The grumpy thread

[EyesWeldedShut]

7 hours ago, wuvvum said:

It's just the HR situation which is one constant clusterfuck - we could just about muddle through when the team was big enough to pick up the slack, but now it's seriously starting to take the piss.

Sounds a bit like sprogette's place - they simply cannot staff up. Three teams of 6/8 are now combined into one of 6 and one of 7 - but the work remains the same and it's manic. It's not a crap place to work it's just that their HR system cannot seem to find new staff anyplace. 
Not helped by the fact that the latest stamp duty changes means everybody wants to complete on their house moves by 31st March - she's working evening and weekend - and, yup, there's nothing in writing about overtime/time in lieu and so on.

5 minutes ago, chadders said:

Sometimes the best thing is not to do the extra mile and not fill the gaps.

She got shat on during COVID doing just that in her former company but here they all are doing it again. When I was their age I'd probably have done the same and stepped in to fight the fire, Nowadays I'd have my trusty stirrup pump and a bucket of petrol to help put it out.

[chadders]

1 minute ago, EyesWeldedShut said:

Sounds a bit like sprogette's place - they simply cannot staff up. Three teams of 6/8 are now combined into one of 6 and one of 7 - but the work remains the same and it's manic. It's not a crap place to work it's just that their HR system cannot seem to find new staff anyplace. 
Not helped by the fact that the latest stamp duty changes means everybody wants to complete on their house moves by 31st March - she's working evening and weekend - and, yup, there's nothing in writing about overtime/time in lieu and so on.

She got shat on during COVID doing just that in her former company but here they all are doing it again. When I was their age I'd probably have done the same and stepped in to fight the fire, Nowadays I'd have my trusty stirrup pump and a bucket of petrol to help put it out.

I was in my mid/late 20s and it was my first job after qualifying as an accountant.

I've done similar since when a project was going off the rails but you know with a project there's an end date and the sooner you fix it the sooner you can FRO.

[captain_70s]

11 minutes ago, chadders said:

Sometimes the best thing is not to do the extra mile and not fill the gaps.

This.

If you're working your arse off consistently but still managing to cover 75% of the workload there isn't a massive incentive for them to hire more staff. Stuff is still functioning.

Sometimes the whole thing just needs to fall apart before anybody realises there is actually a big problem...

[comfortablynumb]

Of course @wuvvum, I'd never* suggest that you go to your doctors and get signed off as a result of stress/your recent accident.

No, I'd never suggest that.

Whilst I was typing this, the autocorrect suggested 'stoned' instead of 'signed'🤣

Could also be a solution? 😁

[chadders]

Just now, comfortablynumb said:

Of course @wuvvum, I'd never* suggest that you go to your doctors and get signed off as a result of stress/your recent accident.

No, I'd never suggest that.

Whilst I was typing this, the autocorrect suggested 'stoned' instead of 'signed'🤣

Could also be a solution? 😁

It's a problem if you like your co workers, you think that you're letting them down and giving them even more work to do.

[comfortablynumb]

You're right @chadders, but IME, until HR is forced into taking action, they won't.

Doesn't sound like wuv has many coworkers to let down😕 

Edit - also there comes a time when you have to look after yourself first.

Ask me how I know 

Edited March 11 by comfortablynumb
Additional

[chadders]

1 hour ago, comfortablynumb said:

You're right @chadders, but IME, until HR is forced into taking action, they won't.

Doesn't sound like wuv has many coworkers to let down😕 

Edit - also there comes a time when you have to look after yourself first.

Ask me how I know 

I can't disagree, it's a fundamental failure of management which you have to pay the price for.

It's especially true in my experience in US firms as flagging up issues is often seen as negative, which may have had something to do with me being selected for redundancy twice. Ra!, ra!, ra! only patches over the cracks for so long.

Things were far better when the people part of an organisation were called Personnel and didn't have a mission to remodel the world. I used to be able to have reasonable conversations with them then about my team.

[chadders]

Just a thought I seem to remember that you're in insurance and Trustpilot rate companies like yours.

It might be worth checking out your score versus your competitors as it's likely to be a KPI for senior management and directors salaries and bonuses. That'd get their attention in my experience although how you let them know without appearing too Machievellian would be the trick.

[wuvvum]

1 hour ago, chadders said:

It's a problem if you like your co workers, you think that you're letting them down and giving them even more work to do.

This.  There is one chap in particular who is what used to be called a "company man" - although he moans about the company as much as everyone else, he will bend over backwards to make sure the work gets done, so if I leave a load of stuff he'll pick it up when he gets back and end up running himself into the ground.  Then we really would be screwed.

Re getting someone seconded to the team - the staffing issue is so widespread now in the Norwich office that none of the other teams can really spare anyone either.

[vulgalour]

Can confirm, letting things break is the only way they get fixed in these situations.  Do what is reasonable for a single person to do in a working day and do no more.  Let it back up.  Let it break.  If everyone constantly keeps picking up slack and not getting paid for it the company is just going to see that as a cost saving rather than a staff shortage, and sod the quality of work going out to customers.  I hope you get more staff to rely on and ease the workload there, if you've got a manager that's actually trying to find a solution that's a really good sign, I wish them the best of luck finding some good people to get the work done and improve the situation for all concerned.

[comfortablynumb]

52 minutes ago, chadders said:

Things were far better when the people part of an organisation were called Personnel and didn't have a mission to remodel the world. I used to be able to have reasonable conversations with them then about my team

My dad used to say that the downhill trend started when staff went from being 'personnel' to 'resource'

Take out the human element and you're no longer a person, simply a resource, such as a machine or computer 😕

[chadders]

20 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

This.  There is one chap in particular who is what used to be called a "company man" - although he moans about the company as much as everyone else, he will bend over backwards to make sure the work gets done, so if I leave a load of stuff he'll pick it up when he gets back and end up running himself into the ground.  Then we really would be screwed.*

Re getting someone seconded to the team - the staffing issue is so widespread now in the Norwich office that none of the other teams can really spare anyone either.

I was thinking from London.

Anything "I can do to help".....

Mind you I don't know your organisation structure nor culture.

* and?

What's the worst case scenario for you?

They're not going to sack you, presumably the business makes money so they won't close it down.

If there's an overall staffing issue then it shouldn't be too difficult to get another job, not desirable but perhaps necessary before you collapse from the overload.

You come across as a nice guy but if that one chap does that it's his call, you need to look after yourself first not him. You don't want to be in a bed next to him at N&N.

Sorry if this is a bit blunt but as you've probably seen elsewhere on here the Diplomatic Corps didn't miss out on recruiting me.

 

[Rocket88]

I used to work for a big accountancy practice. Head of HR was a complete Nazi, who was unfortunately a personal friend of the MD…. It wasn’t until London office began to get multiple complaints about her that he got rid of her, probably to save his own skin

[goosey]

brand new threadlock completely empty 

Fukin nice one Granville 

[goosey]

just gets better and better….

2 o-rings missing 

🙄

[MorrisItalSLX]

15 minutes ago, goosey said:

Fukin nice one Granville 

[ruffgeezer]

Pandora using kids to advertise.their shit biddybeads for mothers day.

Take your overpriced gaudy shite and poke it up your piss-pipe.

[AnthonyG]

I don’t get ‘Pandora’ jewellery - is it junk or is it aspirational? 

They must make enough money to have expensive TV advertising but it all looks like the sort of crap you used to be able to buy from a market, or perhaps the Elizabeth Duke counter at Argos. 

Also see Swarkowski Crystals or however it’s spelt. 

As usual, I blame Americans. 

[New POD]

5 hours ago, AnthonyG said:

I don’t get ‘Pandora’ jewellery - is it junk or is it aspirational? 

They must make enough money to have expensive TV advertising but it all looks like the sort of crap you used to be able to buy from a market, or perhaps the Elizabeth Duke counter at Argos. 

Also see Swarkowski Crystals or however it’s spelt. 

As usual, I blame Americans. 

Ratners.  There was always a market for pretend.  

[New POD]

On 10/03/2025 at 15:42, MikeR said:

FFS , saw the aftermath of the lorry crash on the M6 today , dust still in the air , 200 + meters of barrier destroyed , concrete barrier damaged , lorry upright , debris everywhere , cars stopped , people trying to help , scary stuff ..... We got past before plod arrived and shut the motorway .. chaos up there now .... 

Bloke at work said his wife took 4 hours to get home from.work from Liverpool to Preston. 

[uk_senator]

I posted something I sold on ebay at 5:28 yesterday morning (into a Royal Mail on-street locker). The locker (which is about 4 miles away & I only discovered by accident, when posting an Evri or DPD parcel in the same place, it didn't come up as an option on the ebay drop-off point map) is perfect for me, 24 hours, no pissing about in now hard to park at high street post offices etc. When I got back, I decided to see where these lockers are in my local area, went onto RM`s website, & did a search using my postcode.. It came up with all the post options within a half mile or so, including post boxes.. Zoomed out,  showed me more within a mile, zoomed out again, & its showing no options further than a mile.. Tried clicking "filter" to add lockers, in the hope it would open up the search range, but there's no option of them there. Dragged across the map, a pop up says "search this area", clicked it, it zooms in to a half mile range of that area, & its basically the same.. So absolutely no help whatsoever... 

Why cant we search specifically for the 24 hour drop off points? What kind of muppets are designing these websites? Absolute wankers..

[New POD]

22 hours ago, chadders said:

Sometimes the best thing is not to do the extra mile and not fill the gaps.

One day it'll fall over and you don't want it to be because you've been signed off due to overwork.

I found this out the hard way.

Assuming you're using the same system can't the HoD second someone to help you?

I think the answer would be. Put 5 people from the London office on the bus and book then.into a travel.lodge. 

I foresee lots of issues over the next few months where I am. 5 people retire on the 4th of April. At least 5 others are looking at their options to go early this year. Meanwhile we are designing Euro7 and trying to introduce the next EV truck. 

[DavieW]

Had a weird dream last night - Matthewsons were collecting my old BMW 318iS I sold years ago.  The grumpy bit was Sarah Crabtree wasn't in my dream. 😍

[MikeR]

FFS , took the Mrs out for a drink , being Friday night and all that

the pub car park had cameras on it , enter your reg and all that shit .. and a Audi parked across 3 spaces as well , they must of been drunk ???

a pint , a med wine glass and some crisps and nuts after getting to the bar  ... 2 drinks , 16 notes  !! .. and then  fight my way to the pay point , some ones got to pay for the car park cameras ..  thankfully I had parked in the street , cant be arsed with all this keypad shite .

sit down for a chat and a family full of kids sits next to us , well behaved but we left ours at home or out , what ever they are doing .

so to cut my losses I offered a pizza on the way back .. via Tesco's , half a trolley full of shopping later ......

and some Pizza ..

 

 

[High Jetter]

1 hour ago, MikeR said:

FFS , took the Mrs out for a drink , being Friday night and all that

the pub car park had cameras on it , enter your reg and all that shit .. and a Audi parked across 3 spaces as well , they must of been drunk ???

a pint , a med wine glass and some crisps and nuts after getting to the bar  ... 2 drinks , 16 notes  !! .. and then  fight my way to the pay point , some ones got to pay for the car park cameras ..  thankfully I had parked in the street , cant be arsed with all this keypad shite .

sit down for a chat and a family full of kids sits next to us , well behaved but we left ours at home or out , what ever they are doing .

so to cut my losses I offered a pizza on the way back .. via Tesco's , half a trolley full of shopping later ......

and some Pizza ..

 

 

My Mrs would be very disapoint if 'a drink' turned out to be one glass! 🤣

[hairnet]

new bergerac just why

new quantum leap just why

*watches more youtube

[High Jetter]

Old bergerac just why

[New POD]

11 hours ago, MikeR said:

FFS , took the Mrs out for a drink , being Friday night and all that

the pub car park had cameras on it , enter your reg and all that shit .. and a Audi parked across 3 spaces as well , they must of been drunk ???

a pint , a med wine glass and some crisps and nuts after getting to the bar  ... 2 drinks , 16 notes  !! .. and then  fight my way to the pay point , some ones got to pay for the car park cameras ..  thankfully I had parked in the street , cant be arsed with all this keypad shite .

sit down for a chat and a family full of kids sits next to us , well behaved but we left ours at home or out , what ever they are doing .

so to cut my losses I offered a pizza on the way back .. via Tesco's , half a trolley full of shopping later ......

and some Pizza ..

 

 

And then she came around to my house for a cup of tea.  Or was that before ?  Which pub ? 

[MikeR]

50 minutes ago, New POD said:

And then she came around to my house for a cup of tea.  Or was that before ?  Which pub ? 

that was before , the Freshie , will be walking to the local next time ...

[reb]

I've just had a letter from doovla that basically says "please can you pester your doctor, they're ignoring us"

I've been waiting since the start of November for him to submit a report about my fitness to drive. Every time I try and chase it up I get told "he only works 3 days a week". This is, how do you say... Not my problem.

Bunch of cunts.