What irks you in a co-worker?

[trinacriabob]

There is always a PROBLEM here or there. "Office Space" LIVES!

In my project area, there is ONLY one person I don't like. His problem is his meddlesome nature. First, he has to get involved in people's financial affairs (he can't manage his own). Then, he always does a "shaking of the finger" when a person gets time off during a crunch (when he's done the same thing). He always seems to be TOO interested in what others are doing, right down to making smart-ass comments about who is or isn't participating in what event at the forthcoming picnic. Except for a few people I like, I couldn't even REMOTELY tell you what others are into.

Not only that, he's got the same creepy brow that the dude from "Silence of the Lambs" has. No wonder his marriage is awful and his wife is a workaholic. Nobody seems to like this guy and our consultant groups even ask "Is (insert his name) coming to the meeting?," hoping it's NO!

Don't get me wrong, I go to lunch with different people about 3 out of the 5 weekly work days. Those people are FUN and we have our "code words" and "nicknames" for people, places and situations.

What I find is that difficult people in the workplace don't "check their issues at the door" and "project" their outside issues on their co-workers.

[FAPTurbo]

People who are perpetually happy, always cheery and smiling. I've always felt those are the ones that will end up stabbing us all.

[trinacriabob]

People who are perpetually happy, always cheery and smiling. I've always felt those are the ones that will end up stabbing us all.

Ha! Great. You're probably right.

There is one guy I ALWAYS say "hello" to because, if he ever loses it, I want to be spared!

[Robert Hall]

People who are perpetually happy, always cheery and smiling. I've always felt those are the ones that will end up stabbing us all.

+1. And those that laugh at everything...I used to have a coworker that sat over the cube wall from me that would do that... 'I just got an email..hah-hah-hah.'... 'I have a meeting..hah-hah-hah'. 'The production database crashed. Hah-hah-hah'. Got old after a while..after 3 years, got really old. Though he was very sharp and a great guy to work/lunch/drink with otherwise.

A current pet peeve are the ones that come in late (9:30-10) and stay late (till 6:30) and send out emails expecting a reply after 5pm. I consistently come in by 7:30 and leave by 4:30 (some in my dept come even earlier/leave earlier). One guy on my team comes in at 9:30-10 and always misses the 9am Monday meeting.

One thing working in Colorado Springs back in the '90s I found very irriating were managers, coworkers, etc that were always trying to invite me to join their church, etc. I'm not religious and find it pretty presumptive of them to assume I was a Christian (not every WASPy guy that moves to Colorado Springs is an evangelical).

Edited September 16, 2009 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[trinacriabob]

+1. And those that laugh at everything...I used to have a coworker that sat over the cube wall from me that would do that... 'I just got an email..hah-hah-hah.'... 'I have a meeting..hah-hah-hah'. 'The production database crashed. Hah-hah-hah'. Got old after a while..after 3 years, got really old. Though he was very sharp and a great guy to work/lunch/drink with otherwise.

A current pet peeve are the ones that come in late (9:30-10) and stay late (till 6:30) and send out emails expecting a reply after 5pm. I consistently come in by 7:30 and leave by 4:30 (some in my dept come even earlier/leave earlier). One guy on my team comes in at 9:30-10 and always misses the 9am Monday meeting.

One thing working in Colorado Springs back in the '90s I found very irriating were managers, coworkers, etc that were always trying to invite me to join their church, etc. I'm not religious and find it pretty presumptive of them to assume I was a Christian (not every WASPy guy that moves to Colorado Springs is an evangelical).

This is hilarious.

How about people who stay late to "grandstand" and show that extra dose of "commitment?" Yeah, right.

Yes, religion and politics definitely need to stay out of the workplace. For some reason, religion seems to be more of a problem than does politics, since I always steer politics to its quantitative impact on the economy and it ends there.

HOWEVER, with all the admonishments in today's work place, people still have the need to cram religion down your throat. I had a co-worker I really liked. He was (still is) a structural engineer. I knew he went to Catholic school in a small town because those of his specific Protestant denomination were not well-represented. He was a very polite and considerate person, who kept religion out of the picture. One night, I'm reading at Starbucks and he walks in with his wife. She was very engaging and outgoing (whereas he is very reserved) and we were having a great conversation. At some point in her life, she converted from Catholicism to some type of fundamentalist grass-roots Christianity. When we all got up to leave, it then got to:

"Well, you have to come to our church. I know you would really enjoy meeting our pastor. You really should come."

Me: "Thanks for the invitation. I'm really not that religious and know that I only feel comfortable in a Catholic church to begin with. I have a parish I attend"

"Oh, no, really, you should come..."

Back and forth...you get the idea.

If that had happened in a work setting, that would qualify as harassment.

[mustang84]

Nobody I work with really does this, but I have seen it in others. I can't stand it when someone is either on a phone or talking amongst their group VERY LOUDLY so that EVERYBODY CAN HEAR HOW IMPORTANT THEIR CONVERSATION IS. Half the time it is about the most inane, mundane things that 99% of people could care less about.

But as far as co-workers go, I get tired of the gossip among the girls. A majority of my firm is between 25-35 years old, and there are a lot of single girls that I sit by who are constantly gossiping. I don't mind them usually, but they will spend 20-30 minutes at a time gossiping while the rest of us are working away. And these are the same people that will pad their hours and get praises for working long hours, while some of us are more efficient with our time and can get it done in the 8 hour day but get the "your hours have been lower than some others" comment at our mid-year reviews.

[ShadowDog]

Damn my grammar sucks today...edit edit edit

Attitudes of entitlement are my pet peeve.

When employees expect to be paid for three minutes they're on the job past the end of a scheduled shift, but complain when they're docked pay for being over fifteen minutes late.

When a co-worker I know spends more time doing her personal business on the phone than getting back to the clients who've left messages while the line was busy.

There are plenty of others; however, this one is my personal favorite:

A 35 year old employee at one of the stores in my division had community theatre three nights a week. He literally whined to his manager that he didn't have time between the end of his work day and the start of his theatre rehearsal to get dressed in character (makeup, etc.), so he said, "I came up with a great idea. I think I'll change and get ready at work a half-hour before the end of my shift so I can just lock the doors and go."

What he failed to realize was that: a) he wears a uniform for his shift and can't be doing business with a damned clown costume on; b) the last fifteen minutes of the day is when final tidy and tally is performed, all hands on deck; c) never had any store been able to lock the doors and go home until at least ten minutes past the end of the day because of lingering staff, customers, duties, etc. He simply expected his co-workers to pick up his slack.

When his manager had difficulty dealing with the situation, I stepped in and offered a compromise. I asked him if he was willing to take an earlier shift and not have to worry about being late for rehearsals. He said no because that shift was a 1/2 hour shorter and he didn't like cutting his hours. I asked him if he was willing to come in a half hour earlier so he could leave a half hour before closing. He said no because his kids school is on his way to work and not his wife's, so his shift allowed him to always drop them off on time without having to get them up even earlier (a lousy half hour?). I asked him if he knew of any other jobs he could work that would allow him to get paid for standing in front of a mirror for half an hour.

He wasn't so friendly with me after that meeting.

Edited September 17, 2009 by ShadowDog

[mustang84]

Another one is when your project manager comes over at 4:45 as the day is wrapping up and gives you something to work on that is due the next morning and takes an extra 3 hours, when they could have given it to you earlier in the afternoon but they forgot. Nice.

Edited September 17, 2009 by mustang84

[Robert Hall]

This is hilarious.

How about people who stay late to "grandstand" and show that extra dose of "commitment?" Yeah, right.

Yes, religion and politics definitely need to stay out of the workplace. For some reason, religion seems to be more of a problem than does politics, since I always steer politics to its quantitative impact on the economy and it ends there.

..

If that had happened in a work setting, that would qualify as harassment.

The best was my first week on the job at a large telecom company in Colorado Springs, June '97. I had just moved to town from Michigan, really my first big corporate job after grad school....my manager came by my cube, serious look on his face...asked if I had found a place, moved in, etc and if I had found a church, and invited me to his...one of the largest evangelical ones in the country (New Life, the megachurch who's pastor was in the gay prostitution scandal a couple years ago). I politely declined, but he asked me to come to events of theirs a couple more times over the next year before he decamped to Finland. Only after living there a few months did I realize I had moved to a place that was a hot bed of right wing fundies. Living in Ann Arbor and Chicago the previous few years, I only knew Colorado Springs for the Air Force Academy, great weather and great scenery...

Rob

[frogger]

Anyone who has to tell a story that reminds them of something that we just talked about or just occured in the office, work related or not... So annoying!

"That reminds me of the time I....". Of course, you hear the same stories over the years and they always seem to exaggerate certain parts of it to the point of total BS.

[CSpec]

I start work in a week and a half, so I'm looking forward to these deliciously awkward encounters. Some of your guys' stories are pretty funny.

[Robert Hall]

Anyone who has to tell a story that reminds them of something that we just talked about or just occured in the office, work related or not... So annoying!

"That reminds me of the time I....". Of course, you hear the same stories over the years and they always seem to exaggerate certain parts of it to the point of total BS.

I've been guilty of that... Move from company to company with my collection of stories, different ones for different contexts... I'm also guilty of when encountering a situation at work, saying 'well, at company XYZ, we did this..."..

[regfootball]

what's a 'co-worker'?

[regfootball]

it's been nice and extremely liberating not to have to deal with coworker $h! for awhile. very cleansing for the soul.

shoot em all and then they are gone.

[capriceman]

When my "little" people under me don't use the Cover sheet on the TPS reports.

[XP715]

When my "little" people under me don't use the Cover sheet on the TPS reports.

Yeahhhhhhhhh..... soooooooo I'm gonna need you to go ahead and come in on Saturday..... that'd be greaaaaaat.

[Robert Hall]

Yeahhhhhhhhh..... soooooooo I'm gonna need you to go ahead and come in on Saturday..... that'd be greaaaaaat.

They took my stapler.

(this really happened at the startup I worked at last year...the bastard Toyota-lovin' kids stole my red Swingline)

[capriceman]

They took my stapler.

(this really happened at the startup I worked at last year...the bastard Toyota-lovin' kids stole my red Swingline)

I just fell out of my chair on that one.

[Robert Hall]

I just fell out of my chair on that one.

That was one of my stranger job experiences...anti fraud software company..the interview went well, they were building some interesting technology, but working there sucked...I worked with a bunch of obnoxious 20-something Toyota fanboys that gave me a hard time constantly for driving an American car and stole things out of my cube...

[trinacriabob]

what's a 'co-worker'?

Bleh...I know how you feel, so "enjoy" it while you can...

Today's our picinic, so that will be interesting. Getting to see everybody make idiots of themselves. I will be steering clear of "Hannibal," who is the consummate geek.

The food is generally fantastic, so I'll indulge in the endless varieties of food (and skip dinner) and then disappear in the afternoon to have my (passenger side) struts looked at, since they are under warranty

[SAmadei]

what's a 'co-worker'?

Best part is when your "co-workers" wouldn't know "work" if it bit them in the ass.

Years ago, Scott Adams (of Dilbert fame) convinced me to think of them as "cow-orkers". Use your imagination to fill in what orking might be.

[regfootball]

Bleh...I know how you feel, so "enjoy" it while you can...

Today's our picinic, so that will be interesting. Getting to see everybody make idiots of themselves. I will be steering clear of "Hannibal," who is the consummate geek.

The food is generally fantastic, so I'll indulge in the endless varieties of food (and skip dinner) and then disappear in the afternoon to have my (passenger side) struts looked at, since they are under warranty

if this were a facebook page, i would LIKE this. lol

recruiter told me yesterday bob, that unemp in our field in boston area is SEVENTY percent. not just 50 like it is here. SEVENTY. he says it will hit 70 here before things turn around.

in the meantime, me and my son watch movies and surf on C/G

[Robert Hall]

if this were a facebook page, i would LIKE this. lol

recruiter told me yesterday bob, that unemp in our field in boston area is SEVENTY percent. not just 50 like it is here. SEVENTY. he says it will hit 70 here before things turn around.

in the meantime, me and my son watch movies and surf on C/G

Damn..that's an amazing number...architecture is your field?

I've talked w/ a few recruiters lately, and they claim it's about 5 percent in the Phoenix metro, and about 3 percent in the Denver metro for my niche..

Rob

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

I've been guilty of that... Move from company to company with my collection of stories, different ones for different contexts... I'm also guilty of when encountering a situation at work, saying 'well, at company XYZ, we did this..."..

I'm the worlds worst for this. To me, life is about efficiency and doing the best job possible. So I'm very guilty of pissing off supervisors with "we did it this way at"

Edited September 18, 2009 by FUTURE_OF_GM

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

if this were a facebook page, i would LIKE this. lol

recruiter told me yesterday bob, that unemp in our field in boston area is SEVENTY percent. not just 50 like it is here. SEVENTY. he says it will hit 70 here before things turn around.

in the meantime, me and my son watch movies and surf on C/G

Yep, the GF tells me a lot of the same. Says it's supposed to pick up around 2012 like mad though. We'll really be effed if she graduates into the same employment slump that I did.

Charlotte area unemployment is around 20% now by some reports. Damn banks and their outdated business models (btw, I mean to be ironic in that statement and reference GM)

Edited September 18, 2009 by FUTURE_OF_GM

[mustang84]

if this were a facebook page, i would LIKE this. lol

recruiter told me yesterday bob, that unemp in our field in boston area is SEVENTY percent. not just 50 like it is here. SEVENTY. he says it will hit 70 here before things turn around.

in the meantime, me and my son watch movies and surf on C/G

Arch unemployment is 50% in the Twin Cities? And 70 in Boston?? I don't know what it is here in Iowegia, but I wouldn't guess it to be more than 30%.

[trinacriabob]

Arch unemployment is 50% in the Twin Cities? And 70 in Boston?? I don't know what it is here in Iowegia, but I wouldn't guess it to be more than 30%.

Mustang, what does this term (in bold) mean?

The figures are always strange, since the parameters are hard to define....do they mean anyone who is capable of working in an architectural firm, do they mean architectural graduates, do they mean licensed architects or do they mean AIA members? And then you hear conflicting stories...I've heard it said newer graduates are more in demand because they are compensated less and then I've heard that more experienced architects are in demand because they can wear many hats and can be autonomous. Who knows...I do know that the density of architects has always been highest in SF, Seattle and Boston. That I believe. I also know that there are many weird turtlenecked, round glasses types in the field that use this external charade as a "smokescreen" for competence. I only like architects who can manage to look and act normal, and STILL do the work. I went to school with some people who had good design and technical skills...and were/are totally normal...you can't typecast them...they can fit into engineering, business, pharmacy, education, IT or any curriculum because they don't buy into "the look." I think the abnormal ones have hurt, and will continue to hurt, the profession since those paying the freight (developers, owners, public agencies, etc.) automatically place them on a lower rung than other types of professionals. Sad, but true.

In North Central California, I actually see some firms looking for 10-15 years of experience types for big complicated public work. I'm not in the market, so I just muse "...ok, interesting." I think there is definitely work in places like Austin and Houston. I also think that, in 6 to 9 months, things will really pick up. I think than in 3 years there won't be enough experienced people to do the work.

All of this being said, I just came home from our picnic with a headache and had to lay down. Good news, I bolted for 1 hour to get my struts checked and they are under warranty, so I get some new ones this weekend. Bad news, good Gawd, I just realized how many people I work with irritate me, so I got my food and only talked to a few people I like.

[trinacriabob]

Charlotte area unemployment is around 20% now by some reports.

I know BLS releases figures any day now. I always track the Southeastern states. GA and FL are right around 10, SC is around 12+, NC is around 11 and VA is around 8. The good news is that they appear to have peaked and are inching back down. Also, the figures I look at are always statewide figures. I could only imagine that Charlotte is in far worse shape employment-wise than is Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill because the latter area is diversified and has the less cyclical government/university sectors that employ a fair number of people.

Edited September 18, 2009 by trinacriabob

[Robert Hall]

Yep, the GF tells me a lot of the same. Says it's supposed to pick up around 2012 like mad though. We'll really be effed if she graduates into the same employment slump that I did.

Charlotte area unemployment is around 20% now by some reports. Damn banks and their outdated business models (btw, I mean to be ironic in that statement and reference GM)

Speaking of banks, I'm currently contracting at one of the largest banks in the US...the inefficiencies in their SW development processes, etc is amazing.... I'm truly amazed anything actually works...infinite levels of beauacracy, hidden reporting structures, departments that won't communicate, complex, poorly documented systems, hundreds of acronyms, etc.

Edited September 18, 2009 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[Justin Bimmer]

Women who wear flip flops to work and make LOUD noises with them when walking down the hall.

[trinacriabob]

Speaking of banks, I'm currently contracting at one of the largest banks in the US...the inefficiencies in their SW development processes, etc is amazing.... I'm truly amazed anything actually works...infinite levels of beauacracy, hidden reporting structures, departments that won't communicate, complex, poorly documented systems, hundreds of acronyms, etc.

Yes, amazing. Large organizations can be scary. I worked for BellSouth in Atlanta and was surrounded by stupid people who couldn't see past the ends of their noses. But they didn't irk me...they were more entertaining. The combination of Southerners from the area, transplanted Northeasterners and South Florida types who were indignant at being transferred to "the ATL," riding up and down in the same elevators, made for "never a dull moment." Plus, I loved the neighborhood I lived in, commuting on MARTA and working close to downtown Atlanta...it helped offset the lackluster abilities of many co-workers. But it pushed me to go to graduate school in another field!

[Robert Hall]

Yes, amazing. Large organizations can be scary. I worked for BellSouth in Atlanta and was surrounded by stupid people who couldn't see past the ends of their noses. But they didn't irk me...they were more entertaining. The combination of Southerners from the area, transplanted Northeasterners and South Florida types who were indignant at being transferred to "the ATL," riding up and down in the same elevators, made for "never a dull moment." Plus, I loved the neighborhood I lived in, commuting on MARTA and working close to downtown Atlanta...it helped offset the lackluster abilities of many co-workers. But it pushed me to go to graduate school in another field!

The scary thing is when the incompetent people get promoted and start making the decisions... I started out my career at MCI in Colorado Springs, had an ex-Bell South coworker IIRC. Had tons of Virginia/DC area transplants (where MCI's home offices were) as well as transplanted Midwesterners, East Coasters, and Californians...(there was also a clique of South Africans who owned the mainframe systems architecture group, ran it like a military organization, as well as the usual h1B Indian programmers)--all had come to Colorado for the great climate, winter sports, abundant sunshine, booming job market. 2 1/2 years was enough in telecom for me...was there through the Worldcom takeover..

Edited September 18, 2009 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[mustang84]

Mustang, what does this term (in bold) mean?

Sometimes people from other states jokingly call us Iowegians. I don't really know the origin, since there aren't too many of Norwegian ancestry that live here (unlike Minnesota & North Dakota). We're mostly Germans, Danes, Polish, and Dutch, with a spattering of Italians (lots of Italians in Des Moines), Irish, and Czech (large presence in Cedar Rapids).

I also know that there are many weird turtlenecked, round glasses types in the field that use this external charade as a "smokescreen" for competence. I only like architects who can manage to look and act normal, and STILL do the work. I went to school with some people who had good design and technical skills...and were/are totally normal...you can't typecast them...they can fit into engineering, business, pharmacy, education, IT or any curriculum because they don't buy into "the look." I think the abnormal ones have hurt, and will continue to hurt, the profession since those paying the freight (developers, owners, public agencies, etc.) automatically place them on a lower rung than other types of professionals. Sad, but true.

I was always amazed in school how those who had the right look and were able to really abstract their work (yet do very little work in the end) always seemed to get kudos from the profs.

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

Sometimes people from other states jokingly call us Iowegians. I don't really know the origin, since there aren't too many of Norwegian ancestry that live here (unlike Minnesota & North Dakota). We're mostly Germans, Danes, Polish, and Dutch, with a spattering of Italians (lots of Italians in Des Moines), Irish, and Czech (large presence in Cedar Rapids).

I was always amazed in school how those who had the right look and were able to really abstract their work (yet do very little work in the end) always seemed to get kudos from the profs.

it's certainly about the "lifestyle"

I could go on for hours about my observations and what a load of $h! that 70% of the college is. Luckily my GF has been able to keep a level head despite the narrow mindedness of the school

[trinacriabob]

were able to really abstract their work (yet do very little work in the end) always seemed to get kudos from the profs.

Mwahaha...

...My interpretation: something that (kinda sorta) looked good, couldn't be built and/or didn't support its intended use (internally) and for which the graphics had that "unfinished" look....

[balthazar]

...I'm truly amazed anything actually works...infinite levels of beauacracy, hidden reporting structures, departments that won't communicate, complex, poorly documented systems, hundreds of acronyms, etc.

That's obviously the FG operational model.

Federal Government.

[trinacriabob]

Women who wear flip flops to work and make LOUD noises with them when walking down the hall.

What I've found is that some of the flip-flop ladies are also MUMU ladies. Correct me if I'm wrong.

But mumus + flip-flops + smoke breaks...well, I wouldn't want them working for me.

Edited September 18, 2009 by trinacriabob

[Robert Hall]

That's obviously the FG operational model.

Federal Government.

Likewise for city and state governments... I've worked for a department of the City of Phoenix and my sister has done gigs w/ various State of California agencies...all pretty dysfunctional. But, they do have opportunities for contractors and consultants to come in and get a decent bill rate to do some work for a while, same with big companies..

[regfootball]

Damn..that's an amazing number...architecture is your field?

I've talked w/ a few recruiters lately, and they claim it's about 5 percent in the Phoenix metro, and about 3 percent in the Denver metro for my niche..

Rob

you IT folks high jacked the term 'architect'.

by architect, i mean buildings and construction. not IT.

[regfootball]

I also know that there are many weird turtlenecked, round glasses types in the field that use this external charade as a "smokescreen" for competence.

your post is all pretty much da shizzle. especially this part.

the 50% i have heard from multiple sources, i think it was for registered folks although i can't see how it would be different for non registered. and whoever still does have a job, lots of those folks are workin 32 hours. at least the firms have mercy. instead of watching billables drop, give them the time off to keep the utilzation rate up, since you were gonna cut their pay anyways. and the workers get 3 day weekends.

and one day less a week with coworkers!!!!!!!

[Northstar]

At the engineering firm I've interned at the past two summers...

The tech/CAD person who works there now and last summer (but not the first summer) is one of the laziest people I've seen. First of all, I do more as the lowly intern in terms of getting stuff done on CAD. That's basically his only job unless there is a problem with the network, which always takes him forever to fix as well. In addition to me getting more CAD work done, I also do calculations and design work, go out on job sites, and go to meetings.

BUT, not only does he seem to sit on his fat ass all day (yes, he is fat, probably 5'4" 280) and not get hardly anything done, he then complains when deadlines come up and he has a $h! ton of stuff to do all of a sudden and it's due in 2 days. I feel like telling him, "you know, maybe if you worked a tiny bit faster and got 1 extra page edited per day, then when the deadline came up we wouldn't be in such a crunch." The funny thing is that the company is only the 3 owners, a secretary, two other engineers, the CAD/tech guy, and me (and I'm only there in the summer) and I've heard the two minority owners (one guy owns most of the company) talk about how he seems to not do $h! and is only good for tech problems. I can't believe he still has a job. If I was in charge, the first thing I'd do is find another guy to do his job and fire him.

[Robert Hall]

you IT folks high jacked the term 'architect'.

by architect, i mean buildings and construction. not IT.

Yes, that's what I meant. Not computer or software architecture. Sounds like the market is really weak right now, tied with the drop off in new construction, I assume.

[ShadowDog]

Laziness knows all professions. Case in point is the ambulance workers union in our local region. They're on strike right now, performing essential services but on strike pay at the moment. I happen to know one of the paramedics and saw some of her postings on Facebook a few times regarding their down-time. At the call center, they're asleep on the couch or will find a quiet place to sleep in the ambulance. They'll go online and fart around on Facebook, complaining about how bored they are. All the while self-documenting their laziness and sloth-speed train of thought through the day. Why is this such a big deal? Well, a few years ago the Health Services in our area closed two hospitals and is directing all non-emergency and major-emergency traffic to a third. The public wasn't pleased with this cost-saving measure and protested with no positive outcome. What did the ambulance workers do? Nothing. They didn't even have a statement to the issue. They would be in greater need to shuttle patients for emergency calls and pending operations, so they were happier than pigs in $h!.

They're on strike now, on one hand because of wages, layoffs and work conditions. Seriously? I'm seeing pictures taken with cell phone cameras of paramedics 'catching' each other sleeping or putzing around on a regular basis and they're complaining about wages and work conditions? I'm already annoyed with their huge signs playing the political game of gathering public support. They make it out to seem like the cuts in their labor-force is going to make wait times increase for 911 calls, etc. At this point, the only thing I'd be worried about is how long it takes to wake their fat ass and ensure they took off in the right direction with the ambulance.

[trinacriabob]

the 50% i have heard from multiple sources, i think it was for registered folks although i can't see how it would be different for non registered. and whoever still does have a job, lots of those folks are workin 32 hours. at least the firms have mercy. instead of watching billables drop, give them the time off to keep the utilzation rate up, since you were gonna cut their pay anyways. and the workers get 3 day weekends.

and one day less a week with coworkers

Some neat info I like to look up on BLS's site and track.

On the mainland, after Michigan, skanky Nevada is posting upwards of 13%. Only 5 years ago, Nevada was clamoring for workers in every field. California has climbed over 12%, to 12.2%

For the Southeast, FL and GA are still pretty high. However, the Carolinas and Virginia have been inching down, though slowly. It's unbelievable, but Virginia is posting a 6.5% unemployment rate. I wonder if that's from all the stimulus money in the DC Beltway suburbs.

Check out the stats. The tabulation for the states is on the right...and you can "drill down" for each state's historical trends. It appears that June/July is when it all peaked for many states.

Link to BLS state unemployment data

[Robert Hall]

Some neat info I like to look up on BLS's site and track.

On the mainland, after Michigan, skanky Nevada is posting upwards of 13%. Only 5 years ago, Nevada was clamoring for workers in every field. California has climbed over 12%, to 12.2%

For the Southeast, FL and GA are still pretty high. However, the Carolinas and Virginia have been inching down, though slowly. It's unbelievable, but Virginia is posting a 6.5% unemployment rate. I wonder if that's from all the stimulus money in the DC Beltway suburbs.

Check out the stats. The tabulation for the states is on the right...and you can "drill down" for each state's historical trends. It appears that June/July is when it all peaked for many states.

Link to BLS state unemployment data

AZ is currently claiming 9.6% or so, but analysis on the radio claims it's considerably higher. AZ is as much a toilet as NV, the economy here is too reliant on real estate (building generic beige houses in hideous beige suburbs), tourism (golf, golf, and more golf) and retirees..

AZ (along w/ NV) were growing like crazy the last 30 years, and that growth is stalled currently..so many empty big box stores, empty strip malls, half finished subdivisions.

Bottom line, many people moved here, but is there anything of substance to retain people and to lead to growth in the desert? There is no meaningful future here...

Edited September 18, 2009 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[trinacriabob]

AZ is as much a toilet as NV

Bottom line, many people moved here, but is there anything of substance to retain people and to lead to growth in the desert?

No. I don't like that landscape and, if I don't like the inland Calif. landscape with its brown hills and oaks, I definitely would not like the SW landscape.

There is a great deal of transiency in the SW, especially in NV. A friend of mine ended up in Las Vegas, beaming at the new house that could be bought with SoCal money. However, I think that my friend's "honeymoon" with the area is ending and a move wouldn't surprise me.

One of the best things to do with an area one is considering is "the Starbucks test." Hang out in a Starbucks (or insert name of chain coffeehouse) and see if the locals resonate with you. Every single time I've sat in a Starbucks anywhere in the Las Vegas metro area, I was fairly turned off. They know where they can stuff all their new houses.

[Robert Hall]

No. I don't like that landscape and, if I don't like the inland Calif. landscape with its brown hills and oaks, I definitely would not like the SW landscape.

There is a great deal of transiency in the SW, especially in NV. A friend of mine ended up in Las Vegas, beaming at the new house that could be bought with SoCal money. However, I think that my friend's "honeymoon" with the area is ending and a move wouldn't surprise me.

One of the best things to do with an area one is considering is "the Starbucks test." Hang out in a Starbucks (or insert name of chain coffeehouse) and see if the locals resonate with you. Every single time I've sat in a Starbucks anywhere in the Las Vegas metro area, I was fairly turned off. They know where they can stuff all their new houses.

I'm sick of it and plan to get out of AZ as soon as practical..probably Q1 of '10. Go someplace greener, more humid and more authentic...

[Justin Bimmer]

Does anybody else get tired of the constant "buy $h! for my kid's school project" or donate to the school for a fun run or some other extra activity that the parents should be looking into financing?

Well, I guess I should say that if they want to pettle stuff, try to not make it so crappy like Christmas wreaths and crappy cookie dough or wrapping paper.

[Robert Hall]

Does anybody else get tired of the constant "buy $h! for my kid's school project" or donate to the school for a fun run or some other extra activity that the parents should be looking into financing?

Well, I guess I should say that if they want to pettle stuff, try to not make it so crappy like Christmas wreaths and crappy cookie dough or wrapping paper.

Or the yearly Girl Scout Cookie sales.

I just ignore any emails or people trying to sell stuff, and if anyone asks me I always respond that I'm a contractor, not an employee...i.e. leave me alone.

As far as corporate events, etc...

When I was an employee a few years ago, I did like some of the corporate events we did--the occasional official happy hour (at a local Hyatt w/ delicious catered food) or the holiday party (same place, more delicious catered food), since I genuinely enjoyed my team and many of the other people in the company, when it was still small and Canadian before it got acquired by a big conglomerate. Not to mention the unofficial weekly team happy hours (that often lasted until 1-2 am). The annual company golf tournament was always a blast, drinking at 9am, seeing drunken colleagues rolling a golf cart at 10am, etc. The pot lucks were fun, esp. when the Indians brought in delicious spicy curry dishes. 4 of the 5 years I was there was probably the best of my career so far, as far as satisfying work, interesting people, and good times.

Now I'm pragmatic about work...get a high bill rate, spend 40 hrs in a cube, go home. In boring AZ.

[2005 EquinoxLS]

Which Co-worker? The ones who speak their own language so you cant understand what they are saying? Or the guy who feels the need to start rumors and in general annoy people not to mention just sitting in his chair and falling asleep while the boards are coming out of the wave. The same guy asks the dumbest questions at meetings and annoys the managers and owners. Or the supervisors who cant keep calm and just deal with the situation instead of throwing a fit like a 2 year old when things don't go right. Always love it when my wave operators take off so I have to be there instead of them. Thats ok, remember kids I have way more vacation time than you. You arent going to win that one no matter how hard you try.