So I Am Thinking Of Blocking All Chatting At My Office
1. I am a vindictive bastard.
2. I got sick of the office bitch's nonsense today
3. She still had some chat windows open when claiming she was busy and asking me to hurry up with some IT stuff I was doing
4. I realise "IT guys/gals" have POWER. muah ah ah ha ha
5. I don't chat online much, if at all
6. Neither do my bosses
7. I am sick of going to some co-worker/ underling's computer and seeing like five different chat windows open. I am like WTF?
8. Am I being bad or just badass?
I am going to block all chatting.
2. I got sick of the office bitch's nonsense today
3. She still had some chat windows open when claiming she was busy and asking me to hurry up with some IT stuff I was doing
4. I realise "IT guys/gals" have POWER. muah ah ah ha ha
5. I don't chat online much, if at all
6. Neither do my bosses
7. I am sick of going to some co-worker/ underling's computer and seeing like five different chat windows open. I am like WTF?
8. Am I being bad or just badass?
I am going to block all chatting.
Comments
...So for some reason my female co-workers are pissing me off while the male co-workers are kinda cool. I am a guy, straight... I used to enjoy working more with females in the office [not just for the obvious reasons]. But the more admin-level co-workers, and the graphic designer [whom I am wondering WTF she smoked while at art school] ... hmmm...
As an IT manager I set policies for internet usage. I'd be embarrassed to base those policies on anything as petty as a personal dispute.
Second, how do you know chat takes any more time than it would take by telephone or getting up and walking to another floor to talk?
Third, are you certain none of it is business? In several smallish software dev companies I know, people use IM, IRC or similar to deal with a part of their internal comms.
Just some food for thought. I think either someone produces good, timely results or doesn't. If they do, so what if they spend hours a day twirling their thumbs. Maybe that's what they need to do in order to manage stress, boost creativity and keep those results rolling.
But I think of more importance is separating personal vendettas from policy creation. Deciding whether to block IM is a completely separate issue.
First of all, many chat windows != excessive chatting. If it was me, some of them could be months old. I tend to close nothing, as that is the true Mac way.
Second, how do you know chat takes any more time than it would take by telephone or getting up and walking to another floor to talk?
Third, are you certain none of it is business? In several smallish software dev companies I know, people use IM, IRC or similar to deal with a part of their internal comms.
Just some food for thought. I think either someone produces good, timely results or doesn't. If they do, so what if they spend hours a day twirling their thumbs. Maybe that's what they need to do in order to manage stress, boost creativity and keep those results rolling.
It seems there is an easy solution to this:
1) Tell management that you are concerned that some people are abusing the present arrangements. Suggest that you do a "research project", and then report to them in a month with the results. (This step is important to cover your back for the next step...)
2) Set up all the office computers so that you can record and access their chats. Read through them, have a laugh and get some useful gossip/blackmail material. (As an unintended but predictable by-product, having all the office gossip will stand you in good stead with the ladies...)
3) Report to management, with plenty of graphs and charts etc, saying that there doesn't appear to be a problem. Let it slip that you play squash with "Kathy from Accounts"' husband, and that he's a big MF with a conviction for GBH.
4) Watch your salary soar.
5. ????
6. profit
It seems there is an easy solution to this:
1) Tell management that you are concerned that some people are abusing the present arrangements. Suggest that you do a "research project", and then report to them in a month with the results. (This step is important to cover your back for the next step...)
2) Set up all the office computers so that you can record and access their chats. Read through them, have a laugh and get some useful gossip/blackmail material. (As an unintended but predictable by-product, having all the office gossip will stand you in good stead with the ladies...)
3) Report to management, with plenty of graphs and charts etc, saying that there doesn't appear to be a problem. Let it slip that you play squash with "Kathy from Accounts"' husband, and that he's a big MF with a conviction for GBH.
4) Watch your salary soar.
You forgot steps 5 and 6:
5. ????
6. profit
Seriously though, these are probably reasons why I am not a proper "IT Manager". I don't think I have the ethical fortitude to pull it off.
Quite true.
But I think of more importance is separating personal vendettas from policy creation. Deciding whether to block IM is a completely separate issue.
Yes, true, but her attitude prompted me to consider the IM issue... because...
First of all, many chat windows != excessive chatting. If it was me, some of them could be months old. I tend to close nothing, as that is the true Mac way.
We have a mixture of Macs and PCs in the office. I can see the chats update live whenever I am talking to various staff, so I don't think any of them are old windows.
Second, how do you know chat takes any more time than it would take by telephone or getting up and walking to another floor to talk?
We have a small, open-plan office of about 6-8 staff.
Third, are you certain none of it is business? In several smallish software dev companies I know, people use IM, IRC or similar to deal with a part of their internal comms.
I am highly confident that it is not business related, confident though of course my assumptions may not be correct.
Just some food for thought. I think either someone produces good, timely results or doesn't. If they do, so what if they spend hours a day twirling their thumbs. Maybe that's what they need to do in order to manage stress, boost creativity and keep those results rolling.
True. Our accountant (lady) and corporate sales (guy) are producing good, timely results. I don't care if they look up pr0n even (kidding). But two of the staff (one left recently) tend to be lagging on certain tasks, have poor communication skills, and are/were either too overloaded with work and/or not letting the bosses know and/or are not very organised. It is this latter group which baffles me when I see their chatting going on (not spying on them, whenever I am talking to them at their desks).
this might discourage others.
As in reduce office morale? Or do you mean discourage them from non-work chatting...?
Quite true... But I think of more importance is separating personal vendettas from policy creation. Deciding whether to block IM is a completely separate issue.
It is true, I shouldn't personalise this so much. Hopefully I can learn better from this situation.
It is true, I shouldn't personalise this so much. Hopefully I can learn better from this situation.
With that reply... it sounds like you already have.
It was a small company of around 180 employees that was supported by a 3 person IT department. I strongly believe that the root of all evil came from the 5'2" IT manager that obviously had a "personal" problem. He'd walk by our cubicles at least 3-5 times a day just looking at what's on the screen. And if he caught a glimpse of some web site that web site would be blocked 10 minutes later. If you went over some imaginary number of hours spent on the internet he'd show that to your manager. I understand productivity, but keeping people in line by harassing them EVERY day is not the way to go.
I never had a problem with my own manager and always got my work done way ahead of schedule. Yet my biggest fear was that IT a-hole. Effectively we started calling him Napoleon Dynamite; a short man on a power trip with an explosive character.
I'm happy to see that at my new company the IT department is extremely professional and helpful.
True. Our accountant (lady) and corporate sales (guy) are producing good, timely results. I don't care if they look up pr0n even (kidding). But two of the staff (one left recently) tend to be lagging on certain tasks, have poor communication skills, and are/were either too overloaded with work and/or not letting the bosses know and/or are not very organised. It is this latter group which baffles me when I see their chatting going on (not spying on them, whenever I am talking to them at their desks).
In an office as tiny as yours I don't see technical blocking of software as the right solution - practically ever. This problem is solved by management.
Assuming you're the boss, pick just one (positive!) improvement in their work you'd most like to see, and take that up with the person. Be clear about how the new result should differ from the old. Involve them as much as possible in the "how?" part. Let them think of and suggest ways to accomplish what you want and continue from there. Resist the temptation to give suggestions of your own right off the bat, i.e. "You are doing a lot of personal chatting, right? Cut down on that".
[selfhelp]
Sometimes it also helps surprisingly much if you make a conscious effort to change your own behavior. Examine what parts of the situation you are taking personally and why. Consciously attend to little things. (When they do a decent job, do you thank them?) Especially when you are ruffled with someone, it's easy to forget. Are your and their job descriptions are such that they are only in touch with you in situations that are somehow bad for them (negative feedback, more work, etc.)? If so, then you might want to be actively counterbalancing that situation.
[/selfhelp]
I have to say that I really hated the IT people at my previous job, and I wasn't the only one that called the department the "IT Nazis".
It was a small company of around 180 employees that was supported by a 3 person IT department. I strongly believe that the root of all evil came from the 5'2" IT manager that obviously had a "personal" problem. He'd walk by our cubicles at least 3-5 times a day just looking at what's on the screen. And if he caught a glimpse of some web site that web site would be blocked 10 minutes later. If you went over some imaginary number of hours spent on the internet he'd show that to your manager. I understand productivity, but keeping people in line by harassing them EVERY day is not the way to go.
I never had a problem with my own manager and always got my work done way ahead of schedule. Yet my biggest fear was that IT a-hole. Effectively we started calling him Napoleon Dynamite; a short man on a power trip with an explosive character.
I'm happy to see that at my new company the IT department is extremely professional and helpful.
True. I would hate to become the very thing I used to hate.
They will thank you for it.
V/R,
Aries 1B