Retroactive Admonishment
I haven't posted here in a while but something happened today which just adds to my frustration. I got lectured on paying better attention to detail because I got the digit of an ID wrong. All right but I did the report in February. It is now August and I'm getting in trouble?
Half the time I'm trying to do six things at once and I'm pretty sure my error rate is quite low. On new reports that get run I put in more details than anyone else and they want to quibble about something that was done 6 months ago??
Does anyone else have to deal with situations like this?
@Enthenia
while i agree after six months that seems a small item to be brought up ..... at that point it is not like you can go back and fix it. So you were made aware let it go and move on as you said your error rate is low.
Was this something that they were asked about months later and now want to say something because someone said something to them? how would and incorrect ID effect someone?
I had a job that when they did yearly evaluations they had to come up with even a minor error as a work on this comment even if it was no big deal ... could this be similar ?
@toughTiger6481 the person showed up on a quarterly report and when it was reviewed, it was discovered that the ID was wrong and the report had to be redone. They have to pay for reports that get redone and apparently last year, it was a big expense. I understand that aspect.
But, six months after the fact and everyone has to be alerted like it's a house on fire. I have fixed a lot of randomly named files, incorrect or missing information on profiles, etc. I renamed and filtered over 500 customers for our wires because there was no consistency in that folder. Took me 3+ months and I add expiration dates and clarify IDs in folders and I don't complain about it. Of course, I've learned that when I bring things to the attention of the supervisors, it gets acknowledged then forgotten about.
But it's not a two way street. If I acknowledge something and then forget to do it or triple check (which is hard to do because I'm expected to do five things all at once and be accurate in everything), then my actions are being construed as ignoring authority and insubordination.
@toughTiger6481
Our annual review also has a space for something like this....you have to put down shortcomings and things that could be done better. You cannot leave it blank....the administration thinks everyone has room for improvement. How do I, as a supervisor and rater, put something here and make it seem small and insignificant after telling my people how much of a good job they are doing.....
@CyclingThroughLife meant to respond to this but sooner but had someone to play with. This wasn't a review. This was an occurrence that seems to happen every other day. I know there's a myriad of saying out there like "opinions don't matter", "believe in yourself", "so long as you try your best", etc. but my company seems to adhere to "Just do it" which is great for athletics but doesn't really translate to a good working environment.
I have worked many different places. Retail, inventories, resorts...and I can't recall any place being as frustrating as this one. They had a posting in another department--one that's similar to what I do now but I don't know if I even want to try. It would most likely be the same window with a different dressing.
I know a perfect working environment does not exist since perfect is a matter of perception but I'd like to work somewhere where I could feel like I actually accomplished something instead of bailing water with a siev.
@Enthenia
"This was an occurrence that seems to happen every other day. I know there's a myriad of saying out there like "opinions don't matter", "believe in yourself", "so long as you try your best", etc. but my company seems to adhere to "Just do it" which is great for athletics but doesn't really translate to a good working environment."
I have always worked for a "just do it" organization. It began when I joined the military in the early 90s and after that with my current career. I work in a political environment and our policy and procedures are dictated by elected officials. I have worked for many different administrations in my career. Our current administration lives by the saying "don't come to me with your problems, bring me solutions"......I have found this to be a good thing in some instances....maybe you go to your higher ups and present the solution to your problem in a way that it sounds like you are making things better for them....just a thought.... I have always tried to believe in the myriad of sayings out there, but it is very difficult sometimes.
"It would most likely be the same window with
a different dressing."
This is one reason why I am torn in my current situation. I feel like I have been doing my job for too long and need a change but sometimes I see evidence that the grass isn't always greener on the other side....
I know a perfect working environment does not exist since perfect is a matter of perception but I'd like to work somewhere where I could feel like I actually accomplished something instead of bailing water with a siev.
My job has zero feeling of accomplishment. Of course I knew this going into it all those years ago, but like I said earlier, I just think I've been doing it too long and need a change. Unfortunately, I'm not sure I can make that change right now.....its a matter of I've been in too long to leave....I'm this close to a good retirement package.....I just need to learn to get by.....
@CyclingThroughLife the problem is with the management is they say "That's a really good idea" and that's it.
Supposedly, the company is one of the biggest concerns of its kind in the world and I have no idea how if every department is run like mine. I don't know if it's localized or it it's national but I'd have to have a lot of money saved up to look at other regions and with rent taken care of, I have nothing.
I fortunately have quite a few years to go before I worry about retirement but what good does it do when it feels like one is moving forward in reverse? Sometimes it seems that there is no point in trying but again, I know that staying there long term will just prolong the stress, tension, etc.
@Enthenia
A lot of places don't see all the good and extra an employee does and only the things that go wrong. I had 17 years of an unblemished record, going above and beyond, and made a bad decision last year as a supervisor, was disciplined, and now feel it defines me at my place of employment. One mistake, bad decision, or bad day can wash away all the years of good things you have done in a skinny minute at some places. I cannot offer advice on how to change or fix that because I have no idea, but you can continue to come here and vent and be supported if it helps you feel better.
@CyclingThroughLife yes. It feels like I'm constantly in trouble. Like I got a call from a supervisor yesterday inquiring about the number of reports. IT finally delivered a consolidated aggregated report which took 18 reports off my daily reports list. I discovered it by accident when I was trying to pull those 18 daily reports but I remembered management saying that IT had been working on it.
So, I started saving the single report instead of the 18 so when the supervisor called about them, she didn't seem to be aware of the report. Then she said that I should have told the supervisors about the report. So I'm expected not to do my things at the same time and accurately but I am also expected to do the jobs of other departments?
Most of the time, I'm so overwhelmed that I can't keep track of the day. All I know is that I have two days where my alarm doesn't go off...
Not only, I meant
@Enthenia
One admonishment or called out for a mistake has hit you very hard i get that .... In the end whose expectations did you fail the company or your own super high expectations?
It is a very hard lesson that in every one of my jobs there was at least 1-2 people that tried to keep up but they were doing far more then was asked ......................... of course management LOVES this even if it is as you say "unnoticed" ... many a place when the person left either for their own moving on or just snapped and was let go they found they needed 2 or more people to do the load of work this one person was doing...
I worked at a place and i am serious the managers were required to find something to mark down a person and tell they to try harder... One year no joke the woman i worked for said that i "could get my white shirts whiter with some more bleach" i looked at her strange and she said that was all she could come up with criticizing my laundry efforts.... ????
in the end we all make mistakes .......some may be minor some serious..... A company should have have more audit situations if this one small error was made to be such a huge deal.... taking it personally just does not help it gets bigger and bigger in your mind ..... and if this is effecting how they are treating you maybe it was not the error.... some feel threatened by an employee that knows their stuff backward and forwards and pointing out a small error or such is to remind you they out rank you.... certainly you have seen that in military service too.
@toughTiger6481 The supervisor that called me about the consolidated reports that I found and neglected to let them know (didn't know that was my job but apparently I should have) said they do random checks and that's what they call out to management.
In my case, it just seems like it's constant. There's also very little communication. I don't want hour lon meetings all the time--I have a hard enough time keeping up with my normal tasks. I can't afford to have more time taken from me--but even an email or something explaining what's going on or somehow see how what we do actually matters. I don't know. A lot of times it just feels like I'm a hamster in a wheel. Running but not going anywhere.
I don't want accolade but I'd like to feel like I'm doing something right more than feeling like I'm always screwing up.
@Enthenia
I totally get that and i hope someone values you and tells you thank you for all you do ... in the end i remember most of my corrections and only a few of my accolades ..... it is along the lines of remembering negative over positive.
@toughTiger6481 I actually brought that point up when I did a visit to HR (two mistakes I'll never make again. One was listening to advice from someone and the second was going to HR. No matter how bad things get, I won't go there again). I said it would help if people didn't always point out the bad things. Let people know that they're doing things right. But of course I got written up for being negative. Again, when all you get is your mistakes pointed out, wouldn't you come to anticipate that when supervisors, management, whatever want you, it's for a mistake?
@Enthenia
Of course, but when I view it like that, it is almost like a negative magnet and at a certain point always waiting for the worst i miss any small atta boy or good job that i have had.
HR is not anyone's friend and they do not want to listen to constructive criticism .... they hope never to hear from employees IMO. Sort of if you find yourself in a hole quit digging. You can change yourself NOT for them but for you. Do the best you can at the moment and give yourself a break and room to let go of self imposed stress .... Do NOT let them live rent free in your head always worried about their opinion.
While this is sound advice, and not to add more negativity, I struggle daily with worry about what my superiors think about me....I mean, they do basically control the direction of my career or lack there of in a situation like this....for me it's more about finding coping mechanisms that will get me through the day rather than a complete fix to the problem....
@CyclingThroughLife this is exactly why I stopped talking to people in the office. When I got written up over a year ago (the offenses were gathered by hearsay and spun in their favor. One was not falling lock-step with the supervisors which is why I worry about it now). I talk to maybe one or two people in my department but it's about pets and it's before management comes in.
I try not to interact with management at all--especially not when one always "happened" to always be close by when I would come back from the restroom once I had the meeting with HR. I would even wait until they were in meetings or went across the way for coffee before I left my desk. Fortunately, one is now working from home more now so I can move about a little more freely.