ughhhh time for work rant

RightHoJeeves

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I count myself as really lucky, because I work in an industry (communications) that I like, but also complements my writing. But man, things are frustrating at my current job.

I was lucky in a sense because I got it two days before getting back to Australia, and its also a really high regarded charity. But almost every aspect of the place is run poorly, and some things just literally do not make sense. For example, I was told to create a staff newsletter so departments could feel a little more connected. Fair enough. Staff newsletters are a "nice to have". Not essential, most people don't read them, but they don't hurt anything. Except the template hasn't been agreed upon for four months. Four months of working around in circles, trying to nail the "perfect newsletter". No one even reads them! Gah! This is all while the actual work of my team is outsourced to freelancers who do it for probably more than twice my salary. You'd think a charity would run efficiently.

*curls into a ball and fantasizes about working for myself*

PS - I am trying to find other work, just felt like I needed a rant.
 

jjdebenedictis

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(((*huggle of sympathy*)))
 

Myrealana

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I feel you.

I'm so torn about my job. I should be happy no matter what it is. I make a fine living, more than anyone in my circle of friends. I feel immensely guilty not loving my job just for that, but they're trying to kill my spirit.
 

shadowwalker

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Lack of common sense seems to abound in many small businesses. I work for a small manufacturer, and the constant comment (from upper management) is that space is at a premium. So what do they do? Tear out the pallet racks (which allowed for 4 times the number of pallets in the same space) and are busy building carts for the pallets to ride on (easier mobility). Apparently no one pointed out the floor space all these carts will take up even when empty... :Wha:
 

RightHoJeeves

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Lack of common sense abounds in large businesses, too, they just have bigger budgets and more inertia.

When I was 21 or 22, I worked for a huge museum on the east coast. Eventually I moved departments and had an amazing job with the best boss I could imagine. But when I first got into the organisation, I worked in a little team kind of on the fringes, and my boss was quite literally a moron who actively tried to resist change and new ideas.

She actually taught me a valuable lesson. Just because someone is thirty years older than you with a whole load of experience, does not necessarily mean they know what they're talking about or are even competent.
 

shadowwalker

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She actually taught me a valuable lesson. Just because someone is thirty years older than you with a whole load of experience, does not necessarily mean they know what they're talking about or are even competent.

Oh yes. And just because they've run a business for 25 years doesn't mean they've run it at peak performance either. There's a difference between making a profit and making a good profit. :Shrug:
 

RightHoJeeves

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Update for anyone who cares:

I had a moment last week where the freelancer (who gets paid 6 times what I do) gave me an example media release that has a "standard I should aspire to". The strange thing is that I wrote the thing last year. So, money well spent on a freelancer I guess?

Anyway, it's less than two weeks until my contract expires, and despite them saying they want to renew it, there is so official word. I decided that I don't want to work for an organisation that is so useless that they can't get these sort of simple things together. I told my boss that even if the contract is renewed, I won't be signing. That felt good.
 

Snitchcat

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Hope things work out, RightHoJeeves. :)
 

WriterDude

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Lack of common sense seems to abound in many small businesses. I work for a small manufacturer, and the constant comment (from upper management) is that space is at a premium. So what do they do? Tear out the pallet racks (which allowed for 4 times the number of pallets in the same space) and are busy building carts for the pallets to ride on (easier mobility). Apparently no one pointed out the floor space all these carts will take up even when empty... :Wha:

Ah yes. The old 'impact analysis is something we don't do here' chestnut.
 

Shadowflame

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This echoes my feelings for my job as well.

I actually work alone for a Board. I do all of the paperwork stuff, membership management, manage the website, go out and sell ads, and everything in between. Sounds great right? No one to micromanage you, no one looking over your shoulder...
Wrong. If I bring up a project that we really should look into, it's either put on the back burner for months, or refused immediately. Then in 2 years it's brought back up and questioned as to why we aren't doing it?
I have no power besides being a secretary kind of thing, but I'm important enough that everyone freaks out if I take a few days vacation because NO ONE ELSE KNOWS what I do or how to do it. This causes me even more stress because I really can't leave for any amount of time because things do go wonky on a regular basis.
It's tiring enough that I've been looking for another job to complement more of my freelanceing. I got some good vibes from turning in a resume at a local book store. But they aren't hiring until May. :(
 

RightHoJeeves

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AHhhh work. If only they would put us in charge of the world, everything would be perfect.
 

RightHoJeeves

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Also, an update:

So my contract is expiring next Friday, but since I already told them I wouldn't be signing a new one, who cares if it gets renewed? Well the girl who sits next to me is wanting hers to be renewed. Turns out on Friday she was told that it would be renewed until June. But the direct manager knew the contract would be renewed on Wednesday. So basically our manager just sat on this life-altering knowledge for two days and didn't tell her because … well I don't know why.

Also, here's a laugh. I write a stakeholder magazine, and I did it according to deadline, word limit, etc etc etc. There is a section called 'what's hot' where we put in 80/100 word news grabs of good animal welfare stuff. So I write them, but my boss writes the below grab, and insists it be included. I've redacted organisation names, but to give context its an animal welfare charity and this is meant to be good news.

[organisation redacted] approved chicken sausage by [supermarket redacted] makes it to top 10!Test tasting sausages? You are right to raise your eye brows – that’s not done very often. However, [online publication redacted], a comprehensive online guide to eating out and in took the challenge up.
In the high ranks is the [supermarket redacted] owned home brand, [supermarket redacted] Finest featuring [organisation redacted] approved chicken sausage which made it to the top-10 snag list against porky competition. This is what was published on their website word for word:"Nice and bland," gushed one taster. "I feel like this is the most refreshing sausage," wrote another. The key to its success was probably the visible herbs, which livened up an otherwise "mushy" looking interior and added much-needed flavour. But there was no getting away from its origins: "Aren't chicken sausages a bit weird?" wrote one reviewer. "A little weird," agreed another.Time to go grab a banger from [supermarket redacted]? Oh yes…

The person who wrote that gets paid about double what I get paid. It's madness.
 

Snitchcat

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The person who wrote that gets paid about double what I get paid. It's madness.

Madness? It's a mess. :p And was it meant to be advertising, or just "good news"?

Either way, sounds like you'll be out of the chaos soon. Good luck with the job hunt; hope you find something soon.