Office etiquette in Canada particularly Vancouver
Jan 22nd 2020, 8:05 pm
#46
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Sep 2013
Location: SW Ontario, Canada
Posts: 6,960
Re: Office etiquette in Canada particularly Vancouver
This, to my mind, is one of the ways in which Canadian companies destroy staff morale.
From time to time a wave of managerial fervor sweeps across corporations, usually in conjunction with the methodology-du-jour, JAD, Agile, AgileSpank, Kanban, Lean, SixSigma, whatever, and all teams are required to produce charters. The bounds of the charter are pretty strict; a Team Governance Model of coin tossing would not be deemed acceptable. There must be lots of stuff about non-discrimination "This Team does not discriminate against Milk Float Operators" even though, prior to research, no one on the team even knew that milk float operators were the target of discrimination; the team just has to find someone new because every team has Blacks and Jews and the alphabet soup of orientation.
Each team has to have a name, usually a weak pun on a feature of the methodology and something gushingly youthful, a motto, and a gesture. For the latter the intent is something like a team clap though only the teams consisting entirely of local people do not consider the finger option. So, a team might be the Function Delivery Kings with a motto of "Humility in Success" and they might hug daily. The more machismo the better, sporting references are appreciated.
Last time I was on a team that had chartering imposed on it we produced the attached title page.
From time to time a wave of managerial fervor sweeps across corporations, usually in conjunction with the methodology-du-jour, JAD, Agile, AgileSpank, Kanban, Lean, SixSigma, whatever, and all teams are required to produce charters. The bounds of the charter are pretty strict; a Team Governance Model of coin tossing would not be deemed acceptable. There must be lots of stuff about non-discrimination "This Team does not discriminate against Milk Float Operators" even though, prior to research, no one on the team even knew that milk float operators were the target of discrimination; the team just has to find someone new because every team has Blacks and Jews and the alphabet soup of orientation.
Each team has to have a name, usually a weak pun on a feature of the methodology and something gushingly youthful, a motto, and a gesture. For the latter the intent is something like a team clap though only the teams consisting entirely of local people do not consider the finger option. So, a team might be the Function Delivery Kings with a motto of "Humility in Success" and they might hug daily. The more machismo the better, sporting references are appreciated.
Last time I was on a team that had chartering imposed on it we produced the attached title page.
I left a job due to a micromanager who took Lean Six Sigma a little too seriously. It was quite comical and hard not to laugh at him when he spoke.
Jan 22nd 2020, 8:18 pm
#47
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Re: Office etiquette in Canada particularly Vancouver
Staff morale I found pretty much everywhere I worked to be low, my last place of work was horrible, micro managing to the extreme at every level, and I simply cannot function in a micro managing environment. FFS if you going to micro manage to the extreme just do the job yourself or leave me alone.
And of course managers never realize they are the problem even when fed up employees clearly let management know what the issues are, and wonder why is turn over 90%+ a year and why can't we attract and keep employees, so simple to fix but managers are too blind.
Just love when managers put out memo's saying we can't give you raises this year, but then give themselves a nice raise, or when they spin things like they are benefiting you acting like we are stupid.
And stupid slogans like "our people do more with less."
And of course managers never realize they are the problem even when fed up employees clearly let management know what the issues are, and wonder why is turn over 90%+ a year and why can't we attract and keep employees, so simple to fix but managers are too blind.
Just love when managers put out memo's saying we can't give you raises this year, but then give themselves a nice raise, or when they spin things like they are benefiting you acting like we are stupid.
And stupid slogans like "our people do more with less."
Jan 22nd 2020, 8:26 pm
#48
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Joined: Nov 2019
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Re: Office etiquette in Canada particularly Vancouver
I am with you on the friendliness at work, there is nothing stopping people from saying hello and asking how your weekend was IMO, unless you don't like them lol.
Socializing with work colleagues outside of work and not within a professional situation (xmas party, client event etc.), I have mixed feelings about that. For one you have to be careful what you say because you never know if they are a nark/well in with management. One person that I can now call a friend was a most recent ex-colleague - we never socialized outside of work when we worked together but after a very tragic work related incident last year and her deciding she needed to move on we have now met a bunch of times for pub quizzes and drinks.
I am not surprised about the Christmas party thing although my organization doesn't do Christmas parties anyway and I don't know if I would go if they did
The needing to do yoga thing is also something I get. I am someone that if I have planned to go to the gym/fitness class that evening after work I wont deviate from it but thats not to say there wont be other nights/evenings that I would be free - Im not sure if thats what you meant or if you were saying people didn't go to your Christmas party because they wanted to go to yoga?
Socializing with work colleagues outside of work and not within a professional situation (xmas party, client event etc.), I have mixed feelings about that. For one you have to be careful what you say because you never know if they are a nark/well in with management. One person that I can now call a friend was a most recent ex-colleague - we never socialized outside of work when we worked together but after a very tragic work related incident last year and her deciding she needed to move on we have now met a bunch of times for pub quizzes and drinks.
I am not surprised about the Christmas party thing although my organization doesn't do Christmas parties anyway and I don't know if I would go if they did
The needing to do yoga thing is also something I get. I am someone that if I have planned to go to the gym/fitness class that evening after work I wont deviate from it but thats not to say there wont be other nights/evenings that I would be free - Im not sure if thats what you meant or if you were saying people didn't go to your Christmas party because they wanted to go to yoga?
Jan 22nd 2020, 9:05 pm
#49
Bex in the city
Joined: Jun 2013
Location: Vancouver, BC
Posts: 3,899
Re: Office etiquette in Canada particularly Vancouver
Jan 22nd 2020, 9:37 pm
#50
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Joined: Mar 2005
Location: Ontario
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Re: Office etiquette in Canada particularly Vancouver
"Spoke"? Do you mean proactively reached out and established a verbalizing interface?
Jan 23rd 2020, 2:51 am
#51
Lost in BE Cyberspace
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Jan 23rd 2020, 9:53 am
#52
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Re: Office etiquette in Canada particularly Vancouver
Jan 23rd 2020, 10:33 am
#53
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Joined: Sep 2014
Location: Oxford
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Re: Office etiquette in Canada particularly Vancouver
Would you keep me in the loop on that? I have a brush past meeting with some C suite members later and I want to get a download on their direction of travel on this.
Jan 23rd 2020, 11:44 am
#54
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Location: Ontario
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Re: Office etiquette in Canada particularly Vancouver
At about 10 last night someone dumped a task on me, The dumper is unable to do it today due to "retreating with the L1s and some L2s". Only the anointed L2s, I suppose.
Jan 23rd 2020, 3:34 pm
#55
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Location: Halifax, NS
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Re: Office etiquette in Canada particularly Vancouver
Are you serious with some of this management speak? I thought the days of bullsh*t bingo were bad enough, but who actually talks like this? Do we now have management fads?
The standard of middle to lower management these days is shocking. I have seen too many of them who have "failed upwards" and then substitute meetings, spreadsheet reports, conference calls, meetings about meetings, micromanagement, as well as seemingly learning a new language that fails to communicate anything useful, in place of any substantive work. Then, when their team almost die of boredom, or spend so much time on reporting rather than doing their jonbs, they can look all dynamic to their bosses by issuing improvement plans right, left and centre.
Don't know when this replaced the basic idea of simply taking an interest in your staff, investing in the ones who seem responsive, which tends to produce results and a motivated, engaged workforce, and getting rid of the wasters.
The standard of middle to lower management these days is shocking. I have seen too many of them who have "failed upwards" and then substitute meetings, spreadsheet reports, conference calls, meetings about meetings, micromanagement, as well as seemingly learning a new language that fails to communicate anything useful, in place of any substantive work. Then, when their team almost die of boredom, or spend so much time on reporting rather than doing their jonbs, they can look all dynamic to their bosses by issuing improvement plans right, left and centre.
Don't know when this replaced the basic idea of simply taking an interest in your staff, investing in the ones who seem responsive, which tends to produce results and a motivated, engaged workforce, and getting rid of the wasters.
Jan 23rd 2020, 5:38 pm
#56
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 0
Re: Office etiquette in Canada particularly Vancouver
One thing about management is there always seems to be too many of them.
Under 30 managers are the worst from my experience, their degree is what got them the job, but many times they lack experience necessary to actually do their job well.
Under 30 managers are the worst from my experience, their degree is what got them the job, but many times they lack experience necessary to actually do their job well.
Jan 23rd 2020, 7:36 pm
#57
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Joined: Mar 2005
Location: Ontario
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Re: Office etiquette in Canada particularly Vancouver
"And strategy decks grow longer and busier, adding bullet points, tiered pyramids, and corkscrew arrows to describe where the company is going."
Jan 23rd 2020, 8:18 pm
#58
Bex in the city
Joined: Jun 2013
Location: Vancouver, BC
Posts: 3,899
Re: Office etiquette in Canada particularly Vancouver
I hate the word ‘touch base’ when referring to a chat/meeting/catch-up.
Jan 23rd 2020, 9:17 pm
#60
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Re: Office etiquette in Canada particularly Vancouver
Oh another managers love is spinning low pay as great pay, $14/hr is not great pay silly managers.