Modern Vespa

Okay, let me preface this by saying that I am not a programmer. I am a nurse who happens to be good with computers so I ended up being the business developer for a drug safety database.

We are doing a major database migration and upgrade project (going from ARISg to Argus, for those who want to know)
My boss tasked me with designing a newsletter for this project. He sent me an example from another department's project, encouraging me to emulate it. Which I dutifully did, creating a word template, which looks lovely and 'pops' visually.
He wants me to post this to our internal website as an HTML document, not as a PDF. So he decides that I have to download and learn MS FrontPage. (Because I said I'd never created a webpage before and didn't know where to start). He comes from an IT background so he loves recommending programs to me for me to use, half the time which really don't pertain to what I need to get done.
While he is teaching me to use FP, we determine that if I cut and paste items from my Word template, the style formatting is lost. So basically, all the work I did in Word would have to be done differently in HTML.
So then he tells me "don't make it so fancy, those people in Clinical have a lot of time to design these things"
I tell him, why did I have to create the Word template in the first place, if I was going to have to design directly in FP? Basically, I am having to reinvent the wheel.

So I am pissed at the wasted hours I did on this stupid newsletter, which no-one will read anyway. (How many project newsletters did you ever read?)

So please post your stupid Boss rants, and make me feel better that I am not alone.

my boss is fine - it's the organization in which he is embedded that blows. i work for a university - which means that my life is micromanaged down to the last detail by a load of MBA-bearing managerialist-minded muppets who can't or won't accept the fact that a university cannot be run as though it is a shoelace factory and who assess the quality of teaching on the basis of how long and detailed a paper trail you leave.

um, this could get lengthy and bitter so i'll stop now

Save the word document as an HTML. No cutting or pasting, and very little lost formatting. I do it all the time.

P.S. I am the boss and a real pain in the ass!

Nope, sorry, in a two-column newsletter with images and so forth in it, all the formatting is lost in terms of the column widths, image placement and so on...at least in Win'dohs 2003, which is what we use. Tried that already.

My boss is a nice man. He is just an idiot when he gets these 'little projects' in his head.

Now, Leia, you are paid by the hour, no? Who cares how long it takes?



You shoulda come work for me. I'da given you a great working environment, lots of appropriate and relevant training, free rein in terms of artistic expression, regular merit raises, time off when you needed it (that is, really needed it), supported you to top management, promoted you as far as you deserved, and generally made you happy to come to work each day.


Unfortunately, I am retired now.

Don't have a boss to rant about been outta work for a year now.. I do a lot of odd jobs so I guess that makes me my own boss? So I have nothing to complain about, my boss is a great guy!

I'm my own boss so I have no complaints about my boss.

Nope, sorry, I am salaried, not hourly. So yes, it was wasted time, because I am re-creating the same document in HTML, which includes re-formatting, etc.
I know in this economy I should be grateful I am employed. But I can't help resenting the 10 hours I probably spent on this that I won't get back.

I'm sure you're not alone.

Most people's bosses are internet savvy though and public complaining about one's supervisor isn't something I'd recommend these days....

Just sayin.....

My Chairman, Managing Director, Dealer Principal,Sales Manager and Aftersales Manager are all brilliant as are most of the Salesman.

No complaints from me.

Bill X

You are very wise to recognize the greatness of all those people you work for/with/around here on the weird, wide, web

Well done!

I love my new boss!

Boss: are you able to join the exec call in a few
Me: yes. thanks for reminding me, I was lost in a system dump from a system tht just crashed

Boss:
Boss: thats why I like ya so much

I like my boss too. Now in the past, I've had good ones and bad ones. So far, I've outlasted them all!

I am a graphic designer / illustrator and my boss is fine.

But one time my boss took me to a trade show to "work our booth". Which entailed me, operating a register at the head of a line of about 50 people...

I stood there dumbfounded. Since when did I become a Cashier? I don't do that. I nearly failed every math class I ever had. Honestly my head is teflon coated with it comes to numbers, they just slide right off.

I tried, I really did, but at one point I just threw up my hands and yelled, "I'm OUT!" and walked away, leaving a line of about 25 people.

And they still talk about it, to this day. And I still work there.

Embrace your artistic temperament, and you will be forgiven any hissy fit.

You forgot the magic words:




You want fries with that?

My boss is kinda lazy & quite passive aggressive. I'd love to kick his ass some days. The problem is that I work for myself & can't figure out how to kick my own ass maybe I should fire myself

Sorry you kinda lost me after the second paragraph...not too good with some of the intricate nuances of software applications...

However getting back to Boss issue...I got two (three if you count my wife! )

Boss #1 is reasonable since he adheres to the corporate mantra but attempts to minimize the impact to his subordinates.

Boss #2 is "Corporate Climber / Weiner")...says all the right stuff to place him in the best possible light with his superiors. Attempts to initiate policy without exercising due diligence prior to implementing same. Nice guy but doesn't command a lot of respect on my part.

Regardless you still need to conduct yourself in a professional manner and deal with it...separate what you presonally feel and continue to work within the framework of your business enviroment and get the job done...that's just the way it is...

Oh yeah! Boss #3 The Wife...what can I say...simply God like!

Oh come on, all these boss stories sound completely reasonable - does no one have crazy, human bosses?

I work in a school and always get told how great I am at my job by the head. I'm very lucky because I do a job that I'm good at and really enjoy.
Rant rant rant over.

There's a lot of management where I work. Some times it seems there are more chiefs than Indians. Despite that I get along with everybody, even in a shit job I am quite content. The personnel where I work are first rate.

The customers are fucking out of control though.

In Afghanistan I worked for a BG who am certain had a nervous breakdown during the deployment. GO in combat with mental problems is just not a boss you want to deal with. I am still recovering from that knucklehead.

Current boss, bosses boss, bosses bosses boss, and the bosses bosses bosses boss are all absolute gentlemen and scholars. I am certain I will never get such a great situation in work again.

i need one that knows what hes doing .... a roofer running a joiners shop dont work at all .... and me n the other lad arnt paid enough to organise the jobs that he brings in

"how would you usually do it" "can you just make it work" "glad you know"

*edited due to crap spelling*

My boss has a generous pain management doctor, and I have practically NO job parameters. I can wake up one day and need to do low-voltage, the next day, maybe dig up a few stumps, the next maybe be up to my armpit in sewage. Today: I'm quitting. Hasn't called yet to tell me if I can have Saturday off. (He wants me to sit around from 7:30am 'till i hear from him) I've wasted more than half of my Saturdays this way....

I think I can make a better go if it myself.

Thanks for the thread, I needed it!

Well, let's see.....

The new boss immediately added 3 new layers of management. Interesting.

We had our pop machine removed without warning "because it's not good for us". We now have high-fructose-corn-syrup apple juice to buy instead.... oh except since he's diabetic he has his own fridge full of diet pop in his office. Other diabetics need not worry, we have a drinking fountain.

Our office building is one big circle of halls, broken up by security doors and a conference room in the middle. We are no longer allowed to walk through the conference room when it is not in use (to get from rear hall to the front office to copy or mail, or meet clients) because we don't want the carpet worn. That's also why the lights stay turned off in there so people won't use it (and why one of us fell in the dark the other day).

We had all our original art pieces of flora and fauna removed and now have lovely motivational posters that change monthly. The cartoon-style ones.

The only non-upper management person in the building to have a window is an intern who will be with us for two years. They took it away from the reception staff so she could have it.

A 30 year veteran employee who has had a grant from the state to run a particular program for the last 20 years was pink-slipped the other day. Our Manager decided he didn't want that program anymore and refused the grant $. The state was not prepared to take it over, so now we kind of "help them out" even though none of us know little about it.

Our newly remodeled and expanded offices are only allowed to contain the "acceptable" furniture that the building already had. Nothing new. We added 10 work stations. There are no more pencil drawers or file cabinets available, so the two shoe boxes of desk stuff I have, must be dealt with because we are not allowed to have boxes anymore.

My particular computer can't run most of the programs we need to use now. Partially because the CD drive doesn't work, and 3 of the 4 USB ports don't work. The equipment I use must download it's data, so having one is at least do-able.

......do you feel any better now?

I'm a public school teacher, computer teacher.

One year one of the Assistant Principals (direct supervisor, AP1) came to me and said "we are out of money so there is nothing left in the budget for paper or ink. Do what you can."

The next day the other AP, AP2, came to me and we had tis exchange:
AP2: "your bulletin board is outdated, been up for a month. You need to change it."

Me: "I have no printer ink or paper."

AP2: "Why?"

Me: "the budget is closed and there is no money for ink or paper."

AP2: "So? You need to update the bulletin board with recent student work."

Me: "I have no printer ink or paper."

AP2: "Why not?"

Me: "Because we're out of money..." (yes, he asked twice).

AP2: "Doesn't matter, you need to figure out a way to get new student work on your bulletin board or I'll write you up"

We had this back and forth 3 more times, me repeatedly asking him how I, the computer teacher, could possible update my bulletin board with new student work if there was no ink or paper for the printers. He kept saying "Doesn't matter, needs to be updated".

I ended up taking the work down and reposting all of it, in a different design, to make it look different. I then covered it in clear plastic to "not damage the new work"

AP2 complimented me on the new board and actaully said "see, I knew you could work around our budget and supply issues"


The AP1 who was my direct supervisor was no help either in explaining the situation to AP2.


As an aside, AP2 had horrible vision and was a bit of a moron. One day he gets on the PA system and actually says "We need to evacuate now, I saw a strange man going in to the boiler room, we can't stay in the building!"

500 staff and students evacuate in chaos, brought on primarily by the frantic nature of AP2's announcement.

3 hours later, cops, firemen, etc investigating, turns out the "mysterious figure" entering the boiler room was the janitor.


I am at a great school now with a great staff, but as a city teacher in a huge system I could tell stories for days about the ineptitude of colleagues and bosses alike...

Sallad, your post wins hands down & a thumbs up from me.

Thanks Mocker.

7 years, 3 schools, 4 Principal's, 3 AP's, and literally hundreds of colleagues (big schools + high turnover) make for some wacky times.

After reading this post I just sent my PEO out to do Safety inspections for some other shift . Now I'm a F'ed up boss try working for me

and when he's done I'll send him to pick up bird crap.

+ 1 million
Oh this rings so true.
My employer, a tertiary education establishment decided they would have a 3 year sustainability audit. Part of their cost savings strategy decided to target all middle management allowances to save an estimated $4million. So they disestablished all our positions and readvertised them under new titles as Curriculum Leaders (formerly Programme Leaders). Job description almost identical and time allowance for the 'role' reduced from 0.4 FTE to 0.2 FTE - basically same job for half the time allowance and zero remuneration!!!
Then.....THEN.....six months after the fact they announce an $8 million profit

I quit my 'role' and returned to full time contact hours with no other responsibilities - loving it.

One of our administrators told us all at a training that if we couldn't be passionate about our jobs, Wal-Mart was hiring every day. He pretty much pissed off every one who was listening. The worst boss is a pompous poser who loves his little sound bites. My immediate supervisor is a hard worker, and although I frequently disagree with his methods, I respect him as a person and a professional. I just tell myself that I chose to stay in the teaching ranks instead of becoming an administrator, and my students and I are all the better for it.

Had a boss a dozen years or so ago that actually drew up undated resignation letters for everyone on our staff. One-by-one, he started calling each of us into his office demanding that we sign our specific letter so that if he didn't want us around anymore-he would just date it and turn it into HR. I was floored when he handed me mine and I dropped it back on his desk, unsigned and went to his boss' office immediately. He was gone soon after, but for a number of other reasons as well. I was amazed at the arrogance of this guy, but just totally dumbfounded that there were co-workers of mine that actually signed it. I've had a lot of bad bosses, but this guy was a crappy human being on top of that.

Google "LEAN Processing and Six Sigma" and you will discover the sixth level of hell that my work has become.

Our work is now governed by "Standard Work" which was originally created by folks who talked to folks who oversee the folks who do my job. It is "updated" by "leadership teams" which are the supervisors who could not do my job if their lives depended on it. Deviations from Standard Work are dealt with harshly, but it is understood that Standard Work does not address all of the situations that we have to deal with on a daily basis.

To become LEAN, they have decided that we all will sit together, imagine a big dining room table and you and 12 of your coworkers sitting around it...all day...every day...day in...day out. They say familiarity breeds contempt... Its TRUE!

Also, they decided to make the direct supervisor of the whole mess a young thing that never held a single job before she graduated from college and got this job, that was raised in White Bread America and who runs the place much like she ran her cheerleading squad at a totally monocultural school in a monocultural town.

Oh, and then we are doing an "upgrade" of our computer systems onto a Windows based platform, unfortunately, the folks that write the programs are totally separate from the users of those programs and so now that we have moved over to this system we are finding many things that don't work so the system is crashing...

Despite this, we are still expected to get our jobs done, the way this is accomplished in a department that has gone from 80 to 25 people doing the work, is denying time off requests and retroactively implementing rules about unplanned absences (defined as time off that was not pre-approved, it takes at least a week to get an absence pre approved but absence requests are expected 6 months ahead of time) this includes when the roads are closed because of bad weather if you don't live in the county and it is illegal to use the roads.

And to make us all feel better, our meetings all start with the supervisors talking about how happy they are to have good jobs in this economy where people just have no idea if they are going to have their job the next day and there are so many people out there searching for jobs...

Feel better?

Not quite a bad boss story, more of a humorous pointless layer of management story...

... before becoming a teacher I worked for the dotcom arm of a publishing company. My boss, John, was an editor who had been with the company for 15 years and was extremely well regarded in the industry (great guy too, still a close friend).

The company was sold and new management wanted "Project Managers" in charge of each magazine and dotcom entity.

Our "Project Manager" was hired, sent a few emails for a week, my boss called him out on something he screwed up (the guy had no editorial, publishing, or dotcom experience) and he, the Project Manager, got promoted to "Vice President".

Why the sudden promotion out of nowhere? My boss, John, was not just an editor but had the title of "Vice President of News" for the whole company. The new owners realized a "Project Manager" couldn't, per title, "supervise" a Vice President.

So within a few weeks of being hired as a "Project Manager" this random guy became a publishing company Vice President, complete with salary upgrade....

The upside of this story? The Project Manager/Vice President was the first guy laid off 3 months later when the dotcom bubble burst