You Know What Really Grinds My Gears? Now with 3x more gears...

[surferguy]

Is staying home with your kids an option? Im speaking from a privileged perspective as my partner does well allowing me to stay home. Would it be possible for you to make that work?

Every bit of money I was going to make was going to go to daycare so we decided that I’d assume the domestic role.

[bagofpucks]

I hear and feel the battle for sure. We’re in a fortunate situation where I make more, but also due to my role have more flexibility than my wife. We were both lucky to get into a decent job type prior to kids, but we have both really put the brakes on our careers until both kids are in school. I just don’t think it would be fair to myself or my family to try and climb the corporate ladder at the moment and there are definitely days I’m tired and not as sharp at work as I used to be. It was a few years ago, but our whole family got covid during a very important period at work and it was super stressful as some important deliverables either didn’t get done or were not done up to a standard I’d feel comfortable with. But yah, we were dealing with two sick kids and my wife and I were both really sick as well, so what the hell can ya do!

I have no clue how single parents do it. Juggling the logistics with two adults is a massive gong show, I can’t imagine trying to manage it all with one.

[Hockeyguy15]

I think you just need to make peace with it, and juggle schedules where you can. I WFH Monday and Friday, my wife is WFH Tuesday/Thursday and sometimes Wednesday. Whoever is in the office drops off, WFH picks up.

When I'm in the office I get to work later in the morning that I normally would since daycare opens at 6:30, but what can you do? I leave at 4:15 and go home so I can get some family time in. After bed time I log back in and get caught up if needed. My wife does the same if she has anything she needs to get done.

If there is anything schedule/work wise that is flexible you gotta explore it.

[Raekwon]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

I have been work from home since it was announced in the pandemic.

April 2022 I started a new job. I am based out of Toronto.

I work from home

We don't have a physical office in Calgary

Sometimes I wish we did.

Until you do and then you realize its annoying and unproductive and the people you work with are the loudest, dirtiest, whiniest people in the world. We already caught a seat pisser and there is nothing you can do about it, people are nasty. Not only are we returning x/days per week (besides us "essentials" 5 days/week) we are expanding office space and spending even more money to get people back for collaboration . . . We got sold a load of crap the last few years about increases being low due to perks from working from home and now i'm paying $30/day for parking on top of gas and other expenses. Sure having a space to collaborate every month or so is great but you can't tell me they are spending all of this money on RTO to not make it fulltime back in office in the future.

/rant

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Raekwon

Until you do and then you realize its annoying and unproductive and the people you work with are the loudest, dirtiest, whiniest people in the world. We already caught a seat pisser and there is nothing you can do about it, people are nasty. Not only are we returning x/days per week (besides us "essentials" 5 days/week) we are expanding office space and spending even more money to get people back for collaboration . . . We got sold a load of crap the last few years about increases being low due to perks from working from home and now i'm paying $30/day for parking on top of gas and other expenses. Sure having a space to collaborate every month or so is great but you can't tell me they are spending all of this money on RTO to not make it fulltime back in office in the future.

/rant

what insurance company do you work for?

[puffnstuff]

I worked from home before it was cool, since 2012 or so.
I will never ever work in an office again.

[Raekwon]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

what insurance company do you work for?

I assume they all got together and made these changes at the same time to avoid people jumping ship.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Raekwon

I assume they all got together and made these changes at the same time to avoid people jumping ship.

I ####ing love the Insurance Industry cuz the Insurance Industry loves ####ing me.

Also when I worked in the office we had a gut that wrapped the toilet in #### tickets when he went poopoo, then wouldn't clean it off.

I figured out who it was, a much hated Vice President.

[Raekwon]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

I ####ing love the Insurance Industry cuz the Insurance Industry loves ####ing me.

Also when I worked in the office we had a gut that wrapped the toilet in #### tickets when he went poopoo, then wouldn't clean it off.

I figured out who it was, a much hated Vice President.

This is an exact conversation I had on Friday with the guy beside me, I just told him I think I'm talking to him online, lol. Maybe the multiverse is just different offices, they are all the same with minor differences.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Raekwon

This is an exact conversation I had on Friday with the guy beside me, I just told him I think I'm talking to him online, lol. Maybe the multiverse is just different offices, they are all the same with minor differences.

I don't work for an insurer anymore, but it is good to know it hasn't changed......

[mrkajz44]

Originally Posted by 81MC

So, I’m learning that the only way two parents working households work is that it doesn’t. There’s no ####ing way to meet the demands of parenting and of a half-decent career that I can see.

All I heard for years was I need to make more money. Finally get the more money job which comes with way more responsibility and wouldn’t you know it, doesn’t mean #### how important it is because my kids gotta get dropped off and picked up. And it’s so goddamn aggravating having a partner who makes more because you know damn well whose schedule gets trumped.

It’s brutal man. Like, the most important week that probably makes or breaks my career trajectory and does anyone give a ####? No, because we sure as hell can’t afford to lose her income if she can’t meet her demands.

Guess I could find a 12hr daycare and spend ALL the money and then some to lose all the time with my kid.

Sometimes man I could just cry. How the #### do you guys do it?

I obviously know nothing really of your situation, but if this week was so important and your spouse / partner can't be flexible then you have some issues. It's possible they didn't understand how important the week was, but if they did and were not being flexible I feel like that's something that needs to be discussed and resolved. It's hard to start, but once you can have an open discussion about stuff like this, things will likely get much better.

[topfiverecords]

Some annoying Rogers guy has come to my door three times today. I’d answer my door for some bible thumper long before I’d open it for someone from that garbage company.

I hope he spent the last 8 hours circling the neighbourhood without anyone answering.

[habernac]

Things like “seat pissers” make me never want to be in an office again. We had one in a past office who kept flushing the newspaper down the toilet. Plumber had to come in and dismantle everything. If this flusher is you, go kill yourself.

[Wormius]

People who leave their windshield wipers going at full speed when it has stopped raining. It doesn’t really directly affect me, but it forces me to imagine that dry rubber screeching sound across the glass. *shudder*

[gallione11]

I had a guy that did ... something daily in the work bathroom. I never saw it in person, but I heard it sometimes when I was in a stall. He'd have the sink water running for minutes at a time and when I came out after he had left, the counters and mirrors were full of water. Like, are you taking a sink bath or something every morning at 10am?

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by 81MC

So, I’m learning that the only way two parents working households work is that it doesn’t. There’s no ####ing way to meet the demands of parenting and of a half-decent career that I can see.

All I heard for years was I need to make more money. Finally get the more money job which comes with way more responsibility and wouldn’t you know it, doesn’t mean #### how important it is because my kids gotta get dropped off and picked up. And it’s so goddamn aggravating having a partner who makes more because you know damn well whose schedule gets trumped.

It’s brutal man. Like, the most important week that probably makes or breaks my career trajectory and does anyone give a ####? No, because we sure as hell can’t afford to lose her income if she can’t meet her demands.

Guess I could find a 12hr daycare and spend ALL the money and then some to lose all the time with my kid.

Sometimes man I could just cry. How the #### do you guys do it?

Sorry to hear that. My point of view won't really help in this case but the wife controls the house unfortunately. What she wants, she gets. SHE defines the demands of parenting. How do we make it work with two kids? I'm flexible.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Wormius

People who leave their windshield wipers going at full speed when it has stopped raining. It doesn’t really directly affect me, but it forces me to imagine that dry rubber screeching sound across the glass. *shudder*

People have vehicles without automatic wipers

*shudder*

[pseudoreality]

Originally Posted by 81MC

So, I’m learning that the only way two parents working households work is that it doesn’t. There’s no ####ing way to meet the demands of parenting and of a half-decent career that I can see.

All I heard for years was I need to make more money. Finally get the more money job which comes with way more responsibility and wouldn’t you know it, doesn’t mean #### how important it is because my kids gotta get dropped off and picked up. And it’s so goddamn aggravating having a partner who makes more because you know damn well whose schedule gets trumped.

It’s brutal man. Like, the most important week that probably makes or breaks my career trajectory and does anyone give a ####? No, because we sure as hell can’t afford to lose her income if she can’t meet her demands.

Guess I could find a 12hr daycare and spend ALL the money and then some to lose all the time with my kid.

Sometimes man I could just cry. How the #### do you guys do it?

I feel you. I moved to senior management in the summer of 2021. At first it wasn't too bad, but then I quickly got moved to super high stress position. The hours are nuts with middle of the night calls. Its not just the hours, but the stress that is difficult to come down from. However, you get home and you got four hours of family duty to do. My wife also has a very stressful job.

I often think about demoting myself, but with inflation and an expensive house, its tough to take the financial hit. The thing that keeps me going is a deferred leave program we are signed up for. We've both been at 80% pay for the last three years, and in one year we get a year off at 80% pay. My family is going to move to France for a year and a lot of people think we're never coming back.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

People have vehicles without automatic wipers

*shudder*

I would hate that, and hope it’s a feature that could be disabled in a new car.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Wormius

I would hate that, and hope it’s a feature that could be disabled in a new car.

Found the guy without auto wipers.

I bet you also enjoy turning your lights on and off

cranking you window down then up