Before we get down to business, I’d like to share a reader art submission from Jess, a very talented graphic designer from Boston. I don’t think Ripley has ever looked so good. And you thought nothing could be cute and creepy at the same time!Moving on:
Coming in at the #9 spot in the Things I Won’t Miss About My Participation in the Rat Race is having two bosses.
Why is having two bosses so terrible? Think about it this way: in many ways it’s like being a child involved in a joint custody situation - there are major communication problems, each parent wants you to love them a little more than the other parent, and whenever you do anything with one parent, you feel guilty about how the other parent might feel. Then again, it’s not like being a child involved in a joint custody situation in that while I have two bosses, I do not get to have two bikes.
Here’s how things used to work, back when I had one boss:
- My boss would call me and ask me to complete a project for her.
- I would complete said project.
Now, here’s how things work with two bosses:
- My first boss calls me and asks me to complete a project for her.
- I complete said project.
- My second boss calls me and asks me to complete the very same project.
- I inform her that the project is complete and sitting in her Inbox.
- She looks it over, feels a little bit sad that she wasn’t aware that the project was even assigned, and then makes herself feel better by calling my first boss and letting her know that she would have liked to see the project done slightly differently.
- My first boss calls me and asks me to redo the project, keeping in mind the slight changes that makes my second boss feel like she’s part of the team.
- I re-complete said project, except that this time I am filled with bitterness and hate.
- My second boss emails me: THANK YOU!!!! :) :) YOUR THE BEST!!!!
- I try to ignore her grammar and to not think about my wasted life.
Here’s the thing: isn’t the point of managers that there is one person leading a project and making decisions? Does anyone in the company realize that doubling the number of managers and halving the number of assistants is STUPID? I guess it doesn’t matter to me anymore since…
Here’s what it’s like to work for a kitty boss:
- My boss demands to play with the fishing pole feather toy.
- I finish a writing assignment and then go fishing for kitties with the fishing pole feather toy.
- Neither of us are wearing pants.
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February 5, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Diana
“YOUR THE BEST!!!!”
Ugh. I always flinch/scrunch up my forehead like comedian Lewis Black whenever I see that. I know that I’m not the best at grammar, keeping a sentence relevant. or starting new paragraphs but damn, it’s two words. I once sent out a bulletin on MySpace about the proper use of ”your” and “you’re”, explaining when and when not to add the apostrophe and letter ‘E’. No one cared.
I also at one time had a boss that acted like your two bosses. She would say, “You’re pretty good at putting a flier together! Do what you can with this and let me know when you’re done.” Well, I’d get it done, hand it to her and by the end of the day it wasn’t my creation at all. I, too, would feel bitter and resentful that the idea of the flier was ever put on my desk. What she meant to say was, “I do a pretty good job of fixing your half-assed flier efforts. Let me know when you’re done so I can crush what little ego you have doing this menial job and just recreate the whole thing.” I thought my fliers looked nice but the fonts and placements of words just didn’t “POP” in her mind.
February 5, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Beth from Avenue Z
Sarah,
Your response about not wearing pants prompted me to confess on my blog what my professional attire looks like today.
http://www.lifeonavenuez.com/index.php/2008/02/05/worry-wearing-pants/
February 5, 2008 at 1:54 pm
Ape
I’ve decided that from now on I’m going to pretend that the cat on my cat-a-day desk calendar is actually my boss-of-the-day.
Instead of coffee does Ripley request a nice, hot cup of steeped loose leaf catnip tea?
February 5, 2008 at 4:17 pm
robin
Symptoms: Dysphoria, Unrewarding Stress and Frustration
Diagnosis: The Major Corporation Blues
Treatment: Contract work, Small-to-medium company employment
Prognosis: Excellent
Observations: Startup and medium-sized companies can be much better on the psyche but more demanding in other ways (longer hours, more responsibility, less pay (sometimes more, it depends on the financial backing)). Even so, I have found it to be far more rewarding than putting in time at a place where there is little room for advancement.
Devil’s Advocate: In a smaller company, aside from the pay issue, you may be the only driving force behind a project meaning when something goes wrong, there’s just one person in the line of fire. Some people rise to the occasion and learn some things about themselves, some don’t. (I also don’t know how easy this is to do in your industry.) Additionally, startups frequently have sporadic funding which has the potential to seriously affect well-being.
Personal Guidelines: If I fail to learn *anything* new in two weeks during the course of a computer job, I consider myself to be stagnating and that its time to move on. This is specific to computer work, but I’m certain similar scales could be applied to just about every industry.
Shameless Plug: West Coast mentality expands into most West Coast businesses. You should come visit once the weather gets nicer (I hear tickets can be had for cheap right now).
February 6, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Kemo
to: Robin
Loved the format.
Suggest these abbreviations in future case reports-
S/S -signs & symptoms
Dx -diagnosis
Rx -Treatment or
DOC -Durg of choice
Px -Prognosis