Not getting the right equipment for your job

Just curious if anyone ever ran into this.

I started a new gig and after countless request I am still rocking a 14.5 inch laptop monitor. The problem is my neck is starting to hurt (years of computing I suppose) and now they are starting to load me up with some deliverables, but still the laptop. I followed up with management even going one level up.

Still nothing, the laptop.

Anyone ever run into something like this, where you are working below minimum standard (in regards to equipment)?

This is big deal to me, I go to an upper cervical specialist to treat my C1/C2 which has been a MAJOR blessing! But it's all for nothing if I have to hunch over a laptop like some salesman all day..........

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scaredoftests

Talk with your boss.

DatabaseHead

Several times and their boss as well........

Ertaz

DatabaseHead wrote: »

Several times and their boss as well........

Dude, do you have the work space to have an external monitor, mouse and keyboard?

I recommend this stand:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006JG9RQ2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Then get yourself a few 1440P IPS monitors with vesa mounting. It's some $ out of pocket, but long term it will let you do the job. Sometimes people can't appreciate what's not happening to them.

gespenstern

Yeah, that's subpar. Typical IT standard in the US now is 2 at least 19" LCDs, laptop + docking or a desktop.

DatabaseHead

I would really hate to spend money out of my own pocket. I am temped to bring in a monitor from home though. I have a 24 inch LG I am not using at the moment.

blatini

While I generally think people here wildly over recommend finding a new job this definitely warrants it. If you work in IT and are expected to work off of just a laptop - have spoken to your boss and his boss, I would get the **** out of there ASAP. I wouldn't want to imagine what other requests would be like. Can we upgrade the database server? Possibly, let me send my carrier pigeon to get a quote

Priston

Talk to your manager one more time, make sure they are aware of your health issues, get a yes or no answer out of them.

If they don't provide you with reasonable accommodations, you could try HR or workplace resources. Since your going to a specialist, I see no reason for them to not make any accommodations for you.

Edit: Of course if they don't take you seriously, just start looking for a new job. If your manager can't provide you with the resources you need to succeed. Your not going to succeed.

blatini

Priston wrote: »

Talk to your manager one more time, make sure they are aware of your health issues, get a yes or no answer out of them.

If they don't provide you with reasonable accommodations, go to HR. Since your going to a specialist, I see no reason for them to not make any accommodations for you.

If you have to go to HR with a doctors note to get your boss to do something at a new job your time there is about as close to done as it can be while still working there.

Ertaz

blatini wrote: »

If you have to go to HR with a doctors note to get your boss to do something at a new job your time there is about as close to done as it can be while still working there.

Yeah, but this is not some run-of-the-mill IT support Job. OP is a database Ninja making major bankroll.

He can go light on his tee times and put that $ into a couple of nice monitors and a stand.

wd40

Maybe they don't have the budget for it (understanding IT Finance is more difficult than understanding IT especially in large organizations), 1000$ for a new laptop is not much but from a management point view if they let you have one everybody will want a new one.

I think you need to understand why they are doing this before thinking about escalating the issue further.

keenon

get a medical exception or as suggested purchase your own external monitors from someone selling some ( put your name on them when you before you take them into the office)

p@r0tuXus

Ertaz wrote: »

Dude, do you have the work space to have an external monitor, mouse and keyboard?

I recommend this stand:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006JG9RQ2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I second this stand! I have one myself, with a curved monitor in the middle and two flat ones on the sides. It's so nice, gives you lots of space underneath, and it works good with 27" monitors too!

jibtech

keenon wrote: »

get a medical exception or as suggested purchase your own external monitors from someone selling some ( put your name on them when you before you take them into the office)

Sorry for the sidetrack, but keenon's signature is missing a vital second part:

Become the stainless steel sharp knife in a drawer full of rusty spoons. But, first make sure they aren't serving soup.

Okay, back to the regularly scheduled program. For me, bring in the extra monitor you already have. I understand that the squeaky wheel gets the grease, but the tallest nail often gets hammered first.

EagerDinosaur

I've successfully acquired external monitors (I now have 3) using productivity arguments. Monitors are very cheap compared with daily pay rates. If you're the sort of person who works more quickly with more pixels (not everyone is) then your employer is unwise not to accomodate you.

I can think of a couple of reasons why they won't give you an external monitor:
- The average person in the company uses their computer for little more than emails, and only works on one task at a time. They don't have procedures in place for dealing with people who don't work like that. What if everyone wants one?
- They're worried about you getting injuries by trying to use multiple monitors at once. That doesn't appear to be the situation in your case, and it sounds like your laptop is likely to cause injuries.

Are you working on a project that has its own budget, that could afford to buy you one just for the project?

Bringing in your own monitor is slightly risky (electrical testing issues, what happens when you want it back?) but it might guilt them into buying you one.

cyberguypr

Bringing stuff from home or buying and having it delivered to the office is a big no-no in most places I've worked. Always make sure to check internal policies before you show up with stuff.

scaredoftests

Big no-no where I am. I'd talk with your boss AGAIN. Ask about tele-commuting if your equipment issues are not addressed.

yoba222

Prop it up on ugly cardboard boxes to at least get the screen eye-level and bring in an $8 keyboard/mouse for the time being.

mbarrett

Sounds like an HR issue. If you have done all that you can do & there are still issues with your interface, it should fall on the company to provide you with a safe & healthy workspace. Unfortunately, if they don't listen it may be easier to move on to other opportunities, rather than struggle to get what you need. Don't lose sleep over it IMO, just get on with your life.

DatabaseHead

Yeah it's really strange........

My manager just keep trucking, but no equipment.......

I'm just moving slow and not killing myself. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise.

Ertaz

p@r0tuXus wrote: »

I second this stand! I have one myself, with a curved monitor in the middle and two flat ones on the sides. It's so nice, gives you lots of space underneath, and it works good with 27" monitors too!

I have one at work and now I want one at home. I want to put two 32" IPS 1440P Freesync monitors on it though.

stryder144

I am pretty sure that HR doesn't want to violate the ADA. Reasonable accommodations would include either bigger screens or a stand to prop the computer up on.

NavyMooseCCNA

It took an act of G-d to get a network toner...and they got the cheapest POS on the market when I was finally given permission to get one.

LeBroke

My previous company I had to use my personal laptop for about 4 months until the company deigned me with buying an office computer. It didn't have an SSD in it, so after about 5 more months, I ended up using my personal laptop again. I also brought in a monitor from home because the only spare one they had was, while a decent 24", could only connect via VGA (not even DVI), and would blur and smudge if you moved anything.

At my current gig? Rocking a 15" MBP with maxed out specs, they were super apologetic they only had a single monitor set up on my desk on day 1 (i.e. when I didn't even get a chance to turn on my computer), and I can honestly get as many monitors as I can physically connect. And got a company iPhone 6s after complaining that Slack stopped working on my old 5C.

...We only buy $5 dollar store mice, though.

dhay13

Do you have an EHS dept? My son is a Safety Management graduate and studied ergonomics (working in Regulatory Compliance now). I would think going to EH&S with this would at least get their attention. A note from the doctor should be all they would need if they are resistant.

keenon

jibtech wrote: »

Sorry for the sidetrack, but keenon's signature is missing a vital second part:

Okay, back to the regularly scheduled program. For me, bring in the extra monitor you already have. I understand that the squeaky wheel gets the grease, but the tallest nail often gets hammered first.

unfortunately spoons are not needed for battle, only the knifes

purchase your known and bring it in, it's amazing how buying your own will make them take notice. I had to do that once and from that point on employee requests were taken seriously

jibtech

keenon wrote: »

unfortunately spoons are not needed for battle, only the knifes

Just sayin'. Context matters.

volfkhat

I understand it's a matter of principle.... but it's not worth putting a strain on your body.

Get the Stand, mouse & keyboard, and a couple of REALLY slick monitors.

Mgmt will definitely GET the message...

DatabaseHead

Bosses Boss got all cock mode on me end of business, then followed up with did I get deliverable completed. In a very polite way I ripped him and her a new one. I just couldn't take it anymore.

It didn't help I had an interview today for another company. Market is hot, 0 reason to deal with this.

If I get this job I'll give a one day notice, badge, key and 14.5 laptop sitting on my desk with an email to HR with all my previous emails attached. Oh and a nice note explaining that I will be no longer be an employee of the company.

Market it too hot to deal with this trash........

Think of it as an annulment.

thomas_

I once worked for a really crappy, small company as a field tech. It seemed like their only source of work came from online marketplaces where companies would post job orders. They would assign me all sorts of job orders without having any of the proper equipment.

We're talking about a work order to mount a TV, but they didn't have a drill. Thankfully they gave me the work order the night before and my girlfriend had a crappy Black and Decker drill that had just enough to juice to drill the amount of holes I needed.

I also enjoyed waiting at a job site for an extra 2-3 hours waiting for the owner to bring a ladder that was tall enough to be able to mount an access point, after I had told him I needed a ladder taller than the 6' one he had. He literally drove to a job site another tech was working at and then drove the two hours to the job site I was at. The only thing that makes sense to me is that he didn't care how much time we spent on site because it was an hourly thing.

A work order would specify that CAT5e or CAT6a needed to be ran, he would buy neither and go with CCA. He would then tell me that the reason the wire would break on the non-cutting side of the punch down was because I was pushing down too hard. Uh no, the wire is breaking because you bought copper clad aluminum instead of proper CAT5e or CAT6A cabling. I don't know if he even knew there was a difference or if he was just too cheap to care.

Owner would buy crappy keystone jacks that wouldn't punch down properly. Instead of being forced into the insulation displacement contacts the cable would just hook over the top of the contact. He probably paid more money having us test, troubleshoot, locate, and redo the punchdowns and replace the keystones than it would have cost to buy some what decent keystone jacks.

Major national retail store was doing remodels/renovations. We would have to rip good cabling out and then run the crappy CCA cabling that the owner provided.

Work order would state that structured cabling would be done in accordance with national, state, and local standards. I actually bought the $300 BICSI book, so I would actually have an idea of what to do. Instead of providing J-hooks to hang the cables on, he would tell me there wasn't enough money in the work order and I should just throw the cables on top of the ceiling tiles and call it a day.

Apartment complex was having their leasing office remodeled and had a temporary trailer in the parking lot. They needed the phone and data lines extended into the trailer. Most of the outdoor rated conduit was already ran, but still needed a few pieces to complete the connection into the trailer and the leasing office building. I tell him I need 1" outdoor rated conduit, he brings me 3/4" PVC piping. I can't complete the work order that day, so I have to return the next day which is a Saturday. The next morning he has bought 1" PVC piping. If he had gone down the electrical aisle at Home Depot he would have seen that the outdoor rated conduit was the exact same price as the PVC piping he purchased.

All told I spent about $2-$3k on tools in the 6 or so months I worked there, just so I wouldn't look like an idiot showing up to a job site without the proper equipment to do the work order. I died quite a bit on the inside working there.

LeBroke

I died a little inside just reading this.