Epic FU money stories

[alcon835]

This. This is FU money!!!! Congratulations! That’s MASSIVE!

[Fi(re) on the Farm]

Not quite an FU story because I love my boss and my job but when the pandemic hit I started working from home. My daughter who's disabled also lost her day program.

We got through the lockdown pretty well but in October they told me I had to come back to work 5 days per 2 week pay period. My daughter is getting services 2 days a week for 2.5 hours each time. I told my boss I would be working from home 5 days a pay period and using up my vacation time the days I was required to be in (I'd be done by Dec. 31) I wasn't planning on retiring just yet but because of all the planning and saving I did it would be something I could easily do. 

Because I've got a ton of institutional knowledge my boss really didn't want to lose me so my supervisor's supervisor went to the big boss and I'm working from home most of the time and going in when my child has care. I like my co-workers so going in a couple of afternoons a week has been great but I also know that if they change their mind I'm good with that too.

[Dicey]

Not quite an FU story because I love my boss and my job but when the pandemic hit I started working from home. My daughter who's disabled also lost her day program.

We got through the lockdown pretty well but in October they told me I had to come back to work 5 days per 2 week pay period. My daughter is getting services 2 days a week for 2.5 hours each time. I told my boss I would be working from home 5 days a pay period and using up my vacation time the days I was required to be in (I'd be done by Dec. 31) I wasn't planning on retiring just yet but because of all the planning and saving I did it would be something I could easily do. 

Because I've got a ton of institutional knowledge my boss really didn't want to lose me so my supervisor's supervisor went to the big boss and I'm working from home most of the time and going in when my child has care. I like my co-workers so going in a couple of afternoons a week has been great but I also know that if they change their mind I'm good with that too.

Good for you! Glad they figured something out..

[TheYeti]

This is my favorite thread and I have read the entire thing over the last several months. I have a cautionary tale to add:

A decade or so ago in town far away I started a new job with EvilMegaCorp. This would be my 3rd company after college and I had 11 years’ experience at this point. I have always had exemplary reviews; I work hard and expect my compensation to match my effort. At EvilMegaCorp we manufactured very complex Widgets and I was a Manufacturing Engineer for them. I was hired to do job A for Boss A but 2 weeks after I start a guy in a critical position quit and I was asked to do Job B for Boss B. Let’s call Boss B “Brian”. My thought was ‘who am I to refuse a different position when I just walked in the door’ and perhaps this is good opportunity for me to show I am a team player….

Brian was just hired into his manager position after being a Manufacturing Engineer himself. Our relationship starts off innocently enough and we seem to get along. After a couple of months and HR finishes up the paper work for transferring me to Brian’s group, I get called into his office. Brian wants to verify that my listed Salary is correct. I verify that it is correct, then he tells me I am way overpaid for how long have been with EvilMegaCorp. I tell him that I have 11 years’ experience and that EvilMegaCorp hired me at this salary. He then proceeds to tell me the salary of everybody else on the team (this typically a management no no and a red flag). I was not the highest paid BTW, but I think my salary bothered him because I was likely making more than him. This was the point that everything changed….That year he gave me the lowest possible raise and I found out it was the lowest raise on the team. He screwed up and I saw the raise (in the system) prior to the performance review meeting. I was ready for him and asked him, why he screwed me over. I had performed better than most on the team and I had the metrics to prove it. He stammered and was taken aback by how prepared I was but it didn’t matter, raise was already in the books. He did not like being confronted and started a passive aggressive campaign to assassinate my character to management and anyone else that would listen. Comments in front of the team like, “I [Brian] have a question you might finally know: where is the gym reimbursement form located at?” He increased my workload, which as you know, can force you to overlook certain things. When mistakes were made, he jumped on them. Then I would make sure everything was perfect as possible but this would slow me down so I would get accused of not getting my work done, so I started working more hours…. You know how it goes. More poor performance reviews followed.

The straw that broke the camel’s back for me occurred when our plant was hurting for output in the 4th quarter and Brian volunteered me to review production part records before they shipped every morning, afternoon, and night. So I worked my normal 7am to 4:30pm. I would review the part records at 7am, 3pm, then at 9pm I had to log in from home and review as many parts that were listed to ship that evening. On Saturday and Sunday I would login 3 times per day and do it. This usually took about an hour each login. I was salaried so no extra compensation. This was only temporary though….. I had gotten approval for a vacation day, the day before Thanksgiving, it was my Birthday and DW had plans for us. Brian made sure to tell me that over my vacation and the holiday I had to login and review part records. On my vacation day I had to work 5 hours reviewing part records. Upon return on Monday I put down that I took a half day vacation to which Brian rejected my timesheet. I immediately went to his office and told him I worked 5 hours that day, 3 hours on Thanksgiving, 2 hours on Black Friday, then 3 hours on Saturday and Sunday. He said it didn’t matter. Since I had told him I would be on vacation on Wednesday, I needed to use 8 hours of vacation. I reinforced that he was an asshole and started my job search that day. I got an internal position elsewhere and apparently wasn’t the only one looking as 3 of us ended up leaving in the same week. They ended up replacing me with 2 engineers. I moved on to the next job with a great supervisor and began to succeed again. Promotions and raises were easy to come by again.

My Lessons:
1.   If you see red flags with your supervisor start a plan to get out. I came to EvilMegaCorp with a high level of confidence in my engineering abilities. If Brian had tried this crap right off the bat I hope that I would have recognized it and immediately jumped ship. As this happened over a longer period of time Brian slowly eroded my confidence, I was getting to a miserable place. Also I had never had a bad supervisor prior to Brian so I was under the impression that I could ‘turn this around’ and I stayed in that job longer than I should have.
2.   The boss that hires you has a vested interest in YOU being a success. I never should have agreed to work for Brian. I should have stayed with the guy that hired me to EvilMegaCorp. Brian used this against me on multiple occasions, “I [Brian] never hired him” He wanted to make it clear that he doesn’t make bad hiring decisions. Now, whenever my supervisor leaves and they just replace him/her, I update my resume. I want to work for the person that has picked me. If you work for a good/moral manager this is not an issue, but as you can see from this thread there’s a lot of jerks out there.
3.   Know your stash. I had FU money, but didn’t realize it and didn’t utilize it.
4.   Don’t work an extra 500 hours for an extra $500. This is company dependent but at many of the places I have worked the difference between the “average” raise and the “excellent” raise is 1%. The effort to get that extra 1% is crazy hard and requires too many hours, plus raises are too often handed out based on who is ‘liked’ rather than who deserves it.
5.   Without the bad there cannot be good. If I ran into Brian on the street today, was having a bad day and he made some stupid comment, I might be tempted to punch his face. Nevertheless, without him I would not have known how good the rest of my supervisors have been; how good the rest of my career has been. There is a part of me that is grateful to that Asshat, because now when I have a “bad” day, I reflect back and think of what really bad days are like. I realize how blessed I have been for the great coworkers, management, and people in my life. Life is good and I am grateful for that.

[Dicey]

Wow, that was a great (but shitty) story. I'm glad you escaped. You're a good writer, I hope you'll hang around the forum and share more stories.

[gooki]

Brian sounds like a class A dick.

[rpr]

@TheYeti -- great story and I liked your lesson number 2.

[swaneesr]

Wow. Thank you for sharing your wisdom. 

I too am an engineer for a MegaCorp. I have been in this role for nearly 25 years. Overall, I have been in a similar role for 32 years. I have never experienced a manager as bad as your “Brian”. I have had some managers better than others. I am also aware of a couple of “Brian’s” that others have suffered under.

Because of your articulate writing, many of us will know and be able to avoid the same problems or react faster.

Thank you for sharing.

I am out here commissioning a new production line. I really need to introduce myself and join the 2022 Cohort.

I come here for the wisdom and the face punches to combat my spendy pants nature……..

Swanee


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[TheYeti]

A decade or so ago in town far away I started a new job with EvilMegaCorp. This would be my 3rd company after college and I had 11 years’ experience at this point. I have always had exemplary reviews; I work hard and expect my compensation to match my effort. At EvilMegaCorp we manufactured very complex Widgets and I was a Manufacturing Engineer for them. I was hired to do job A for Boss A but 2 weeks after I start a guy in a critical position quit and I was asked to do Job B for Boss B. Let’s call Boss B “Brian”.

Here is a quick add on story from working for the same supervisor:
We had a talented young female engineer “Bella” in our department. Brian told us in staff meeting that Bella was considering taking a different job and that she presently couldn’t be at the staff meeting as the Director of Engineering had come from out of town to try to convince her not to leave. Brian then explained that the Director had a “woman quota” to maintain. Just after he gets done explaining it, Bella walks into the meeting we are presently having. Brian then tells her that he was just talking behind her back and the Director was there to maintain the “woman quota”. Yeah she quit…

[grantmeaname]

what a colossal dickhead

[mm1970]

A decade or so ago in town far away I started a new job with EvilMegaCorp. This would be my 3rd company after college and I had 11 years’ experience at this point. I have always had exemplary reviews; I work hard and expect my compensation to match my effort. At EvilMegaCorp we manufactured very complex Widgets and I was a Manufacturing Engineer for them. I was hired to do job A for Boss A but 2 weeks after I start a guy in a critical position quit and I was asked to do Job B for Boss B. Let’s call Boss B “Brian”.

Here is a quick add on story from working for the same supervisor:
We had a talented young female engineer “Bella” in our department. Brian told us in staff meeting that Bella was considering taking a different job and that she presently couldn’t be at the staff meeting as the Director of Engineering had come from out of town to try to convince her not to leave. Brian then explained that the Director had a “woman quota” to maintain. Just after he gets done explaining it, Bella walks into the meeting we are presently having. Brian then tells her that he was just talking behind her back and the Director was there to maintain the “woman quota”. Yeah she quit…

fuck that guy.

Signed, a female engineer who is tired of this shit.

[JGS1980]

A decade or so ago in town far away I started a new job with EvilMegaCorp. This would be my 3rd company after college and I had 11 years’ experience at this point. I have always had exemplary reviews; I work hard and expect my compensation to match my effort. At EvilMegaCorp we manufactured very complex Widgets and I was a Manufacturing Engineer for them. I was hired to do job A for Boss A but 2 weeks after I start a guy in a critical position quit and I was asked to do Job B for Boss B. Let’s call Boss B “Brian”.

Here is a quick add on story from working for the same supervisor:
We had a talented young female engineer “Bella” in our department. Brian told us in staff meeting that Bella was considering taking a different job and that she presently couldn’t be at the staff meeting as the Director of Engineering had come from out of town to try to convince her not to leave. Brian then explained that the Director had a “woman quota” to maintain. Just after he gets done explaining it, Bella walks into the meeting we are presently having. Brian then tells her that he was just talking behind her back and the Director was there to maintain the “woman quota”. Yeah she quit…

fuck that guy.

Signed, a female engineer who is tired of this shit.

Exactly! I love this forum

[CodingHare]

A decade or so ago in town far away I started a new job with EvilMegaCorp. This would be my 3rd company after college and I had 11 years’ experience at this point. I have always had exemplary reviews; I work hard and expect my compensation to match my effort. At EvilMegaCorp we manufactured very complex Widgets and I was a Manufacturing Engineer for them. I was hired to do job A for Boss A but 2 weeks after I start a guy in a critical position quit and I was asked to do Job B for Boss B. Let’s call Boss B “Brian”.

Here is a quick add on story from working for the same supervisor:
We had a talented young female engineer “Bella” in our department. Brian told us in staff meeting that Bella was considering taking a different job and that she presently couldn’t be at the staff meeting as the Director of Engineering had come from out of town to try to convince her not to leave. Brian then explained that the Director had a “woman quota” to maintain. Just after he gets done explaining it, Bella walks into the meeting we are presently having. Brian then tells her that he was just talking behind her back and the Director was there to maintain the “woman quota”. Yeah she quit…

fuck that guy.

Signed, a female engineer who is tired of this shit.

Sounds like Brian has a 'man quota' he wanted to keep.  Good on the engineer for quitting that sexist bullcrap.  Just wish someone had let the VP know so Brian could be fired.  Oh well, stuff like this is why I keep accumulating the stash.  ~Another female engineer

[frugalnacho]

glad to see this forum is meeting their women engineer quota.

[LennStar]

glad to see this forum is meeting their women engineer quota.

I fear we might fall short of the male nurse quota though.

[jinga nation]

glad to see this forum is meeting their women engineer quota.

I'm a male in IT/Tech/Engineering. When I hear stupid fake shit about women from a team lead/manager/leadership because of some make-believe stereotype, immediate red flag is raised, and I start looking for opportunities externally. Because this time it was women, next time it will about a minority, and it will go on. In my experience, HR does nothing, so time to bail. That FU Stash activation feels so good.

[former player]

glad to see this forum is meeting their women engineer quota.

I fear we might fall short of the male nurse quota though.

There's at least one, Murse, and maybe some more?

[jamaicaspanish]

Manny checking in ...

[jeninco]

glad to see this forum is meeting their women engineer quota.

I'm a male in IT/Tech/Engineering. When I hear stupid fake shit about women from a team lead/manager/leadership because of some make-believe stereotype, immediate red flag is raised, and I start looking for opportunities externally. Because this time it was women, next time it will about a minority, and it will go on. In my experience, HR does nothing, so time to bail. That FU Stash activation feels so good.

IF you feel that you're in a position to do so, it would be super-cool if you would push back on that shit.

Because it's far more effective when a bro says "seriously dude? The 1950s called, and they want their sexism back" then when a woman says ... anything, because that makes her a bitchy bitch.

[Freedomin5]

A decade or so ago in town far away I started a new job with EvilMegaCorp. This would be my 3rd company after college and I had 11 years’ experience at this point. I have always had exemplary reviews; I work hard and expect my compensation to match my effort. At EvilMegaCorp we manufactured very complex Widgets and I was a Manufacturing Engineer for them. I was hired to do job A for Boss A but 2 weeks after I start a guy in a critical position quit and I was asked to do Job B for Boss B. Let’s call Boss B “Brian”.

Here is a quick add on story from working for the same supervisor:
We had a talented young female engineer “Bella” in our department. Brian told us in staff meeting that Bella was considering taking a different job and that she presently couldn’t be at the staff meeting as the Director of Engineering had come from out of town to try to convince her not to leave. Brian then explained that the Director had a “woman quota” to maintain. Just after he gets done explaining it, Bella walks into the meeting we are presently having. Brian then tells her that he was just talking behind her back and the Director was there to maintain the “woman quota”. Yeah she quit…

Was Brian on the autism spectrum? Sounds like he is clueless when it comes to social awareness.

[LightTripper]

People can actually be sexist dicks without being autistic (and vice versa :)   )

[SwordGuy]

People can actually be sexist dicks without being autistic (and vice versa :)   )

Absolutely!  The general name for Brian's mental disease is called "Bigotry", a more specific categorization would be "Misogyny".

[Weisass]

People can actually be sexist dicks without being autistic (and vice versa :)   )

Absolutely!  The general name for Brian's mental disease is called "Bigotry", a more specific categorization would be "Misogyny".

Indeed, no need to smear neuro-divergent folks when the answer is simple: he’s an ass.

[jinga nation]

glad to see this forum is meeting their women engineer quota.

I'm a male in IT/Tech/Engineering. When I hear stupid fake shit about women from a team lead/manager/leadership because of some make-believe stereotype, immediate red flag is raised, and I start looking for opportunities externally. Because this time it was women, next time it will about a minority, and it will go on. In my experience, HR does nothing, so time to bail. That FU Stash activation feels so good.

IF you feel that you're in a position to do so, it would be super-cool if you would push back on that shit.

Because it's far more effective when a bro says "seriously dude? The 1950s called, and they want their sexism back" then when a woman says ... anything, because that makes her a bitchy bitch.

My first full time engineering job in the mid-2000s, with the Engineering Ethics class from university still fresh in my mind, and having gone thru the various employer training, I called out a senior engineer during a meeting, as soon as he uttered ridiculous nonsense. He talked trash about 2 female engineers (who were my E-school classmates) and the Turkish change management lady. But the female CEO of that company didn't like my pushing back, and they never forgot. When we had layoffs, the 2 female engineers were fired in the first round and I got their work. A month later, they fired me for cause, for belittling a senior. IDGAF and had 6 months of emergency fund and had made local industry contacts.

Next workplace, my team lead and senior techs would call out others who said sexist and racist things, so I was part of a like-minded team. But our female manager wasn't a fan of our callouts as well as our refusal to put a blind eye on inspection fails and workplace safety violations. So our team got the least raises despite being critical to the company (no products could be certified without our department testing them for compliance and signing off). I was denied a promotion (had been verbally informed a month prior that I would be). Manager and her boss, a female director, openly said my minority was good at being frugal and thrifty, and said working with this company was a raise unto itself. HR didn't give a damn when I raised it, they said those were heat of the moment responses by management. I quit a couple of weeks later with a 30% more pay, a day after my 3 year stock vesting hit 100%.

It might seem super-cool to many when men stand up for women in the workplace, but we're the ones who get the shaft, financially and morally.

[jeninco]

@jinga nation , thanks for trying, and I'm sorry it ended so poorly for you. Your managers were assholes, what can I say?

 I did say "if you feel that you're in a position to do so", because if the Bros don't speak up, how will this BS ever end?

[SwordGuy]

It might seem super-cool to many when men stand up for women in the workplace, but we're the ones who get the shaft TOO, financially and morally.

Fixed that for you.   Women and minorities were ALREADY getting the shaft.

And thanks for speaking up.

[RetiredAt63]

It might seem super-cool to many when men stand up for women in the workplace, but we're the ones who get the shaft TOO, financially and morally.

Fixed that for you.   Women and minorities were ALREADY getting the shaft.

And thanks for speaking up.

Yes, managers like that are just spreading the shafting around more evenly.

Same things applies in social situations, btw.  If you (any generic male) get negative feedback from standing up for a woman/minority, you can be sure they have already been getting negative treatment.

[jinga nation]

@jeninco @SwordGuy yup, got to have that solidarity and resist the stupid management. They're going around with a caulk lube gun and a strap-on hunting for the next target, Elmer Fudd style.

[MOD NOTE: Okay, I realize we were already doing "shafting" before this, but maybe we could lay off the more literal, graphic sexual assault metaphors?  We do have a rule about this?  Thanks -  Toque]

[swaneesr]

@jinga nation , thanks for trying, and I'm sorry it ended so poorly for you. Your managers were assholes, what can I say?

 I did say "if you feel that you're in a position to do so", because if the Bros don't speak up, how will this BS ever end?

I am a senior engineer and in a position to speak up. We do not put up with any of that crap on my projects. High preforming teams are built on respect and trust. We call it out immediately. Sexism and bigotry can not be tolerated in any setting.

I guess I understand that my stash and position and the fact I could retire make speaking up easy for me.

Swanee


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[jinga nation]

@jinga nation , thanks for trying, and I'm sorry it ended so poorly for you. Your managers were assholes, what can I say?

 I did say "if you feel that you're in a position to do so", because if the Bros don't speak up, how will this BS ever end?

I am a senior engineer and in a position to speak up. We do not put up with any of that crap on my projects. High preforming teams are built on respect and trust. We call it out immediately. Sexism and bigotry can not be tolerated in any setting.

I guess I understand that my stash and position and the fact I could retire make speaking up easy for me.

Swanee


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Now that I'm a senior engineer and team lead, I do speak up. Fortunately, current and immediate previous employer take sexism/racism extremely seriously. But I have called out 2 numbnoggins for saying stupid shit; they were sub-contractors and their immediate supervisors made these two chucklefucks go for additional training.  Because if I didn't, the female gov employee, a Navy vet and disabled and minority, who sat next cube over, who heard these 2 muppets, was getting ready to make an official complaint. And if that had happened, shit would have hit the fan, everyone would have to go for mandatory training, projects would get impacted, and potential loss of contract and going into the agency's bad books (employers and personnel).
Their supervisors were thankful for me stepping in and nipping this at the bud.

But back to the topic of this thread: During the pandemic, I found out that a bunch of people who sit around me (Gov, Military, contractors) have emergency funds and FU money. We had deep discussions on investing strategies, lazy portfolios, index funds, and walking away from a toxic employer if need be. There's a couple of undercover millionaires, I'm so proud of all these non-MMM Mustachians.

[Freedomin5]

People can actually be sexist dicks without being autistic (and vice versa :)   )

Absolutely!  The general name for Brian's mental disease is called "Bigotry", a more specific categorization would be "Misogyny".

Indeed, no need to smear neuro-divergent folks when the answer is simple: he’s an ass.

I was asking because it’s sad when people who genuinely did not know better because of something that’s not their fault get called names like “bigot”, “ass”, and “misogynistic” just because he lacks the ability to understand social cues and social conventions. The fact is, we don’t know why Brian said what he said, and even though what he said was inappropriate and unkind, calling him names is also unkind.

[Psychstache]

People can actually be sexist dicks without being autistic (and vice versa :)   )

Absolutely!  The general name for Brian's mental disease is called "Bigotry", a more specific categorization would be "Misogyny".

Indeed, no need to smear neuro-divergent folks when the answer is simple: he’s an ass.

I was asking because it’s sad when people who genuinely did not know better because of something that’s not their fault get called names like “bigot”, “ass”, and “misogynistic”. The fact is, we don’t know why Brian said what he said, and even though what he said was inappropriate and unkind, calling him names is also unkind.

Sure it's possible, but other examples from the story indicate Brian had enough social awareness to know how to throw OP under the bus at work to railroad him out. Internet diagnosis of "mysogynist asshat" seems to fit the available information.

[TheYeti]

People can actually be sexist dicks without being autistic (and vice versa :)   )

Absolutely!  The general name for Brian's mental disease is called "Bigotry", a more specific categorization would be "Misogyny".

Indeed, no need to smear neuro-divergent folks when the answer is simple: he’s an ass.

I was asking because it’s sad when people who genuinely did not know better because of something that’s not their fault get called names like “bigot”, “ass”, and “misogynistic”. The fact is, we don’t know why Brian said what he said, and even though what he said was inappropriate and unkind, calling him names is also unkind.

Sure it's possible, but other examples from the story indicate Brian had enough social awareness to know how to throw OP under the bus at work to railroad him out. Internet diagnosis of "mysogynist asshat" seems to fit the available information.

Unchecked Arrogance is my opinion on Brian. Not only did he do what he did to Bella by acknowledging the “Woman Quote” but he also would pass out everyone’s salary data like it was Halloween Candy. These are both major HR violations, not to mention a way to really get the team gel…. Yet when people would complain to HR about it, nothing would happen. After one person in the group complained, there was no indication at all HR even talked to Brian about it. I spoke with Bella about the “woman quota” incident and told her that was not ok, she said she would tell HR on way out the door…. Another competent engineer gone. Beyond general common decency, EvilMegaCorp was major company so I know they had training for supervisors. Brian had to know he was not allowed to divulge this kind of information. Lack of oversight by HR/management and a culture that rewards this kind of arrogance is how it happens.

[former player]

Part of longstanding patterns of discrimination is that straight white males don't get picked up on mistakes (like Brian disclosing confidential information) in circumstances where others who aren't straight white males do.   He can afford to be a shit because he is protected by that status, the fall-off rate for people without that status is high because one mistake derails their career.

[SwordGuy]

Part of longstanding patterns of discrimination is that straight white males don't get picked up on mistakes (like Brian disclosing confidential information) in circumstances where others who aren't straight white males do.   He can afford to be a shit because he is protected by that status, the fall-off rate for people without that status is high because one mistake derails their career.

Just look at Brock Turner for an amazing example of the principle.

[Sandi_k]

Part of longstanding patterns of discrimination is that straight white males don't get picked up on mistakes (like Brian disclosing confidential information) in circumstances where others who aren't straight white males do.   He can afford to be a shit because he is protected by that status, the fall-off rate for people without that status is high because one mistake derails their career.

Just look at Brock Turner for an amazing example of the principle.

I'd rather not. ;)

[JoePublic3.14]

Because if I didn't, the female gov employee, a Navy vet and disabled and minority, who sat next cube over, who heard these 2 muppets, was getting ready to make an official complaint. And if that had happened, shit would have hit the fan, everyone would have to go for mandatory training, projects would get impacted, and potential loss of contract and going into the agency's bad books (employers and personnel).

Here’s the part I don’t like and feel gets in the way of working to make continuous forward progress.

A lot of places have systems in place in an attempt to keep improving. If these systems aren’t used, how in the hell can anyone expect improvement? We all need to be accountable and act swiftly.

If there was a basis for an official complaint, then there should have been an official complaint filed. It is much easier to clean the shit when it is on the fan.

[former player]

Because if I didn't, the female gov employee, a Navy vet and disabled and minority, who sat next cube over, who heard these 2 muppets, was getting ready to make an official complaint. And if that had happened, shit would have hit the fan, everyone would have to go for mandatory training, projects would get impacted, and potential loss of contract and going into the agency's bad books (employers and personnel).

Here’s the part I don’t like and feel gets in the way of working to make continuous forward progress.

A lot of places have systems in place in an attempt to keep improving. If these systems aren’t used, how in the hell can anyone expect improvement? We all need to be accountable and act swiftly.

If there was a basis for an official complaint, then there should have been an official complaint filed. It is much easier to clean the shit when it is on the fan.

I'm sure there are places of work where a complaint to the hierarchy about the way the hierarchy works is dealt with fairly and without adverse consequences to the complainant.  There just aren't very many, and those that there are tend to be in the public sector where 1) the hierarchy doesn't have money invested in the business and 2) there are outside pressures on standards and openness.

[Petunia 100]

5.   Without the bad there cannot be good. If I ran into Brian on the street today, was having a bad day and he made some stupid comment, I might be tempted to punch his face. Nevertheless, without him I would not have known how good the rest of my supervisors have been; how good the rest of my career has been. There is a part of me that is grateful to that Asshat, because now when I have a “bad” day, I reflect back and think of what really bad days are like. I realize how blessed I have been for the great coworkers, management, and people in my life. Life is good and I am grateful for that.

If you ever do run into Brian, this is what you tell him.

[Fresh Bread]

... It is much easier to clean the shit when it is on the fan.

This is a terrible analogy! It would be really hard to clean.

[TomTX]

... It is much easier to clean the shit when it is on the fan.

This is a terrible analogy! It would be really hard to clean.

Not as hard as if the fan was rotating and flung bits everywhere...

[BlueHouse]

Because if I didn't, the female gov employee, a Navy vet and disabled and minority, who sat next cube over, who heard these 2 muppets, was getting ready to make an official complaint. And if that had happened, shit would have hit the fan, everyone would have to go for mandatory training, projects would get impacted, and potential loss of contract and going into the agency's bad books (employers and personnel).

Here’s the part I don’t like and feel gets in the way of working to make continuous forward progress.

A lot of places have systems in place in an attempt to keep improving. If these systems aren’t used, how in the hell can anyone expect improvement? We all need to be accountable and act swiftly.

If there was a basis for an official complaint, then there should have been an official complaint filed. It is much easier to clean the shit when it is on the fan.

I'm sure there are places of work where a complaint to the hierarchy about the way the hierarchy works is dealt with fairly and without adverse consequences to the complainant.  There just aren't very many, and those that there are tend to be in the public sector where 1) the hierarchy doesn't have money invested in the business and 2) there are outside pressures on standards and openness.

I don't like the passage because it can sound as if the hero of the story is somehow blaming the person one cube over for forcing him to act as he was meant to in the first place.  I'm sure that wasn't jinganation's intent, but a story like this really doesn't need someone else to be the "reason" why a policy is enacted.  It doesn't need someone else to be "the asshole".  I think we're all meant to enforce these actions and not cry or complain about it when it's done so that *no one* is "the asshole".

[jinga nation]

I don't know if my situation is a FU money story or a MPP. (If y'all say MPP, I'll move it there.)

A couple of weeks ago, a cloud service provider (CSP) recruiter contacted me for a position. A relative works there. Had the 30 minute screening call (which was almost an hour) and it went well, which opened up a few different opportunities in different customer sectors due to my background and experience. I was to send my résumé to recruiter and they would let me know "as soon as possible". I asked them to clarify benefits, working hours, etc.

However, this was just before the holidays, so I didn't expect a reply. But it got me thinking. Do I really want this position? To have this big name company on my résumé, and for what? I've done stints are 3 other Fortune 500s where I was a just a small tooth on a cog, in an organization of hundreds of cogs. I talked to my relative, who explained the interview process, and how to prepare, etc.

The recruiter explained the benefits, said they were excellent for the industry. 10 days of time off for the first 3 years, use as you accrue, and 6 personal days, plus 7 public holidays. The base pay he mentioned was about $4k more than I get. But the real trade off is the stock (RSU). CSP is known for having a wrote in stone pay/RSU policy, there's no negotiating. They lock in your pay/RSU for 4 years.

Current small sized employer has a rule that as long as I bill customer 1800H/year, or 150H/month on average, I can take the rest of the time off. Since non-billable time is minimal, less than 8H/year, I get PTO of 5 weeks. Plus I get 10 public holidays (work in the DoD sector, so get President's Day, Veterans' Day, Columbus Day).

In essence, I'd be trading time off for stock and a few more work hours per week and increased travel (when the company lifts the work from home rule). New job would be 20-30% domestic flying around and 45H/week of billing.

I work for a good, small professional services company, we've become known for a niche specialty, our CEO and CTO are always working on new contracts/renewals and they have a technical background where the company culture is excellent. Lots of autonomy, I am a team/project lead, and help on other projects too, some proposals and proof-of-concepts.

Currently I work from home and travel to local customer site 2-3 days/week. I'm home by 4pm, drop my young kids for their sports training and go exercise. Help out kids with homework after dinner and help the wife cook/clean up the kitchen. No out of town travel away from family. Plus get to see my dad over dinner 2-3x/week when he joins us.

Wife and I have good pay, rental income from several condos, 2 homes (renovating one, then moving in, and selling the old one in this crazy  RE market), and retirement/brokerage accounts. We aren't in need of more money (and more stress) at the expense of a balanced work/life routine. My wife is looking at changing jobs to a less stressful and lesser hours gig.

We have FU money, we are technically FI, in the 2 comma club. We're already talking about me going FIRE in 12 years, when I turn 55 (because my job and industry is fun, because the people are fun). Wife probably will be retiring earlier. And we'll downsize. All this is in the IPS/long-term plan.

I don't need or want the CSP gig.

Thanks FU Money.

[Adventine]

@jinga nation  yeah, I'd say that's an enviable MPP!

[Zamboni]

Not quite an FU story because I love my boss and my job but when the pandemic hit I started working from home. My daughter who's disabled also lost her day program.

We got through the lockdown pretty well but in October they told me I had to come back to work 5 days per 2 week pay period. My daughter is getting services 2 days a week for 2.5 hours each time. I told my boss I would be working from home 5 days a pay period and using up my vacation time the days I was required to be in (I'd be done by Dec. 31) I wasn't planning on retiring just yet but because of all the planning and saving I did it would be something I could easily do. 

Because I've got a ton of institutional knowledge my boss really didn't want to lose me so my supervisor's supervisor went to the big boss and I'm working from home most of the time and going in when my child has care. I like my co-workers so going in a couple of afternoons a week has been great but I also know that if they change their mind I'm good with that too.

This is great! I'm really glad they decided to work with you . . . even though they only did it because it was their best option and probably not out of caring for you. Either way, it's a win for you and your daughter!

[BicycleB]

I don't know if my situation is a FU money story or a MPP. (If y'all say MPP, I'll move it there.)

A couple of weeks ago, a cloud service provider (CSP) recruiter contacted me for a position. A relative works there. Had the 30 minute screening call (which was almost an hour) and it went well, which opened up a few different opportunities in different customer sectors due to my background and experience. I was to send my résumé to recruiter and they would let me know "as soon as possible". I asked them to clarify benefits, working hours, etc.

However, this was just before the holidays, so I didn't expect a reply. But it got me thinking. Do I really want this position? To have this big name company on my résumé, and for what? I've done stints are 3 other Fortune 500s where I was a just a small tooth on a cog, in an organization of hundreds of cogs. I talked to my relative, who explained the interview process, and how to prepare, etc.

The recruiter explained the benefits, said they were excellent for the industry. 10 days of time off for the first 3 years, use as you accrue, and 6 personal days, plus 7 public holidays. The base pay he mentioned was about $4k more than I get. But the real trade off is the stock (RSU). CSP is known for having a wrote in stone pay/RSU policy, there's no negotiating. They lock in your pay/RSU for 4 years.

Current small sized employer has a rule that as long as I bill customer 1800H/year, or 150H/month on average, I can take the rest of the time off. Since non-billable time is minimal, less than 8H/year, I get PTO of 5 weeks. Plus I get 10 public holidays (work in the DoD sector, so get President's Day, Veterans' Day, Columbus Day).

In essence, I'd be trading time off for stock and a few more work hours per week and increased travel (when the company lifts the work from home rule). New job would be 20-30% domestic flying around and 45H/week of billing.

I work for a good, small professional services company, we've become known for a niche specialty, our CEO and CTO are always working on new contracts/renewals and they have a technical background where the company culture is excellent. Lots of autonomy, I am a team/project lead, and help on other projects too, some proposals and proof-of-concepts.

Currently I work from home and travel to local customer site 2-3 days/week. I'm home by 4pm, drop my young kids for their sports training and go exercise. Help out kids with homework after dinner and help the wife cook/clean up the kitchen. No out of town travel away from family. Plus get to see my dad over dinner 2-3x/week when he joins us.

Wife and I have good pay, rental income from several condos, 2 homes (renovating one, then moving in, and selling the old one in this crazy  RE market), and retirement/brokerage accounts. We aren't in need of more money (and more stress) at the expense of a balanced work/life routine. My wife is looking at changing jobs to a less stressful and lesser hours gig.

We have FU money, we are technically FI, in the 2 comma club. We're already talking about me going FIRE in 12 years, when I turn 55 (because my job and industry is fun, because the people are fun). Wife probably will be retiring earlier. And we'll downsize. All this is in the IPS/long-term plan.

I don't need or want the CSP gig.

Thanks FU Money.

I applaud this quiet yet epic FU. Well done, @jinga nation!

[Malossi792]

I don't know if my situation is a FU money story or a MPP. (If y'all say MPP, I'll move it there.)

https://images.app.goo.gl/VNkTZeHb8fBgbipz6

[zolotiyeruki]

Saw this one on Facebook: https://www.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/rn52k6/twas_the_night_before_my_resignation/

tl;dr:
Guy with FU money (henceforce GWFUM) is a key player in his organization, is the only person with his skills at the company, despite trying to get a backup.  Saves his vacation days so he can take the holidays off.  High-priority contract comes up in Dec, due by EOY.  Client waits two weeks to send required information.  GWFUM's boss tells GWFUM on Dec 21that the job must be done and that he (boss) has declined GWFUM's time off.  On top of that, HR department stands firm that days off are use-it-or-lose-it.

GWFUM resigns. 

Urgent Client is now facing hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.  GWFUM's now-former employer is facing $10k's of penalties per day for not fulfilling their contracts (not just with Urgent Client, but other existing clients). GWFUM enjoys his holidays with his family.

GWFUM's post with images of the conversation via text got deleted by reddit's moderators, but someone on Facebook captured it first, and you can see it here: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=3113816372271449&set=pcb.3113816665604753

[RyanAtTanagra]

Glad someone saved the images, that was an entertaining read.  I like how furious he is over the loss of $X but won't pay him a fraction of $X to save it, out of pride.  Sure is expensive to be prideful.

[Taran Wanderer]

Wow. Just wow.