can be used to reward his favored people such as getting time off around holidays such as 4th of July and Christmas where as the ones that were not favored can take vacation only during time periods other than Summer or Christmas.
Looking at the beginning of the article, it mentions how management bemoans there are very little technology workers. I do agree with beefing up salaries. Here are some other items that would make it better.
Get rid of the business casual/formal dress code since most IT workers work internally and don't interface with customers like salesman. Salesman get rewarded well and can afford the expensive clothing. If IT workers are expected to dress in expensive clothing, pay them the same money as sales since they support their success.
Don't require IT workers to attend many useless meetings such as when the CEO gives himself a pat on the back and to show how wonderful he is. In my company, I hate worse are the late Friday afternoon "all hands" meetings.
Don't require them to do mundane task such as inventory, accounting. Even though I am a Unix Sys Admin, I get bogged down doing crap like inventory and budgets.
Budget some money for workers to go to conventions such as two per year. It is an expense the company can spend especially when they bring knowledge back and use it for the benefit of the company and themselves.
Flex time is a wonderful thing - cost nothing and great for morale. If I come in several hours early or work several hours late - outside the typical 8am to 5pm business day, I can get quite a few things accomplished without interuptions and phone calls.
Generous vacation time, not only for IT but for everyone. Do it without restrictions such as not allow for time to be used during Summer or around holidays.
The most important item, respect is the key. Treat the employees well and don't play favortism games.
Treating your IT workes decently goes a long ways !
When looking for a job, I am interested in these points
Company name
Location
Salary Range
Job description
Corporate Culture
Dress Code - casual, business casual, business formal, casual Friday
Flex time - how much can you play with such as getting in early, leave early, early Friday or compressed workweek, core hours such as 10am to 2pm
Casual overtime required or not and if so, how often and when such as nights, weekends
Work/Life balance
Vacation time - how much you start with, how many years of service before getting more time, is it easy to take vacation or does it take an Act of Congress, does it carry over from year to year
Business trips - during the week only or includes weekends. If it includes weekends, are you paid. Are you expected to dress during the trip aka. IBM in its day
Social -
people go to lunch together or eat at desk, socialize outside such as ballgames or do their own thing outside work hours
Unwritten rules such as not parking your junk vehicle by the front door or drive a nicer vehicle than the boss, recreational activities exepcted to participate in outside or refrain from
Perks - gym membership, employee discounts, meals served in-house like Google
What I am asking for is some good details. It would determine if I would fit in, therefore apply or not waste my time and look elsewhere. In my 15 years of experience, I worked in good places and some awful places. I would like to be able to screen out the bullshit.
Re:Experience with meetings - waste of f***en time
on
Meetings are Bad For You
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
Also in that group, it seems like they liked to have late Friday afternoon meetings which I of course, ignored, unfortunately to my detriment.
I worked in a group - developing marketing software for MCI back in the mid-1990's. Our manager decided to order 4 pm meetings everyday especially on Friday. These meetings lasted until 6 or 7 every night. He of course did not show up, his staff people ran the meetings. After attending a few of those meetings, I came to the conclusion they were a waste of time. I quit going to them.
In another place I worked at, we have flex time and I took Friday afternoons off every week. I usually leave by 11 am. One time, an e-mail went out on Thursday afternoon and it mentioned that one of the corporate executives was going to visit. The meeting was scheduled for 3 pm on Friday. On top of that, we have casual Friday. We were told to "dress to impress". I blew off the meeting since I had other plans. The following week, I was called in to my manager's office and read the "riot act" for ignoring the meeting. He mentioned that we must show utmost respect to our executives and attending this meeting was important to this executive. Quite a few people were not at this meeting. It was a waste of time as mentioned by those who attended. It was basically the executive telling about all the good things he was doing for the rank and file workers.
I find articles of interest on different newspaper sites. One of the biggest pains is having to register before being allowed to look at content. I don't care what their marketing departments wants. I usually put in dummy information just to screw up their database. I know the newpaper executives have the puritan attitude of "you are not going to get what you want unless you work for it!". Usually the executives and the marketing department are in bed with each other and work closely.
When marketing gets a hold of something, they royally screw things up.
I am sure Rep. Francis James Sensenbrenner will include in the pro-RIAA/MPAA legislation that he just introduced that will make it illegal to block ads such as pop-up's and pop-after's.
I have to comment on Google's ads. They were simple to look at, no annoying flash or pop up's. I even bought an item through a Google ad. I like the soon to be no longer simple, barebones ads.
I see the major sponsor is once again, Rep. Francis James Sensenbrenner, Jr. What is with people in Wisconsin that vote for this authoritarian leaning man ?
He is also pushing legislation again, the third time to force states to sign this Driver License Agreement through HR4437 which requires states to interlink motor vehicle databases not only within the US but with Canada & Mexico.
This arrogant man needs to be fired from his job !
When this "chip" is mandated in all computers, the question ariese is:
1. Would computers without the "chip" be outlawed. I would not be too inclined to give up my older equipment.
2. Would the "authorities" try to outlaw open source software since mote people who write/use it are of Libertarian frame of mind ?
On open source s/w, France is already talking of outlawing the use of it and as much the French authroities lack of common sense, the question, would other coutries decide to follow France's lead or do the appropriate thing and ignore them.
I can see Congress passing a law to where you must present ID that conforms to the coming Real ID Act of 2005 before connecting to the Internet at a public conveyance. No more anonymous connections here in the USA such as going into libraries or places that offer free Internet.
When I took Defensive Driving School in Indiana back in 1987. the instructor mentioned in a passing maneuver on a road something like a two lane highway, you are never allowed to exceed the speed limit. Illogical and he even mentioned it but he mentioned that it was the law.
I have ran into similar PHB's as well. The Executives and Management see us as necessary eivil and treat us as such. What they don't know is without us, they won't make as much money but yet, we are treated as red haired step children and forced to comply with mundane rules such as dress codes and the lack of flex time, that is, "we expect you to be here during regular business hours which is 8am to 5pm".
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Being in the working world, I find that corporate society frowns on pleasure time. Companies give workers earned vacation time but yet, when the rank and file workers want to take the time off, there are road blocks imposed. In addition, many executives/managers want their workers to work overtime without pay or comp time.
I can theorize that it is based on our "Puritan Work Ethic". One of the rules with the Puritans was besides on looking down on enjoying sex was the looking down on enjoying life. Their premise was life was suppose to be miserable. This Puritan attitude permeates American Society to this day. In any job, if all the work is done, it is frowned upon to do something that you enjoy but instead, some useless, busy work is assigned even though it accomplishes nothing. Many people in Gen-X & Gen-Y piss off executives since they don't buy that bullshit and are vocal about it.
Just my opinion/viewpoint.
There are a couple of instances that I am familiar with. There was a kid who had problems with a given teacher. He saw the teacher someplace outside in public during non-school hours. The kid basically had some "words" with the teacher - called him an a-hole or told him to f*** off but nothing threatening. The kid got a three day suspension.
Another instance, the college I went to, a year after I graduated implemented a "reciprocal agreement" with local law enforcement. If a student got in trouble such as MIP, DUI or even speeding, the student would have to appear before Student Affairs to "explain themselves".
What's next? Kid cuts in front of their english teacher in the grocery store line and that teacher gets them expelled for it?
One of the reasons why the USA is hated not only by others of the World especially in the Islamic countries but also the Liberal/Left Wing faction is because the ordinary, common person has a lot of leeway to make decisions about their life without elitist interference. In most other countries, the common person has to basically bow down to the elite.
In Europe, there are still some old social rules that you cannot patronize certain restaurants if a member of the lower class even if you can afford to go there. In other words, the common person is told, "you better know your place!" In the Middle East, the imans or Islamic Religious rulers dictate how you live your life even to the type of clothes you wear such as jeans not being acceptable.
In this country, it is the liberals that have disdain towards common people. On the surface, they say they care so much for the common person but yet, look at people like John F. Kerry and similar people. They send their kids to elite private schools. Live in gated communities. Control neighborhood HOA's where pickup trucks are not allowed or must be parked inside a garage. Many corporate executives are liberals and the same type of disdain is shown towards rank and file workers. A person I know had a manager that was a proud Liberal Democrat and he was a jerk when it came to taking vacation. This person was told that vacation was a company benefit but it was considered a privilege to use it when and how. That manager also mentioned that the company gives him leeway to regulate the vacation benefit to where it can be used to reward his favored people such as getting time off around holidays such as 4th of July and Christmas where as the ones that were not favored can take vacation only during time periods other than Summer or Christmas.
- Get rid of the business casual/formal dress code since most IT workers work internally and don't interface with customers like salesman. Salesman get rewarded well and can afford the expensive clothing. If IT workers are expected to dress in expensive clothing, pay them the same money as sales since they support their success.
- Don't require IT workers to attend many useless meetings such as when the CEO gives himself a pat on the back and to show how wonderful he is. In my company, I hate worse are the late Friday afternoon "all hands" meetings.
- Don't require them to do mundane task such as inventory, accounting. Even though I am a Unix Sys Admin, I get bogged down doing crap like inventory and budgets.
- Budget some money for workers to go to conventions such as two per year. It is an expense the company can spend especially when they bring knowledge back and use it for the benefit of the company and themselves.
- Flex time is a wonderful thing - cost nothing and great for morale. If I come in several hours early or work several hours late - outside the typical 8am to 5pm business day, I can get quite a few things accomplished without interuptions and phone calls.
- Generous vacation time, not only for IT but for everyone. Do it without restrictions such as not allow for time to be used during Summer or around holidays.
- The most important item, respect is the key. Treat the employees well and don't play favortism games.
Treating your IT workes decently goes a long ways !What I am asking for is some good details. It would determine if I would fit in, therefore apply or not waste my time and look elsewhere. In my 15 years of experience, I worked in good places and some awful places. I would like to be able to screen out the bullshit.
Also in that group, it seems like they liked to have late Friday afternoon meetings which I of course, ignored, unfortunately to my detriment.
I worked in a group - developing marketing software for MCI back in the mid-1990's. Our manager decided to order 4 pm meetings everyday especially on Friday. These meetings lasted until 6 or 7 every night. He of course did not show up, his staff people ran the meetings. After attending a few of those meetings, I came to the conclusion they were a waste of time. I quit going to them.
In another place I worked at, we have flex time and I took Friday afternoons off every week. I usually leave by 11 am. One time, an e-mail went out on Thursday afternoon and it mentioned that one of the corporate executives was going to visit. The meeting was scheduled for 3 pm on Friday. On top of that, we have casual Friday. We were told to "dress to impress". I blew off the meeting since I had other plans. The following week, I was called in to my manager's office and read the "riot act" for ignoring the meeting. He mentioned that we must show utmost respect to our executives and attending this meeting was important to this executive. Quite a few people were not at this meeting. It was a waste of time as mentioned by those who attended. It was basically the executive telling about all the good things he was doing for the rank and file workers.
I find articles of interest on different newspaper sites. One of the biggest pains is having to register before being allowed to look at content. I don't care what their marketing departments wants. I usually put in dummy information just to screw up their database. I know the newpaper executives have the puritan attitude of "you are not going to get what you want unless you work for it!". Usually the executives and the marketing department are in bed with each other and work closely.
When marketing gets a hold of something, they royally screw things up.
I am sure Rep. Francis James Sensenbrenner will include in the pro-RIAA/MPAA legislation that he just introduced that will make it illegal to block ads such as pop-up's and pop-after's.
I have to comment on Google's ads. They were simple to look at, no annoying flash or pop up's. I even bought an item through a Google ad. I like the soon to be no longer simple, barebones ads.
I see the major sponsor is once again, Rep. Francis James Sensenbrenner, Jr. What is with people in Wisconsin that vote for this authoritarian leaning man ?
He is also pushing legislation again, the third time to force states to sign this Driver License Agreement through HR4437 which requires states to interlink motor vehicle databases not only within the US but with Canada & Mexico.
This arrogant man needs to be fired from his job !
When this "chip" is mandated in all computers, the question ariese is:
1. Would computers without the "chip" be outlawed. I would not be too inclined to give up my older equipment.
2. Would the "authorities" try to outlaw open source software since mote people who write/use it are of Libertarian frame of mind ?
On open source s/w, France is already talking of outlawing the use of it and as much the French authroities lack of common sense, the question, would other coutries decide to follow France's lead or do the appropriate thing and ignore them.
I can see Congress passing a law to where you must present ID that conforms to the coming Real ID Act of 2005 before connecting to the Internet at a public conveyance. No more anonymous connections here in the USA such as going into libraries or places that offer free Internet.
With former IU Basketball Coach Bobby Knight as their chair throwing coach.
The runner up get's to join Mr. Ballmer's [chair throwing] team.
When I took Defensive Driving School in Indiana back in 1987. the instructor mentioned in a passing maneuver on a road something like a two lane highway, you are never allowed to exceed the speed limit. Illogical and he even mentioned it but he mentioned that it was the law.
I have ran into similar PHB's as well. The Executives and Management see us as necessary eivil and treat us as such. What they don't know is without us, they won't make as much money but yet, we are treated as red haired step children and forced to comply with mundane rules such as dress codes and the lack of flex time, that is, "we expect you to be here during regular business hours which is 8am to 5pm".