Working Conditions

**Wilmslow** · 19 September 2011, 10:16

Working for a courier company in Staffordshire on a hillside. Project was making rubbish American crap system work to save managements arses despite best business sense to can and shell out again on a proper system.

Office was portakabins, by the diesel pump that the trucks filled up with. Summer, so windows open meaning fumes filled the office.

Brewsters was the only lunch option, as the truckers had their lunch in greasy spoons.

Was interesting walking back to the portakabin crossing fast driven trucks after a couple of beers.

Best bunch of people I have worked with.

**MarillionFan** · 19 September 2011, 10:19

Recent one actually(last year).

Arrived on site to be placed in an empty freezing cold atic room in the middle of nowhere. Broken chairs, damp, ancient desktop, crap screen, crap coffee machine, no heating.

I sat down, made myself uncomfortable and within 30 minutes went 'feck this'. Walked downstairs had a squizz round for a non broken chair with back support, found none, wandered into the directors area(a nice part of the building, heaters, latest equipment etc), took a nice comfy chair and a portable heater and took them back to the atic. A few hours later, someone came up to ask where I'd got the chair/heater from and said I had to take them back, to whit I replied. 'You either get me both, I pay for both and invoice you or you can go and buy them for me'.

They stayed. I gave notice a few weeks later.

**alreadypacked** · 19 September 2011, 10:43

Arrived on client site, to be told our office would be in the new building that was not ready yet.
"Until it is you are in the coffee room", fab.

Project staffed up until no more standing room in the coffee room.
"Ok you can move to the new building, but be careful it's not finished yet"
Project team + 200 builders!
No lifts, stair way jammed with rubbish supplies etc.
1 toilet in another part of the building on another floor.
Windows sealed, no A/C installed yet. Summer 30°.
No canteen.

I stayed a week

**doodab** · 19 September 2011, 11:16

I had an OK contract with a FTSE 30 company that took a turn for the worse when 20 phone jockeys were assigned to our room and hotdesking arrangements were put in place. After the 2nd time I ended up perched on a filing cabinet rather than a seat I decided to have a word, the IT directors PA told me "that's tough tulip" so I phoned the PM from the consultancy firm who said "well, we just have to put up with it" to which I answered "actually I don't, I'm on a weeks notice" and went home.

I started working from home after that.

**Support Monkey** · 19 September 2011, 11:36

i have told this story before but know one will remember so going to tell again.

Rocked up at a large financial company in northampton, (Big white building you cannot miss it) no desk or chair alocated so had to stand behind someone else to view the call logging system, saw a couple of support jobs i could do so just went wandering around the building, large open plan with ground floor open to the 3rd floor in the middle, you could not hear yourself think with the noise, when you stood at one end and looked down the building it was row upon row of desks from one end to the other like one of those battery chicken farms, when i go back to my desk the chair was empty so i sat down only to find that if i wanted to get out the fella behind had to pull is chair in and vise versa, that was enough for me.

Worst 4 hours of my life

i also worked for a large building company, i never went to their office for the interview but when i rolled up the first morning it was an impressive new place, walked through the door to a large modern reception, i was then lead through to the offices, the front of the building had been attached to some very old buildings, it was only the reception and the directors offices, the rest was a right s**t hole and the IT department was in a shed not in the main building

I also worked in a portacabin for the NHS, best contract i ever had it was the people that made the difference not the building

**Halo Jones** · 19 September 2011, 12:33

What can I say: I work on a building site

But to be honest currently we have nice new top of the line portacabins with full ICT, HVAC & I have a chair with full lumbar support, laptop & keyboard support & there is a site canteen & Free Friday Fry Ups

Just lacking any decent eye candy

**alreadypacked** · 19 September 2011, 12:35

Originally posted by Halo Jones View Post

What can I say: I work on a building site

But to be honest currently we have nice new top of the line portacabins with full ICT, HVAC & I have a chair with full lumbar support, laptop & keyboard support & there is a site canteen & Free Friday Fry Ups

Just lacking any decent eye candy

You work in IT.

HTH

**filthy1980** · 19 September 2011, 12:38

office in north london for public sector client, 4 storey building that should have been condemed years ago, 6 of us based in an office that could hold no more then four, not so bad but we also had to stock boxes of PC's, servers & switches when deliveries arrived as there was no other storage,

it was like building a den out of cardboard boxes when you were a kid

only saving grace was the window looked out onto the Tesco's car park where you could spot plenty of footballers' wannabe wives

(although when you followed them they did walk into the sexual health clinic which was a little off putting)

**d000hg** · 19 September 2011, 12:45

Originally posted by MarillionFan View Post

an empty freezing cold atic room in the middle of nowhere. Broken chairs, damp, ancient desktop, crap screen, crap coffee machine, no heating.

No wonder your shop didn't last

Working Conditions