I'm too clever for my job - and my manager says so

shortcrust

xapprenticex wrote: »

This is a wind-up thread guys.

My thoughts too.

I do wonder how clever a person can be if they need to start a thread like this.

Ja7188

shortcrust wrote: »

My thoughts too.

I do wonder how clever a person can be if they need to start a thread like this.

In reality, not very - but if the OP is genuine, I suspect they started the thread with the hope of gaining affirmation and categorically not for anyone to suggest that they should challenge their perception of their own ability.

Smodlet

Ja7188 wrote: »

Just a thought - I reckon the title of this thread would work well sung with a Right Said Fred backing... :-D

Can't get this out of my brain so I'm afraid I have succumbed and er, filled out the lyrics a little. Unfortunately, I cannot share because I'm not about to be PPR-ed either.

ScorpiondeRooftrouser

If it's a wind up, the poster has proved themselves to be immature and stupid.

If it's not a wind-up, the poster has proved themselves to be immature and stupid.

Manxman_in_exile

ScorpiondeRooftrouser wrote: »

If it's a wind up, the poster has proved themselves to be immature and stupid.

If it's not a wind-up, the poster has proved themselves to be immature and stupid.

I think they need to get another job and find out how clever they really are...:rotfl:

Manxman_in_exile

Wyndham wrote: »

Anyone care to take a bet on how long blueandwhiterose will be on the boards for? I'm going to say they will be gone by the end of tomorrow

Anyone else care to bid?

No bookie will give you odds on that!

Manxman_in_exile

gettingtheresometime wrote: »

Perhaps your manager is hoping you!!!8217;ll agree you!!!8217;re wasted in your current position & leave?

We tried this once, but the person was too stupid to leave!

blueandwhiterose

robatwork wrote: »

If your hair trigger attitude displayed here is reflected in real life, then you're not half as clever as your manager thinks you are.

Probably cleverer than them, and that's not even a joke. I routinely help my own managers. This isn't limited to software use, knowledge of tasks, or general help where needed, but direction, such as solving difficult problems and finding alternative solutions to issues. This has earned me some very good praise, so I'm left with this question:

Is the problem that I am particularly clever? Or:
Are the people around me just particularly stupid?

Calling other people stupid is never a good thing, so that leaves me with the first option. Except then there is the obvious question which again leads to the second one. So there's no way to answer it.

Here's an example. Today I helped a senior manager in a very big way just by completing some routine tasks. They are supposed to be carried out by their own team, but they keep ignoring it because there's a slight amount of calculation involved and they don't feel like doing that. This annoys me. So I just went ahead and did it. It took barely 30 minutes. The manager calls me and praises me non-stop for five minutes and promises to take me out for a beer on the next gathering. Then they send an E-mail of thanks which includes the regional director. It's crazy, because all the team had to do was fill in some mostly pre-filled calculations on excel, but they just couldn't be bothered because it was a Friday.

So go back to the question above. Am I clever? Is everyone else stupid? Neither answers are comfortable. But that team wants to sit around playing on their phones when they're supposed to be working and then they complain that their house is a mess and their boyfriend hates them and they're living in a dump. Can you see where I'm coming from now?

Ja7188 wrote: »

In reality, not very - but if the OP is genuine, I suspect they started the thread with the hope of gaining affirmation and categorically not for anyone to suggest that they should challenge their perception of their own ability.

Newsflash: there are plenty of people who are well-educated, hard working, ambitious, and want to fulfill their potential. For every 1 of these threads, there are a hundred of people complaining they can't get ahead. So I don't know where you're coming from.

As far as verifying yourself, that can be fairly dangerous to your prospects. A lot of companies want people who are impressionable, especially for women, so they have easier control over them. Some companies are hostile to the idea of autonomy and prefer "grown children", hiring irresponsible personalities, encouraging fancy dress, playing musical chairs, enforcing open office, and routinely reminding employees of basic conduct policy. Although I find that degrading, you are partially right - plenty of people seek and need affirmation, and would happily complain that they aren't being spoonfed.

ro2778 wrote: »

I totally uprooted, went back to uni to study medicine with the premise of seeking a greater challenge. Obviously there are many ways to challenge yourself but I don!!!8217;t regret it, however I wouldn!!!8217;t have been able to do that now, not only am I not so young anymore but the cost of education has sadly increased massively.

I know my aunt completed an open uni degree in her spare time and became an actuary.

I'm not sure education is worth bothering with anymore. It's just not value for money. The first time I tried it, the course collapsed because the lecturers stopped turning up, then the university slapped the whole 3 years on my SL. The second time, the lecturers didn't even know what they were talking about and our coursework came out of magazines. It's interesting how we treat people now - we treat kids as adults and adults as kids.

Ja7188 wrote: »

I'm not sure whether this is a wind-up thread or not - I've worked with several people in the past who were never in the wrong, would refuse to admit to any shortcomings even when they were obvious to everyone else, would blame others for anything that didn't go well and would attack at the slightest sign of any criticism rather than attempting to address it - so I wouldn't rule out the possibility of the OP being genuine...

Sounds like bad work colleagues are a repeating problem for you... I wonder who the real issue is here... someone like that must have lots of problems...maybe in reality it's... you?

Not very nice when people talk to you like that for no reason, is it? Here's your lesson: don't do it to other people.

z1a

Almost every place of employment has somebody like you.

They're usually called mugs, or brown-nosers.

blueandwhiterose

z1a wrote: »

Almost every place of employment has somebody like you.

They're usually called mugs, or brown-nosers.

What was the point of your post? There's no evidence of me as either. Is the real reason for your post to get more "thanks"? Maybe the problem is desperately seeking validation from others by snorting and chortling off on someone else? Because that's all I'm seeing on this thread, lots of point-scoring, and maybe a lot of you need to READ instead of writing chortling remarks. Will asking people to be civil be an offensive thing here? Are people ready to grow up?