Current Events > Another developer quit. My company: *shocked pikachu face*

(+) Yeah! (+)

Just a rant topic, but if you like tales of workplace stupidity then you've come to the right place.

I work for a software development company in a fairly remote location, and we have have one issue that happens over and over again and they just can't quite figure out how to resolve it: developers start the job, they last about a year and then they get fired or they quit. Why?

Well, in this town and the surrounding towns, there are next to no people who have the particular stack of programming skills required to do this job. That doesn't stop them from trying out the locals though. And it turns out your community college comp-sci certificate didn't prepare you for building delphi systems. Those are the ones that get fired.

Their next bet is to try out the people in the neighbouring city, 50 miles away. These people have the skills and the aptitude. But they leave. Why do they leave?

Because our company will not let them work from home. At all.

Let that sink in. A role where we need someone to do nothing but write code in a dark room and speak to no one. A role where the personality profile of most people who like this sort of work is to be as anti social as possible. The most important thing our company expects of these people is that they must be willing to drive 100 miles every day to go to work and be present in the office.

And here's the real kicker: our company - almost somewhat proudly - issues virtually no KPIs. "We don't like to micro manage", my operations director told me proudly. That's why our support team don't get pulled up on call or ticket volume, or why developers don't get questioned on their timesheets.

That is, except for bums on seats. THE MOST important thing is that everyone needs to come into the office, and be here at the office between the hours of 9am and 5.30pm.

Gosh, I'm really wracking my brains guys. can you help me figure out why we can't keep these staff?

I'm surprised they're able to find anyone willing to do a 100 mile commute, fuck that noise. Someone has their head up their ass about WFM.

Darkinsanity1 posted...

I'm surprised they're able to find anyone willing to do a 100 mile commute, fuck that noise. Someone has their head up their ass about WFM.

Kicker number 2: both the director and line manager who dealt with this person play fast and loose with their own working from home time. And when pulled up on it, literally said "that's different, I'm a director."

The ego is incredible

When's the pizza party?

It's a twofold problem. They wont train, or won't be remote. They have to pick one.

I've got an idea to help save the company, but it's a little outside the box. Would they consider hiring a ghost? It seems like the easiest solution here.

Maybe its because Im extra tired (and therefore extra pissy), and I just said this in another topic, but I am so sick and tired of this country and its ass backwards way of thinking towards work culture.

Theres no reason it has to be this way. But the pathetic pieces of shit in control are doing everything in their power to make people miserable for reasons.

Im tired of it.

Im sure they know that but dont want to sacrifice their precious work schedule concept or cause issues across the company as a whole to solve the problem. Not uncommon.

Cant wait for boomers to fully retire

So why are you still there?

rexcrk posted...

Maybe its because Im extra tired (and therefore extra pissy), and I just said this in another topic, but I am so sick and tired of this country and its ass backwards way of thinking towards work culture.

Theres no reason it has to be this way. But the pathetic pieces of shit in control are doing everything in their power to make people miserable for reasons.

Im tired of it.

This is in scotland. I think this is more just backward ass boomer mentality really.

whitelytning posted...

Im sure they know that but dont want to sacrifice their precious work schedule concept or cause issues across the company as a whole to solve the problem. Not uncommon.

I think they're scared of "losing the culture" or scared that everyone will expect to work from home all the time.

Which is ridiculous on both counts.

Mew posted...

So why are you still there?

My job is very cruisy and I get paid quite well.

The company has to justify the reason for all that corporate real estate they are stuck with.

Bring a programmer seems like hell. Sitting down all day at the computer in an office room typing away. Got management on your ass about making deadlines. Or is it not like that?

Ranting__Nord posted...

When's the pizza party?

Idunno but itll be 80 miles from the office

TripleDouble posted...

Bring a programmer seems like hell. Sitting down all day at the computer in an office room typing away. Got management on your ass about making deadlines. Or is it not like that?

There are pros and cons, and like any job the main reason it sucks has nothing to do with the work and everything to do with management and the culture.

In an ideal world, you are given autonomy to do the kind of detail orientated engineering work you like, and you are given decision making control over certain technical or design decisions. And you get to have a workstation that is pretty much custom to you, and few people bother you or call you with client nonsense.

So compare that to a typical office job where you are given a shitty budget Dell computer and you can't even explain your job because it's pretty much just taking phone calls and sending people emails to check if they're happy and updating spreadsheets.

Is the pay good?

Would people working from home be willing to have a paycut to be WFH?

That's kind of like how since I started my job they've hired 5 people and we're still down a person - the ASM verbally abuses everyone, and when brought up to the Store Manager, he just laughs it off and says 'oh that's just how x is/talks'.

Really a true mystery why nobody wants to work here. That and the trash pay.

At my last job, a manager literally told me that if they allowed WFH permanently that they might consider outsourcing the jobs entirely.

So yeah.
pinky0926 posted...

Kicker number 2: both the director and line manager who dealt with this person play fast and loose with their own working from home time. And when pulled up on it, literally said "that's different, I'm a director."

The ego is incredible

Its practically tone deaf to even say that.

100 mile daily commute?
FLAMING_EVIL_HOMER posted...

Is the pay good?

For a while I was getting recruiter emails from some company with an office in bumfuck nowhere 45 minutes outside of the city I live ina city with a booming tech industry and lots of developer jobsthat explicitly didnt allow any work from home

how about fuck no Im not gonna spend 90 minutes every day driving to your damn office

pinky0926 posted...

This is in scotland. I think this is more just backward ass boomer mentality really.

Gotcha. And lol yes so true