Not happy with current job

baseball1988

January 2012: I went to another company and everything is amazing so far.

The only thing I dislike is:

My department have this norm that we shouldn't be requesting for help. If I am not sure on how to approach the project, then I will need to figure it out on my own by reading documents and such.

I started the job on the same day with another coworker. My manager always assign my coworker very easy tasks. Whereas, I am faced with medium-to-complex tasks. I do like challenge but the norm is to "figure things out myself" without assistance or without talking to anyone. The problem is that sometimes I think I am doing it right but I could be wrong. Other colleagues couldn't help much because they are working on a different project. It's hard for them to jump in and give suggestions.

I know 3 months of probation is over but do you think I should be proficient dealing with medium to complex tasks within 6-7 months? It's a great job but sometimes I just want to talk to someone face-to-face to get the answer than spend 7 hours to figure out something. Today, I managed to figure out something which took the whole day. But, asking someone could have solved my issue within 1 hour. What do you think? I'm getting a bit bored of the job. Advice?

kgb

Doesn't sound like somewhere I'd like to work. They discourage communication? ??: Granted, I'm not in the help/IT realm, but the software development side of things and that just sounds crazy to me.

ChooseLife

baseball1988 wrote: »

If I am not sure on how to approach the project, then I will need to figure it out on my own by reading documents and such.
...
I do like challenge but the norm is to "figure things out myself" without assistance or without talking to anyone.

Why do you feel it is that way? Has someone stated it openly that you should be figuring things out on your own, or is it what you are observing? I have worked at places where most people knew their job and did not communicate much with one another, whereas a new person would always have a million of queries - this was perfectly normal, but some newbies felt somewhat awkward breaking the silence in the room...

The best way to resolve this is by talking to your manager. State that you are not trying to **** your workload onto others, but would rather like to exchange ideas, have another set of eyes for critical parts, or simply save time by querying the "mental knowledgebase" of the team. I cannot imagine a manager who would be opposed to any of those three reasons.

QHalo

If you're getting medium-to-complex tasks then perhaps your manager thinks you have the ability to accomplish those tasks. That's a good thing to have that confidence from a manager. However, discouraging healthy teamwork and communication doesn't sound very good. I can't think of any roles that don't involve communicating with other areas or even teammates. That seems silly to me, especially when you're new.

Akaricloud

Like ChooseLife said, walking into an established company where everyone already has their set roles down can be a bit difficult for a new employee. So what if it isn't the norm to get assistance from others? -You don't have to be like everybody else; stand up, be different and get some communication going in your department. If you find that management is really against that idea then get out of there as quick as you can.

Just like every other bad situation, there are really only two good routes:
1. Take action to create change
or
2. Accept the things you cannot change

w00t

That is really dumb on their part. If you ask some questions and get it done quicker and that means you can start on another project and get more work done...

N2IT

Wow that sounds like a bizarre place to work. You have been there long enough to know the culture and know if you like it or not. Maybe start to look for another job?

jamesleecoleman

I had a job in a very similar situation. I HATED IT so much. One main difference is that people didn't document how things were working or if they did make documents then I couldn't get access to them from the people that should have had access to the documentation.

There are two ways that this situation can be looked at. The good part is that you're learning how to research better and you can work on things how you want to. The bad part is the stress that it can bring from not having the support that you need. I would highly suggest that you talk to your manager first and if things don't change, look for a different job.

MrBishop

Very odd indeed! Most companies make it a point to encourage communication between employees. In most environments they'll have implemented a instant chat program to look-up someone to see if they're available or online to contact. I don't think I would like working in a place that discourages communicating. I wonder if this is a company policy or your managers policy.

the_Grinch

Have you attempted to ask someone a question? Sometimes you have to test the waters a little bit....unless there is some written policy that says do not ask questions.

baseball1988

kgb wrote: »

Doesn't sound like somewhere I'd like to work. They discourage communication? Granted, I'm not in the help/IT realm, but the software development side of things and that just sounds crazy to me.

I work in software development as well. Nobody gets out of their desk unless they need to go to the washroom.

ChooseLife wrote: »

Why do you feel it is that way? Has someone stated it openly that you should be figuring things out on your own, or is it what you are observing? I have worked at places where most people knew their job and did not communicate much with one another, whereas a new person would always have a million of queries - this was perfectly normal, but some newbies felt somewhat awkward breaking the silence in the room...

The best way to resolve this is by talking to your manager. State that you are not trying to **** your workload onto others, but would rather like to exchange ideas, have another set of eyes for critical parts, or simply save time by querying the "mental knowledgebase" of the team. I cannot imagine a manager who would be opposed to any of those three reasons.

I'm not sure why I feel this way. Sometimes I prefer to talk to someone every 3-4 hours because I need to refresh my mind. I get up and sometimes ask the person next to me "how's it going?". My colleagues response is "good" then I'm back to my work.

It's what I am observing so far. My manager gave some attitude to my colleague for asking a simple question.

QHalo wrote: »

If you're getting medium-to-complex tasks then perhaps your manager thinks you have the ability to accomplish those tasks. That's a good thing to have that confidence from a manager. However, discouraging healthy teamwork and communication doesn't sound very good. I can't think of any roles that don't involve communicating with other areas or even teammates. That seems silly to me, especially when you're new.

I guess you are right. My manager does have confidence in me. But, I'm not confident in myself sometimes. I work in software development . Sometimes if I point out errors in the application for the developer (my co-worker), they would give me attitude because they don't want more work. But, it's my job.

Akaricloud wrote: »

Like ChooseLife said, walking into an established company where everyone already has their set roles down can be a bit difficult for a new employee. So what if it isn't the norm to get assistance from others? -You don't have to be like everybody else; stand up, be different and get some communication going in your department. If you find that management is really against that idea then get out of there as quick as you can.

Just like every other bad situation, there are really only two good routes:
1. Take action to create change
or
2. Accept the things you cannot change

Thanks for the advice.

w00t wrote: »

That is really dumb on their part. If you ask some questions and get it done quicker and that means you can start on another project and get more work done...

My department isn't too busy. They give us days or weeks to complete projects. They give a lot of time to investigate on my own. Sometimes the issues are way too complex for a newbie like me to figure out. Last month, I spent one week on the issue and I figured it out. Great relief but if I knew what I was doing, I could have accomplished it in a few hours.

N2IT wrote: »

Wow that sounds like a bizarre place to work. You have been there long enough to know the culture and know if you like it or not. Maybe start to look for another job?

I might stay for a bit longer. It's a good job and very secure. The job market isn't too stable right now. High unemployment and companies laying off employees elsewhere. I'll give it some time and decide later.

jamesleecoleman wrote: »

I had a job in a very similar situation. I HATED IT so much. One main difference is that people didn't document how things were working or if they did make documents then I couldn't get access to them from the people that should have had access to the documentation.

There are two ways that this situation can be looked at. The good part is that you're learning how to research better and you can work on things how you want to. The bad part is the stress that it can bring from not having the support that you need. I would highly suggest that you talk to your manager first and if things don't change, look for a different job.

My previous job was like that. Some colleagues don't document it properly and causes confusion for the rest of the team. Yeah, you are right. My manager lets me do anything I want but I don't get much help.

MrBishop wrote: »

Very odd indeed! Most companies make it a point to encourage communication between employees. In most environments they'll have implemented a instant chat program to look-up someone to see if they're available or online to contact. I don't think I would like working in a place that discourages communicating. I wonder if this is a company policy or your managers policy.

It's not a policy. My department consist of highly skilled people. They know what they are doing except me and a few colleagues (less than 2 years of industry experience).

the_Grinch wrote: »

Have you attempted to ask someone a question? Sometimes you have to test the waters a little bit....unless there is some written policy that says do not ask questions.

No policy in place. Other departments are very outgoing and they talk a lot. I overheard a conversation from other employees walking across my department saying "It's like a doctor's office down here". The other time a lady from another department came to me and my new colleague "do you ever talk?"...like smiling at us.

MrBishop

Well, from what others are saying in the company; it looks like your boss has serious insecurities or something! I just don't get the no communication aspect of a working environment! That ******* kills office moral and don't help team building. I really think you should be looking for a transfer out of this department pronto!