Early Risers.

[JohnDMJ]

Many Happies ChrisF! La vie continue malgré tout. (Michel Delpech)

 

12 hours ago, leopardml2341 said:

Mornin'

 

Been awake since 04:00; but thought I'd better not disturb you lot....

 

That might be difficult as some of us are already disturbed

 

1 hour ago, polybear said:

 

Assessments?  And what a waste of space they are.

I was screwed during pay rise time about five years ago - when I asked why, they were coming up with complete and utter b0llox answers, such as:

1. Strives for a high quality output, sometimes at the expense of timescales (Me:  What about that urgent job you wanted half-way thru' the first one?....)

2. Needs more exposure to document writing (Me: I do what you tell me to do...)

And after chasing this all the way to HR, enquiring as to why these issues had never been raised before - giving me the option to correct their cobblers or apply corrective action, the HR response was:  "Your previous Assessments were being done wrong".  Again, total b0llox - they just wanted to lay the blame on my boss - who had no input to my pay rise and didn't agree with it - and told them so.

HR wouldn't budge on the pay rise (cos' the money would've gone to some Graduate in the first place, and I was being screwed purely to balance the books).

When I asked the next step in the process they were somewhat taken aback.  Their response was (and I use the exact words - not in writing unfortunately):

"Well, you could always use the formal grievance procedure, but you should think carefully before going down that route"  T0ssers.

 

I pondered doing so, but my Boss then tells me that "...they're Sh1tting on me now"

"Why?", says I

"Because they say I did your Assessment wrong"  (Subsequent Assessments have all been the same, including those by a different Boss - although Boss No.2 doesn't buy me a Bacon Roll, as Boss No. 1 did - prior to retiring last May)

 

So I let the matter drop, at least outwardly.  All I can say is there's more than one way to skin a cat

 

 

 

When I was working in London in the early 90s, my Company decided to trial an assessment process. One of my colleagues was told by the Chief Engineer that he was unreliable because his car had caught fire on the M25. At my review with said CE, I listened then stood up, told him that he was talking total (insert euphemism for round spherical objects here) and walked out. Strange to relate that there were no further assessments!

Edited February 20, 2020 by JohnDMJ

[Ozexpatriate]

1 hour ago, polybear said:

Assessments?  And what a waste of space they are.

I was screwed during pay rise time about five years ago

Having to put up with annual performance reviews / assessments can be better than the alternative - unless of course you are financially ready to retire.

[Ozexpatriate]

2 hours ago, TheQ said:

The new structure means every other bloke in engineering has a different boss in the USA,  so instead of one USA boss needing to come over, there will be several.

This is a trend I have long observed. Despite the fact that my old office was located at the corporate headquarters, in the department where I worked there were around eight to ten employees, none of whom were co-located with their direct supervisor.

 

Edited February 20, 2020 by Ozexpatriate

[New Haven Neil]

IIRC PolyB is about to retire?  Time for a bit of fun......

 

I had all that assessment crepe as a civil serpent in my last role before retirement, I actually wrote them as my boss was a Police Inspector and had no idea.... as long as I delivered what he wanted (I did) then he was happy to sign anything!

 

In other news, HB to Chris (already wished elsewhere) and it is once again windy on Fraggle Rock.

[Coombe Barton]

Tonight was just thinking about coming home

 

Then my head of department caught me.- asked me to write a Big Data module schema

 

Someone had let him down

 

By Tuesday.

 

I’ll do it.

 

Nice that he has the confidence in me.

[polybear]

2 hours ago, TheQ said:

The new structure means every other bloke in engineering has a different boss in the USA,  so instead of one USA boss needing to come over, there will be several.

 

Air Miles....

 

22 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Having to put up with annual performance reviews / assessments can be better than the alternative - unless of course you are financially ready to retire.

 

28 days to go.....

 

8 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

IIRC PolyB is about to retire?  Time for a bit of fun......

 

 

Oh yes.

Balancing giving the troops a laugh against dropping myself in sh1t is a fine line though.  In days of old in an Engineering Firm most things "went".  However, the place is now very "PC" and dropping a fart without submitting a risk assessment first is decidedly no-no.

 

Any suggestions gratefully received, however....

[TheQ]

Well I know My Boss isn't happy, he's already planning on going 2 years early. (Age 64) we've had no deputy boss for over a year, so he's getting lumbered. I've had over a 100% increase in workload over the years and it's reaching the stage where there is an increasing backlog with calibration. If I have  problem I have to hand it over to the boss, as I have no time to investigate things myself. 

He's just had his first assessment by the new Boss in the USA, he wasn't impressed by the amount of buzz words used,,,, So he was hinting he may go even earlier.. it won't take much for me to follow..

 

 I could go now, but it would seriously dent our reserves..

[brianusa]

14 hours ago, chrisf said:

Good morning one and all

 

There is no point in trying to hide the fact that today is my 72nd birthday.  The day will be marked rather than celebrated because it is also the anniversary of my mother’s passing in 1985.  I will spend part of the day at Cambridge Crematorium and remember her in my own way.  On this occasion I must do it without the moral support and tissues supplied by a very dear friend who is awaiting an operation.

It is opportune today to reflect on what the future holds.  These may be famous last words but I should be good for a few years yet.  At my age, conditions like prostate cancer and type 2 diabetes are occupational hazards, to say nothing of the higher than average risk of heart attack and stroke.  What concerns me more is the slow but steady decline in my fitness and stamina levels.  This is not easily reversed unless, gentle reader, you know otherwise.  It has become very much a case of do it while I still can! 

 

Best wishes to all

 

Chris

 

Fret not, Chris, I could say 72 is not all that old these days, it is a bit old but there's still a way to go yet.  Don't succumb to the numbers racket where people dwell on what should happen.  We lose our looks and just because other suffer 'occupational hazards", it doesn't mean you will.  A few years ago I had the dreaded colon cancer which was duly treated and fixed and its been fine ever since.  I have never worried about my diet which has been the same for most of my life.  Don't exercise really and since I retired don't do any hard work.  Which brings me to where my age makes itself known, I get tired easily; come four in the afternoon its time to relax before making our dinner which is usually of the meat and two veg variety.  

Th layout is finished, fortunately, so not  much to do there, just run the trains although getting underneath is a bit of a deal these days.  Don't have to do that very often though!  Don't drive so much as we use my wife's car although I like to keep my hand in now and and again.  In bed around half past ten and get up as late as I can make it next morning!

All this has stood me in good stead for the future, I shall be eighty five come June and hopefully it will be so!

Advice: Grow old with your age and try to adapt to changing conditions as you can't reverse the situation and don't worry about what you 'might' get!

     Brian

 

 

 

 

 

 

[tigerburnie]

2 hours ago, polybear said:

 

Assessments?  And what a waste of space they are.

I was screwed during pay rise time about five years ago - when I asked why, they were coming up with complete and utter b0llox answers, such as:

1. Strives for a high quality output, sometimes at the expense of timescales (Me:  What about that urgent job you wanted half-way thru' the first one?....)

2. Needs more exposure to document writing (Me: I do what you tell me to do...)

And after chasing this all the way to HR, enquiring as to why these issues had never been raised before - giving me the option to correct their cobblers or apply corrective action, the HR response was:  "Your previous Assessments were being done wrong".  Again, total b0llox - they just wanted to lay the blame on my boss - who had no input to my pay rise and didn't agree with it - and told them so.

HR wouldn't budge on the pay rise (cos' the money would've gone to some Graduate in the first place, and I was being screwed purely to balance the books).

When I asked the next step in the process they were somewhat taken aback.  Their response was (and I use the exact words - not in writing unfortunately):

"Well, you could always use the formal grievance procedure, but you should think carefully before going down that route"  T0ssers.

 

I pondered doing so, but my Boss then tells me that "...they're Sh1tting on me now"

"Why?", says I

"Because they say I did your Assessment wrong"  (Subsequent Assessments have all been the same, including those by a different Boss - although Boss No.2 doesn't buy me a Bacon Roll, as Boss No. 1 did - prior to retiring last May)

 

So I let the matter drop, at least outwardly.  All I can say is there's more than one way to skin a cat

 

 

I had a couple of conversations like that over the years, at one I suggested to the HR person they might write down I also had a tendency to violent outbursts that can seem out of control at times. I didn't notice anything being written down, but I never had another such meeting again...………………..

A perhaps more suitable ploy would be to have a chat with your GP and get a sick note for 28 days, that'll fix 'em.

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Where has all the time gone? Its almost 9 and I've done nothing of what I intended to do today.

1 hour ago, grandadbob said:

 

On the plus side this afternoon's doughnuts had more jam than I have ever seen in a doughnut in my life, it was flooding out!

 

I hope you didn't think you'd had an accident.

[AndyID]

1 hour ago, polybear said:

Any suggestions gratefully received, however....

 

There's always the old acrostic poem routine. I've also seen it done in the form of a very polite letter that spelled out a very impolite message.

[BoD]

1 hour ago, polybear said:

However, the place is now very "PC" and dropping a fart without submitting a risk assessment first is decidedly no-no.

 

Any suggestions gratefully received, however....

Do as others here seem to be doing.

Blame the dog.

[leopardml2341]

Goodnight all.

 

Remember this maxim:

 

Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional

[Gwiwer]

Happy Birthday Chrisf.  I trust it was a good one.  

 

3 hours ago, petethemole said:

A landslip between Romsey and Salisbury has stopped the job for both SWR and GWR, with bus replacements.  I would have thought that SWR could operate part of their shuttle route (Salisbury to Romsey via Southampton and Eastleigh), i.e. a Romsey to Romsey shuttle. 

 

There seems to be conflicting information on this one.  Depending on where you look there is or is not a once-an-hour off-peak service over the affected route, there is or is not anything on the various apps to warn of the blockage and there is no mention in the daily staff emails (which usually give repeated messages about any form of disruption) about it at all.

 

The images show moderate disturbance to the track but with comments that there is significant damage to the embankment below.  They are talking of two months to effect repairs.  On a route of this importance (for freight as much as passenger traffic) that is a long time and temporary arrangements might become possible.  

 

The crew diagrams for the Romsey Roundabouts would make operation of a Romsey -Romsey circular (i.e. not the Salisbury - Romsey) leg difficult; it would take an extra 90 minutes to run the units out and back via Basingstoke.  There is still disruption through Eastleligh after the freight derailment restricting capacity there slightly.  Crews would have to be bussed or taxi'd across the gap at not inconsiderable expense and delay.  

 

GWR is operating Cardiff - Salisbury and Romsey - Portsmouth via Southampton.

 

The good news is that Eastleigh will be back to normal from Monday morning after a weekend block to replace the destroyed set of points at the country end of the Down platform.  

 

And on that note I am off to inspect my eyelids for another night.  Sleep well.  

 

 

[Coombe Barton]

2 hours ago, Coombe Barton said:

.- asked me to write a Big Data module schema

Someone had let him down

By Tuesday.

Well, that went to plan so far.

 

Sat down after supper to read one of the books I have on the subject.

 

Have just woken up.

 

Hadn't even turned the first page

 

 

Edited February 20, 2020 by Coombe Barton

[tigerburnie]

Evening all, funeral attended, always seem to find out things about people after they've gone that I wished I'd known when they were here, sods law in motion I guess. My gardening pal passed and I didn't know he was an artist, mind I guess he didn't know I was either, just never came up in conversation I guess.

G'night all

[The Stationmaster]

I never did like assessments and when I was getting them in my zero hours contract job after I'd retired from full time work it was even worse soI usually displayed my total disdain of the process in various ways.  Fortunately soem of my bosses over the years shared my disdain so that helped to make the process hilarious at times.  The other trick I learnt, particularly with one boss, was to try to make sure they were more scared of assessing you than you were p*ssed off with being assessed - that could have some great results

[Kingzance]

Good evening and apologies to The Stationmaster for not having an interim halt on our journey to Didcot yesterday at Root One. I believe another visit to the same place is anticipated when the weather improves and, after mentioning it to one of the group, we will leave earlier and take some comfort sustenance there (sorry for the lapse into Simon & Garfunkel lyrics). Tis veritably cool here tonight, particularly when walking to and from the Camera Club meeting, but too windy for frost - no spaniels were harmed in the making of this post!

Thank goodness I am out of the corporate treadmill, something that I believe is even worse in the state sector. I got out before politically uncorrect reprobates were forcefully re-educated and previously I had a fair share of run-ins with HR. Ultimately, their errors cost the company quite a bit and meant I could wind down in my own time by being a consultant. My biggest customer? The firm who had previously employed me! Nice work if you can get it. Why is it that most organisations spend so much time cutting back on staff and employee benefits yet have an ever burgeoning HR department?

Nytol

 

[laurenceb]

Night awl

[Tony_S]

Points arising. I never knew spaniels were windy. My Robbie wasn’t and he never was smelly either unless he had rolled in something horrid. Never had that wet dog smell. 
 

HR. Aditi was on HRs redundancy list. This was definitely not supported by her manager. Aditi was probably seen as an easy target. She was very forceful when she contacted them. Aditi’s manager was going to intervene but said Aditi was doing quite well enough in her battle without her help. She promoted Aditi the following year. Aditi wanted to know what the criteria were for being on the list. They said “based on best practice”. They gave up in the end.

Tony

[PhilJ W]

This talk of HR and assessments and I found this. >>

[BSW01]

Good evening everyone 

 

The weather has been a mixed bag here today, rain for most of the morning, with a bit of hail just after dinner, but we had wall to wall sunshine all afternoon. However, I’ve spent most of the day with the soldering iron in my hand and today I managed to complete another 12 point control board and another main relay board. I now only have to build 2 main relay boards and 4 point monitor boards and then they’ll all be done. In between all that I’ve had to re-tune the TV and the digi-recorder as there was some overnight maintenance at the Winter Hill mast and during the late evening NEWS we were advised of the need to re-tune, it only took a few minutes, but it’s been so long since I’ve had to re-tuned either, that I think I spent longer trying to find out do it! I also took advantage of the sunshine and removed all the cable ties that secured the bins together, as I needed to put 2 out for collection tomorrow morning. Other than that it’s been a pretty uneventful day.

 

Like many, I also had to go through the ‘annual assessment’ programme, both myself and my boss knew they were a load of sh!te and we went through the motions every year. I always met my targets and always got an ‘average’ score, it worked for both of us. Funnily enough, we were both of the opinion that for every person who scored above average, they’d be at least one who would score below average, looking at the figures released after each round of assessments, it always seemed to back up our theory. 

 

Goodnight all 

[Happy Hippo]

2 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

 

I hope you didn't think you'd had an accident.

Only a worry if it's a chocolate doughnut, and one is wearing beige trousers.

[AndyID]

Assessments aren't really the work of HR. They are really the work of Finance exerted through their handmaidens, HR. The big clue is that, in most companies, annual assessments just happen to coincide with the annual budget cycle and are frequently weaponized as a means to reduce expenses.

 

Proper assessments should be continuous and monthly, at the very least. They should also be brief and they should not require managers to invent a load of complete cobulars to justify whacking perfectly good employees. But managers don't want to lose their jobs either, so we they tend to comply.

[skipepsi]

Another crappy day in paradise. Night y'awl.