Superfrustration
I have been supervising close to two dozen people for about two and a half years now. I would say the following things are what bug me the most about this job:
1. When people are unreliable.
2. When people do not pay attention to detail.
3. When people do not care about their job.
The first group, unreliables, are people who do not seem to grasp the notion of a schedule. Unfortunately, the nature of our work requires a specific starting and end time. It is technical phone support. These people do not have flex-hours to negotiate forty hours somewhere within the confines of seven days. We have devised a highly intricate schedule to accommodate 24/7 coverage and maintain adequate staffing per shift based on call volumes. This is called "work", not "leisure time". If you want to collect a paycheck, please show up to work on time and do not leave early. Wandering around frequently while at work also places further strain on those who are trying to earn their money.
The second group, those who have a wind tunnel located directly between their ear drums, are workers who like to "cut corners". Their ticket documentation usually consists of vague, indecipherable gibberish. One three word sentence will often sum up a thirty minute phone support call. These are also the type of people who routinely have to be reminded of procedure. It may sound as trivial as including a cover sheet on their TPS reports (watch Office Space for those who do not get this one), but there is usually a good reason behind each procedure. When you have to get two dozen people to consistently operate within a loose set of standards, you always have those that cannot keep the ball in bounds. It is understandable that people will forget things, or mess up, I have no problem with this. It is when the same people need weekly, sometimes daily reminders about the same issue, you begin to wonder as to their mental capacity. Or, they may also be drifting into our third category...
People who just plain don't give a shit. These are usually the type of people who have the potential to be star performers, but for whatever reason have given up on being productive. Most are disgruntled and would jump at the chance for a new position. They usually do the bare minimum, attempting to slip just under the radar to avoid notice. They also fit well into the above two categories, which is also why they often CANNOT get a new position, at least within the company. These individuals are usually the ones who seem to complain the most, aiding in lowering morale among their more eager peers.
It is a frustrating dilemma. If we could just reduce the amount of behavior that falls into the above three categories, we could probably spend more time fixing what makes people slump to begin with. More time and energy is spent trying to correct these types of issues, that we are unable to concentrate on more productive directions for our group. This may sound like an excuse, who knows. All I know is that it is very perplexing how some people can take no pride in their work or themselves. The ones who evade this type of behavior have almost unlimited potential to progress. Your career is what you make of it. The worst thing you can do is give up and become an administrative headache for those who manage you.
1. When people are unreliable.
2. When people do not pay attention to detail.
3. When people do not care about their job.
The first group, unreliables, are people who do not seem to grasp the notion of a schedule. Unfortunately, the nature of our work requires a specific starting and end time. It is technical phone support. These people do not have flex-hours to negotiate forty hours somewhere within the confines of seven days. We have devised a highly intricate schedule to accommodate 24/7 coverage and maintain adequate staffing per shift based on call volumes. This is called "work", not "leisure time". If you want to collect a paycheck, please show up to work on time and do not leave early. Wandering around frequently while at work also places further strain on those who are trying to earn their money.
The second group, those who have a wind tunnel located directly between their ear drums, are workers who like to "cut corners". Their ticket documentation usually consists of vague, indecipherable gibberish. One three word sentence will often sum up a thirty minute phone support call. These are also the type of people who routinely have to be reminded of procedure. It may sound as trivial as including a cover sheet on their TPS reports (watch Office Space for those who do not get this one), but there is usually a good reason behind each procedure. When you have to get two dozen people to consistently operate within a loose set of standards, you always have those that cannot keep the ball in bounds. It is understandable that people will forget things, or mess up, I have no problem with this. It is when the same people need weekly, sometimes daily reminders about the same issue, you begin to wonder as to their mental capacity. Or, they may also be drifting into our third category...
People who just plain don't give a shit. These are usually the type of people who have the potential to be star performers, but for whatever reason have given up on being productive. Most are disgruntled and would jump at the chance for a new position. They usually do the bare minimum, attempting to slip just under the radar to avoid notice. They also fit well into the above two categories, which is also why they often CANNOT get a new position, at least within the company. These individuals are usually the ones who seem to complain the most, aiding in lowering morale among their more eager peers.
It is a frustrating dilemma. If we could just reduce the amount of behavior that falls into the above three categories, we could probably spend more time fixing what makes people slump to begin with. More time and energy is spent trying to correct these types of issues, that we are unable to concentrate on more productive directions for our group. This may sound like an excuse, who knows. All I know is that it is very perplexing how some people can take no pride in their work or themselves. The ones who evade this type of behavior have almost unlimited potential to progress. Your career is what you make of it. The worst thing you can do is give up and become an administrative headache for those who manage you.
posted by Chris at 9:11 PM
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