Sometimes Working at Home Doesn't Work
Not that I am anti-social or that I hate all of my coworkers but when I need to buckle down and get some work done I prefer to do it from home in my home office with my bigger desk and without the constant distractions of the workplace.
Usually this works out pretty well as I can do almost all my work remotely and usually people understand that when I say to please contact me only for urgent requests (I need a check cut NOW or I need some random numbers for a proposal due in today for example) that is actually what I mean.
However this week I have been trying to do all the tax planning and the bank account reconciling and all that fun with numbers I get to have on a daily basis. Well I took to my home office and something about this week has inspired my coworkers to misunderstand the word “urgent”. So far some of the requests I have received are not only (1) inane but also sometimes (2) not part of my job or even (3) completely irrelevant to anything that needs to be done this year. Here are my favorites:
1. Inane
Examples:
(a) “I forgot the password to my 401(k) online account, the website says it will email me a new password, but I want to know which email it will send it to as I have two email addresses”
What I said: “Emails from the 401(k) site arrive at your Name of Company account.”
What I wanted to say: “Why don’t you fucking click on the link and then check BOTH email accounts to see where the password showed up? Surely checking 2 email accounts is going to yield you a faster answer to your question then emailing me and waiting for a response.”
(b) “CFO said that $xxxx should be charged every month but I thought it should be $xxxx, turns out he was right. Just an FYI to you.”
What I said: “Great! Thanks for keeping me in the loop!”
What I wanted to say: “So fucking what? You thought the CFO was wrong but he wasn’t and I need to have this info why?”
2. Not Part of My Job
(a) “We are all out manila folders, I really need them to organize my files, please tell me when they will arrive, I need them immediately.”
What I said: “I believe XXXX the office manager is in charge of ordering supplies, I will forward your email to her.”
What I wanted to say: “I’m an accountant and the HR administrator. How does ordering the supplies fit into that? You wrote this in REPLY to my email about taking only urgent requests…..what did it remind you of your urgent need for folders? Grow a brain please.”
(b) “Please make sure that any faxes left on our machine [me and this person as well as half the office have a common copy machine plus there is someone whose job is handing out faxes, and this was sent in reply to my email about working from home…] are delivered to me and not left on the machine for long periods.”
What I said: “I am out of the office for most of this week, if you contact xxxx assistant about your concerns I am sure she will be able to accommodate you.”
What I wanted to say: “Did you NOT just read the email you replied to???? I am NOT at work, thus I cannot possibly check the machine for faxes to you or deliver them to your desk. You have worked here longer then me and there has always been an admin assistant that routinely sorts and delivers faxes through the day. If you’re worried about a fax getting to you I am sure you can tell her to look out for it and she will increase the frequency that she checks it in order to get your fax to you.”
3. Irrelevant to anything that needs to be done this year
(a) “In April we are going to need to put together a proposal for xxxx could we meet this week to plan for this?”
I said: “I am afraid I will be occupied for remainder of this year with tax work, however I should have a lot more availability in January.”
What I wanted to say: “Fuck you. I am busy; it’s the end of the year. Perhaps I don’t have time to have a meeting to schedule a series of meetings with you because as I stated I am extremely busy with tax work but I am also working at home! What are you stupid?”
(b) “Well the xxxx is finally closing in March, in preparation for this we will need inane work. Its due by 2/28 but I wanted to take a look at what you have now since this is such a quiet time for me.”
What I said: “Unfortunately this is not such a quiet time for me. I will produce this when I have finished my tax work.”
What I wanted to say: “WTF is your problem? You have no work so you think its just fine to expect me to do hours of working during my busiest time in order to save you from boredom? No, well actually no fucking way. Go home early and do some shopping. You’ll get your info when you actually need with plenty of time to review it. You don’t need 2 months. Now leave me alone!”
Ahhh, it felt good to get that out. Now I can go back to work. Though I did just spend more time posting about people’s bad behavior then it took to deal with the misfits, I think it cleared my mind to do some work :)
Usually this works out pretty well as I can do almost all my work remotely and usually people understand that when I say to please contact me only for urgent requests (I need a check cut NOW or I need some random numbers for a proposal due in today for example) that is actually what I mean.
However this week I have been trying to do all the tax planning and the bank account reconciling and all that fun with numbers I get to have on a daily basis. Well I took to my home office and something about this week has inspired my coworkers to misunderstand the word “urgent”. So far some of the requests I have received are not only (1) inane but also sometimes (2) not part of my job or even (3) completely irrelevant to anything that needs to be done this year. Here are my favorites:
1. Inane
Examples:
(a) “I forgot the password to my 401(k) online account, the website says it will email me a new password, but I want to know which email it will send it to as I have two email addresses”
What I said: “Emails from the 401(k) site arrive at your Name of Company account.”
What I wanted to say: “Why don’t you fucking click on the link and then check BOTH email accounts to see where the password showed up? Surely checking 2 email accounts is going to yield you a faster answer to your question then emailing me and waiting for a response.”
(b) “CFO said that $xxxx should be charged every month but I thought it should be $xxxx, turns out he was right. Just an FYI to you.”
What I said: “Great! Thanks for keeping me in the loop!”
What I wanted to say: “So fucking what? You thought the CFO was wrong but he wasn’t and I need to have this info why?”
2. Not Part of My Job
(a) “We are all out manila folders, I really need them to organize my files, please tell me when they will arrive, I need them immediately.”
What I said: “I believe XXXX the office manager is in charge of ordering supplies, I will forward your email to her.”
What I wanted to say: “I’m an accountant and the HR administrator. How does ordering the supplies fit into that? You wrote this in REPLY to my email about taking only urgent requests…..what did it remind you of your urgent need for folders? Grow a brain please.”
(b) “Please make sure that any faxes left on our machine [me and this person as well as half the office have a common copy machine plus there is someone whose job is handing out faxes, and this was sent in reply to my email about working from home…] are delivered to me and not left on the machine for long periods.”
What I said: “I am out of the office for most of this week, if you contact xxxx assistant about your concerns I am sure she will be able to accommodate you.”
What I wanted to say: “Did you NOT just read the email you replied to???? I am NOT at work, thus I cannot possibly check the machine for faxes to you or deliver them to your desk. You have worked here longer then me and there has always been an admin assistant that routinely sorts and delivers faxes through the day. If you’re worried about a fax getting to you I am sure you can tell her to look out for it and she will increase the frequency that she checks it in order to get your fax to you.”
3. Irrelevant to anything that needs to be done this year
(a) “In April we are going to need to put together a proposal for xxxx could we meet this week to plan for this?”
I said: “I am afraid I will be occupied for remainder of this year with tax work, however I should have a lot more availability in January.”
What I wanted to say: “Fuck you. I am busy; it’s the end of the year. Perhaps I don’t have time to have a meeting to schedule a series of meetings with you because as I stated I am extremely busy with tax work but I am also working at home! What are you stupid?”
(b) “Well the xxxx is finally closing in March, in preparation for this we will need inane work. Its due by 2/28 but I wanted to take a look at what you have now since this is such a quiet time for me.”
What I said: “Unfortunately this is not such a quiet time for me. I will produce this when I have finished my tax work.”
What I wanted to say: “WTF is your problem? You have no work so you think its just fine to expect me to do hours of working during my busiest time in order to save you from boredom? No, well actually no fucking way. Go home early and do some shopping. You’ll get your info when you actually need with plenty of time to review it. You don’t need 2 months. Now leave me alone!”
Ahhh, it felt good to get that out. Now I can go back to work. Though I did just spend more time posting about people’s bad behavior then it took to deal with the misfits, I think it cleared my mind to do some work :)
posted by First Year at 11:10 AM
2 Comments:
Ahh the inner dialogue is such a wonderful thing. So cathartic.
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Well done.
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