I am going to be a bum.

I think I may have posted on this before but I am trying to find a reasonable solution that will make all parties involved happy and functional. Please provide some reasonable recommendations as "Quit" is not a viable option right now.

I have a great job, meaning: it pays well, philanthropic in some respects, fits my life style (location, convenience), and its easy work that I can do almost easily without thinking. Problem is, management doesn't either get me or doesn't know how to manage.

I work for an organization that can come across as very political, almost as if we were working for a political organization. Bunch of suits that work hard, play later. Sometimes people play more than they work but that's another story in itself. I've always been the kind of person that did things with integrity and I did what I was paid to do. I do my job, meet deadlines...I don't skirt the system. I even occasional find ways to improve things (with middle management's approval). I think that's why upper management loves me and always stops by my office to compliment me and other managers for other areas in the company like my "go getterness" as they put it.

But I don't think my own management appreciates or "gets" me. Whenever I have a great idea that I am sure they would love that would make their lives easier and would challenge me and its usually something that I'm excited about but they put it to the side and will "look at it later". I've seen coworkers of mine who will suggest something that isn't really conducive to the company (which management will tell them) but what bugs me is that they took the time to listen to their idea and give an answer - even though its usually a denial.

The other thing is I'm never challenged. Management knows as I've communicated this many times that I'm a quick learner and I never get challenged...which is why I make alot of suggestions so that when its approved, I can be challenged and work on my idea so I won't get bored. But instead I end up having to sit and wait for an answer which isn't really proper use of company time but I have nothing else to work on becuase I've finished everything else.

There's alot of things that I am disatisfied with but the aforementioned are just a few. I don't think the solution is to "quit" becuase jobs are scarce these days and middle management never seems to listen to me as I've mentioned and although upper management loves me, they won't do anything about anything eit

The typical response people would say in this situation would be to Quit. But I'm not going to. My theory is they just don't get me. I mean alot of the people who work here even though are a "stuffed shirt" or whatever the slang is, it's all a front. They actually do nothing that is worth while. The company hasn't grown since I started here and I've been here forever. The ideas I suggest like I said are things that will improve efficiency and make everyone's lives easier and more cost effective. Other than approving it will take no time out of their day other than the few seconds they need to give me when I update them when its complete.

But I am bored most of the time becuase they don't necessarily assign me anything. I manage myself and give myself work to do lol and if they did approve an idea it takes them forever to do it. I am well aware what the higher objectives are of the company and what management is working on and what their strategic goals are and what they typically work on isn't always that urgent so they could take literally 5 minutes out of their day, look at my idea and just give me a yes or no. But they don't and I sit and wait. Sure my ideas aren't urgent either, but I'm bored out of my mind like I said. Which is why I have the time to be on this website!

Why don't you just talk to someone in upper

management about either your ideas or the

fact that you aren't challenged, and that

you would like to do more/be more productive

for the company?

Posted by exoskeleton
how are you presenting your ideas? just conversationally?

if you haven't already, take it up a notch with a full presentation (documents, slideshows, a meeting, etc) for the higher ups.

I don't do anything "conversationally" anymore. I come 100% ready documents and all so they can see full picture what I vision.

I usually come with: description of purpose, steps, visuals and conservative deliverables as I never overshoot my expectations. So it's clear as night and day what it will look like and what the outcome should be.

...all that's next for me to do once they approve it is to implement it. But time is wasted waiting for them to take literally 5 minutes out of there day to look at it and let me at least test it. Hopefully impelemnt it.

Sometimes its sad because someone else will end up having a similar idea (not 100% the same...maybe 25% the same) and management will allow them to waste their time..listen to it and tell them OKAY lets implement it and somehow I get dragged into it because I'm action oriented. I think its messed up they give time to the dumbasses who have ideas that never end up working.

Posted by RainDancer88
What if you befriended specific people in higher positions? I mean when you say your ideas are not urgent, having a friend in the right place could expedite the process.

(Maybe it's a ridiculous suggestion but that depends on how invested you are.)

I have done that too, but then it becomes that "other managers" idea and I know it was only implemented becuase someone else suggested it as I said in the post above this.

I mean if management knows I'm skilled and I'm the only reliable person in our office and I make things less stressful becuase they don't have to manage me...then why not utilize me more often than the dumbasses that I hear them whine about often. I know a part of them using the dumbasses is their wishful thinking at getting them to be more motivated and getting them to "learn" more and catch up to my speed/level but it never worked before and it will not work in the future. A good firing to get decent people instead would be a better solution.

The problem is when it comes to performance reviews, some how they are always strict with me and say all "positive" remarks to the people who do nothing, contribute nothing, take long lunch breaks and come into work late.

All of this is really just making me not want to try anymore. Funny thing is if my next idea isn't take seriously or takes forever for them to take 3 seconds to look at it, then I give up. I'm just going to join Team Dumbass. I don't know what else to do.

I've done that too. I have also even reminded them multiple times as well.

It's also things like, I'm rarely late. If I am, its something out of my control. I get in trouble if I'm late.

But the dumbasses are late constantly. They don't get into trouble.

I don't like this bias that I'm always getting in trouble on the rare occasion I mess up but with the dumbasses who make mistakes all the time and they get nothing but positive reviews and awards and recognition because they some how improved ONE time and that improvement is still below par.

I don't get it. I haven't really mentioned my frustrations to anyone, so they don't know I'm affected but I seriously will join Team Dumbass. Because if my efforts aren't appreciated and I get in trouble anyway I might as well do what everyone else does since I'll get in trouble anyway and save myself the effort.

Yesterday I verbally asked management if I could change the menu set up to our client appointment system. (It's a system that connects with our website that enables clients to request appointments, inquire about our organization [if they are potential clients] etc.) But years ago..even before I started working here it was just slapped together. It works, but the ROI on what its supposed to be used for isn't high because the menus are confusing, the content [text and graphics] are confusing and not appropriate, its not even really complete.

So no one really has dealt with it because its alot of work to improve it so all they do is use it in the most minimum way possible. But I have the time now (as i have finished my projects long time ago) to re-code it, change the content, change the functionality and the purpose of it so that it is more useful, alleviates alot of the calls we get [as we waste a lot of time with callers who inquire about something confusing on our website and wanted clarification].

Once I fix it, a lot of our clients and potential clients will get their needs met without contacting us for further explanation and clarity and I can make it easier to maintain so that anyone in the office and/or company can use it and understand it and make their lives easier.

So I went to middle management as I cannot go above their heads to upper management, but I went to middle management yesterday and verbally said that I wanted to volunteer to fix it because:

1)Our clients & potential clients request information via our system than the actual calls we recieve. I emphasized that we want to make a good impression at ever point of contact with potential clients (for ROI purposes)

2) I also put that it could be a library of resource material for our clients that our website will connect to

etc. etc.

So management said ok. So out of respect for hierarchy I printed out documents of different parts of the system what it looks like before and what I am proposing it be changed to. I gave it to management and I said, "Okay, I am finished putting together what it could potentially look like and what benefits we could get from it." and I handed it over and they just took it and said they'd look at it later.

That's it and they didn't look at it "later". Still sitting in the same spot.

5 Minutes!

The other week I asked management if I could change the FAQ and a few sections on the website as its outdated and its incorrect information which isn't good and could cause liability. Programming/coding a couple of sections will only take me 10-15 minutes at moment.

So I asked management if I could volunteer and change the two sections (there's alot that needs to be fixed on the website but I was starting with the two areas our web analytics show that visitors look at the most).

Management said "Why?" I explained the reasons why which were important i.e. we cannot give visitors to our website outdated and incorrect information, which could potentially make us liable for certain things. Which is the truth.

The response I got was something along the lines of not caring about the website.

Hearing that was disheartening but I still turned in my proposed changes to the website with my system changes anyway.