Author Topic: Overheard at Work 2  (Read 1113026 times)

cloudsail

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1450 on: August 29, 2019, 04:03:16 PM »
TLDR of a long convo I had with a coworker about mattresses...this is not the way I'd want to spend the fruits of my miserable office job. I can't believe people actually live like this.

That reminds me of a CW whose wife is a spendthrift. She grew up poor in a trailer park, but now makes over $500k/yr.

CW said she still manages to spend so much that her annual bonus just zeroes out the credit cards, and she starts over.

One day he asked us if we thought $1200 was a lot of money for a comforter. After the usual ribbing, he said, yes, his wife had ordered a comforter from some high-end store for $1200. Pretty much the same thing that the rest of us might spend $50 on at Kohl's or Target.

She makes money, but I don't think she'll ever have money.

I hope you are wrong about her not ever having money.  I can't imagine making $500,000/year and possibly having very little net worth.  Yikes!

Myself and CW have discussed finances, and he said he spends the last few months before her bonus arrives juggling credit cards, trying to not let her open any new accounts. He makes around $100k. They bought a $600k house that had stucco issues, so they spent over $70k just fixing the place a few months after buying it.

He said it's ridiculous that he's so stressed out over money when they make that much, but he can't get her to change.

I'm always skeptical about couples where one person constantly complains about the other's spending habits. It's usually the case that the person doing the complaining isn't exactly frugal either, their spending just isn't as conspicuous.

Kitsune

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1451 on: August 29, 2019, 08:09:25 PM »
Today, after many months (too many, I honestly should have done this months ago) of discussions about performance issues, work issues, general issues (and sincere but insufficient attempts at fixing it), i fired someone. She (somehow) claimed not to see it coming (despite discussions that involve language like "I don't currently see that you have the ability to do this job, and you should look for alternatives elsewhere"), and cried because her finances just couldn't take it and she has no savings and how is she gonna support her daughter (... I try not to judge other people's finances, but: don't eat lunch out daily, those new clothes and tattoos are not cheap, and 400$ kid birthday parties are not great for a single mom on a budget. And also you're getting severance and are eligible for unemployment, and there's a huge demand in your field in this area right now, you'll find something, OMG).

3 hours later, her dad showed up, wanting an explanation for why his daughter is "completely emotionally destroyed" and "it'll take them months to put her back together".

Guys. She's in her 40s.

Wtf.

I'm seeing a link between the parenting and the behaviour, and I am still boggled. HER PARENT SHOWED UP TO DEMAND AN EXPLANATION.

Step37

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1452 on: August 29, 2019, 08:12:23 PM »
@Kitsune

Mind.Blown.

You win today. That is all.

ysette9

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1453 on: August 29, 2019, 09:06:24 PM »
Holy crap.

I didn’t realize helicopter parenting started that long ago.

cloudsail

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1454 on: August 29, 2019, 09:31:14 PM »
Wow.

Just

Wow.

What are you going to say if the next job she applies to calls for a reference?

SwordGuy

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1455 on: August 29, 2019, 09:38:35 PM »
What are you going to say if the next job she applies to calls for a reference?

(1) To describe a candidate who is woefully inept:
“I most enthusiastically recommend this candidate with no qualifications whatsoever.”

(2) To describe a candidate who is not particularly industrious:
“In my opinion you would be very fortunate to get this person to work for you.”

(3) To describe a candidate with lackluster credentials:
“All in all, I cannot say enough good things about this candidate or recommend him too highly.”

(4) To describe an ex-employee who had difficulty getting along with his co-workers:
“I am pleased to say that this candidate is a former colleague of mine.”

(5) To describe a candidate who is so unproductive that the job would be better left unfilled:
“I can assure you that no person would be better for the job.”

(6) To describe a job applicant who is worth no further consideration:
“I would urge you to waste no time in making this person an offer of employment.”

From the Lexicon of Inconspicuously Ambiguous Referrals:   http://users.ohiohills.com/gordon/liar.html


cloudsail

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1456 on: August 29, 2019, 09:55:25 PM »
ROFL

six-car-habit

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1457 on: August 29, 2019, 11:19:03 PM »
*** 3 hours later, her dad showed up, wanting an explanation for why his daughter is "completely emotionally destroyed" and "it'll take them months to put her back together". ***

 I'd have suggested that her Dad take her out for a tattoo inking , maybe something like " Resilance ! " , or instead of the classic heart with a "mom"  inside - a heart with a birthday cake inside and sitting on top of 4 $100 dollar bills.
« Last Edit: August 29, 2019, 11:21:08 PM by six-car-habit »

partgypsy

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1458 on: August 30, 2019, 05:57:32 AM »
*** 3 hours later, her dad showed up, wanting an explanation for why his daughter is "completely emotionally destroyed" and "it'll take them months to put her back together". ***

 I'd have suggested that her Dad take her out for a tattoo inking , maybe something like " Resilance ! " , or instead of the classic heart with a "mom"  inside - a heart with a birthday cake inside and sitting on top of 4 $100 dollar bills.

burn!

Seriously I would never say something like that bc of possibility of violence.

Concerning thing, this person seemed to have learned nothing from being fired other than being a "victim", reinforced by Dad. For most people it is something that causes a reevaluation and development in character. 

The one thing I do have sympathy for, is after my separation I still wanted to do those nice things we did when married (birthday party, trips). I can imagine the $400 party was an overcompensation. You can only do that so long though before having to downshift. And in retrospect realize alot of the things I was doing was doing was more for me (not wanting to feel like things had changed, social standing) and my kids didn't care as much/were fine either way. Most kids don't care about the difference between a $75 party and a $400 party so long as their friends are there.

Kitsune

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1459 on: August 30, 2019, 06:43:52 AM »
*** 3 hours later, her dad showed up, wanting an explanation for why his daughter is "completely emotionally destroyed" and "it'll take them months to put her back together". ***

 I'd have suggested that her Dad take her out for a tattoo inking , maybe something like " Resilance ! " , or instead of the classic heart with a "mom"  inside - a heart with a birthday cake inside and sitting on top of 4 $100 dollar bills.

burn!

Seriously I would never say something like that bc of possibility of violence.

Concerning thing, this person seemed to have learned nothing from being fired other than being a "victim", reinforced by Dad. For most people it is something that causes a reevaluation and development in character. 

The one thing I do have sympathy for, is after my separation I still wanted to do those nice things we did when married (birthday party, trips). I can imagine the $400 party was an overcompensation. You can only do that so long though before having to downshift. And in retrospect realize alot of the things I was doing was doing was more for me (not wanting to feel like things had changed, social standing) and my kids didn't care as much/were fine either way. Most kids don't care about the difference between a $75 party and a $400 party so long as their friends are there.

Well, the kid in question is 3, so frankly, some balloons, a nice cake (if you want to make a little kid REALLY happy, a cake decorated with their favorite characters), and people who love them letting them run around and be super excited and play and be loved is what you need for an A+ successful party, in their eyes.

And god, I'd never say ANY of the commentary about her personal life and finances (because my business, it is not, not, NOT) but... it's hard to watch someone dig themselves into a hole and then just look around, be miserable, and keep digging.

partgypsy

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1460 on: August 30, 2019, 07:36:54 AM »
Yeah a 3 year old is not going to care one way or another. More likely to play with the box the toy came in than the toy itself!
I shouldn't feel bad but I do feel bad for her. If her own parents won't give her a heads up talk, probably no one else will : (

Kitsune

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1461 on: August 30, 2019, 08:12:40 AM »
Ugh, I also feel bad for her.

My dad says that some people 'just don't have the wiring', which is direct but also illustrative. In this case: I honestly don't think she has the capacity to understand and extrapolate information. I haven't seen a hint of it demonstrated in 11 months of work, or discussions of her personal life.

Which makes looking on just... painful.

Kitsune

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1462 on: August 30, 2019, 08:28:43 AM »
... Aaaaand now she's texting ex-colleagues, in an absolute PANIC, because her ONLY copy of the file that details her issues getting child support for her kid was (wait for it) on her work computer, worked on during work hours, not backed up, and now locked away from access by our IT department.

It has to be Friday; I freakin give up on this one.

Just Joe

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1463 on: August 30, 2019, 09:31:59 AM »
I just thought of another one.

My office walls are quite bare, and I’ve been wanting to put a picture or painting on the wall. My coworker has some beautiful framed paintings on her wall. She recommended her art guy. Only $200 to frame a painting, plus another couple hundred for the painting itself.

I ended up buying a paint by numbers oil painting kit. I just need something on the wall, and it’s a fun project.

Framed art is a fun thing. The prices are over the top for so many aspects of art. Framing, matting, etc. I once bought a $5 sheet of cardboard mat (matte?) that I needed trimmed to a certain dimension b/c I was using it to cover the top of an antique side table where I wanted to park my 3-D printer. Lady at Hobby Lobby tells me it will cost $20+ to do two straight cuts. 2 mins of work! She said that if she was cutting the cardboard then she had to charge the same rates as if she was framing a picture for me. $20+ to cut a $5 piece of cardboard twice. I told her it was ridiculous and went home where I cut the cardboard for free with a pair of heavy scissors we own.

Just Joe

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1464 on: August 30, 2019, 09:58:20 AM »
... Aaaaand now she's texting ex-colleagues, in an absolute PANIC, because her ONLY copy of the file that details her issues getting child support for her kid was (wait for it) on her work computer, worked on during work hours, not backed up, and now locked away from access by our IT department.

It has to be Friday; I freakin give up on this one.

WHY do people use their employer's computer for personal email? Open a free email account like GMail! Most email services have webmail pages.

I have a coworker who has thousands of personal emails mingled with their work emails and sometimes can't find important workplace info b/c of the volume of total messages. 

HMman

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1465 on: August 30, 2019, 01:38:30 PM »
TLDR of a long convo I had with a coworker about mattresses...this is not the way I'd want to spend the fruits of my miserable office job. I can't believe people actually live like this.

That reminds me of a CW whose wife is a spendthrift. She grew up poor in a trailer park, but now makes over $500k/yr.

CW said she still manages to spend so much that her annual bonus just zeroes out the credit cards, and she starts over.

One day he asked us if we thought $1200 was a lot of money for a comforter. After the usual ribbing, he said, yes, his wife had ordered a comforter from some high-end store for $1200. Pretty much the same thing that the rest of us might spend $50 on at Kohl's or Target.

She makes money, but I don't think she'll ever have money.

I hope you are wrong about her not ever having money.  I can't imagine making $500,000/year and possibly having very little net worth.  Yikes!

Maybe taxes are very different in NY, but in Canada $500K/year salary would net less than $250K/year....often people spend their gross income, not they net.

Sorry, I realize the conversation has moved on from this, but this was bugging me. In no province or territory would you net less than $250K/year. The least you'd get is in Nova Scotia or Quebec, where you'd net $262K, not including any deductions, RRSP, tax credits, etc. In Ontario, your home, you'd net $270K. A person would have to gross $800K before hitting an effective tax rate of 50% in Nova Scotia, and over $1M before hitting 50% in Ontario. Check out https://www.taxtips.ca/calculators/basic/basic-tax-calculator.htm if you're curious for more.

Pedant rant over. :)

LennStar

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1466 on: August 30, 2019, 01:44:46 PM »
TLDR of a long convo I had with a coworker about mattresses...this is not the way I'd want to spend the fruits of my miserable office job. I can't believe people actually live like this.

That reminds me of a CW whose wife is a spendthrift. She grew up poor in a trailer park, but now makes over $500k/yr.

CW said she still manages to spend so much that her annual bonus just zeroes out the credit cards, and she starts over.

One day he asked us if we thought $1200 was a lot of money for a comforter. After the usual ribbing, he said, yes, his wife had ordered a comforter from some high-end store for $1200. Pretty much the same thing that the rest of us might spend $50 on at Kohl's or Target.

She makes money, but I don't think she'll ever have money.

I hope you are wrong about her not ever having money.  I can't imagine making $500,000/year and possibly having very little net worth.  Yikes!

Maybe taxes are very different in NY, but in Canada $500K/year salary would net less than $250K/year....often people spend their gross income, not they net.

Sorry, I realize the conversation has moved on from this, but this was bugging me. In no province or territory would you net less than $250K/year. The least you'd get is in Nova Scotia or Quebec, where you'd net $262K, not including any deductions, RRSP, tax credits, etc. In Ontario, your home, you'd net $270K. A person would have to gross $800K before hitting an effective tax rate of 50% in Nova Scotia, and over $1M before hitting 50% in Ontario. Check out https://www.taxtips.ca/calculators/basic/basic-tax-calculator.htm if you're curious for more.

Pedant rant over. :)

To be more pedantic, tax is (I guess) not the only thing you pay (if you aren't self employed).
Getting above 50% is not even that hard in Germany for example, but those mandatory payments include health and pension and unemployment (which you would otherwise had to pay after tax). That is capped though so there are areas where the effective all-% rate actually goes down.

mm1970

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1467 on: August 30, 2019, 01:48:25 PM »
Today, after many months (too many, I honestly should have done this months ago) of discussions about performance issues, work issues, general issues (and sincere but insufficient attempts at fixing it), i fired someone. She (somehow) claimed not to see it coming (despite discussions that involve language like "I don't currently see that you have the ability to do this job, and you should look for alternatives elsewhere"), and cried because her finances just couldn't take it and she has no savings and how is she gonna support her daughter (... I try not to judge other people's finances, but: don't eat lunch out daily, those new clothes and tattoos are not cheap, and 400$ kid birthday parties are not great for a single mom on a budget. And also you're getting severance and are eligible for unemployment, and there's a huge demand in your field in this area right now, you'll find something, OMG).

3 hours later, her dad showed up, wanting an explanation for why his daughter is "completely emotionally destroyed" and "it'll take them months to put her back together".

Guys. She's in her 40s.

Wtf.

I'm seeing a link between the parenting and the behaviour, and I am still boggled. HER PARENT SHOWED UP TO DEMAND AN EXPLANATION.
oh Lordy

saguaro

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1468 on: August 30, 2019, 02:48:11 PM »
... Aaaaand now she's texting ex-colleagues, in an absolute PANIC, because her ONLY copy of the file that details her issues getting child support for her kid was (wait for it) on her work computer, worked on during work hours, not backed up, and now locked away from access by our IT department.

It has to be Friday; I freakin give up on this one.

WHY do people use their employer's computer for personal email? Open a free email account like GMail! Most email services have webmail pages.

I have a coworker who has thousands of personal emails mingled with their work emails and sometimes can't find important workplace info b/c of the volume of total messages.

Work in IT at my job.  Had a guy who went into an absolute panic after his computer blew up....his wedding pictures were on his work machine.   

jps

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1469 on: August 30, 2019, 03:13:26 PM »
... Aaaaand now she's texting ex-colleagues, in an absolute PANIC, because her ONLY copy of the file that details her issues getting child support for her kid was (wait for it) on her work computer, worked on during work hours, not backed up, and now locked away from access by our IT department.

It has to be Friday; I freakin give up on this one.

WHY do people use their employer's computer for personal email? Open a free email account like GMail! Most email services have webmail pages.

I have a coworker who has thousands of personal emails mingled with their work emails and sometimes can't find important workplace info b/c of the volume of total messages.

Work in IT at my job.  Had a guy who went into an absolute panic after his computer blew up....his wedding pictures were on his work machine.   

Yikes, that's a tough one. I mean, it's his bad since there are a plethora of storage options for important things, like google drive, or one drive, or what have you. Hopefully he was able to reach out to the photographer. I think they are pretty diligent about backing things up for that reason.

Montecarlo

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1470 on: August 30, 2019, 04:31:43 PM »
Work in IT at my job.  Had a guy who went into an absolute panic after his computer blew up....his wedding pictures were on his work machine.   

Only logical recourse is divorce.

Dave1442397

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1471 on: August 30, 2019, 05:01:38 PM »
Work in IT at my job.  Had a guy who went into an absolute panic after his computer blew up....his wedding pictures were on his work machine.   

Only logical recourse is divorce.

Why? If there are no pics, it never happened :)

DadJokes

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1472 on: August 30, 2019, 05:48:51 PM »
... Aaaaand now she's texting ex-colleagues, in an absolute PANIC, because her ONLY copy of the file that details her issues getting child support for her kid was (wait for it) on her work computer, worked on during work hours, not backed up, and now locked away from access by our IT department.

It has to be Friday; I freakin give up on this one.

WHY do people use their employer's computer for personal email? Open a free email account like GMail! Most email services have webmail pages.

I have a coworker who has thousands of personal emails mingled with their work emails and sometimes can't find important workplace info b/c of the volume of total messages.

Work in IT at my job.  Had a guy who went into an absolute panic after his computer blew up....his wedding pictures were on his work machine.   

Yikes, that's a tough one. I mean, it's his bad since there are a plethora of storage options for important things, like google drive, or one drive, or what have you. Hopefully he was able to reach out to the photographer. I think they are pretty diligent about backing things up for that reason.

I keep most important stuff on Google Drive, but my financial spreadsheets are all on a thumb drive, since Google Sheets doesn't do the charts the same way Excel does, and I don't want to update the charts in both places. I would be so very upset if that thumb drive broke.

Literally, as I was typing that, my son reached for the thumb drive that's currently sticking out of my laptop...

Monerexia

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1473 on: August 31, 2019, 12:04:46 AM »
at mondays they roll the dice to decide on which day they get kidnapped.
Sunday is family day, so either you don't get kidnapped (kidnappers need a day off too) or you only get kidnapped with the whole family.

Yes I do believe this is the case bc so random through the month.

ysette9

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1474 on: August 31, 2019, 01:44:22 AM »


WHY do people use their employer's computer for personal email? Open a free email account like GMail! Most email services have webmail pages.

I have a coworker who has thousands of personal emails mingled with their work emails and sometimes can't find important workplace info b/c of the volume of total messages.
When I worked for a government contractor we were very cut off from the outside world on work machines. No POP email, no Google drive, etc. The only option was to either look up everything on your phone or copy yourself on work email for everything personal you wanted to do at work. There was some personal stuff I collected over the years but in the end it was mostly lower-priority and took me no more than 30min total to sort through and send home when the end came.

TomTX

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1475 on: August 31, 2019, 10:00:14 AM »
To be more pedantic, tax is (I guess) not the only thing you pay (if you aren't self employed).
Getting above 50% is not even that hard in Germany for example, but those mandatory payments include health and pension and unemployment (which you would otherwise had to pay after tax). That is capped though so there are areas where the effective all-% rate actually goes down.

That tax rate includes health insurance, right? Not hard for just employee-side payments to hit 10% of gross income in the USA. Not at the $500k income level, of course ;)

SwordGuy

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1476 on: August 31, 2019, 10:48:11 AM »
If you're taking home $250,000 a year in income, quit your bitching.    You have it made.   Your take home pay puts you in the top 0.04% of income earners on the entire planet -- and that rating is comparing your take-home with their gross pay.

Be glad that you're contributing to the success of the society that enabled you to become such a success.

PS -- it's when high income earners stop contributing to the success of the entire society that the rest of society brings out the guillotines and chops off their heads.   So if altruism won't motivate you, perhaps survival will.

Rubic

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1477 on: August 31, 2019, 01:09:05 PM »
I keep most important stuff on Google Drive, but my financial spreadsheets are all on a thumb drive, since Google Sheets doesn't do the charts the same way Excel does, and I don't want to update the charts in both places. I would be so very upset if that thumb drive broke.

Literally, as I was typing that, my son reached for the thumb drive that's currently sticking out of my laptop...

@DadJokes:  You know you can copy your Excel files to Google Drive?  Just create a MyExcelFiles folder and copy them there whenever the spreadsheets are edited.

Even better, get a free DropBox account and have everything significant stored there, so you don't have to remember to copy to Google Drive after edits.

Please tell us that you've done this (or something similar) in your next post!

damyst

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1478 on: September 01, 2019, 12:32:42 AM »
I keep most important stuff on Google Drive, but my financial spreadsheets are all on a thumb drive, since Google Sheets doesn't do the charts the same way Excel does, and I don't want to update the charts in both places. I would be so very upset if that thumb drive broke.

Literally, as I was typing that, my son reached for the thumb drive that's currently sticking out of my laptop...

@DadJokes:  You know you can copy your Excel files to Google Drive?  Just create a MyExcelFiles folder and copy them there whenever the spreadsheets are edited.

Even better, get a free DropBox account and have everything significant stored there, so you don't have to remember to copy to Google Drive after edits.

Please tell us that you've done this (or something similar) in your next post!

Or install the Backup and Sync tool, which behaves like Dropbox in that it synchronizes your files with Google Drive automatically.

DO NOT use a thumb drive as the primary storage for files you care about. Some of these drives still have old-school non-journalled file systems, which means if your son touches the drive at the wrong moment, you could lose all your data. Not just the recent updates, but everything.

damyst

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1479 on: September 02, 2019, 01:20:02 AM »
Overheard at lunch:

"We used to live in [remote suburb], but we hated the awful hour-long commute. Then we moved to [closer suburb] where the commute was only thirty minutes, but that was still too long and we couldn't stand it. So we moved to a small apartment right in the middle of downtown, where the commute was a five minute walk to the office in the morning. Now we have a kid, so our commute is an hour and a half each way from [edge of the known universe]."

As a parent raising a child in a small but very central condo, I shudder to think how much hassle it would be to live out in the sticks. I mean we'd have to drive literally everywhere! As opposed to having every imaginable service within 15 minutes on foot/bike/bus.

Kitsune

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1480 on: September 02, 2019, 06:10:51 AM »
Overheard at lunch:

"We used to live in [remote suburb], but we hated the awful hour-long commute. Then we moved to [closer suburb] where the commute was only thirty minutes, but that was still too long and we couldn't stand it. So we moved to a small apartment right in the middle of downtown, where the commute was a five minute walk to the office in the morning. Now we have a kid, so our commute is an hour and a half each way from [edge of the known universe]."

As a parent raising a child in a small but very central condo, I shudder to think how much hassle it would be to live out in the sticks. I mean we'd have to drive literally everywhere! As opposed to having every imaginable service within 15 minutes on foot/bike/bus.

CONFIRMED. As a parent who lives in the sticks (super-rural, but near family, lakes, orchards, farms, etc - there are advantages, but let's just say it was a Major Decision that was very important to my spouse), I can confirm that commuting with kids is the freakin pits, and the coordination necessary for rural living is the pits as well (no, i don't wanna drive a half hour to the nearest grocery store OR ago with 2 kids, so time Friday pickups carefully enough to do a week's groceries in 20 Minutes, and don't be late...). To do this for suburb living without family proximity... no. Ugh, WHY.

In our case, the country living and family situation makes it bearable for me, and how important it was to my spouse was the swinging vote. But omfg, people, never ever do this if it's not absolutely important for one of you. It is a LOT of work and money, there's gotta be a trade-off.

DadJokes

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1481 on: September 02, 2019, 01:45:43 PM »
I keep most important stuff on Google Drive, but my financial spreadsheets are all on a thumb drive, since Google Sheets doesn't do the charts the same way Excel does, and I don't want to update the charts in both places. I would be so very upset if that thumb drive broke.

Literally, as I was typing that, my son reached for the thumb drive that's currently sticking out of my laptop...

@DadJokes:  You know you can copy your Excel files to Google Drive?  Just create a MyExcelFiles folder and copy them there whenever the spreadsheets are edited.

Even better, get a free DropBox account and have everything significant stored there, so you don't have to remember to copy to Google Drive after edits.

Please tell us that you've done this (or something similar) in your next post!

I decided just to bite the bullet and use the spreadsheet on Google Sheets instead of Excel. It requires more work to keep my charts updated, but I guess that's the price you pay.

Just Joe

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1482 on: September 02, 2019, 01:58:12 PM »
Choose a smaller town. Ten minutes out of town and you're in the boonies.

A 90 minute commute would take some folks into the next state... I can't imagine doing that daily - especially morning and night!

Sugaree

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1483 on: September 03, 2019, 07:43:43 AM »
Choose a smaller town. Ten minutes out of town and you're in the boonies.

A 90 minute commute would take some folks into the next state... I can't imagine doing that daily - especially morning and night!


I worked with a guy for awhile that had a 90 or so minute commute.  Not only did he cross state lines, he crossed the time line.  He said it was okay in the morning because we're an hour behind his house (and he was on a vanpool that let him sleep on the way to work most days), but that the afternoons were a killer because he wasn't getting home until nearly 7:00 his time. 

Kitsune

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1484 on: September 03, 2019, 07:56:57 AM »
Choose a smaller town. Ten minutes out of town and you're in the boonies.

A 90 minute commute would take some folks into the next state... I can't imagine doing that daily - especially morning and night!


I worked with a guy for awhile that had a 90 or so minute commute.  Not only did he cross state lines, he crossed the time line.  He said it was okay in the morning because we're an hour behind his house (and he was on a vanpool that let him sleep on the way to work most days), but that the afternoons were a killer because he wasn't getting home until nearly 7:00 his time.

90 minutes is 3 hours a day, omg. I wonder if people who do that have compared their hourly wages for 8hr days close to home vs 11hr days 90 minutes from home...

Sugaree

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1485 on: September 03, 2019, 08:26:15 AM »
Choose a smaller town. Ten minutes out of town and you're in the boonies.

A 90 minute commute would take some folks into the next state... I can't imagine doing that daily - especially morning and night!


I worked with a guy for awhile that had a 90 or so minute commute.  Not only did he cross state lines, he crossed the time line.  He said it was okay in the morning because we're an hour behind his house (and he was on a vanpool that let him sleep on the way to work most days), but that the afternoons were a killer because he wasn't getting home until nearly 7:00 his time.

90 minutes is 3 hours a day, omg. I wonder if people who do that have compared their hourly wages for 8hr days close to home vs 11hr days 90 minutes from home...


In this case, he was looking to get closer to "home" and was on the priority placement list.  He's since taken a job that's even closer to where he lives and lets him telework 3 days a week.  But there are still quite a few people that commute that far every day.  The vanpool helps, especially since work pays for it, but ouch. 

DadJokes

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1486 on: September 03, 2019, 08:30:24 AM »
Choose a smaller town. Ten minutes out of town and you're in the boonies.

A 90 minute commute would take some folks into the next state... I can't imagine doing that daily - especially morning and night!


I worked with a guy for awhile that had a 90 or so minute commute.  Not only did he cross state lines, he crossed the time line.  He said it was okay in the morning because we're an hour behind his house (and he was on a vanpool that let him sleep on the way to work most days), but that the afternoons were a killer because he wasn't getting home until nearly 7:00 his time.

90 minutes is 3 hours a day, omg. I wonder if people who do that have compared their hourly wages for 8hr days close to home vs 11hr days 90 minutes from home...


In this case, he was looking to get closer to "home" and was on the priority placement list.  He's since taken a job that's even closer to where he lives and lets him telework 3 days a week.  But there are still quite a few people that commute that far every day.  The vanpool helps, especially since work pays for it, but ouch.

I have friends that commute 90 minutes each way. I have no idea how they bear it. My commute is an hour each way, but that's on a train, where I can do all the same things I would do at home (sleep, read, mindlessly play on my phone).

Kitsune

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1487 on: September 03, 2019, 09:38:55 AM »
Choose a smaller town. Ten minutes out of town and you're in the boonies.

A 90 minute commute would take some folks into the next state... I can't imagine doing that daily - especially morning and night!


I worked with a guy for awhile that had a 90 or so minute commute.  Not only did he cross state lines, he crossed the time line.  He said it was okay in the morning because we're an hour behind his house (and he was on a vanpool that let him sleep on the way to work most days), but that the afternoons were a killer because he wasn't getting home until nearly 7:00 his time.

90 minutes is 3 hours a day, omg. I wonder if people who do that have compared their hourly wages for 8hr days close to home vs 11hr days 90 minutes from home...


In this case, he was looking to get closer to "home" and was on the priority placement list.  He's since taken a job that's even closer to where he lives and lets him telework 3 days a week.  But there are still quite a few people that commute that far every day.  The vanpool helps, especially since work pays for it, but ouch.

I have friends that commute 90 minutes each way. I have no idea how they bear it. My commute is an hour each way, but that's on a train, where I can do all the same things I would do at home (sleep, read, mindlessly play on my phone).

Yeah, I have a similar commute, and it is ONLY bearable because we all get in one car and then my husband and I get the kids to daycare/school and then get to talk together (while not absolutely exhausted) before picking up the kids again. It's a nice non-exhausted adults-only discussion time.

... that said, even then, it's only bearable because the location we're in is where we want to be long-term, with family around (essentially: we leave for work/school and no other reason), and it REALLY matters to my partner. Relationship compromise, let's say. I'm still not pleased about needing to commute at all, but it's the price to pay for other advantages.

Commuting sucks enough that I really think it needs to be evaluated. Sometimes it's the right choice, but maaaaaan, you gotta be convinced.

Dragonswan

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1488 on: September 03, 2019, 10:29:55 AM »
Choose a smaller town. Ten minutes out of town and you're in the boonies.

A 90 minute commute would take some folks into the next state... I can't imagine doing that daily - especially morning and night!


I worked with a guy for awhile that had a 90 or so minute commute.  Not only did he cross state lines, he crossed the time line.  He said it was okay in the morning because we're an hour behind his house (and he was on a vanpool that let him sleep on the way to work most days), but that the afternoons were a killer because he wasn't getting home until nearly 7:00 his time.

90 minutes is 3 hours a day, omg. I wonder if people who do that have compared their hourly wages for 8hr days close to home vs 11hr days 90 minutes from home...
Yes, yes I have. Worth it. I'm in firehouse territory. Plus I take the train and it's only 3 days a week in the office so, could be worse.

ysette9

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1489 on: September 03, 2019, 10:40:31 AM »
Choose a smaller town. Ten minutes out of town and you're in the boonies.

A 90 minute commute would take some folks into the next state... I can't imagine doing that daily - especially morning and night!


I worked with a guy for awhile that had a 90 or so minute commute.  Not only did he cross state lines, he crossed the time line.  He said it was okay in the morning because we're an hour behind his house (and he was on a vanpool that let him sleep on the way to work most days), but that the afternoons were a killer because he wasn't getting home until nearly 7:00 his time.

90 minutes is 3 hours a day, omg. I wonder if people who do that have compared their hourly wages for 8hr days close to home vs 11hr days 90 minutes from home...


In this case, he was looking to get closer to "home" and was on the priority placement list.  He's since taken a job that's even closer to where he lives and lets him telework 3 days a week.  But there are still quite a few people that commute that far every day.  The vanpool helps, especially since work pays for it, but ouch.

I have friends that commute 90 minutes each way. I have no idea how they bear it. My commute is an hour each way, but that's on a train, where I can do all the same things I would do at home (sleep, read, mindlessly play on my phone).

Yeah, I have a similar commute, and it is ONLY bearable because we all get in one car and then my husband and I get the kids to daycare/school and then get to talk together (while not absolutely exhausted) before picking up the kids again. It's a nice non-exhausted adults-only discussion time.

... that said, even then, it's only bearable because the location we're in is where we want to be long-term, with family around (essentially: we leave for work/school and no other reason), and it REALLY matters to my partner. Relationship compromise, let's say. I'm still not pleased about needing to commute at all, but it's the price to pay for other advantages.

Commuting sucks enough that I really think it needs to be evaluated. Sometimes it's the right choice, but maaaaaan, you gotta be convinced.
Commuting with your spouse is certainly a step-function improvement over solo. I had the pleasure for a short while early on in our careers and it was great. That uninterrupted time where no one could be on a phone and we had to actually talk to each other was golden. :)

SwordGuy

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1490 on: September 03, 2019, 11:40:19 AM »
Commuting with your spouse is certainly a step-function improvement over solo. I had the pleasure for a short while early on in our careers and it was great. That uninterrupted time where no one could be on a phone and we had to actually talk to each other was golden. :)

I guess I'm lucky and I actually enjoy my wife's company and conversation.   Or maybe I'm just sensible and didn't marry the ones I didn't enjoy talking to... :)

Had one couple where I last worked that worked the same hours at the same location for the same employer.   Each drove separately in their own gas-guzzling truck.   
« Last Edit: September 03, 2019, 12:36:40 PM by SwordGuy »

Kitsune

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1491 on: September 03, 2019, 11:53:59 AM »
Commuting with your spouse is certainly a step-function improvement over solo. I had the pleasure for a short while early on in our careers and it was great. That uninterrupted time where no one could be on a phone and we had to actually talk to each other was golden. :)

I guess I'm lucky and I actually enjoy my wife's company and conversation.   Or maybe I'm just sensible and didn't marry the ones I didn't enjoy talking too... :)

Had one couple where I last worked that worked the same hours at the same location for the same employer.   Each drove separately in their own gas-guzzling truck.

Some of my colleagues do that and I just... do not understand.

I married this dude because I like being around him. In bed, outside of bed, he's my person, y'know? So I WANT to chat with him, and listen to audiobooks with him, and hash things out to make sure that they get fixed (and honestly, we're WAY better at hashing things out while well-rested at 8am than we ware when exhausted at 10pm - pro tip, only bring up relationship issues when you've got the energy to find a solution!), and talk about what we're in the mood to eat for dinner, and generally... be together.

If I didn't want that, then why be married? What am I missing?

ysette9

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1492 on: September 03, 2019, 12:45:31 PM »
Commuting with your spouse is certainly a step-function improvement over solo. I had the pleasure for a short while early on in our careers and it was great. That uninterrupted time where no one could be on a phone and we had to actually talk to each other was golden. :)

I guess I'm lucky and I actually enjoy my wife's company and conversation.   Or maybe I'm just sensible and didn't marry the ones I didn't enjoy talking to... :)

Had one couple where I last worked that worked the same hours at the same location for the same employer.   Each drove separately in their own gas-guzzling truck.
How sad. I agree that it doesn’t make sense to bother marrying someone you don’t even like talking to.

Jim Fiction

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1493 on: September 03, 2019, 02:03:20 PM »
At a recent company-sponsored lunch with coworkers, the topic of our pay frequency popped up. We are salaried and get paid once per month, on the 1st of the month. We are essentially paid in advance for the entire upcoming month. Many of my coworkers do not like this setup and wish we were paid more frequently, which is absolutely mind boggling to me. Their reasoning? It would be easier to stretch the money out if they received it in chunks throughout the month. We are literally receiving an entire month's salary up front before doing a minute of work - just learn to budget better!

SwordGuy

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1494 on: September 03, 2019, 02:11:45 PM »
At a recent company-sponsored lunch with coworkers, the topic of our pay frequency popped up. We are salaried and get paid once per month, on the 1st of the month. We are essentially paid in advance for the entire upcoming month. Many of my coworkers do not like this setup and wish we were paid more frequently, which is absolutely mind boggling to me. Their reasoning? It would be easier to stretch the money out if they received it in chunks throughout the month. We are literally receiving an entire month's salary up front before doing a minute of work - just learn to budget better!

Are you positive about that?

Because the usual way to do it is to pay for the prior month's work, not the next month's work.

If you quit on the 5th of the month and they owe you money, you're being paid for last month.  If you owe them money, you're being paid for next month.

Frankly, only a moron of an employer would volunteer to pay people before they did the work.

partgypsy

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1495 on: September 03, 2019, 02:14:56 PM »
That is correct. Try to remember way back when, starting the job, having to wait for that first paycheck.

dragoncar

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1496 on: September 03, 2019, 03:35:40 PM »
That is correct. Try to remember way back when, starting the job, having to wait for that first paycheck.

If unsure the paycheck will tell you which dates it is covering.  I agree it’s far more common to be paid 1-2 weeks AFTER the pay period ends (eg you get paid for weeks 1-2 on Friday of week 3) but I’m sure there are rare employees out there that will front the cash

Jim Fiction

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1497 on: September 04, 2019, 07:20:10 AM »
At a recent company-sponsored lunch with coworkers, the topic of our pay frequency popped up. We are salaried and get paid once per month, on the 1st of the month. We are essentially paid in advance for the entire upcoming month. Many of my coworkers do not like this setup and wish we were paid more frequently, which is absolutely mind boggling to me. Their reasoning? It would be easier to stretch the money out if they received it in chunks throughout the month. We are literally receiving an entire month's salary up front before doing a minute of work - just learn to budget better!

Are you positive about that?

Because the usual way to do it is to pay for the prior month's work, not the next month's work.

If you quit on the 5th of the month and they owe you money, you're being paid for last month.  If you owe them money, you're being paid for next month.

Frankly, only a moron of an employer would volunteer to pay people before they did the work.

100% positive. I hadn't heard of anything like it before. Making things even odder is that throughout the recruitment process the payroll period mentioned was once a month on the 15th, it was even the stated date in the terms of my offer letter. But when I started my boss let me know that was inaccurate and my pay date was actually the 1st.

I've only been with the company for a year - I started last August on the last Monday of the month. When I was paid the first week of September, I unexpectedly received two checks. One for a week's pay in August  and the other for the entire month of September. I fully assumed to get August's pay in September and September's pay in October, so I was pleasantly surprised to receive the second check. So surprised that I actually I asked about it to make sure it was correct and was told that it was the norm. It is just how the company's pay periods are structured.

Those coworkers opposed did acknowledge the fact they were getting paid up front, but in spite of this still wanted more frequent paychecks for the aforementioned rationale.

That is correct. Try to remember way back when, starting the job, having to wait for that first paycheck.

That was fully my assumption when I first started, but as mentioned in my reply to SwordGuy turned out to not be the case.

That is correct. Try to remember way back when, starting the job, having to wait for that first paycheck.

If unsure the paycheck will tell you which dates it is covering.  I agree it’s far more common to be paid 1-2 weeks AFTER the pay period ends (eg you get paid for weeks 1-2 on Friday of week 3) but I’m sure there are rare employees out there that will front the cash

Yup. Logged on to our payroll provider check my most recent paystub:

Period Beginning: 9/01/2019
Period Ending: 09/30/2019
Pay Date: 09/03/2019*

*Was actually posted to my accounts on 8/31.
« Last Edit: September 04, 2019, 07:22:55 AM by Jim Fiction »

SwordGuy

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1498 on: September 04, 2019, 07:29:16 AM »
At a recent company-sponsored lunch with coworkers, the topic of our pay frequency popped up. We are salaried and get paid once per month, on the 1st of the month. We are essentially paid in advance for the entire upcoming month. Many of my coworkers do not like this setup and wish we were paid more frequently, which is absolutely mind boggling to me. Their reasoning? It would be easier to stretch the money out if they received it in chunks throughout the month. We are literally receiving an entire month's salary up front before doing a minute of work - just learn to budget better!

Are you positive about that?

Because the usual way to do it is to pay for the prior month's work, not the next month's work.

If you quit on the 5th of the month and they owe you money, you're being paid for last month.  If you owe them money, you're being paid for next month.

Frankly, only a moron of an employer would volunteer to pay people before they did the work.

100% positive. I hadn't heard of anything like it before. Making things even odder is that throughout the recruitment process the payroll period mentioned was once a month on the 15th, it was even the stated date in the terms of my offer letter. But when I started my boss let me know that was inaccurate and my pay date was actually the 1st.

I've only been with the company for a year - I started last August on the last Monday of the month. When I was paid the first week of September, I unexpectedly received two checks. One for a week's pay in August  and the other for the entire month of September. I fully assumed to get August's pay in September and September's pay in October, so I was pleasantly surprised to receive the second check. So surprised that I actually I asked about it to make sure it was correct and was told that it was the norm. It is just how the company's pay periods are structured.

Those coworkers opposed did acknowledge the fact they were getting paid up front, but in spite of this still wanted more frequent paychecks for the aforementioned rationale.

That is correct. Try to remember way back when, starting the job, having to wait for that first paycheck.

That was fully my assumption when I first started, but as mentioned in my reply to SwordGuy turned out to not be the case.

That is correct. Try to remember way back when, starting the job, having to wait for that first paycheck.

If unsure the paycheck will tell you which dates it is covering.  I agree it’s far more common to be paid 1-2 weeks AFTER the pay period ends (eg you get paid for weeks 1-2 on Friday of week 3) but I’m sure there are rare employees out there that will front the cash

Yup. Logged on to our payroll provider check my most recent paystub:

Period Beginning: 9/01/2019
Period Ending: 09/30/2019
Pay Date: 09/03/2019*

*Was actually posted to my accounts on 8/31.

Wow!      Of course, if they are that bad at their finances, they probably can't afford to leave because they would have to pay the boss man back and wait an extra month until the next job paid them.

Maybe boss man is brilliant after all. :)

Linea_Norway

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Re: Overheard at Work 2
« Reply #1499 on: September 04, 2019, 08:50:39 AM »
Not a worst case, but heard today from a male coworker.
"my wife makes a list of requirement for the new car. I find a car that fits the requirements. My wife has the final word to say yes or no. I found a Subaru, but my wife doesn't want it, because os looks or so. I would rather have continued to drive our old car. "