The Water Cooler

[Duckslayer100]

I think I've maybe met two of you in person, but I like this place. Full of schlubs just like me. Guys who work hard, play hard, and maybe hunt and fish more than they should.

Far from me to be the downer, but other than my wife I have very few folks to vent to. I'd like to start a thread where we simply vent about work. It's what you'd do at the water cooler with that one guy you get along with and you've maybe shared a couple brewskis after work. You might even take him fishing to your secret prairie Nodak lake, and you'll cover for him on those nights you sneak off for a pint and tell the wives you have to work late.

So I'll start.

I love where I work. It took me far too long from when I graduated to figure out "what I want to be when I grow up." True, I really don't have an answer, but from all my careers this is the first one where I really enjoyed going to work. Or at least, didn't dread it.

But there is one person -- ONE PERSON -- I can't freaking stand. Let's call him Mark. Mark is the quintessential ass kisser. He was brought in a few years ago to take over in a management position, and for the life of me I don't know what he does. My best guess, is he does all the menial personnel crap that our owner doesn't want to do.

Even that he sucks at. Nobody likes Mark. They put up with his "winning" punctuations in every email, or "atta boy" in a group text, but once he's out of the picture, the truth comes out.

I blew up at Mark the other day, and that takes a lot. I'm probably the most even keeled, low-key dude you've ever met. Some people think I'm a pothead, but I've never touched the stuff. Nothing gets me going. But he pulled one of the dumbest, least-common-sense decisions ever and it nearly cost me a $10,000 job. I freaked. I told Mark he was an idiot. Found out later he almost broke down crying to a coworker. He called me three times asking what my problem was and why I had a chip on my shoulder. Mind you, we barely speak. If there's a chip, it's smaller than the dandruff next to it.

Worst of all, he has the owner wrapped around his finger. It's nothing but praise about what a nice guy he is, and how he's trying his best.

Trying his best?? Dude has been here for years and still can't set up a job right. If there's an issue with a customer account, there's a high likelihood the breadcrumbs lead back to his fat face.

I shouldn't complain. After all, I'm far from perfect; that whole "glass houses" saying. I should probably just let bygones be bygones and go on with my day. But as Peter Griffin would say, "he really grinds my gears."

Anyway, my 15 minute break is up. Thanks for listening. Until next time!

 

[BrokenBackJack]

It is ok to vent and we all need to do it once in awhile.
I think most of us have had at one time or another that one person at work who was a complete idiot but got away with it all the time. Have worked in places where the company lost darn good people just because of this one ice hole who they wouldn't fire or at least call him on the carpet about his "mistakes". Sure made times at work hard to swallow sometimes and when someone pisses me off, I stay pissed off at them forever. Hell I still remember all my grudges from high school yet.
Don't get me wrong I have made plenty of mistakes in my life but I admit when I am wrong.

 

[Retired Educator]

I'm sure we've all had to put up with people that grind our gears. A colleague once told me when I was venting about such a person, "Sometimes it's better to not worry about people like that and concentrate on WORKING WITH THE LIVING."

Actually it's pretty good advice. Less stress and more results in the long run.

 

[Mr. Stevenson]

https://youtu.be/EWMPVn1kgIQ

- - - Updated - - -

 

[KDM]

In my experience both militarily and civilian, ass kissers are that way because they lack the ability to stand on their own two feet in just about any situation. They lack the ability to take responsibility for their actions, make logical decisions, and rely on the benevolence of their boss/commander to not get fired. People that are good at their job and care about it don't feel the need to kiss ass. It is also my experience that when the job/mission is important, it is NEVER given to an ass kisser, because the boss/commander KNOWS the ass kisser won't/can't get the job done right. Do ass kissers occasionally get an accolade, sure, but I personally feel pity for those individuals, not anger. When the chips are down they are the first to fold and everyone knows it. I'm pretty sure the boss KNOWS who's good at their job and who just gets by. Other than being a bit unprofessional for blowing up at the guy, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Being an officer in the Navy and managing many other civilian projects, as the boss, I didn't mind a bit of territoriality when it came to the job. It showed me who actually gave a shit about their job. Keep your chin up and press on. You may have just helped this guy be better at his job.

 

[guywhofishes]

In a lot of jobs asskissers (politicians) get promoted so people can get rid of them.

It’s why a lot of company men/woman/things are clueless imbeciles.

 

[WormWiggler]

In a lot of jobs asskissers (politicians) get promoted so people can get rid of them.

It’s why a lot if company men/woman/things are clueless imbeciles.

I recall reading about a similar deal that proposed that a big problem in business is the promotion of people to a level above their skill and capability. Followed by the inability to demote the person back to the optimum position. I forget the name of the phenomenon.

 

[Ponyroper]

I recall reading about a similar deal that proposed that a big problem in business is the promotion of people to a level above their skill and capability. Followed by the inability to demote the person back to the optimum position. I forget the name of the phenomenon.

The Peter Principle.