(no subject)

[dolari]

So, with the plans to eject this job ASAP, I'm beginning to wonder...

...is it ME?

Since coming back to Texas, I've had three jobs in a year. One was actually too hard for me to continue, the second had a manager who was really good at disrespecting her workers, and this one where...its a trainwreck.

Before this I had a good four years at Nintendo and two years at DNP (minus a quickly deathspiralling six months at Speakeasy). I'm begining to wonder, am I the one who is, not to put too fine a point on it, fucking up?

Did I get spoiled with Nintendo and DNP? Both were very good jobs that treated me well (even though DNP started off rough), and is it so wrong to expect that from another job? Or am I being unrealistic....

I dunno anymore. Maybe the economy has collapsed enough that it's less about a good job, and more about corporate feudalism (YOU WANT MY PAYCHECK, YOU MUST SERVE ME AT MY WHIMS!)

Comments

[amw.livejournal.com]

I ask myself this a lot too, especially in my last job and at my current job where i have been completely frustrated at the processes and my co-workers. And the answer is, yes, yes it is you. Because plenty of other people are working there and not hating it so much it consumes them. I wonder if it is something that comes with experience - if you've been working in a field for 10+ years you really do know what works and what doesn't, and it is insanely frustrating to be around people (some of whom are senior to you) who refuse to get that. Another thought i had is that it comes from being way too invested in your job. At a lot of workplaces everyone knows it sucks, and they all hate it, but at the end of the day they go home and shrug it off and don't lose any sleep over it. I am still trying to figure out how to do that. It seems i take my job much more seriously than most.

The risk you run is becoming a bit like my sister, who has worked a ridiculous number of jobs never for more than 6 months at a time. She comes in, decides the whole place is inefficient, then when it doesn't change as fast as she wants, she quits in frustration. She constantly complains that the whole world is stacked against her and if only people listened to her everything would be better. You know what, perhaps it would. But it ends up coming across as arrogant and lacking the ability to commit.

If you really hate your job and it really is affecting your life negatively, you should look for something else. But if wherever you end up you keep finding the same things are annoying you, then it's probably not the workplace per se that is the problem, but the way you are reacting to it. And that is much harder to fix.

[jenndolari.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's my thing. I'm wondering if I got spoiled by Nintendo. The first job I simply couldn't do. I was overconfident and really fucked it up to the point we both agreed it was best if I left.

The second, though...there were a lot of communication issues. I couldn't get a straight answer for stuff...and that's when I first started doubting - the others didn't seem to be having much problem...but when I needed straight answers, I couldn't get them. But the others seemed fine if often confused....that's when I began to wonder if it was me. I stayed until I got some serious disrespect from my manager (don't dismissevly walk away from me while I'm talking to you about an important matter), because I felt that was on her. Something she'd done a LOT.

This job started okay, then I began losing faith in the product. And the call center. Especially how haphazardly it's all put together and their priorities. Our product is damaging systems, and we have a major fault with another product...and they're spending a huge amount of time and money...setting up an Ice Cream Social and company gathering....

Maybe it IS me and my priorities are out of whack. Dunno what I'd need to do to fix that. They seem fine to me.... :/

[amw.livejournal.com]

Totally get you. I think i got spoiled at the last company i worked for in Australia. The managers appreciated me, the juniors were interested in learning from me, we had an awesome lunch crew, the company vibe felt positive, everyone cared about improving the product... But if i think about the total amount of time i have spent in this industry, that is barely a 2 year window of awesome; less than 15%. When i was still junior i didn't know any better. Now i do. But i'm realizing that hoping for every subsequent company to measure up to that memory is just a waste of my energy, because the bottom line is most don't. For a brief period i was in the right place at the right time. So were you. Now it's back to reality.

Most places you will be working with guys who clock in, do a half-assed job, cop some shit, shrug their shoulders, clock out and enjoy the rest of their life. My personal ethics won't let me do that - i feel a moral responsibility to do everything i can to make my employer successful, and i am constantly thinking about how to improve the product and the process. But that makes me a sucker. You can't change the culture. Either you have to keep searching for the unicorn company where your values are shared by everyone, or you join the club and just give less of a shit. Currently i am trying to walk a middle line. I am forging alliances with the guys who do share my values, making lemonade where i can, collecting my paycheck and trying desperately to let it all the fuck go once i clock out. (Stuck on the last part...)