Insubordination

To begin this blog I need to explain some work terms.

Glossary (According to Bryan)

Direct time – Time that our time standard thinks we’re doing our job. I’m supposed to be on this pretty much all the time.

Indirect time – Time that our time standard doesn’t recognise.  This is  stuff the bosses make us do that computer doesn’t know what to do with … aka honey do’s or wasting my time.

Time standard – Since I’ve used this twice already I thought I should explain. This is the amount of time I’m given to complete a task, the computers at work have a set amount of time given to each task. We are graded on how fast we go. If I go fast enough I get a 100%.

Insubordination-  The five dollar word they put on your termination papers for refusing to do the work assigned to you.

 Now the story

Yesterday one of my bosses ( I’ll call him Little Boss) at work told me to put myself on indirect time and clean up some random product that had accumulated.  When I get assignments like this I do them as quickly so I can and get back to my real job. This one took about a half an hour. I went back to my job and continued on with my day. Later in the afternoon my supervisor’s boss ( I’ll call him Big Boss) pages myself and two of my coworkers.

We all arrive at the spot where Big Boss is and he, in an angry tone asks us what  we were doing while on indirect time. I explained what I was doing and apparently the other guys were also told by Little Boss to do unimportant work . He was basically upset that we did what we were told to do. Big Boss told us angrily that next time Little Boss tells us to do stuff like that to tell him ” No and get a janitor to do the job”. The janitors are always on indirect time. Makes sense that Big Boss wants them to do it because he only has a certain amount of people working and if  we’re  not doing the  job we’re supposed to be doing  it slows down our production causing overtime.

So let me sum up what Big Boss said in my own words. Tell little Boss no and be insubordinate to him or do what Little Boss says to do and be insubordinate to Big Boss. I’m pretty much screwed either way.

Today Little Boss comes up to me with a hand full of paperwork and is getting ready to tell me to go to indirect time. I, as politely as I can, explain my situation to him . I said, ” I can’t tell you no, but your boss told me yesterday that I’m supposed to, and tell you to get a janitor to do it. But I’m NOT telling you no, I can’t do that.” I was telling him that if I did his work he was going to be in trouble , subliminally. He accepted that and left me alone. Basically I was insubordinate to avoid being insubordinate.

So Big Boss never told him to not use us in that way and relied on us to tell him. Since I’m now over my supervisor maybe I should ask for a raise!

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