Here, drive this car, but we're not giving you an engine

My workplace is fairly small, headcount-wise. As one of the three individuals identified as being in a "supervisory" or "adminstrative" role, I frequently will have to deal with manager-level issues (especially when the boss is at a meeting or traveling.) I don't have a whole lot of experience doing this. Matter of fact, I didn't have any to speak of at all.

But, it's a great opportunity and a terrific company to work for, so I do the best I can. I make judgement calls when I need to, and do my best to keep an eye on the big picture. I also try to remember that I'm only filling in, I'm not in charge of the place.

A fact that the boss never misses an opportunity to remind me of.

Every judgement call and situation that I've tried to handle recently has been undercut, second-guessed, and/or neutered by the Boss after the trip is over. I tried to address a specific problem created by Mr. Annoying last week by employing some training that the company had paid for. I did the best I could under the circumstances, and walked out of The Talk with Mr. Annoying feeling like we were at least on the path towards improving the situation.

At least that's what he told me.

Turns out that he went and whined to the Boss about how bad I made him feel and how he was afraid of losing his job. Nevermind that I made it very clear multiple times that his job was not in jeopardy, and if it were we would be having a different conversation. Just like everything else, he heard but didn't listen to what I was saying. Several times in the conversation I would say something, and ask him to tell me in his own words what I meant. Needless to say, he had about 25% accuracy in even repeating exactly what I had said with no translation.

The Boss made all kinds of excuses for his behavior, and that the solution to the previous problems with him were to "let it go". If he wanted to hoard cards, that was fine. If he wanted to waste time in a meeting, that was fine. If he wanted to completely ignore what I asked him to do, to the point of me needing to repeat myself several times a day, I was told that that was what we would do.

So that puts me in the unenviable position of having responsibility without authority. I'm not asking for hire/fire rights or input on long-term decisions; I'm just asking that I not be thrown under the bus on a regular basis. I don't see how this is so unreasonable.

Today was a new low. In trying to be helpful and follow The Boss's previous instructions, I tried to share some information from my experience regarding a technical matter. The Boss didn't think that was appropriate in that particular context, and in hindsight, that was probably correct. Did The Boss take me aside and give me feedback? Nope. Reply to the email saying "that's not relevant to what I'm requesting, let's stay focused?" Nope. The Boss decided it'd be more effective to shout at me from halfway across the room, saying how my input wasn't wanted there. Did I mention all the users were within earshot?

In my shock and surprise, I got into a somewhat heated debate about the need for what The Boss was requesting in the first place, which was something that was not appropriate to discuss in that setting. Finally, I realized things were not constructive at that point, so I just said "OK", meaning I wasn't going to argue anymore, and we could move on. The Boss didn't let me. The Boss insisted on arguing with me after that.

So I let it go until lunchtime, at which point I approached The Boss to try to resolve the conflict. I indicated what I thought the problem was, admitted that I was wrong in what I did, and expressed a desire to resolve things. The Boss's reaction was to send me home.

Sent me home. After yelling at me in front of my co-workers. Because I had the nerve to try to defend myself.

I haven't lost my job, a point which The Boss emphasized (to the point of asking me to please come back the following morning.) However, The Boss's Boss is getting involved.

I should have just gone to The Boss's Boss in the first place.

Anyone else have a boss like this? Who's stated that they "don't believe in apologies in the workplace?" Who never hesitates to make you look like an idiot in front of your co-workers, but goes postal when you question something (even if it's your job to do so?)

I know the answer to that question, actually. There's lots of them. I just didn't think I'd find any of them where I am.

Mr. Annoying is at it again

Everyone's favorite annoying bastard is at it again. This time, he's added a "selfish" aspect to his completely irritating behavior.

So we have a process at work that utilizes colored index cards as a visual cue as to what stage of production something is in. (Pesty, that NDA.) Some of these cards get destroyed in the process; they are replaced when they fall short. Occasionally, one of our workers will run out and have to get help from a lead. No big deal, the lead gets more cards, everyone goes on with their lives, only having been interrupted for a couple minutes.

Unless, of course, you're Mr. Annoying.

Mr. Annoying doesn't like to run out of cards. Mr. Annoying feels that a couple of minutes is too much of a delay for him. So what does he do?

He starts hoarding cards.

Remember that these are a shared resource. Everyone uses them. Everyone is subject to them running short. But Mr. Annoying has decided it's more important that he not run out of cards. So in effect, instead of him being inconvenienced for a couple minutes, it's better for several others to run out instead. Seriously, the guy had about 2 inches' worth of cards stashed on his desk.

When I saw this, I tried to explain to the pinhead that he shouldn't be removing them from the flow, and they should be returned when he's got extra. He didn't listen. He replied that "sometimes I run out". I tried to explain to him how that's not fair to the others in the group. He again replied that "sometimes I run out." I tried to reason with him, to no avail. Finally, I just said to him "Don't do that, asshole." (Well, what I said was "I would rather you didn't do that.") He still didn't understand how he'd done anything wrong.

This might seem to be a minor thing. But remember that this is a production environment, and it's important that things run as efficiently as possible, so the team can meet its goals. By taking this action (in order to avoid an interruption of a few minutes in his work), he's created a problem for multiple others on the team (and, predictably, multiplying the problem unnecessarily.)

This is a symptom of a larger problem with him. No matter how many times it's explained to him that there are several factors involved in evaluating his performance (not the least of which is the quality of his work), using the smallest words possible, the only thing he ever thinks about is his raw production. The numbers. There have been days where I've had to repeat this to him three times. He just doesn't get it, and doesn't want to get it. He's focused his rat-like mind (hit lever, get pellet) on that one measurement, and nothing in the world can get him to realize that there might be more to it.

This one is a little different. This is the first time something he's done has negatively impacted production. The rest of the time, he just pisses me off.

Time to start making notes....

Spy all you want, we'll make more

I was catching up on my Slashdot today (having just spent 11 of the last 48 hours on a plane) and came accross this article from the Washington Post. In a nutshell, only 24% of Americans polled "strongly objected" to the NSA's newest round of Stupid Privacy Invasion Tricks, while 63% said everything was hunky-dory.

WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE.

Don't you realize that each chunk of privacy that you give up is another battle that the terrorists have won? That the companies that provide services to you are run by the most short-sighted greedy opportunistic bastards in the history of mankind?

Sure, "If you haven't done anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about". BULLSHIT. If I call my Aunt Louise to wish her a happy birthday, how the fuck is that the government's business? If I call up a local liberal charity to donate some money, is that the government's business? If I happen to call someone who knows someone who knows someone that's on a hotlist of "suspected terrorist sympathizers" (whatever the fuck that means this week), does that make me a security risk in need of further investigation?

Even if you can look past the massive Constitutional issues at stake here, not to mention the betrayal of companies that we count on to be able to function in society (phones make modern life possible), there's the ENORMOUS potential for abuse! Hypothetically, data mining could be used to determine who is likely to vote for a Democratic candidate in the next presidential election (through their associations) and they could be targeted for further investigation (read: harassment) on the pretext that they're suspected of "terrorist" activities. After all, to a lot of people, if you're a Democrat (or, $deity forbid, a Liberal), you may as well throw the bombs yourself.

It's another step in a long line of the COMPLETELY insulting and offensive tactic of using the tragic events of September 11th 2001 to justify creating a police state, where your every move, communication, transaction, or association are monitored to ensure that you're not a "terrist". What happened to "innocent until proven guilty?" Or "freedom from unreasonable search and seizure?" I'd call the arbitrary recording and/or monitoring of individuals who are not even SUSPECTED of any crime a pretty blatant violation of the Bill of Rights.

Oh, wait, that's obsolete. Silly me. Am I bending over far enough for you, Mr. GOP man?

It's things like this that make me embarrassed to be an American.

Oh Noes! No death penalty! Kill the jury!

I'm giving it about 3 hours before some right wingnut goes on a frothing-at-the-mouth kill-the-ragheads rant about how a federal jury sentenced Zacarias Moussaoui to life in prison without parole instead of the death penalty. I would not be shocked in the least to hear some knuckle-dragger demand the arrest of the jury as enemy combatants and tried for treason.

Listen up, assholes.

This is the system we have. This man was sentenced by a jury of his peers. Based on the evidence presented to them, they decided that this was the right decision. That's how it works.

If you don't like it, why don't you go live somewhere where you don't have the right to trial by jury. Say, Iran. Or Saudi Arabia. I'm sure you'll fit right in there, with your Bud Light and your NASCAR.

The right to a trial by jury is a building block of the American society. If you don't like it, then you must hate America. (I've always wanted to throw that line back in the face of some asshole neocon.)

Killing this man (who is, arguably, mentally ill) would make us no better than the "terrists" who you claim to hate so much. The only difference is that we don't televise the executions. (Yet. "Mr. President, Fox on line 1.") Not to mention we'd be creating yet ANOTHER martyr for Al Quaida to use as a recruiting tool.

Enough people have died already. 3000 of our citizens died that day. Killing this one person will not bring them back. Matter of fact, nothing will bring them back, not turning the Middle East into a glass parking lot, not deporting all the Mexicans, not shooting all the Muslims. None of it will help.

Then again, you're not about the help. It's much easier to hate.