3 ms·

I’ve been in the same situation. With two laptops you lose the ability to, say, send email directly to your task system. It’s really easy to say ‘don’t use you

I’ve been in the same situation. With two laptops you lose the ability to, say, send email directly to your task system. It’s really easy to say ‘don’t use your personal stuff at work’, but when work is some locked-down behemoth whose view of productivity software is ‘just use Office’, and you’re really trying to be better at your job, using your own tools can be the only solution. And in my situation, yeah, they didn’t want you bringing things in. I worked in a secure area.

pests 3y ago
Then you need to let the employer see your lack of productivity when you are limited by the locked-down system. Finding solutions to work around the systems, on your own time and dime, only hurts in the long run. They think everything is fine. Nothing will ever get fixed. Voice these concerns.
- comex 3y ago
  Hurts who? If you’ve worked around it then it doesn’t hurt you, at least not too badly. It still hurts the company as a whole. But is that your problem? You might feel a sense of social obligation or solidarity with the company. I usually do. But if I was placed in a dehumanizing situation like that – forced to work inefficiently due to overly rigid policies that assume everyone’s needs are the same – well, whether I worked around it or not, my empathy for the company would be at a nadir whenever I thought about it.
- jen729w 3y ago
  I’m not being snarky, but have you ever worked for a company the size of, say, HP? The tools are the tools. There’s nothing me or my boss or theirs can do about it. They just don’t care. But I care, because if nothing else it’s my reputation. (HP used purely for size comparison. I’ve never worked there.)
  - MichaelZuo 3y ago
    Then why not leave if there's no prospects of change in the near future and if you really care?
    - jen729w 3y ago
      Because I was working with friends, on a project that was interesting, mentally valuable, and in the national interest. Just because the org that hires you is a shambles doesn’t mean you give up and quit. Thank fuck we don’t all think like that. And, again, reputation. I have a stellar reputation because I stick it out, and I care. I’ve worked with people who quit because ‘it’s shit here’. Nobody will ever work with them again.
      - MichaelZuo 3y ago
        Then you clearly care a lot more about these other aspects over 'tools'... So why raise the point in the first place if it's a minor quibble relative to your top priority(s)?
        jen729w 3y ago
        That’s not what I said. Tools enable success. Better tools make the job easier. They make the result better. But having bad tools isn’t a reason to give up. It’s frustrating. But you just have to get on with it.
        MichaelZuo 3y ago
        That is what you said… tools don’t matter enough to make you quit the job, and considering the language used in the previous comment, it seems far enough from your top priority that it likely never will. Hence a minor quibble in relative terms as it has almost no impact on your final decision to stay or leave.

pests 3y ago

Then you need to let the employer see your lack of productivity when you are limited by the locked-down system. Finding solutions to work around the systems, on your own time and dime, only hurts in the long run. They think everything is fine. Nothing will ever get fixed. Voice these concerns.

comex 3y ago
Hurts who? If you’ve worked around it then it doesn’t hurt you, at least not too badly. It still hurts the company as a whole. But is that your problem? You might feel a sense of social obligation or solidarity with the company. I usually do. But if I was placed in a dehumanizing situation like that – forced to work inefficiently due to overly rigid policies that assume everyone’s needs are the same – well, whether I worked around it or not, my empathy for the company would be at a nadir whenever I thought about it.
jen729w 3y ago
I’m not being snarky, but have you ever worked for a company the size of, say, HP? The tools are the tools. There’s nothing me or my boss or theirs can do about it. They just don’t care. But I care, because if nothing else it’s my reputation. (HP used purely for size comparison. I’ve never worked there.)
- MichaelZuo 3y ago
  Then why not leave if there's no prospects of change in the near future and if you really care?
  - jen729w 3y ago
    Because I was working with friends, on a project that was interesting, mentally valuable, and in the national interest. Just because the org that hires you is a shambles doesn’t mean you give up and quit. Thank fuck we don’t all think like that. And, again, reputation. I have a stellar reputation because I stick it out, and I care. I’ve worked with people who quit because ‘it’s shit here’. Nobody will ever work with them again.
    - MichaelZuo 3y ago
      Then you clearly care a lot more about these other aspects over 'tools'... So why raise the point in the first place if it's a minor quibble relative to your top priority(s)?
      - jen729w 3y ago
        That’s not what I said. Tools enable success. Better tools make the job easier. They make the result better. But having bad tools isn’t a reason to give up. It’s frustrating. But you just have to get on with it.
        MichaelZuo 3y ago
        That is what you said… tools don’t matter enough to make you quit the job, and considering the language used in the previous comment, it seems far enough from your top priority that it likely never will. Hence a minor quibble in relative terms as it has almost no impact on your final decision to stay or leave.