The Finch Formerly Known As Gold

11 November 2006

Taking cuts

I'm starting to think Sarah is fed up:

Everyone tries to one-up each other, usually by professional sabotage. For some reason, making other people look bad is a way to make yourself look good. Projects are mismanaged; mistakes are blamed on coworkers. And Those In Power seem to be either ignorant of (or, even worse, going along with) the whole charade. The very worst of employees continue to get away with staggering incompetence. Meanwhile, more conscientious employees have to fix their mistakes, and are rewarded only by having even more work dumped on them because they’re the only ones able to do it correctly.

If it wasn’t for the prospect of a three-day weekend, I would be perilously close to slashing my wrists with the edge of a blank sheet of 8½ X 11 MultiPurpose Office Paper. A slow, painful death by paper cuts seems somehow poetic right now.

Trust me on this. You want to open a vein? Get one of these, feed something to it, and then try to clean up the debris. It's the next-best thing to adjusting a lawn-mower blade while it's running.

(My vantage point at the bottom of 42nd and Treadmill's org chart gives me, I think, a unique perspective on these matters.)

Posted at 9:27 AM to PEBKAC


Thing is, she'd dive into the wood chipper if she realized that every office everywhere is just like that.

Posted by: Venomous Kate at 10:02 AM on 11 November 2006

I was just wondering if this was the pseudonym of one of my coworkers...

Posted by: Andrea Harris at 11:37 AM on 11 November 2006

Ahhh, yes. I've been around just long enough to realize that this nonsense is more or less universal. The sad part is that my current job is still light years better than my last job, which I believe left me afflicted with a mild to moderate case of PTSD.

P.S. That sheet cutter scares the bejesus out of me. Ouch.

Posted by: Sarah at 12:44 PM on 11 November 2006