Life & Times at the American Office (L&TAO)

mkopec

mkopec

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There are cliques in every office just like in any other social situation. You dont want to be the outcast, and at the same time you dont want to be the one that garners the most attention to yourself either. I try to ride the fine line between being social and being inconspicuous, especially to the management. As far as management is concerned, the less they see you and know you the better. At least thats what my feelings on it are. But obviously this all hinges on what the manager is like too. But right now all my manager knows about me is that I get shit done, anything that is asked for, usually the most demanding shit. And usually this is expressed by him in my annual reviews. So its working. Even though I spend most of my days right now surfing the web. But when shit hits the fan I go above and beyond to get the job done. Even if it takes me working from home or some OT (Im salary so I dont get OT)

But his is also dependent on your skills too. Im very good at what I do as I have been doing it for the better part of 23 yrs now. There are many that are not as good, so they have to be cleaver to cover up their inadequacies by the use of social skills and other means.
 
L

Lenaldo

Golden Knight of the Realm
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mkopec_sl said:
There are cliques in every office just like in any other social situation. You dont want to be the outcast, and at the same time you dont want to be the one that garners the most attention to yourself either. I try to ride the fine line between being social and being inconspicuous, especially to the management. As far as management is concerned, the less they see you and know you the better. At least thats what my feelings on it are. But obviously this all hinges on what the manager is like too. But right now all my manager knows about me is that I get shit done, anything that is asked for, usually the most demanding shit. And usually this is expressed by him in my annual reviews. So its working. Even though I spend most of my days right now surfing the web. But when shit hits the fan I go above and beyond to get the job done. Even if it takes me working from home or some OT (Im salary so I dont get OT)

But his is also dependent on your skills too. Im very good at what I do as I have been doing it for the better part of 23 yrs now. There are many that are not as good, so they have to be cleaver to cover up their inadequacies by the use of social skills and other means.
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God you pretty much just described me in my job. I feel like i do almost nother 75% of the time...but when shit hits the fan im "the" guy and put in 200%. Manager told me at my year end this year that im veiwed as the best engineer at the site. Blows my mind because i've had way more responsibility in past jobs and got no where near the recognition. I'm not even sure most people know my name... but yet they know where i sit!

I go to just enough company gatherings/happy hours/ etc to stay relevant, but not fully buy into the "clique". Seems to have worked for me so far.
 
Frenzied Wombat

Frenzied Wombat

Potato del Grande
14,730
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McCheese_sl said:
The office is for work. I have no desire to socialize with anyone I work with in-or-out of the office. I don't attend our corporate parties, happy hours, and other bullshit events. When people talk to me during work hours I cut it as short as possible unless it is related to work.

I already have friends. I don't need "friends" at work, too. I want to show up, get my shit done, collect my pay check, and go home and forget about everything and everyone at the office.
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Though I can totally sympathize as I hate work related social events, unless you're in some dead-end position or have no desire to be promoted, blanket avoiding social interaction at work and functions altogether is going to hurt your promotion chances, hard. You don't need to play politiks and brown nose, but showing that you care about the company in some capacity beyond a paycheck will significantly help when it comes to pay/bonuses/promotion. I'd to think that all that should matter is work quality, but ultimately people unconsciously favor those that they like. So you might have better work quality than "John", but John attended the Christmas party and created great rappor with the CFO, shooting the shit over their crummy marriages while sipping on some scotch. John just got that raise/promotion you should have gotten. Sad but it's just the way things work..
 
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nate_sl

shitlord
204
1
To all these people here who are so amazing at their job - did you ever stop to think that if you're always the smartest guy in the room, that you're likely in the wrong room?

Personally I have a feeling that most of the people in this thread aren't quite as valuable as they think, or are such socially inadequate neck beards that they would never be considered for a managerial position anyways.
 
McCheese

McCheese

SW: Sean, CW: Crone, GW: Wizardhawk
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Frenzied Wombat_sl said:
Though I can totally sympathize as I hate work related social events, unless you're in some dead-end position or have no desire to be promoted, blanket avoiding social interaction at work and functions altogether is going to hurt your promotion chances, hard. You don't need to play politiks and brown nose, but showing that you care about the company in some capacity beyond a paycheck will significantly help when it comes to pay/bonuses/promotion. I'd to think that all that should matter is work quality, but ultimately people unconsciously favor those that they like. So you might have better work quality than "John", but John attended the Christmas party and created great rappor with the CFO, shooting the shit over their crummy marriages while sipping on some scotch. John just got that raise/promotion you should have gotten. Sad but it's just the way things work..
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I absolutely agree with everything you said. In my full-time, 9-5 office job I have no desire to be promoted and, in fact, I actively work against being promoted by purposely providing subpar work occasionally and trying to stay under the radar.

I have a 2nd job where I socialize with my colleagues, attend extra events, etc. I do this for the exact reason you mention: I have a desire to be promoted (well, taken on full-time as opposed to part-time).
 
Mures

Mures

Blackwing Lair Raider
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Frenzied Wombat_sl said:
Though I can totally sympathize as I hate work related social events, unless you're in some dead-end position or have no desire to be promoted, blanket avoiding social interaction at work and functions altogether is going to hurt your promotion chances, hard. You don't need to play politiks and brown nose, but showing that you care about the company in some capacity beyond a paycheck will significantly help when it comes to pay/bonuses/promotion. I'd to think that all that should matter is work quality, but ultimately people unconsciously favor those that they like. So you might have better work quality than "John", but John attended the Christmas party and created great rappor with the CFO, shooting the shit over their crummy marriages while sipping on some scotch. John just got that raise/promotion you should have gotten. Sad but it's just the way things work..
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Couldn't have said it any better.
 
A

azeth

6,216
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I forgot i created this thread.

Here's a look at my employer's hierarchy and why it rustles my jimmies lately:

6sNvkl8.png
 
ShakyJake

ShakyJake

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I don't go to any company events because 1. I have nothing in common with these people besides work (and I don't want to talk about work outside of work), 2. Often it's just an excuse for them to get smashed. Bunch of hedonists. Fuck 'em.
 
McCheese

McCheese

SW: Sean, CW: Crone, GW: Wizardhawk
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Azeth_sl said:
I forgot i created this thread.

Here's a look at my employer's hierarchy and why it rustles my jimmies lately:

6sNvkl8.png
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I feel your pain. I'm the only male in my 5-person department at work, and my immediate boss is also a woman. Fortunately, her boss is a guy, and all of the other higher-ups are men as well.
 
Alex

Alex

Still a Music Elitist
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ShakyJake_sl said:
I don't go to any company events because 1. I have nothing in common with these people besides work (and I don't want to talk about work outside of work), 2. Often it's just an excuse for them to get smashed. Bunch of hedonists. Fuck 'em.
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I hope you like working in the exact same position you are in now 15 years from now.
 
ShakyJake

ShakyJake

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Alex_sl said:
I hope you like working in the exact same position you are in now 15 years from now.
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Nope. Been consistently moving up because I have common sense and know what the fuck I'm doing. Promotions aren't dependent on how often I get drunk at their little parties. (actually the new CEO just recently cut that shit out. No more booze).
 
Swagdaddy

Swagdaddy

There is a war going on over control of your mind
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You guys are super lame, it's obvious when someone is working on something important with that ugh face and it's not the appropriate time to go "hit them up" as it were.

In between (aka a majority of the time in my office) finding ways to make it tolerable with fun is a great pursuit in my opinion.

I'm sure Azeth knows when it's time to be professional and authoritative and when there's some dead space to have fun.

We do a lot of sports pools and mess around with each other pretty often where I work, then again I do work in a male only department so maybe that helps contribute to the more laid back atmosphere.
 
A

azeth

6,216
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woke up today with a to do list about 5-6 line items deep...

around 1130 a client i built an elearning module for swings by my office and gives me 2 tickets to the sox game tonight!

Field box 30 row D seats 1 & 2.

rrr_img_67193.jpg
 
A

azeth

6,216
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It's award season. Will find out Monday if I've been nominated for our firm's "Outstanding Employee Award"

Little birdies have indicated i have been. Monetarily this award means $5000. So really I'm just excited about being honored by my peers.
 
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