Sitting at my desk working those extra revcog hours on a sunday, a holiday for some but not me.
I was forced to trade my office for a generic desk before the pandemic. Be a team player they said. Open office plan. Two drawers. Two tiny monitors. Dim lighting. Groups of four or more desks. The desks are okay. You can raise them to standing position so that your voice carries farther.
The area is mostly empty.. a weird combination of loneliness and distraction. There are a few loud people to whom i have absolutely no work connection.
Zero personal items on my desk unless you count the cables i broke down and bought when i couldnt figure out how to request them. No name plate because frankly it is embarassing to sit there. I NEVER ever bring vendors or customers here. Embarrasing. If you open the two drawers they are junked with keyboards and monitor parts. Again... zero personal items.
After decades here i find i am disconnected. I visualize my last day and know that i won't even need to make eye contact when i leave. Just another day at honeywell.
12 replies (most recent on top)
You better get in line. I'm ahead of you and hope I get it.
@1gkx Anniston roof. Also in Phoenix at a warehouse after a monsoon storm. Sure there are others. Lots of leaks, too. Capital improvements and maintenance aren't priorities.
This is @OP
beyond pity
???
I have no idea what that even means.
@1zcd —I have had four bosses in as many years. NOT ONE has/had any clue where my desk is located. NOT ONE ever stopped by to see me. Last time I saw a boss in person was my 2019 mid year which went great. I always have fine reviews as I don’t cause trouble. Probably hard for them to write my reviews as they don’t know me. All of my managers have been located on my site. Pretty sure I know where their offices are.
@1bfr
Who is beyond pity here? People who are okay with moldy 25-year-old carpeting, broken chairs, unpotable drinking water, junk-filled drawers that they're not allowed to use, poorly maintained restrooms, grime-encrusted medical closets, and hastily erected elbow-to-elbow modular desks must be easy to please and lacking in self-respect. Or they've never worked anywhere else or live like pigs at home.
People stay for many different reasons. Some simply can't get away because there are no other jobs in a place their family is tied to. But they don't have to feel good about working in substandard facilities in the US. Those who can get away will do so once they realize that it's not going to get better, the same as they will not be treated better in other aspects of their job. Sometimes that takes a few years.
Ditto.
Question.. has your boss ever visited you cube? How many people think their boss could find their desk without a map?
Perfectly written. When I left both my offices had old computer bits and boxes I’d never even opened. A couple of photos I printed and that was the extent of personalization. Weird, isn’t it. Haha. Honeywell sucks.
This is either a bad joke, or you are beyond pity. You should not continue working in this environment unless you can find something about the job that satisfies you. Living a sad life is no way to live. There are really good jobs out there for those who are motivated to explore alternatives.
I had never googled honeywell roof collapse before.
How many times has this happened?
You nailed my office experience as well. It would be humorous if it weren't so pathetic. Do you also have a broken chair? The overseas offices I've visited are all higher quality facilities.
Have you ever laughed at a joke and then grown quiet because it is just a bit too close to home? You had me at the drawers full of leftovers from the two monitors. That is exactly what is in my drawer at work.
Not sure where @Op is from but it sounds familiar.
Sadly.. open office was much better than what it replaced at our site.
They could only afford to rennovate 1 floor of one building on this large campus.
Hazmat crews were required to mitigate carpet and hvac saturated in black mold.. carpet which had been laid on top of circa 1958 asbestos floor tile.
Now the area looks sorta bland early 2000 corporate grey.
most of it is just a vast sea of unused cube desks.
The customer areas are still 1980s orange and the cafeteria areas are vending machine only despite the size of the facility. Compared to any facility of our customer's this place is a dump. I feel sorry for the site managers i see giving tours.
Of course....
everything is fine right.. our buildings are great!
Honeywell cares about where their employees work.
not like we should worry about the roof collapsing..
oh wait...
Our site must be one of the last holdouts for cubes and offices. If they bring in open office as you described, then they will see my resignation the same day they announce it. I once turned down a job offer due to their open office. Is always a dealbreaker for me…