Toxic situation in big corp workplace [closed]

Question

TL;DR What to do when your colleague get all the projects because he/she's careless of cumbersome task/change management, so therefore can deliver faster and you are left with less important non-development projects/tasks (the only possible given missing test system where to freely play without going for the process for every comma in the code), given that management also do not care because they are profiting from this situation? Doing the same is not really possible given the severe consequences by getting caught violating policies stated by our VP.

Answer 1

You have some options, none of which are great.

Option 1: be a "jobsworth." When someone asks you to do something, refuse. "I won't be able to deploy that change because we don't have a test system in place and I am not allowed to deploy things unless they go to the non-existent test system first. Sorry." When they say that your colleague deploys things, "yes, because he is senior he won't be disciplined for bypassing the new processes, but I can't do that. I dislike this situation a lot, but I don't know what else to do." This is unlikely to lead to a good performance review, and probably will shift the work you like to your colleague, leaving you doing housekeeping and documentation that you don't like and that nobody appears to value. As a short term mini-strike technique it might cause some action, but perhaps not the action you want. (You should be really clear what action you want before choosing this option.)

Option 2: be like your colleague and ignore the alleged processes. Optionally, ask for backup from those who are asking for things to be done. "I would love to do that for you. Thing is, we're supposed to run everything through a test server first and they won't give us one. Which means technically we can't do anything. If you could initial this Process Exception Form I can proceed using our old process as we've always done." [The form? Something you made up yourself and just keep in your desk in case you get in trouble later for not following process. It might or might not help.]

Option 3: get smarter about your process. A good quality process is not a source of "staggering overhead." It actually saves time in the long run, because you know where to find things, you know what things do, things don't blow up in production so often, and so on. If there are parts of this new process that actually protect and help you, do them as you go and encourage your colleague to do the same. Don't spend days and weeks writing documentation no-one will ever read, but don't assume all process is dumb. When you're complying with at least some of it, your opinions about the useless parts will have more weight. Demanding your manager gives you a test server so you can follow that part of the process also belongs in this option. Try to make at least part of the process useful, in other words.

Option 4: work up to the VP to explain why the process is either overall stupid, or at least not applicable to your setup. (Or arrange to have a real test system.) Your manager won't appreciate being gone around, yet this may be what you have to do.

Option 5: find a place to work that values your particular mix of skills and either has a sensible quality process or, if it's actually not possible to have one for your work [though I doubt that], exempts your work from it. Ensure the place is consistent: insisting everything be deployed to a test server first and then refusing to provide a test server is a great example of inconsistency you want to avoid.

I think in theory you could try each of these options in turn, and perhaps even do some of them in parallel.

Answer 2

This is pretty common. It really is more important that something be done right that done fast. You will need to start setting expectations that doing X is going to take Y amount of time based on the level of actual effort, which includes all the documentation, testing etc.

You are the victim of nobody taking responsibility. This is pretty common and your co-worker is continuing to not take responsibility. So management will keep putting more and more onerous requirements in place until someone takes responsibility and says, hey, we messed up, we are going to do this to address it.

The beatings will continue until morale improves does kind of apply here and your co-worker is apparently a glutton for punishment.

Answer 3

To me it looks like your team is the victim of a power struggle within the company. Someone tries to use your team's failure to push their procedures and agenda company-wide.

Large companies are heartless monsters with pretty HR faces in front and big-ass dinosaurs waiting patiently to gnaw on your bones in the back yard. You got relegated to the back yard. I'm not saying your senior colleague has the right idea, just that he probably knows a bit more than you do about deep company culture and how such power struggles are handled within the company.

You can only be proactive up to a certain point. And you're well past that. Time to CYA (cover your ass). Document as per the established process even if it means you take longer to do a job. Even if it means you block people. You are in Germany, you follow procedure.

Meanwhile start writing emails. To your direct manager first. Put in writing everything you think is wrong with the current procedure, ask for improvements.

If your senior colleague pressures you into not following procedure, tell him you value his friendship, but a job is a terrible thing to waste. He may not care about getting fired, but apparently you do.

If emails don't work, ask for one on one time with your manager. Make sure the meeting is formal and you take the minutes. Make sure the minutes list your grievances about the process.

If meetings don't work, depending on company culture, you can take the matter to your manager's manager. Normally I stop escalating here. If two managers don't care about their own team's problems, then I stop caring about them too. You already went above and beyond in trying to reach them.