Since I have worked at my place of employment I have had to compile and send a monthly report to our client. Every single month I send an email to everyone who is supposed to update our shared Excel spreadsheet reminding them to submit their data by Noon on whatever day at the end of the month. The email is always sent days, if not a whole week, in advance.
The deadline for September’s report was Noon on Friday the 26th. That was last week. Today at 2pm I get an email from a co-worker stating “Oh I noticed October’s report the only one available and there isn’t a September one in the archive yet so I can’t update”.
It’s a good thing I’m separated by miles instead of steps from this person. She’s worked here for a few months less than I have so for her entire tenure this report has come due. I have talked until I’m blue in the face, developed handouts, talked at staff meetings, bitched and moaned and done everything I can think of short of going to each person with a loaded gun pointed at their heads to get people to fill out the spreadsheet. I could give a rat’s ass about the report but I’m shackled with this “other duties as assigned” task and so by God I’m going to do it and do it well.
So when I get an email an entire day after the report was due and then the email tells me she was going to update an archived report, I nearly blew out an artery. Any wonder why I waffle betweeen hating my job and hating the people I work with? Fill out the spreadsheet because when you don’t you make my job harder than it needs to be and when you don’t do that simple thing for me it makes me a)want to kill you b)want to never help you again (and you freaking ask me all the time for help).
I must either start drinking at work or learn some meditation.
I can feel your frustration. Hopefully you are home and relaxing with a nice stiff drink right about now.