have you been micromanaged?

[Bront]

I'm micromanaged to death, and it is unhealthy. Never work in the banking system. Ever.

Much of the banking micromanagement is done due to federal regulations and/or the ability to get sued.

We have some ETAs that we watch on our end, which I thought were kind of pointless and repetitive... till I found out the bank could be out over $1 million if they're missed. So they're kind of picky on those.

 

[MrFilthyIke]

Much of the banking micromanagement is done due to federal regulations and/or the ability to get sued.

I understand that. I'm referring to inability to take bathroom breaks, questions about why you're 4 minutes late to the one and only break (not at your time or choosing), why you were over lunch a few minutes. That garbage.

I understand the regulation stuff. I'm talking about stuff in the HR area.

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

I'm referring to inability to take bathroom breaks, questions about why you're 4 minutes late to the one and only break (not at your time or choosing), why you were over lunch a few minutes. That garbage.

I used to have a job like that, in retail. Start work at 9am, my scheduled morning break was at 9:50-10am. Then wait until 2:30 until lunch, then afternoon break was at 4:50-5pm. End of day was 5pm. And I couldn't actually leave at 4:50, because I was still on the clock at that time, I had to go outside or to the breakroom for my 10 minute break, then walk all the way back across the building to clock out at 5pm, then walk all the way back to where I just was to leave. And god forbid you actually ask to get different breaktimes or lunchtime, because "But, that's the way the schedule is. Your breaks at at 9:50 and 4:50, with lunch at 2:30. Other people have different time, those are the ones assigned to you." It really was like talking to someone out of the movie Officespace, except it was a bookstore. Trying to explain why it makes no sense to have breaktimes scheduled 50 minutes after you arrive and 10 minutes before you leave just got blank stares. Needless to say, I left that job after only a few weeks. Other regulations were also totally useless and bizarre. You were able to have 3 pens OR 3 pencils at the cash register, but not both. If you needed one of the others, you had to go sign it out from the managers office supply closet. The really weird thing was, I had worked at another store in the same company for several years, and they had none of these bizarre rules.

 

[MrFilthyIke]

I used to have a job like that, in retail. Start work at 9am, my scheduled morning break was at 9:50-10am. Then wait until 2:30 until lunch, then afternoon break was at 4:50-5pm. End of day was 5pm.

Gee, that sounds familiar:

8:30am - Start
9:25-9:45 - Break
11:45-12:20 - Lunch

And nothing after that till 5pm.

You can go to the bathroom, but at the end of the month, you better be under a 10min per day average or you are "talked to/writen up". Heaven forbid you get the runs, you better makes for days of sitting for 5+ hours to counter balance that.

 

[doktorziplok]

ha, obviously none of you work for the phone company. i do... i've got a 6-foot stack of 3-ring binders at home detailing policies/practices for everything. not to mention the emails, online docs, classes, and quarterly sign-on-the-dotted-line-so-we-have-it-on-record-that-you-signed-this-paper-that-you-signed-3-months-ago papers. the pdf book of acronyms is over 670 pages long alone.

 

[MrFilthyIke]

ha, obviously none of you work for the phone company. i do... i've got a 6-foot stack of 3-ring binders at home detailing policies/practices for everything. not to mention the emails, online docs, classes, and quarterly sign-on-the-dotted-line-so-we-have-it-on-record-that-you-signed-this-paper-that-you-signed-3-months-ago papers. the pdf book of acronyms is over 670 pages long alone.

Do you get at least two uncontested bathroom breaks?
Are smokers allowed to smoke?

 

[doktorziplok]

Do you get at least two uncontested bathroom breaks?
Are smokers allowed to smoke?

by state law i do get two breaks, although since i work in the field i am considered to be "taking a break" whenever i drive from customer to customer. so, legally yes and technically no.

and yes, we can smoke, but only outside in the designated approved smoking area. this area is invariably the one spot where the sun shines the least and the local architecture creates a wind tunnel.

 

[frankthedm]

It is a cost thing. The more towels used the more money spent. That's why in fast food if you bring your own cup the drinks are free. The fountain drink costs less than the cup it comes in.

You sure about that? Around my region, they chuck you out for stealing soda if you take you own cup to the soda machine.