Cringing on the job

[susans]

What job related things do you just not like doing?  Maybe  tasks that are tedious, ones that are hard to figure out?  I am looking for the tasks that make  you  cringe when you hear it needs to be done.  If nothing make cringe, which ones make you sigh and go, lets get th is over with.

[gee4]

Over the years I haven't had that many jobs that involve massive amounts of filing so I have been lucky there but that would be one of my pet hates.  Everything these days is usually electronic filing.

I guess one of the things I hate is being the hostess with the mostess.  You know if you work in a medium sized company where two cups of tea/coffee doesn't warrent hospitality and your boss doesn't want to take someone to the canteen.

In my previous job my very awkward boss was on a different floor to me.  On various occasions he used to phone me up and ask for tea or coffee which I provided.  However it was on the rare occasion when he asked me for a glass of water that really annoyed me.  I had to walk downstairs to the floor he was on, find a glass from the kitchen/come tea station, fill it with water and bring it to his office - rare to say the least!

It's the lastminute.com jobs I hate too eg. Gee can you do this but I need it for a meeting in 10 minutes.....eh do you want it in 10 mins or do you want it done correctly?

[peaches2160]

Things that make me cringe:

Fixing the copier jams when people leave it.
Last minute requests - AV for meetings in 10 min., etc.
Knowing a layoff is cominig and waiting until it is over to see who is remaining.
Cleaning out offices and having the computers, etc. picked up after people are laid off or fired and escorted from the building.  

[laurafmcdermott]

Knowing my boss has a deadline, knowing she is ignoring it, and knowing on the day it is due that she will be running around like her hair is on fire to finish it (assisted of course by me).

[Atlanta Z3]

I really dislike taking minutes.  My first experience was bad and it's just been a chore at any position I had to do it. (Meeting would last 4+ hours without breaks, I thought about wearing depends on those days!)  My current job so far does not involve minute taking.
Getting a email to bring the boss coffee in a meeting was not a favorite either.
I got around that one by taking orders for everyone else in the meeting - he got the message and did not try that again.

PS Next week's question should be what tasks do we love to do. I love playing in powerpoint and learning new tricks in MS Office.

[raindance]

I can truthfully say that I don't find any particular task in my work schedule irksome.  Filing is the "obvious" choice, but  I learned years ago just to see it as part of the job.  It's a task to be done.  End of.  

The thing that really saddens me is the way people behave in their work environment, thinking little or nothing of other people's safety or well-being.  I'm sure you've met those people:

the one who takes the lead out of the kettle but leaves it plugged into the wall socket in a kitchen where there is water nearby (HELLO?  Water AND electricity?)
the one who leaves cupboard doors open
the one who leaves everything in a mess and dirty as well - for the cleaner to clean up
the one who can't be bothered to leave the bathroom in a decent state after use
the one who leaves wires trailing where people can trip up

We have lovely offices.  They're not luxurious, but they are beautifully appointed and all the furnishings and equipment are well-made.  I spend a lot of time at work, so I treat my office in the same way as I treat my home - it's tidy, attractive and welcoming to visitors.  

Such a burden being perfect (big sigh).

[Katie G]

Any time I have to deal with our Purchasing, Accounts Payable, or Legal departments.

EVERYTHING is just so darn complicated -- and their policies and procedures keep changing, seemingly at will.  

Typical interaction:  "It's a $200 dollar purchase -- does it need a purchase order or not?......... Wait, what?!....... A CONTRACT?  For 200 bucks?  Who needs to sign the contract on our end?..........The CEO!....(recovers from shock)......Wait, this is a billion-dollar operation and you're telling me the CEO of the whole shebang needs to sign a $200 contract?  Am I understanding this correctly?........Well, yeah, but I'm confused because last month you guys paid a $1,500 invoice on just my boss' signature.........Somebody must have, because I called the vendor to make sure they got paid..... OK, well, I don't have a problem following procedures, I'm just trying to get clear on what the procedure IS......"

Someone around here says, "We need to order....." and I just want to cry......  

[spitfire78]

Mostly, it is certain people that I have to deal with that make me cringe.  You know the type - everyone in  the world (except them, of course) is stupid - everyone is out to get them - policies were enacted just to make THEIR life difficult, blah, blah, blah.

And inevitably those are the people who have the most complicated transactions and something always goes wrong somehow.

So, I guess the most times I cringe is when I know I have to contact these people.

[adminbydesign]

Being asked, "WHY don't you know where so-and-so is!!?" and having to bite my tongue to keep from replying, "It's not my week to watch him(her)."

[raindance]

I agree with Spitfire. I get along with most folks but there's one or two at my place that are uncharming.  Probably everyone is really out to get them or would be if murder were not a crime punishable by a very long time in jail.  

I have a colleague who has been at my place almost since the company was founded and has had the same job for all that time.  Everyone tip toes around her and you have to write your email or memo to her in a particular way or she sulks.   It's great though that I don't have too much to do with her.  My immediate coworker is efficient, helpful, works hard, cheerful and real fun to be around.

[gee4]

Others bring us down Rain.  I tip toe around no-one.

[happyclappy]

That's good to hear, Gee, and I dare say you are as refreshingly frank at work as you are on these forums.

As for the person I mentioned, there are people like that everywhere.  Some people are just like that, and, sadly, I have seen that sort of thing here in this forum.  Attention seekers will always be attention seekers. On the other hand, we have to make allowances for people.  In the case of this particular colleague, I happen to know that she has faced some exceptional (and I do mean EXCEPTIONAL - in capitals) challenges in her domestic life.  So, I guess I'm sorry for her in a way.

[glow8490]

Auditing expense reports of employees who submit them after they take an international trip!! Rarely do conversion rates match; they lump the entire hotel bill under "hotel room" instead of dividing out by meals, parking, incidentals, etc. It's a headache!

Glow

[itsme_calista]

I can relate to Didface's post!  Finance makes me run cold, purely because there is one "expert" who knows what they are doing and no one else does and the "expert" is never the person who deals with ....

Booking hotel rooms can be a chore, we do have an account with one hotel chain but anything outside of that is a nightmare as I don't have a card to secure rooms with!

And today's cringeworthy job ... topping up the franking machine, something that should be sooo easy took me 35 minutes today!  

[viviennenoyle]

For me, it's not so much specific jobs as certain people (there are some who, when you see them approaching, you wish you could hide as you know it's going to be a real chore), but the routine job I like least is anything filing related.  Ones that I don't have to do often, but always make my heart sink, are any form of cold calling (if I wanted to do that, I'd work in a call centre) and any time I have to arrange a meeting involving a partner (or, worse, several partners) as their diaries are all so full and fitting anything else in without at least several weeks notice is very complicated.