Clients attitude to contractors inc internet access etc

[GillsMan]

Except with those round things in their face.

You could buy one of those privacy screens to circumvent the issue of permies having eyes.

[lukemg]

I think it's likely some perm wonk has dobbed you in. Manager has to say something even if he thinks its bollocks.
So - someone is after undermining you, it's good that you have advanced warning.
IF you are really keen to stay, might be time to keep your nose clean and even if you aren't bothered, I would look to engineer another option and leave on my terms rather than give them the satisfaction...

[TheFaQQer]

Except with those round things in their face.

You get sprung

[TheFaQQer]

Client manager came to have a word with me the other day. Mentioned he noticed that I used the internet a bit.

At my last permie job, they removed internet access from all contractors because one of them was taking the piss about how much time he spent surfing rather than working. If the client wants to do that, that's their prerogative - it just made it harder for me to work because every time they needed support, I had to do it because it needed internet access.

They could have had a quiet word with the one person causing issues, but that would have been sensible.

They also told me I was spending too much time surfing, to which my response was "show me when I've delivered anything that wasn't early or on time" - I was already working my notice though.

[eek]

THIS - I have my own amazon server and I use openvpn to connect so they can't see on the guest network what I'm up to. Paranoia is a useful attribute for contracting. Some of the worst contractor haters are actually wrestling with the idea of going contracting. A strange contradiction.

Surely its just standard human behaviour when you are jealous and not brave enough to actually do it.

[paulinefowlersgrowler]

Yeh. Deffo a very strange place. Thing is before I arrived and not boating but it was in a mess and they've commented on how much noticeably things have improved. So Im doing something right which irks me a little that they're moaning about a little internet usage (and it wasnt much).

But can't see me staying here too long if I can help. Its just a bad atmosphere all round. Permies have they're own little areas and seem to view contractors with suspicion.
In the past few months, I've had permies do stuff without telling me what they did and keeping it secret. If I come up with ideas or new ways of doing things I just get blanked. Usually, Im all for helping out, coming up with ideas and most clients are keen - not this one. General thing seems to be contractors sit in the corner, dont try and take the important stuff off the permies, and get on with the menial stuff.

One permie had a dig today about me not flagging something up when I had. I'd actually organised things a bit better a few weeks ago, and created a shared spreadsheet with issues on but, of course, being a new idea it got blanked then. So today it all goes off so I had to reply I had told him weeks ago.

Of course, got to be careful - can never win upsetting a permie. As I've found, you can insist on being right and lose your contract, or know your right, let them win, and keep the contract.

[d000hg]

THIS - I have my own amazon server and I use openvpn to connect so they can't see on the guest network what I'm up to.

It's never occurred to you that if you're doing things you don't want them to know about, you probably shouldn't be doing those things on their time?

[d000hg]

If it's on their network surely its their traffic... they could (?) be legally responsible for anything that comes out from behind their firewall...

[Mephisto]

... stick the contractor in the corner and don't talk to him...

Sounds a fair compromise. Means I don't have to talk to them and can get the work done

[Taita]

Yeh. Deffo a very strange place. Thing is before I arrived and not boating but it was in a mess and they've commented on how much noticeably things have improved. So Im doing something right which irks me a little that they're moaning about a little internet usage (and it wasnt much).

But can't see me staying here too long if I can help. Its just a bad atmosphere all round. Permies have they're own little areas and seem to view contractors with suspicion.
In the past few months, I've had permies do stuff without telling me what they did and keeping it secret. If I come up with ideas or new ways of doing things I just get blanked. Usually, Im all for helping out, coming up with ideas and most clients are keen - not this one. General thing seems to be contractors sit in the corner, dont try and take the important stuff off the permies, and get on with the menial stuff.

One permie had a dig today about me not flagging something up when I had. I'd actually organised things a bit better a few weeks ago, and created a shared spreadsheet with issues on but, of course, being a new idea it got blanked then. So today it all goes off so I had to reply I had told him weeks ago.

Of course, got to be careful - can never win upsetting a permie. As I've found, you can insist on being right and lose your contract, or know your right, let them win, and keep the contract.

As my mother once said whilst I was on parade. " Look! There's my son." "Which one?" asked her friend. " The only one marching in step" replied my mum!