It's time to play Screw The Boss!

[wheel]

In response to the agony of a webmaster in this thread:
[webmasterworld.com...]
Let's play screw the boss! List all the fun ways you can screw with an old boss as you're headed out the door.

- Quit while the boss is actually on vacation - and make sure they know about it. Monday's always a good day for that. Let them either decide to have a crappy vacation, or come home to look after business.

- Drop a well disguised link on the homepage. It's your link, it's up to you to be creative as to where it points to. Bonus points if you can find some good anchor text, like part of a word.

- For security reasons, you should change all passwords.

- Report them to spamhaus and Google, and wherever else you can think of. Doesn't matter if they've done anything wrong.

- pack the red stapler and take it with you. (for those of you that catch that reference, I actually have a red stapler, and it does jam up less often)



-

[wheel]

Firing people is the worst thing ever. Even if they deserve it or need it. The times I've had to do it, it's almost as stressful as the day I actually quit my day job and went unemployed. Whoops, sorry. My wife says I'm not to call it that - I'm supposed to say 'self-employed'. Sounds fancier. Same pay some days though.

[Matthew1980]

>>Red stapler

Forgive the ignorance, but is that a reference to 'office space' that funny film from the late 90's where the guy in the basement gets the last laugh? Been a while since I saw it, but I thought I would ask the question; other than that, I don't get it...

But definitely leave on good terms, especially if your staying in the same market, I walked out of one job, that felt great, then I got to the Job centre and thought to myself "WHAT HAVE I DONE", fortunately, everything turned out well ;)

Cheers,
MRb

[wheel]

Yes, red stapler = office space. I've got a red swingline stapler, they made them after the movie, not before. Well, they had burdundy colored, but not the bright red shown in the movie. For the movie they actually took a swingline and had it painted by an auto shop.

[incrediBILL]

Firing people, ugh. That's why contractors are so much less stressful as you can simply call their supervisor and tell them the contract isn't being renewed because we canceled the project or had a budget reduction. Much less stressful than the in-your-face confrontation, strictly business as usual type of stuff.

Some manager I know that fired someone and he started stalking, sending cards and letters to the office, emails, prank phone calls, ended with ex-employee getting a C&D delivered by the sheriff.

[wyweb]

I've fired people. I don't have a problem with it. It doesn't bother me a bit. If they need to go they need to go.

We're talking construction again... not "Office Space". Although I loved that movie. I could watch it again right now if I had it.

If you're making me look bad... if you show up drunk.. if you misrepresentated your qualifications when I hired you and your work actually sucks... If you don't show up for days on end.. If you get a draw from me to pay your rent and I find out you drank it all up... I'll send you on down the road. I have no problem with that.

You're gone mister.

I may hire you back but you better have an attitude adjustment first. I'm running a business here and we need to look good in front of these builders.

What we do in our own house is another story...

The public face has to look sharp though.

[wheel]

Rough house drywallers is one thing. Adults with office careers and families is another thing entirely. Most people are sympathetic with having to let someone like that go, no matter what the reason.

[incrediBILL]

Rough house drywallers is one thing. Adults with office careers and families is another thing entirely.

Um, not understanding logic here, because drywallers don't have families or office careers?

Does not compute >BZZZT!<

I'd let go an office drunk, addict or anyone that can't do their job just as fast as a construction worker for the same offense.

Besides, the office workers are often much worse at what they do because if architects and construction workers built buildings the way software engineers build software it would only take a single woodpecker to thoroughly destroy civilization.

---

Speaking of playing SCREW the boss, the joke was on me.

Once hired a guy that was perfect for a programming job and he apparently got so excited he quit taking his meds. Third day on the job he couldn't get any of his code to compile for some odd reason, didn't show up for fourth day. Got a call from a relative that he was "getting help" to get back on his meds and would be "away" for a while.

We look at his code and you could see he was OK in Monday's code. Things started to slide a little in Tuesday's coding. You actually see where he had a meltdown in the software on Wednesday, strangest thing I have ever seen in my life. You could literally see brain misfire as he stopped using CamelCode(upper/lower) and went to lowercasecode() and tried to correct with UPPERCASECODE() and eventually the programming went totally loopy.

It was scary to even see it.

Felt bad for the guy but I was out a 2 month hiring cycle :(

[wheel]

Um, not understanding logic here, because drywallers don't have families or office careers?

You think the demographic of drywallers is the same as that of the typical office worker? Don't be obtuse.

[incrediBILL]

You think the demographic of drywallers is the same as that of the typical office worker? Don't be obtuse.

Many of my relatives work in construction, logging, paving, they all have families. You can't lump everyone into your view of the 'demographics' because construction pays really well which is why people work those hard jobs when they can get them. I've ran into more real office freaks mainly because a construction foreman wouldn't hire those losers, total drunkards and addicts that showed up looking green at least once a week and often loaded after lunch, so don't be obtuse.

[astupidname]

it's great to be in engineering; people leave you alone because your always busy making things idiot proof - then they make a better idiot ;-p

If only they'd idiot-proof the engineers computers!(remove all power cords) And desks!(remove all paper, pens, pencils and markers [oh, and ah, staplers.. of any color]) :)

I'm actually in a job right now that I'm beginning to feel the desire to walk. Actually almost did last thursday. Definitely would have if I'd already have irons in the fire. May be time to start looking, I think.
I think I've just now, after reading this thread, settled upon my form of "revenge" for if/when I do walk.
It's a funny habit he has (the boss is fairly new with the company, just a few months [never ever wish for a boss who's as nearly intelligent as you are, they'll just drive you more insane]), which does not, however, have anything at all to do with why I'd be walking out. He'll come walking up to you to discuss what's going on today and the next project or whatever. And often times he'll grab himself and give his boys a quick adjustment as you're discussing things! It's just funny, we have lots of laughs about it when he's not around! In fact I'll mimic him to the other guys at work. I'll grab and sort of point myself towards another project and tell co-worker Tom or Ryan that that job's next, over there... yeah over there (an extra grab, point & swivel). And we'll just roll with laughter about it. Too funny!
So I think when/if I do walk it would actually be a "courteous" form of "revenge" to send a package of new underwear via U.P.S. to the company marked "Attention: Ron O.".

I find revenge is never sweet you always feel that you have diminished yourself somewhat.

Aggressive revenge, true.

The best revenge feels good, even cathartic, and leaves karma on your side.

I think karma would be on my side for helping him with his underwear problem!

[wyweb]

because construction pays really well which is why people work those hard jobs when they can get them

I made a pile of money in construction.

Late 70's and early 80's in North Texas. You could smell sawdust a mile down the road. They were building houses that fast. Oil was pumping and when oil pumps in Texas, as opposed to wells being capped off, houses get built.

To keep this on track I was a boss too. This is a thread about bosses.

Just to illustrate. There's a little restaurant/bar in Lewisville, Texas called the "OK Corral." When we worked in Farmers Branch we'd go eat there often. For lunch. I had 3 crews then. 15 guys.

Builders, general contractors, were so desperate for hands they'd come in the bar at lunch time and make a public announcement, "Okay I need 5 guys, can anyone in here roof? It's 3-tab shingles and I'll pay you every day if you want it that way."

Waitresses are freaking out. I'm laughing. My guys won't get on a roof so I'm not worried. That's how wide open it was though. There was money to be made. You had to put your tool bags on though wheel. Couldn't do it from an office.

And there's nothing wrong with blue collar. Blue collar built this country. While you're sitting in an office, we're putting up a house for you to live in.

I was a boss. I'm still a boss. Guys played pranks on me. It was harmless stuff though. As bosses go I was a pretty good one though. I bailed guys out of jail at 3:00 in the morning. I'd let them sleep on my couch if their woman had thrown them out. I knew each of them and I knew their stories too. I'd buy their kids birthday presents. Ask your corporate execs if they'll do that wheel. I'm not patting myself on the back either. That's just how we did it. Pay well, treat your workers well and go the extra mile for them.

That's how the boss keeps from getting screwed.

[wyweb]

About firing people. If I know a guys wife just had a baby, I'll cut him more slack. He's still gone for major infractions, but I'll also hire him back. I'll let him sit for awhile though. Let him think about whether he values his job or not.

Now he knows the terms. He should have known them to begin with though. I'll give him another chance. If he does it twice he's gone for good.

I'm not unsympathetic to people's problems. I hope I didn't sound like I was. There's problems and there's problems though. If they're created by outside forces, I've got your back. If you're creating your own problems, I may not have much to say to you.

I'm not in drywall anymore. I wrecked a motorcycle in Huntsville, Alabama years ago and I can barely walk today. Otherwise I'd still be running crews.