Too Tipsy To Work

  • Matt Miller (#4) (3/8/2010)

    ..I've actually received calls from previous employers demanding I drive into work WHILE the state has a state of emergency in place...

    "previous employers" I hope you don't mean they called you when you were no longer an employee and demanded you drive in. That would take enormous brass ones, although I wouldn't be shocked to hear it.

  • Michael Valentine Jones (3/8/2010)


    Matt Miller (#4) (3/8/2010)

    ..I've actually received calls from previous employers demanding I drive into work WHILE the state has a state of emergency in place...

    "previous employers" I hope you don't mean they called you when you were no longer an employee and demanded you drive in. That would take enormous brass ones, although I wouldn't be shocked to hear it.

    No -they were current when that one incident occurred. That said - I've had similar events where someone tried to order me into emergency consultations (i.e. after I'd left their employment).

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Your lack of planning does not constitute an emergency on my part...unless you're my manager...or a director and above...or a really loud-spoken end-user..All right - what was my emergency again?

  • I'm mostly retired now, but I know I have been in the situation where I have been working too many hours, and could no longer think - not unlike being "tipsy". On many occasions I told "the Boss" I was going home and the disaster would have to wait until I came back refreshed - even when that meant that users could not work. Needless to say, "the Boss" was very unhappy with me. I know, in my own mind, that the problem was solved - in clock time - much before it would have been had I stayed. In reality, "the Boss" knew it too. Not unlike Dilbert, I was considered too valuable to fire - and even got good reviews - even with "almost insubordination".

    Not everyone has the ability - or even the confidence - to "refuse to work" in the face of disaster. Sometimes "the Boss" is stupid enough to think he/she can control you. In this economy, they may actually have this ability as there are so many people "knocking on the door". I'm glad "I'm mostly retired", and I'm "the Boss" of me. I sure don't have an answer for unreasonable management - and they ARE unreasonable to ask you to / make you work when you simply are not able to. I guess you just do what you have to do, and hope for the best.

  • Gary Varga (3/8/2010)


    All fair comments as far as regulators go, however, before the Royal College of Surgeons demanded certain qualifications, mere barbers would drill into peoples heads. This barbaric period was originally necessary for such a fledgling vocation, however, the medical profession matured.

    Shouldn't we?

    Heh... no... then I wouldn't be able to drill holes into people's heads anymore. 😛

    --Jeff Moden


    RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
    First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
    ________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.
    "Change is inevitable... change for the better is not".

    Helpful Links:
    How to post code problems
    How to Post Performance Problems
    Create a Tally Function (fnTally)
    Intro to Tally Tables and Functions

  • Matt Miller (#4) (3/8/2010)


    Michael Valentine Jones (3/8/2010)


    Matt Miller (#4) (3/8/2010)

    ..I've actually received calls from previous employers demanding I drive into work WHILE the state has a state of emergency in place...

    "previous employers" I hope you don't mean they called you when you were no longer an employee and demanded you drive in. That would take enormous brass ones, although I wouldn't be shocked to hear it.

    No -they were current when that one incident occurred. That said - I've had similar events where someone tried to order me into emergency consultations (i.e. after I'd left their employment).

    I got a call from an employer from which I was fired. They paid me $100 per hour, including travel time (3 hours), to come up and basically tell them that a programmer they kept was incompetent and didn't know what she was doing. I didn't mind earning $1,100 (before taxes) for that one day of work.

    Talking to someone else up there, I preobably could have gotten more, the contract they were working on was $3 - $4 million dollars.

  • Lynn Pettis (3/8/2010)


    I got a call from an employer from which I was fired. They paid me $100 per hour, including travel time (3 hours), to come up and basically tell them that a programmer they kept was incompetent and didn't know what she was doing. I didn't mind earning $1,100 (before taxes) for that one day of work.

    Talking to someone else up there, I preobably could have gotten more, the contract they were working on was $3 - $4 million dollars.

    Getting fired and then begged to come back and work for them, even on a 1-day term, is vindication. Make them grovel, and then take on the short-term contract.

    Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
    _______________________________________________
    I have given a name to my pain...MCM SQL Server, MVP
    SQL RNNR
    Posting Performance Based Questions - Gail Shaw[/url]
    Learn Extended Events

  • CirquedeSQLeil (3/8/2010)


    Lynn Pettis (3/8/2010)


    I got a call from an employer from which I was fired. They paid me $100 per hour, including travel time (3 hours), to come up and basically tell them that a programmer they kept was incompetent and didn't know what she was doing. I didn't mind earning $1,100 (before taxes) for that one day of work.

    Talking to someone else up there, I preobably could have gotten more, the contract they were working on was $3 - $4 million dollars.

    Getting fired and then begged to come back and work for them, even on a 1-day term, is vindication. Make them grovel, and then take on the short-term contract.

    Not really. I found out later that she got a bonus after I was fired for work I had actually done when our boss had her do something stupid while I was still employed there and I had to lead the cleanup. Had I known that before they called, I would have demanded more in compensation.

  • CirquedeSQLeil (3/8/2010)


    Lynn Pettis (3/8/2010)


    I got a call from an employer from which I was fired. They paid me $100 per hour, including travel time (3 hours), to come up and basically tell them that a programmer they kept was incompetent and didn't know what she was doing. I didn't mind earning $1,100 (before taxes) for that one day of work.

    Talking to someone else up there, I preobably could have gotten more, the contract they were working on was $3 - $4 million dollars.

    Getting fired and then begged to come back and work for them, even on a 1-day term, is vindication. Make them grovel, and then take on the short-term contract.

    Just so everyone knows, my boss didn't like me and for more than a year I actually reported directly to his boss, not him. Then management changed and things changed with it.

  • Lynn Pettis (3/8/2010)


    Matt Miller (#4) (3/8/2010)


    Michael Valentine Jones (3/8/2010)


    Matt Miller (#4) (3/8/2010)

    ..I've actually received calls from previous employers demanding I drive into work WHILE the state has a state of emergency in place...

    "previous employers" I hope you don't mean they called you when you were no longer an employee and demanded you drive in. That would take enormous brass ones, although I wouldn't be shocked to hear it.

    No -they were current when that one incident occurred. That said - I've had similar events where someone tried to order me into emergency consultations (i.e. after I'd left their employment).

    I got a call from an employer from which I was fired. They paid me $100 per hour, including travel time (3 hours), to come up and basically tell them that a programmer they kept was incompetent and didn't know what she was doing. I didn't mind earning $1,100 (before taxes) for that one day of work.

    Talking to someone else up there, I preobably could have gotten more, the contract they were working on was $3 - $4 million dollars.

    True but more from people like that just means more grief as well. And I always say - if they give you grief... double your rate.

    try it one time...:)

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Your lack of planning does not constitute an emergency on my part...unless you're my manager...or a director and above...or a really loud-spoken end-user..All right - what was my emergency again?

  • They haven't called me back since that one day. Which is fine, I don't miss working there, just a few of the people. I managed to steal one of them from them and he now works with me again. Now, there is just one more I would really like to snatch away. 😀

  • Jeff Moden (3/8/2010)


    Gary Varga (3/8/2010)


    All fair comments as far as regulators go, however, before the Royal College of Surgeons demanded certain qualifications, mere barbers would drill into peoples heads. This barbaric period was originally necessary for such a fledgling vocation, however, the medical profession matured.

    Shouldn't we?

    Heh... no... then I wouldn't be able to drill holes into people's heads anymore. 😛

    Now that I cannot argue against!!!

    Gaz

    -- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!

  • I must say that this has been one of the most interesting topics as of yet. I personally do not drink except for the rare occasion. But if I did, reading these would be more enjoyable while sipping a few Bud Light Limes.

    For the record IMHO: No matter what the Company does or says - it is still the individual's personal responsibility to make sound judgements as he/she will be held accountable for their actions.

    Joe

  • I don't drink, but sleep deprivation has been an enemy of my productivity many, many times. And there have been times where I've told a boss that I needed to go home and get some sleep before I moved something from dev/QA to production. There have also been a few times when I've taken a nap at work because I was too tired to even drive home safely, in order to accomplish the same thing. Once, I took a bus home, fell asleep on the bus, and missed my stop. That was after five days of no sleep.

    If I were a manager, and one of my employees said he/she was too drunk to safely come to work, I'd respect that. It's very rare for a business emergency to be worth the risk of killing a bunch of people. But I'm also of the opinion that drunk drivers who cause injuries/death should suffer the same penalty as murderers, not manslaughter penalties. It's up to the managers to have enough personnel-, knowledge-, and skills-redundancy that someone being unavailable doesn't stop the business.

    And, like someone else, the first thing I thought of when reading the editorial was XKCD's Ballmer Effect. http://xkcd.com/323/

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    Property of The Thread

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  • Ooh I used to fall asleep on the bus! It used to rock me off to sleep! lol Comfy seats, warmth and a gentle rocking!

    I'm hoping the same doesn't happen now... I ride a motorbike! I get the feeling it may not be a long journey back home I'd be worried about!

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