![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 25 of 25. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Penny on February 11, 2004, at 11:39:32
I get so easily irritated at work and about work. One of my co-workers just stopped me in the hall to ask if I was aware of the new university logo that is being rolled out as part of a new graphic identity - Uh...well, considering I am the publications and publicity person, yeah, I guess I am aware of it. I have been in the meetings with the folks who are in charge of rolling it out! I know the timeframe! She informs me that she spent some time earlier this week (or last week?) playing with the new logo to make new letterhead ... is that her job????? OMG - I am livid. Why, oh why do they do that? I will get the new logo to you - it is not up to you to do it! I have already talked to the chair of the dept. about it - he knows I'm on top of things.
What's going to end up happening is a doubling-up of efforts. And that makes me angry. Just like news releases going out and announcements being made that I know nothing about. That makes me angry too.
This is one of the reasons I hate my job. I can't seem to get a grasp on things around here, even tho' I've been here over a year, and god knows no one is trying to help me out by actually COMMUNICATING with me.
My predecessor told me it was the same way with her. And she was here for a number of years.
I can't WAIT to go back to school. I can't WAIT to change careers.
:-(
Now I feel on edge and antsy and nervous and I can't think straight and I want to cry and I just hate this. I HATE THIS.
Sorry for griping.
P
Posted by All Done on February 11, 2004, at 12:20:03
In reply to Feeling highly irritated and frustrated right now, posted by Penny on February 11, 2004, at 11:39:32
(((((Penny)))))
Sorry you're feeling so bad. Just remember that if you're the one who's ultimately responsible for the logo and the letterhead, then *she's* the one that's doubling up *her* efforts and wasting *her* own time. I know it's so hard to work with frustrating people, though.
At least it sounds like you have a plan to get out of there. When do you start school? Are you going to be studying something different? My best advice is to concentrate on that when you feel yourself getting frustrated and just remember that the situation you are in is only temporary. You'll have better things to concentrate on while your in school.
I hope your day gets better : ).
All Done
Posted by Karen_kay on February 11, 2004, at 12:36:04
In reply to Feeling highly irritated and frustrated right now, posted by Penny on February 11, 2004, at 11:39:32
I'm sorry Penny! I think it's an unwritten rule tht you can't communicate with coworkers about projects at any job! I swear, it happens everywhere!
First of all, you know it's not personal, as it happened with the previous person. So, it's not you. Could you bring the lack of communication up in a meeting? I guess that I'm one to always open my mouth when I see a problem. Maybe that's notyour style, but it's the way to fix things. At my last job, I griped so much about insurance they finally offered if, but I declined, as my current plan that I kept from my previous jobv wa better. Hmm, did I feel bad... Heck no! At least other people had a shot at insurance.... So, speak up about it! Tell your coworkers you're tired of miscommunications! And their crap! At least you'll feel better getting it off your chest.
I'm glad you're going back to school.. What for? Aren't you excited? At least when you go to work everyday, that's one less day you'll have to go... Try to think of it that way.... And start a countdown. Even if it's 200 days, you'll be surprised how fast the days go by once you see them on paper. I had my countdown on the bulletin board at work. It was no secret I hated my job, but my boss said I was always welcome back, and if I went full time (I wasn't full time because Iw as going to school and they knew it when they hired me), I'd have a bigger salary. Even if you do speak up, you can do it in a way that you gain respect among your coworkers. Saying the things that everyone is thinking really does gain you respect among your coworkers. Everyone wants to be informed.
You're wonderful penny! Just try to take it easy. And if people start to irritate you, tell them, "Listen, you're starting to irritate me right now. Can we discuss this matter in the future?" And under your breath tell them to kiss your butt!!!! And hope they hear it too!!! :)
Posted by Penny on February 11, 2004, at 12:37:46
In reply to Calling all members of the IHMJ Club » Penny, posted by All Done on February 11, 2004, at 12:20:03
Thanks, All Done.
I just got a call from a prof here asking about another prof's seminar - that, OF COURSE, I knew nothing about, b/c no one notified me. I don't know how I'm supposed to keep track of all that's going on when people don't let me know - this wasn't a regularly scheduled seminar, it is a special thing, and there's an automatic email that goes out weekly to the dept. asking them to submit info for the upcoming week if they have events or travel or whatnot. But do they? Rarely. Rarely rarely do I ever find out what's going on. ARGH!!!!!!
Yes, IHMJ. For sure.
I sent an email to the head of communications for the college that oversees our dept. telling her that I was receiving questions from folks about the new graphic id and could she please keep me in the loop and could she please let me know when they might have an electronic version of the new logo ready that I might have? I hope I hear something from her soon, but I'm not holding my breath.
I don't know how soon I'll be heading back to school - I need to retake the GRE and apply to master of social work programs, but my plan is to get my MSW and become a child therapist. AND eventually, at some point, to have my own practice. And be my own boss. Cuz I really need that!!!!!
argh again.
Thanks for listening!
P
Posted by fallsfall on February 11, 2004, at 13:20:02
In reply to Re: Calling all members of the IHMJ Club » All Done, posted by Penny on February 11, 2004, at 12:37:46
Your job reminds me of the Tech Writer's job in a company that writes software. The writers have to have a manual ready when the software ships, but the programmers never tell them when the design for the software changes. Programmers particularly like to change the look of the screens at the last minute (because it is easy to do for the programmers, and they've been worrying about if the screen works at all before that). This means that every single picture in the document has to change, along with a bunch of descriptions.
Most Tech Writers I know get immensely frustrated. There was one, though, at my last company who decided that it was HIS job to collect information about changes, rather than the Programmer's job to tell him. So he went to lots of meetings and gabbed with people in the hall, and offered to do extra things (that would let him get to see more information). He took the problem inherent in the job and made it his personal challenge. It really worked for him (and for us!). But he's the only Tech Writer I've ever met (and I know a bunch of them) who has successfully done this.
So, you are NOT alone!
Posted by noa on February 11, 2004, at 18:41:18
In reply to Feeling highly irritated and frustrated right now, posted by Penny on February 11, 2004, at 11:39:32
I can relate. Some days I get really irritated at the way people do and don't communicate at work. There are the ones who can't communicate anything directly--they talk around the issue and drop hints and all. To survive this, I've decided basically to ignore the hinting and indirectness and pretend I'm oblivious to it. If they want me to do something, they will need to come out and say it. The reality is that I do notice the hinting and it can make me really irritated, but I decided I have to stop taking responsibility for or reacting to these things because they need to just come out and say what they have to say. This approach has been helping me not get so irritated, and able to stick to doing my job. I just pretend I'm oblivious.
Another communication irritation is when they just don't tell us stuff and we hear it in some roundabout fashion or when it's too late. Sometimes the clients will call to ask us something about what they heard and we feel foolish because we haven't heard anything at all!
Duplication irritation is another issue I relate to, as well. We have a lot of overlapping and poorly defined roles and procedures so sometimes I will get on a problem only to discover that someone else is working on it too, and we eventually kind of bump into each other somewhere along the way. This irritates me. Often, the other person involved should have contacted me to let me know about this issue and we needed to decide who will follow up on it.
One type of dysfunctional communication pattern at work is that there will be a problem. Someone in the system will notice it and raise it but raise it with the wrong person. They'll bring in yet a third person who is not the right person to deal with it. There will be emails back and forth discussing how to deal with it, only in the meantime, the problem is not getting solved. Then, depending on their personalities, the anxiety level of these back and forth emails goes up and up and then suddenly one of them figures out the problem might fall under my area so someone cc's me one of the email exchanges only by now at least one of them is really irritated with ME about the problem and why isn't it solved yet anyway! When I read this email, I am coming in the middle of the story, of course and because no one had even let me know there was a problem how was I supposed to address it. I really resent these things. But I have learned to be assertive about them--ie, get someone to bring me up to speed, when was the problem noticed, what is going on, etc. and that I'll get on it. And I tell them they should have consulted me in the first place and this wouldn't have been such a big deal if they had. Some of them seem to get it when I tell them that and some say "sorry" but then go on to repeat the pattern some time later on.
BTW, what are the responsibilities of the person who went ahead and played with the stationary and logo, which is your job? IE, what is she not tending to on her own docket while she is encroaching on yours?
Posted by octopusprime on February 11, 2004, at 21:12:23
In reply to Re: Calling all members of the IHMJ Club » Penny, posted by fallsfall on February 11, 2004, at 13:20:02
<delurks after an extended unannounced absence>
fallsfall and penny - i am a tech writer, and i see myself in both of your posts! penny's job reminds me of my job, too.
penny, i get that same sinking feeling about abject stupidity in my workplace. (note to marketing guy: powerpoint is NOT a graphic design tool!!!!) the only way around it is the way fallsfall describes in her post below. you have to be in your coworkers' faces all the time, listening to what they're doing and proactively contributing. once your coworkers understand precisely what it is you do (which is hard sometimes in big organizations like a university) and have seen your good work, they will come to you.
however, this kind of stuff is HARD when you hate your job and you're depressed and you secretly wish everybody else would just die already and oh look, there's the internet, i'll just surf a bit, la la la.
so really i have no good advice. really, hard work is not all it's cracked up to be, especially when you get paid the same whether you work hard or not. so if you could practice some zen calming techniques (deep breathing, heavy drinking, whatever works) and surf the internet some more, and you're satisfied with that, then cool. otherwise you are facing long hard work against ingrained corporate culture which will take a long time and has a medium chance of success.
good luck! and eat cookies.
> Your job reminds me of the Tech Writer's job in a company that writes software. The writers have to have a manual ready when the software ships, but the programmers never tell them when the design for the software changes. Programmers particularly like to change the look of the screens at the last minute (because it is easy to do for the programmers, and they've been worrying about if the screen works at all before that). This means that every single picture in the document has to change, along with a bunch of descriptions.
>
> Most Tech Writers I know get immensely frustrated. There was one, though, at my last company who decided that it was HIS job to collect information about changes, rather than the Programmer's job to tell him. So he went to lots of meetings and gabbed with people in the hall, and offered to do extra things (that would let him get to see more information). He took the problem inherent in the job and made it his personal challenge. It really worked for him (and for us!). But he's the only Tech Writer I've ever met (and I know a bunch of them) who has successfully done this.
>
> So, you are NOT alone!
Posted by All Done on February 12, 2004, at 0:05:06
In reply to Re: Calling all members of the IHMJ Club » All Done, posted by Penny on February 11, 2004, at 12:37:46
Penny,
What a great career choice for you! You're going to make a *fantastic* social worker and how wonderful that you want to be a child therapist. I have a lot of admiration for you.
Good Luck!
All Done
Posted by Elle2021 on February 12, 2004, at 0:34:36
In reply to Feeling highly irritated and frustrated right now, posted by Penny on February 11, 2004, at 11:39:32
Okay,
That is so irritating. I take it that you are the one in charge of designing the new logo right? Next time she tells you she's designing one, just tell her, "Thanks, but I've got some great ideas, if I need any help I'll be sure to give you a call." She should be able to take that hint... And if I'm wrong, and your not designing the logo, and she's just being extra "reminder-ish" just tell her, "As the person in charge of publicity here, I'm pretty informed, but thanks for the reminder." Either way, she should be able to get the hint.
Elle
Posted by deirdrehbrt on February 12, 2004, at 10:10:21
In reply to Re: Feeling highly irritated and frustrated right now » Penny, posted by Elle2021 on February 12, 2004, at 0:34:36
Ok, I was an engineer, but being in a small company, they needed someone who could spell, read, and communicate technical information to people who didn't speak english. They also didn't want to spend $10,000 for a 100 page manual to have an outside firm screw it up.
Oh yeah, I wasn't told that I was writing the manual until the system we were selling was due to ship in 2 weeks.
As we sold more systems (each one was unique) I started working on the manual when the project started, in anticipation of actually having to write it.
My 8 hour days thus became 9-10 hours of my engineering work, 1 hour of technical writing, and an indeterminate number of hours problem solving with other engineers.
I'll actually miss it.
I'll miss the foreign customers who appreciated my writing style because it was easy for their translation programs to handle.
I'll miss the customers who call with a problem that I can answer with "Look half-way down on page 57 in the manual".
I'll even miss my boss who could use the word "essentially" 8-10 times in a paragraph, and at least twice in a single sentence. (He was frustrating though)
I won't miss the impossible deadlines. I won't miss people who don't know how a particular part functions trying to tell me that I got it wrong.
I won't miss flying cross-country, or cross-planet to solve a problem that should have been solved over the phone.
People are frustrating. Especially people who think they know everything.
Anticipating letterhead is like standing in the middle of the Sahara with a cup in your hand because you 'know' it's going to rain. Until it's official, it can change so fast. What works on one color paper may not work everywhere. What looks like a good size on 8 1/2 x 11 may not translate well to a post-card, or a business card.
I'm with you. People are frustrating.
Dee.
Posted by antigua on February 12, 2004, at 13:12:26
In reply to Re: Feeling highly irritated and frustrated right now, posted by deirdrehbrt on February 12, 2004, at 10:10:21
It's amazine how many people on this board work in the communications field. I, too, am a writer/editor and publications manager. I love my work, but I work on my own because of all the reasons you guys state.
Best of luck to you all,
antigua
Posted by Angielala on February 12, 2004, at 13:45:27
In reply to Our jobs, posted by antigua on February 12, 2004, at 13:12:26
Anyone else work in the IT field?
> It's amazine how many people on this board work in the communications field. I, too, am a writer/editor and publications manager. I love my work, but I work on my own because of all the reasons you guys state.
>
> Best of luck to you all,
> antigua
Posted by Penny on February 12, 2004, at 14:28:21
In reply to Re: Our jobs- IT anyone? » antigua, posted by Angielala on February 12, 2004, at 13:45:27
My job is in PR, but for a Computer Science dept, and I manage the website, so IT indirectly :-)
P
Posted by Penny on February 12, 2004, at 14:35:09
In reply to Re: Feeling highly irritated and frustrated right now » Penny, posted by noa on February 11, 2004, at 18:41:18
> BTW, what are the responsibilities of the person who went ahead and played with the stationary and logo, which is your job? IE, what is she not tending to on her own docket while she is encroaching on yours?
She's the administrative manager. She does a variety of things, including managing the admin assts in the office, and she and I answer to the same boss (vice chair for admin and finance). I'm the publications/publicity manager.
Posted by Angielala on February 12, 2004, at 14:35:46
In reply to Re: Our jobs- IT anyone? » Angielala, posted by Penny on February 12, 2004, at 14:28:21
So you are a website lady too! Sweet!
> My job is in PR, but for a Computer Science dept, and I manage the website, so IT indirectly :-)
>
> P
Posted by Penny on February 12, 2004, at 14:35:49
In reply to Re: Feeling highly irritated and frustrated right now » Penny, posted by Karen_kay on February 11, 2004, at 12:36:04
KK, you are too funny - always make me smile!
(((KK)))
P
Posted by Penny on February 12, 2004, at 14:39:19
In reply to Re: Calling all members of the IHMJ Club » Penny, posted by fallsfall on February 11, 2004, at 13:20:02
Yeah, I guess if I cared enough OR if I had the energy and motivation, I would be willing to fight this battle - and some days I get a slight whiff of that energy/motivation stuff, but rarely. Most days, it's all I can do to get myself to work, and work on things in reactive mode. There's so much to do - really too much for one person - and I'm trying - and it was like this in my last job and the one before that...I think it's inherent to the business, frankly. Especially working in higher ed.
I do try to be proactive on occasion, but, as the sign I kept by my desk at my old job said, "Come see me tomorrow. By then maybe I will have caught up with what I'm supposed to be doing today."
But anyway...all the more reason to be my own boss someday.
P
Posted by Penny on February 12, 2004, at 14:42:10
In reply to Re: Calling all members of the IHMJ Club - Penny » fallsfall, posted by octopusprime on February 11, 2004, at 21:12:23
Glad to see you back!
> good luck! and eat cookies.
Oh...I have been. and ice cream. and chocolate. and whatever else I can get my hands on. Not good. But it temporarily soothes the pain, and I keep just a *little* chocolate (like one or two small pieces) in my desk at work for stressful times - it's quite effective.P
Posted by Penny on February 12, 2004, at 14:44:54
In reply to Re: Feeling highly irritated and frustrated right now » Penny, posted by Elle2021 on February 12, 2004, at 0:34:36
Actually, I work for a large university, and the university is rolling out a new graphic ID, and what's so funny about it is that the new logo (being designed by the graphics folks for the university as a whole) isn't even finished yet!!! So, she's in such a rush, but there's no point in being in such a rush, as it's not gonna make any difference anyway...we can't have and use the new logo until we HAVE a new logo, right?
But, regardless, I got up with the communications person for the college that oversees my dept, and she got me in the loop. Late, but in the loop. So at least now I know what my folks are being told. :-|
P
Posted by Penny on February 12, 2004, at 14:46:24
In reply to Re: Feeling highly irritated and frustrated right now, posted by deirdrehbrt on February 12, 2004, at 10:10:21
>I'm with you. People are frustrating.
Yep - and I'm planning on working even closer with the population...what am I thinking?
:-bP
Posted by Penny on February 12, 2004, at 14:48:49
In reply to Our jobs, posted by antigua on February 12, 2004, at 13:12:26
I thought I would like my field. I liked my college major (journalism). I liked writing, and I was good at it. But I hate sitting behind a desk all day. And I hate hate hate deadlines. With a passion.
My T said that I need a career where I can go to work everyday as myself. So if I don't work well with a lot of deadlines, then I need a career where deadlines don't rule the day. And she's right.
P
Posted by Penny on February 12, 2004, at 14:51:07
In reply to Re: Our jobs- IT anyone?, posted by Angielala on February 12, 2004, at 14:35:46
> So you are a website lady too! Sweet!
But I hate it!Actually, I like it more than most other parts of my job. I HATE doing newsletters. And publicity. I don't mind designing things so much, love researching, and don't mind the web work - I do enjoy figuring out how to do something technical that I didn't know how to do before. I'm a bit of a geek in that respect! :-B
Posted by noa on February 12, 2004, at 20:02:57
In reply to Re: Feeling highly irritated and frustrated right now, posted by deirdrehbrt on February 12, 2004, at 10:10:21
Slightly tangential letterhead/frustrating work story coming..but hey, that's what the internet is full of, right....
Years ago I worked for an agency that started small and was growing. We were housed in 'temporary' offices and were in search of new space. They found the new space and started making plans for the move. The director began obsessing about everything. She brought in paint chips for us to vote on the paint color. Carpet samples for the carpets. Etc. Etc. It was all so exciting.
As we were waiting for the arrangements to be finalized and our new permanent space to be finished, etc.....we ran out of letterhead. Since there was a plan to move soon, but it wasn't finalized, they told us to photocopy (back then we actually called in 'xeroxing') the stationary since it was a temporary situation.
In the meantime, the director was getting new letterhead designed. She met with a graphic artist contractor and began obsessing about the logo and design and color, etc. This led to her beginning to wonder if we should change the name of the firm. Yes, there were issues with the firm name--sometimes it seemed not to convey what we were about---but of course, this led the director to begin obsessing about the name of the firm, along with everything else.
Then one day, she came back from meeting with the artist and proclaimed to the entire office: "The artist looked at me today and said, 'You know what, Cate? Your problem is you don't have a concept." Well, this was like a whole new spirituality of management had been opened up for Cate--and we had to start obsessing about what our concept was.
Throughout this time, we kept reminding her that we needed stationary. We had been using the photocopied version but it was rather not very impressive to send out letters on it, etc.
And, then it happened.....somewhere during this long, bizarre process, some idiot in the office USED THE LAST BLANK COPY OF THE PHOTOCOPIED LETTERHEAD!!!!
Mind you, this was before Windows (we did have MS DOS computers in the office that baffled most of us because you had to type in computerese to get anything out of them), so it's not like we could print out new sheets or anything.
We had to start photocopying letters from files, whiting out the text, and photocopying these to make blank Nth generation photocopied stationary! It was so absurd.
Epilogue: When we FINALLY moved to the new space--guess what color the walls and carpet were!!
Walls--real estate cheap white.
Carpet--nonexistent.
Posted by octopusprime on February 12, 2004, at 21:45:00
In reply to Re: Our jobs- IT anyone?, posted by Angielala on February 12, 2004, at 14:35:46
AngieLaLa - I'm in IT too, lucky me :)
I'm not just a technical writer, I'm also the quality assurance manager/agitator, a marketing writer, and I tend the intranet and external websites.
I learned php and made a phpnuke web site for the intranet. I was so proud ... all you webmistresses make me smile
> So you are a website lady too! Sweet!
>
> > My job is in PR, but for a Computer Science dept, and I manage the website, so IT indirectly :-)
> >
> > P
>
>
Posted by gardenergirl on February 13, 2004, at 7:56:01
In reply to Re: Calling all members of the IHMJ Club » Penny, posted by All Done on February 12, 2004, at 0:05:06
> Penny,
>
> What a great career choice for you! You're going to make a *fantastic* social worker and how wonderful that you want to be a child therapist. I have a lot of admiration for you.
>
> Good Luck!
>
> All DoneI second this!
gg
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Social | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.