Naming names?
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Long time reader, first time poster.
Anyhow, after working at a company that was just full of WTFs and absolute boneheads, I'm scared shitless that the next job I take will be like that again.
What would help is if people actually named the companies and the teams where these WTFs were happening. Maybe not with the WTF itself, but somewhere else so that other people would know where not to work.
I'm sure that the "liability" issue could come up, but I sincerely believe that we to improve our working conditions and punish companies that refuse to remove improve those conditions.
Thoughts?
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>I'm scared shitless that the next job I take will be like that again.
It will be. There's no perfect workplace.
>What would help is if people actually named the companies and the teams where these WTFs were happening.
So, what's the real name of the company of boneheads where "Shazam" worked?
>I sincerely believe that we [have] to improve our working conditions...
Definitely agree. Maybe you could offer some suggestions. What specific
actions did you, personally, take at the company of boneheads to
improve working conditions there? Or do you expect someone else to
create the ideal workplace for you, before you will agree to work there?
>punish companies that refuse to remove improve those conditions
"Companies" don't create or tolerate bad working conditions, people do.
The managers who allowed bad working conditions to persist at Boneheads
Ltd. will move on to other jobs and create problems wherever they go.
If we want to be treated as professionals, we have to take
accountability for improving working conditions wherever we are.
Most of the WTFs people share here are presented as if they were the
sole work of a single bonehead working in isolation. The truth is, they
are working in organizations that tolerate WTFs being created again and
again. It's fun to laugh at the WTFs individually, but what's the next
step? Do we just wait for the next WTF to come along so we can laugh
again, or do we proactively improve our own working conditions? Which
would you consider the more professional response?
Did you see the recent one about the Developmestuction Environment? Why
did all the other IT professionals in the organization tolerate that
for so long? What did they do to improve working conditions for
themselves, to serve the best interests of their employer, and to
create a work environment their new colleague would have enjoyed?
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Wow, thanks for the cynical response. [8-)]> It will be. There's no perfect workplace.Believe it or not, I've worked in places that aren't WTFs. Where there's competent co-workers, version control, and all sorts of other nice things.> Definitely agree. Maybe you could offer some suggestions. What specific actions did you, personally, take at the company of boneheads to improve working conditions there? Or do you expect someone else to create the ideal workplace for you, before you will agree to work there?You know nothing about where I worked, so you're hardly in any position to make some sort of judgement.But since you're dying to know,I implemented version control.I implemented coding standards, with the help and input of other co-workers.I implemented peer code reviews.I hired and mentored junior employees.I taught programming classes to other co-workers.
I worked with other "senior" programmers, teaching them things like "database indexes", and "views", and "variables".And I wasn't even a "senior" employee.What more do you want? The tough part was that the moment I left, the "senior" person there got rid of version control, got rid of peer code review (which he vehemently didn't want, because he had zero self-confidence), and got rid of coding standards.Look, the "senior" programmer there didn't know how to inner join more than two tables. Considering his main role was data extraction from databases, that was a problem. He'd do a select into a temp table, and then do a select with that temp table with another table. Repeat for however many tables he needed.So you know what, I did everything I could. My manager (whose previous position was as a flight attendant) even claimed to support my endeavors, but when the "senior" programmer objected, he hung me out to dry.But hey, you're obviously some sort of awesome person, what with your holier-than-thou attitude and mind-reading, right? Dickhead.
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Shaz, Dave didn't attack you in the least.
No reason to call him a dickhead.
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On topic,
I agree with Dave that naming the guilty woulnd't help much because the WTF-gene is attached to people (both in management and production), not companies.
If a WTF person gets fired, the company becomes less WTF and the accusations from this site become less valid.
If a non-WTF person gets a job at a WTF company, the company becomes less WTF, and again our accusations become less valid.
Naming names has little merit.
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I want my name to be named Nam.
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>Wow, thanks for the cynical response.
You're welcome. It's kind of a hobby.
>You know nothing about where I worked, so you're hardly in any position to make some sort of judgement.
That's why I asked.
>What more do you want?
Nothing more. That's a pretty comprehensive list. Nice work! Obviously
I got the wrong impression from your first post. I apologize.
>The tough part was that the moment I left, the "senior" person there got rid of ...
Why tough, if you were gone? Everything good you did still counts to your credit.
>...you're obviously some sort of awesome person...
Thank you.
>Dickhead.
Maybe, but I'm not afraid to attach my real name to my opinions in public.
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@Dave Nicolette said:
Maybe, but I'm not afraid to attach my real name to my opinions in public.
Totally off topic here (just like my last post), but normally, I'm the same way. In fact, when I first started posting on the daily WTF anonymously, I wrote in my name. Then I posted once under the name "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? Over." about something, can't remember what, but the chosen name was a good tag to add to the post, IIRC. I've always enjoyed that phrase, and since it's topical here, I decided to keep it.
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@Shazam said:
... So you know what, I did everything I could. ...
But hey, you're obviously some sort of awesome person, what with your holier-than-thou attitude and mind-reading, right? Dickhead.From reading your two posts on this thread, I think that you were behind of most of your workplace woes. It's pretty easy to read between the lines and see that you felt underappreciated, jealous that you were more competent than the senior developer, and really, really struggled to get your endeavors implemented.
Those are "soft" problems that could have been handled differently. Although it looks like you pushed a lot through, you clearly didn't do a good job of selling it because they went right back as soon as you left. I'm not surprised in the least; looking at your reply to Dave, your "people skills" could definitely use some impovement.
I suggest taking a break from the technical books and buying a copy of HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE by Dale Carnige -- it's a classic that never grows old. You'll be amazed at how much learning these "soft" skills will help your career and life.
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Alex, that was much better than a cynical response. Thanks for showing the way!
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Oh, snap! You go, Alex!
