New employer has too many rules, not comfortable, need Advice

buglawton

I've heard that most companies now have the opposite rule to #4, to prevent the walls being blackened.

nicholaswitchell

f1621688 wrote: »

To clarify some points. I work in the creative industries where I am required to engineer software solutions. In my experience the work culture has always been easy going. I was hired for skills based on interview which was for making architecture level changes to software, I told them I enjoy that sort of work. Now I am being told that those kind of changes require permissions or are done by another team etc.

I wore the same dress during interview and I was not told all these things before I took up employment. If I had been, I would have looked elsewhere. At the interview they were very eager for me to join them.

During the interview a large set of skills are requested of you, you should be able to do this, do that etc then after hire they want you to be a code monkey. I feel frustrated.

I have an idea you might be quite young.

A few years experience will show you that what you have described is nowhere near as bad as it could get. In fact, what you have right there sounds pretty good.

Welcome to the real world, where people work hard for their money.

yenool

nicholaswitchell wrote: »

I have an idea you might be quite young.

A few years experience will show you that what you have described is nowhere near as bad as it could get. In fact, what you have right there sounds pretty good.

Welcome to the real world, where people work hard for their money.

OP states in the thread he has 8 years experience of working in this kind of job. So he must be at least mid 20s and has plenty of experience working hard "in the real world".

Do you not think it is somewhat rude and patronising to imply OP is childish and not willing to work hard? Nothing he states suggests either of those things.

I don't understand this attitude of 'well it is crap but it could be worse'.... why do so many people think taking up this attitude is good advice?

If the conditions are crap then leave. This isn't a job cleaning toilets in McDonald's; OP has experience and skills to offer. IT industry is reasonably strong for jobs so it shouldn't be a big issue to find another opportunity.

Fireflyaway

There will be rules no matter where you work and chances are you will find some of them annoying or struggle to see the reason for them. That's life. I wouldn't let it annoy you as the rules apply to everyone - its not as though they are picking on you.
What you have mentioned doesn't sound that bad. I used to work somewhere where you were not allowed any food or drink in the room at all. No sweets or mints. No talking, No going to the loo without asking. No wearing of sandals or flip flops. No personal photos on the desk. No mobile phones and they were extra hot on time keeping. I once failed to reach my target because I logged onto the PC 21 seconds after I should have!
Nothing says you have to be there forever anyway. Gain some experience and qualifications from them if you can and move on.

bouicca21

I once worked for an organisation where we had many hours of (un)happy fun on a working party to design a dress code. HR wanted to ban specific items of clothing and footwear. Before this enterprise ran out of steam, there was some sort of event to which a few outsiders were invited. HR person fumed over one attendee, held him up as the epitome of what not to wear, and demanded to know who he was. Fortunately said attendee did not overhear. I wish I had a picture of HR person's face when she was told that he was not an employee but one of our most important clients.

ben_m_g

Errata wrote: »

If I was on an interview panel and a candidate asked what the managment style was I'd immediately think 'not one that would suit you matey'

Why? It sounds like a reasonable question to me..

C_Mababejive

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Worked in a call centre once for an energy company but they applied the same standards of H&S to their office staff as they do their engineers in the field.

Gross misconduct included:

1) Walking up or down the stairs without holding the handrail
2) Walking whilst talking on a mobile (pre smart phone days)
3) Carrying more than one cup without using a cup tray
4) Parking nose in in the staff carpark
5) Smoking anywhere on their grounds other than in the designated smoking area


For 4 the actual requirement was to reverse into the space and drive out but you could drive through a double space and you could get away with it.

There were the usual rules of food/ drinks at your desk etc but those technically werent gross misconduct.

Did work in one call centre where you had to sit in silence between calls and werent allowed to bring any reading materials etc in. You were supposed to either get paperwork (if there was any) to do or read the training manual (or just sit there).

The one that takes the biscuit though was the canteen staff member who got sacked for not laying out the meeting biscuits in the prescribed way and/or ratios

"but they applied the same standards of H&S to their office staff as they do their engineers in the field. "

Why should it be any different? Human bodies are human bodies regardless of role/job title.

getmore4less

Errata wrote: »

If I was on an interview panel and a candidate asked what the managment style was I'd immediately think 'not one that would suit you matey'

ben_m_g wrote: »

Why? It sounds like a reasonable question to me..

I think so too,, might phrase it in ways to extract the relevent part of management style that would effect my decision to work there or not.

Flexability on hours, like do I have to take 1/2 day holiday for a hospital appointment or can we do it flexi.

Booking holidays, rota, first come etc.

How do you deal with project overuns.
other IT specifics in this area...

Overtime and work from home policy

Travel(can I book my own flights hotels)

...

duchy

I think the OP came across as moaning - and yes it did sound a bit petulant if not childish.

Presumably the job has advantages too like better prospects and better pay than his last job or he wouldn't have taken the job.

I have a friend who contracts at a very high level and as he says every company is different - some want a formal or sterile atmosphere some are more laid back and promote a creative atmosphere but without exception no one company is a perfect match for him (and if he found one that was he wouldn't contract anymore but go and work for them )

There is nothing more irritating than the new employee who in their first week is constantly moaning "We didn't do it this way in my old job" and usually raises the thought if not the comment " Well if your old job was so perfect why did you leave?"

Someone commented earlier that it sounds like the OP has found himself a smaller fish in a bigger pond -and someone else said two weeks isn't long enough to adjust to a new job and new working practices. Both are probably true but the OP needs to decide if his negativity towards the new job is so strong that he won't ever be happy working there or if he can adjust. If he can't then yes move on -but taking with him the experience that bigger firms do tend to be more formal and that he might be happier in a smaller environment but with that there may be some compromise over pay and advancement possibilities. We all have different ideas about what we want to accept - no-one is forcing him to work there but if he's looking for the perfect job he may not find it - and need to decide what level of compromise works for him.

yenool wrote: »

OP states in the thread he has 8 years experience of working in this kind of job. So he must be at least mid 20s and has plenty of experience working hard "in the real world".

Do you not think it is somewhat rude and patronising to imply OP is childish and not willing to work hard? Nothing he states suggests either of those things.

I don't understand this attitude of 'well it is crap but it could be worse'.... why do so many people think taking up this attitude is good advice?

If the conditions are crap then leave. This isn't a job cleaning toilets in McDonald's; OP has experience and skills to offer. IT industry is reasonably strong for jobs so it shouldn't be a big issue to find another opportunity.

InsideInsurance

Undervalued wrote: »

How does the smartness (or otherwise) of a phone affect No. 2?

That these days people rarely seem to use their mobiles to actually phone people but txt, tweet, status update etc instead. I am guessing the rules have since been broadened to cover any mobile use rather than just phone calls.

C_Mababejive wrote:

Why should it be any different? Human bodies are human bodies regardless of role/job title.

Because different environments have different levels of risk associated with it. I wouldnt expect a biochemical firm to make its office staff wear biohazard suits just because those working in the labs 100 miles away do.

Have worked in offices for many years since working there and never once had any of these rules imposed again and oddly never seen anyone injured yet through lack of use of a cup tray for carrying two cups of cold water.