Things you actively dislike about your workplace that have nothing to do with work

In reply to AClockworkGarage :

"One once mused that we should 'vote for more vacation days' "

You are giving too much credit to that ignorant, doofus jackass's intellect when you say he "mused"

Scotty Con Queso said:

In reply to Mr_Asa :

I'm by an airport so I smell a lot of Avgas. Really good for a 2pm pick me up. 

He said things to _dis_like.  

No car guys at work.  One guy I sometimes talk about general mechanical stuff with, but he's not really a "car guy".  I get along with everyone on a superficial level, but no one I'd invite over to dinner.  Oh well.  That's why it's called work, and not "super wonderful crazy fun time".  Right, Red?

In reply to volvoclearinghouse :

True, but having at least one coworker with common interests makes it less soul-crushing.

I like where I work, but I don't like driving 20 minutes to it. There are hospitals 4-5 minutes away up the street; I've never seen what they would offer me. Maybe after another 6 months of ICU work and skill I'll see, but currently my benefits and 401K are so nice for a newbie I'm not sure if I'll go any time soon.

But I DO have a work complaint to make:

You have no CNAs today on shift. Do not take admits. We have a choice in that, we're a private company, we told you not to.

Oh, you took patients? And they're all trainwrecks? And we told you not to, and you still did it, and now you're begging for people to come in? No, I think you're gonna lie in the bed you made. GET IN THERE MANAGEMENT.

I really like the company I work at but I haven't had anyone that I've really connected with since I started here (15 years). For about 10 years comic book movies came up at lunch on a regular basis. I couldn't give a rats ass who directed what,etc. It's been even worse since I became a manager. 

they fixed the issue at my work place.  now all the water fountains have a tall spigot to fill your water bottle.

Life has never been so good.

I say all of this unironically. 

Jerry said:

In reply to volvoclearinghouse :

True, but having at least one coworker with common interests makes it less soul-crushing.

I'll agree with your assessment and there's studies out there to support it benefits performance and longevity at a company. 

One company I worked for would have employees fill out an annual engagement survey, and actually make changes based off the results. 

One of the questions was "Do you have a best friend at work?", which seems like an odd question. Digging into it deeper, the real question they were trying to get at was whether you had someone to commiserate with and talk to about work issues/challenges/etc. Apparently the impact was significant enough that it was included in the survey, but unfortunately it's one area that is hard for the company to change, specimen there are small numbers of employees. 

Once worked a job where the worst thing about the job itself was that most of the work was really boring. Most of the issues had nothing to do with the work, like the low pay and the horrendous commute. It was probably just the combination of low pay and boredom that made me feel like I was wasting my life there rather than the boredom alone.

Previous one I worked, all the positives of the job had little to nothing to do with the work and the work was all the bad stuff - high-stress, ludicrous pace, rarely learning anything that would have any use outside of that company, boring work again but also often befuddling and repetitive. There were some bad non-work factors too like fierce competition for vacation time.

In the last month or so I've been working at my own business, the work itself isn't bad, rarely boring and could actually be described as fun at times if the weather isn't too miserable. Problems have been the highly seasonal work schedule (although from a vacation time standpoint it can be an upside) and the (possibly related) severe lack of customers so far.
 

Jerry said:

In reply to volvoclearinghouse :

True, but having at least one coworker with common interests makes it less soul-crushing.

I guess I'm lucky, then, my job isn't innately soul-crushing.  I also get to work 3-4 days a week from home, and my family is generally pretty awesome.  

For Christmas, my son (He's 7) gave me a wooden sign he had made.  It reads "It's work o'clock", and has a picture of an analog clock reading 9 o'clock.  The joke of the sign is that at 9 PM I go out to work in the garage, which is when the "real" work gets done, and I love it.  

Most coworkers are good people, but the garbage I overhear in their conversations is crazy. 
People spend way too much time online, being fed garbage info on everything from politics, tech, their health, news, etc. The brash confidence in all their opinions is nuts. They have no humility or curiousness to understand what's actually happening. It's just loud, selfish talking points.

The air conditioning blows right on the back of my neck.  And because it's a smallish room with a number of biggish computers in it, the air conditioning runs a lot.

I don't know where to begin, but the morale is pretty bad and getting worse all the time. People that used to love life are starting to ask me for tips to deal with depression. If I had tips I wouldn't be like this either. 

Our office is next door to a warming center, and when it gets anywhere near cold enough to open, the "clientele" start hanging around. We end up with vandalism, harassment, and poop in non-poop areas.

One of my most stereotypically millenial coworkers is, despite many dropped hints and a few candid conversations about the issue, as ripe as roadkill. Either he is somehow still unaware of his own pungent and powerful aroma or he's decided that hygiene is a conspiracy, and we're all under the thumb of big pharma. And he's an ex-theater kid who has no inside voice. Personable enough, but buddy, wash it up and keep it down.

Another coworker, a few years younger and a recent hire, is perfectly nice. But good lord, girl, an off-topic discussion on company time in an open office a) dictates the use of a quiet voice, and b) probably shouldn't extend twenty or thirty minutes. And this is me being grumpy, but seriously? Does every sentence? Like, require an upward inflection? If they're not questions?

At 4:45 every day, some scab rolls by with his subwoofers booming away, just constantly WHOOOM... WHOOOM... WHOOOM... BRRRRRRR DITDITDIT WHOOOM and I'll be dipped in shellac if he don't manage to catch the red light and sit there for about a hundred years ever damn time he comes by. He's about to get a scrench in the sidewall.

In the interest of caring for mother earth Gaia and all that mess, we have a waterless urinal. And the restroom exhaust fans shut off fifteen minutes before closing. So if I gotta drop the kids off at the pool before heading out, I'm sitting in my own shame as well as the acrid stench of an unflushable peepee bucket with an out-of-date mint in the drain.

Our paper towels are "earth friendly" and are made out of ghost farts. I've had daydreams that had more tensile strength than these holograms.

I work from home.  I love it.

But we have a lot of people in the office. They get free lunches on a regular basis.

I once got a doordash code to buy lunch, but that was a long time ago.

People in the office get free swag on a regular basis. 

I haven't had anything mailed to me since Christmas of 2022.

Thankfully, I have two kittens for office mates. That makes up for alot.

Loud Muzak.

Hell, let's change that to any Muzak.

I love traveling, but it is also a grind.

Hotels generally suck.

I can't find good decaf coffee unless there's a Dunkin or Wawa nearby. 

The AC system is out of balance in the office because they added a bunch of walls and cubes in a former open workspace. The offices are cold, "sweatshirt" cold all year round. The open areas are warm. Not unpleasant, but not comfortable in a sweatshirt. Luckily, I only go into the office a few times per month. 

SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) said:

Hotels generally suck.

I travel for work too - I'm tired of hotels.  

In reply to DarkMonohue :

Who are you and when does your first novel come out because that was art. 

I guess it kind of has something to do with work but, sign in sheets...

We (the maintenance department) get told to report to such-and-such building or conference room for an informational meeting, state of the company meeting, meet your new boss meeting, or a safety meeting and there on a table, just inside the door is the sign in sheet where you have to jot down your name, I'd number, and department number. 

My gripe is they tell me I have to put my actual name down instead of one of my preferred monikers, Ballbag Saggins.

The board.  They are hands-down the laziest, most entitled group of dickbags.  The ones who have money and fundraising experience, don't, and the ones who have chutzpa and drive don't have any money or experience.

Then they expect theatrical spectacle after telling me "sorry, here's $26 and a pack of chewing gum... make it happen."

I work from home and also travel n the reg. I love what I'm doing and have way more highs than lows at work at the moment. I do have 2 minor gripes that didn't come up until page 2 here;

1- you are forgotten if you wfh, there are company days and family days and lunches and stuff, and you never are included if you wfh. On the bright side I get lunch with my wife and I would rather pay for lunches with her than eat for free in the office. 
2- I travel and have kids and a wife that I hate to leave behind so I travel hard, my choice. I'll leave on 6:00am flights and get home on 1:00 am flights so I can be there for one more dinner or bedtime or trip to school. That's my choice and I don't regret it but it can be tiring!

This is a work peeve from long ago. I think of it every now and then just to get worked up I guess.

When I worked on the boats for Seacor Marine (large corporation) we interacted with office personnel such as the safety department, port captains, human resources, etc. randomly when we were at the dock.

While on board the safety guy mentioned that one of our Seacor "family" members had been in a motorcycle wreck. Mother berker, you wouldn't know my berking name if it wasn't on this shirt that we have to buy with our safety points! That inspired me to order my next shirts with 73563 on the pocket-my employee ID number. Family my ass.