The Work Thread 2 - Get back to work!

[Kezzer]

Jsut made the mistake of checking out what the people I used to share an office are up to now.

Most of them are directors at major brands

Lesson 1 - don't go on LinkedIn as it'll only make you feel like a failure

agreed

[Jenuall]

Jsut made the mistake of checking out what the people I used to share an office are up to now.

Most of them are directors at major brands

Lesson 1 - don't go on LinkedIn as it'll only make you feel like a failure

agreed

Or - just make sure you only know people who are failures in life and then you can maintain a feeling of superiority!

My options are:

• Traditional (in the office 3 or more days per week). - has a fixed desk.
• Mobile (in the office 1-2 days per week) - no fixed desk - ‘hot desk’
• Remote (not in the office at all/based in another state/country etc)

My manager is pushing Mobile but with no expectations to come into the office. Only when I feel it would be more "effective"

However I feel that being a remote worker who comes in to the office when it is more effective would be the better pick.

But he sees no difference. I am not being stupid here am I? Maybe it’s just semantics, but I feel the the written expectations carry quite a weight for a 'mobility' worker, while a remote worker seems to have the most flexibility and is exactly what I have been doing the for the past year without any issues.

On the one hand it feels like semantics, and with the right people involved (which your manager might well be) then it will probably make no difference. But I guess you would need to protect yourself against someone else getting involved and pushing the point that a "mobile" worker should be in the office 1-2 days a week. It can't hurt to push for being recognised as a "remote" worker but showing the flexibility to come in when it's of genuine benefit

[Errkal]

Jsut made the mistake of checking out what the people I used to share an office are up to now.

Most of them are directors at major brands

Lesson 1 - don't go on LinkedIn as it'll only make you feel like a failure

And they all just got a notification to say Victor viewed their profile.

[Victor Mildew]

Jsut made the mistake of checking out what the people I used to share an office are up to now.

Most of them are directors at major brands

Lesson 1 - don't go on LinkedIn as it'll only make you feel like a failure

And they all just got a notification to say loser Victor viewed their profile.

Ftfy

[Errkal]

[That's not a growth]

Bit of a ramble / rant

I think I need to change my approach to finding another job. I'm just not qualified/skilled enough to do what I currently do somewhere else - I keep getting given more and more responsibility, but with no training and minimal feedback as the idea of a specific 'fixed' rolls just isn't how they do things here - you're expected to adapt and do what is necessary to 'get the job done'. And this means we just don't do things in an organised way as everyone is juggling many responsibilities they haven't been trained on, and while this means I can find jobs that sound a bit like what I do, when I look at all the specifics they put in about how they expect the you to fulfil the role it's just not how we work. Also, it's been years since I've had a pay rise, and I've been lied to multiple times about it happening - meaning going for a job with less responsibility doesn't necessarily mean a pay cut.

To give it idea of the variety of what I'm currently involved in:

- Overseeing a developer who's creating a web app, planning out the the stages of what he needs to do and giving feedback on each aspect that he's created to make sure it's in line with the conversations I'm aware of from the customer
- Create a SLA document draft, which will form the agreement of how we will support of this customer, which will involve our app/system being installed in locations in a dozen countries
- Work closely with our marketing / content person on creating copy / the layout of a product info document our sales team to send to customers
- Go over a contract that another customer's legal department has sent us, and add notes to each section I think concerns me, so that the sales person knows what to go back to them about
- Analyse tender RFPs when ever we get one, figure out if it's within the scope of our department's expertise - and if so speak to suppliers, get quotes, and build a quote, proposal and assist with the response
- Oversee another app development project for a different customer, where I'm currently working on a plan and forecasting how long it will take to build a complex system that needs to dynamically create different versions of a website consisting of hundred of pages, for thousands of locations - and create new backend user interface so customers can easily update the content in these websites in a beginner friendly way. As I don't know how long this will take, I'm overseeing the developer create prototypes, and hoping we can figure out from those how long it'll take.
- Driving conversations with a technology partner, giving them feedback on an api they've built, and what else we want out of it
- Researching a ticketing system for our support team, and setting up test environments
- Oversee the rollout of supply / install of equipment for another customer in several countries
- Be part of the group that decides on, and give feedback on, our marketing material and marketing strategy (social media posts, mailers, videos, promotions,
- go back an forth with a customer on years of data to consolidate our accounts for a large project that got messy, and to plan next steps for both companies
- look over and give feedback on the proposals / quotes created by sales people to make sure they're not crap

And while not fully begun yet, discussions have started on these and might ramp up shortly:

- Assist with the planning of our new website's content / copy / layout / structure - which will be a few dozen pages, almost all of it brand new content, not just a rework
- More documents about products

I've found a customer service role that pays a little more than I'm on, and is for an organisation that looks like it's got good potential for me to grow within and has decent benefits.

Going to really work on my cv / cover letter, and make a load of question 'cheat sheet' type of docs. I come from a customer service background, and I still work a lot with customers, so I'm hoping I have a decent shot. I was just really hoping to move to something that involves some of the more interesting aspects of what I do now, but pays more so I can afford a house, but I guess I need to be more pragmatic.

Um, didn't even get an interview - got a generic 'people with more experience applied' copy/paste email, with a message saying they wont give individual feedback.

So that's a bit of a downer, I can't get an interview for the type of job I've done for most of my career, in the industry my degree is in.

I hate that so much of your life is reliant on money, and your income is controlled by your job, and getting a job is something I seemingly have no control over. I get things are really competitive right now, but not even getting an interview in this circumstance really strawberry floating sucks and I wanted a moan.

[Victor Mildew]

Bit of a ramble / rant

I think I need to change my approach to finding another job. I'm just not qualified/skilled enough to do what I currently do somewhere else - I keep getting given more and more responsibility, but with no training and minimal feedback as the idea of a specific 'fixed' rolls just isn't how they do things here - you're expected to adapt and do what is necessary to 'get the job done'. And this means we just don't do things in an organised way as everyone is juggling many responsibilities they haven't been trained on, and while this means I can find jobs that sound a bit like what I do, when I look at all the specifics they put in about how they expect the you to fulfil the role it's just not how we work. Also, it's been years since I've had a pay rise, and I've been lied to multiple times about it happening - meaning going for a job with less responsibility doesn't necessarily mean a pay cut.

To give it idea of the variety of what I'm currently involved in:

- Overseeing a developer who's creating a web app, planning out the the stages of what he needs to do and giving feedback on each aspect that he's created to make sure it's in line with the conversations I'm aware of from the customer
- Create a SLA document draft, which will form the agreement of how we will support of this customer, which will involve our app/system being installed in locations in a dozen countries
- Work closely with our marketing / content person on creating copy / the layout of a product info document our sales team to send to customers
- Go over a contract that another customer's legal department has sent us, and add notes to each section I think concerns me, so that the sales person knows what to go back to them about
- Analyse tender RFPs when ever we get one, figure out if it's within the scope of our department's expertise - and if so speak to suppliers, get quotes, and build a quote, proposal and assist with the response
- Oversee another app development project for a different customer, where I'm currently working on a plan and forecasting how long it will take to build a complex system that needs to dynamically create different versions of a website consisting of hundred of pages, for thousands of locations - and create new backend user interface so customers can easily update the content in these websites in a beginner friendly way. As I don't know how long this will take, I'm overseeing the developer create prototypes, and hoping we can figure out from those how long it'll take.
- Driving conversations with a technology partner, giving them feedback on an api they've built, and what else we want out of it
- Researching a ticketing system for our support team, and setting up test environments
- Oversee the rollout of supply / install of equipment for another customer in several countries
- Be part of the group that decides on, and give feedback on, our marketing material and marketing strategy (social media posts, mailers, videos, promotions,
- go back an forth with a customer on years of data to consolidate our accounts for a large project that got messy, and to plan next steps for both companies
- look over and give feedback on the proposals / quotes created by sales people to make sure they're not crap

And while not fully begun yet, discussions have started on these and might ramp up shortly:

- Assist with the planning of our new website's content / copy / layout / structure - which will be a few dozen pages, almost all of it brand new content, not just a rework
- More documents about products

I've found a customer service role that pays a little more than I'm on, and is for an organisation that looks like it's got good potential for me to grow within and has decent benefits.

Going to really work on my cv / cover letter, and make a load of question 'cheat sheet' type of docs. I come from a customer service background, and I still work a lot with customers, so I'm hoping I have a decent shot. I was just really hoping to move to something that involves some of the more interesting aspects of what I do now, but pays more so I can afford a house, but I guess I need to be more pragmatic.

Um, didn't even get an interview - got a generic 'people with more experience applied' copy/paste email, with a message saying they wont give individual feedback.

So that's a bit of a downer, I can't get an interview for the type of job I've done for most of my career, in the industry my degree is in.

I hate that so much of your life is reliant on money, and your income is controlled by your job, and getting a job is something I seemingly have no control over. I get things are really competitive right now, but not even getting an interview in this circumstance really strawberry floating sucks and I wanted a moan.

That's gooseberry fool. I have had much the same with applying for stuff, match word for word what they want, then don't even get a response.

[Moggy]

Lesson 1 - don't go on LinkedIn as it'll only make you feel like a failure

I don't need LinkedIn for that, I just look at my life.

[Victor Mildew]

Lesson 1 - don't go on LinkedIn as it'll only make you feel like a failure

I don't need LinkedIn for that, I just look at my life.

I'd give you an understanding hug, but I don't want to be seen with a loser.

[Lex-Man]

Lesson 1 - don't go on LinkedIn as it'll only make you feel like a failure

I don't need LinkedIn for that, I just look at my life.

I worked in a hospital and had to read a bunch of lead consultants CV's at one stage. That absolutely destroyed me.

[Red]

Would it not normally be your job to process the receipts for expenses?

Yeah but based on past experiences this feels like a conscious decision to exclude me. It is possible that there's no ill intent but I'm not feeling great today so I think I'm focusing on the bad.

Definitely need to try some more meditation tonight, even if it's just five minutes, as I feel so tired and high strung today. I'd been alright for the past couple of days

I get it, but isn't the other side of that that no one in the office can have anything nice incase it upsets someone who has chosen to work from home? Then everyone in the office misses out on a basically nice gesture. If they were delivering pizza to other people out of the office but not you then I'd say feel excluded.

It is also possible to eat pizza at a two metre distance from other people.

It sounds like there are plenty of real problems with your workplace without reading new ones into every event there, especially fairly common occurrences in workplaces across the country like getting treats in the office on a Friday to try to improve morale.

[Qikz]

Jsut made the mistake of checking out what the people I used to share an office are up to now.

Most of them are directors at major brands

Lesson 1 - don't go on LinkedIn as it'll only make you feel like a failure

They may be directors at major brands, but are any of them truely as happy as you?

[Zilnad]

It sounds like there are plenty of real problems with your workplace without reading new ones into every event there, especially fairly common occurrences in workplaces across the country like getting treats in the office on a Friday to try to improve morale.

That's helped put things into perspective and given me a much clearer head. Thank you.

[Qikz]

It sounds like there are plenty of real problems with your workplace without reading new ones into every event there, especially fairly common occurrences in workplaces across the country like getting treats in the office on a Friday to try to improve morale.

That's helped put things into perspective and given me a much clearer head. Thank you.

Besides, they're just fattening up those in the office so they can't run as fast during the upcoming work from home revolution.

[Rocsteady]

Jsut made the mistake of checking out what the people I used to share an office are up to now.

Most of them are directors at major brands

Lesson 1 - don't go on LinkedIn as it'll only make you feel like a failure

They may be directors at major brands, but are any of them truely as happy as you?

Do you see who you're replying to

[Green Gecko]

It's late but I'm so almost there. I'm not sure what's better or worse; the fact I get a nice cheque for weeks of voluntary accounting work and subsequent contributions to the treasury, which will be the largest payment into my bank account, well, ever, or the fact that I've spent 4 years racking up the expenses necessary to claim that much back.

I looked at a new "Trial Balance" report and oh my strawberry floating god the close to 6 figure sum that has gone through my accounts about 80% of which has nothing to do with the business but highlights how expensive living here is amongst other things. Sure that's over the course of over 6 years but it's strawberry floating terrifying. A huge chunk of that is rent, unrecoverable cost of living that would otherwise buy a small house somewhere else in the UK. I wouldn't notice this if I was, for example, a limited company with its own bank account. I'm not sure many people get this degree of perspective because they don't as a side affect of sole trading have to run most their life through a corporate style accounting system (well, you don't have to, but I'm not using pen and paper or Excel for this gooseberry fool. No strawberry floating way).

I await the inevitable grilling from HMRC / sifting through my studio looking for VAT invoices from 2017. And potentially asking for half of it back (we're talking 20% over and over again, pennies on the pound).

After this I'm archiving my entire accounts and starting again (still have all my records of course) with VATable stuff from the start. Might actually turn a profit! If I moved the business out of my home, incurred hundreds of pounds extra per month as a consequence, but had an overall lower expenditure (because I couldn't then claim a % of household rent or council tax for example)... That would look better on paper, which is what matters, right? I'm not applying for any loans or anything so I don't really care about that. At least I won't have to pay income tax for something like 5-10 years unless I suddenly join the financial elite of society, which... isn't going to happen.

Hooray for investing in anything other than property! I have great big stonking 6.12% in fixed assets (after depreciation), out of everything that I have spent existing, that is only valuable to someone else crazy enough to run a small studio like this, and it's slowly burning away a few £ at a time.

/r/wallstreetbets eat your heart out

[Victor Mildew]

Jsut made the mistake of checking out what the people I used to share an office are up to now.

Most of them are directors at major brands

Lesson 1 - don't go on LinkedIn as it'll only make you feel like a failure

They may be directors at major brands, but are any of them truely as happy as you?

Iswydt

[Drumstick]

- No mortgage
- Hot gamer wife who cooks all the food from fresh
- Loads of expendable cash
- Loads of friends on GRcade
- Lovable doggo
- Hates kids and is childfree
- Musician

What's not to be happy about?

[Victor Mildew]

Wii U ports that's what!

[Zilnad]

Might all be about to kick off. Received an order from the new HR person to return to the office by 17th May. The state of the email was unacceptable. Literally no concern or thought put into any of it.

I sent a very clear, concise reply stating that the government advice won't change until a review has been completed after step 3 of their roadmap and that I won't be able to agree to a change in working arrangements until we have the results of that review.

I drafted a notice letter this morning, with the idea I'll find another job soon, but the thought of submitting it without another job lined up made me feel sick. Sadly that might quickly become a reality.

Feeling strawberry floating sick.