backstabbing, bitching, sucking up to the boss.

[letshaveit]

All the stuff I left permieland for....
Pretty new to this. Third contract.

Took contract fair distance away. Almost 2 hrs drive each way. Yeh but money was good and I thought I'd do for 3 months and see how it was.
Been there over a year now. People there were ok. Flexible on hours, no worries etc. Contract says 37.5 hours but paid per day.
Occasionally, I do a bit extra if im in the middle of something. Also, if theres emergency I stay to help - client is good with this. offers TOIL leave early to make up.
My thinking - with a long drive it aint gonna work if Im there 9-10 hours a day but like I said no probs so far. Client even agreed at last extension to be more flexible with hours so I can drop kids off in morning. Result.

Until about two weeks ago. for a year I've pretty much come in same time every day, left same time for about 3/4 of my time there. Its been a bit busy I get that - most of the stuff is outside my remit though. The permie boss fella there (who incidentally lives miles away as well) I noticed has been putting in some long hours.
But I've had comments like "half day is it?", "wish I could leave as early as you", and worse still "what time did you get here this morning then if you're leaving now".

Really nakred especially the last one. Lack of respect and trust to imply that I cant manage my own time. I dont understand though, if they had an issue with either my timekeeping or the fact that I dont do much extra hours why on earth have they offered me FOUR extensions in the past! If after, two months they'd have said, look we're after someone to put in extra hours, I'd have said sorry, no hard feelings, all the best, but my personal situation means its not going to fly, then I'd have canned it and left with no hard feelings. But 12 months down the line!

Perhaps some of it is this permie guy is a bit off that hes working the long hours and contractor he hired is not. But not my problem. I left permieland to avoid all this crap about impressing people by appearing to stay late. 100% sure I've done some good stuff for them and proven that Im up to it and will put myself out when needs be.

Another contractor guy there who I think might have something to do. Seems to be a law unto himself. Spend all day trying to avoid responsibility, blame others, and make himself look good in the eyes of the client. Right sneaky little git. Dont trust him. He seems to work whatever hours he wants but always seems to make sure the client knows hes there at 8pm - even though he strolls in at 1pm some days....

So, seasoned guys and girls what would you do?

1. Ignore it and get on with doing the same hours I've always done. Let him make an issue out of it and come and speak to me if he wants.
2. Go and have a word and ask the matey what his problem is.
3. Suck it up and make sure it looks like I'm working longer hours.

Current thinking is (1) but then not take the next extension unless he pipes down. Cant be bothered with all that cack.

[NotAllThere]

Arriving late and leaving late always looks better. In a permie job I used to arrive really early and leave early to avoid the M25 traffic. I got the sarky comments. When I switched to arriving late and leaving late, I got the "gosh, still here?" etc. etc. Even though I was present in the office half an hour less on most days.

I'd take option 2. Point out that you are external, you have a contract for x hours and that is what you're doing and you are achieving all that you've been asked to. If he's unhappy with the quality of your work, he only has to say so, and he can get someone else. Point out that the sarky comments mean, at this time, you will not be renewing - but you'd rather resolve the issue than cause the client resourcing problems.

[BolshieBastard]

Yep this stuff goes on all the time and thi stalk of contractors being separated from office politics is just a consignment of geriatric shoemakers. As Ive said before, clients want contractors then treat them as permies.

This coming in late and leaving late doesnt always work either if there's a culture of snipping. Instead you just get comments about 'starting late' or 'where were you at 8pm?' etc.

Best thing is to just carry on with the agreed work pattern and if the comments get worse or client wants to change the 'flexibility,' just jack it in but make sure client and agency know why you're leaving.

[pr1]

MTFU & keep invoicing, if they have an actual problem with it they'll stop renewing, everything else is "bantz"

[Chuck]

I start at 7:30am or earlier, and I leave at bang on 5pm every day. No question. If I get a sarky comment as I leave, and very occasionally I do, I just suggest that I was probably at lunch when the tw@ who commented was arriving in the office. That usually shuts them up.

If it was my "manager" commenting, and I thought he was serious, I'd question it and if he thought it was a real problem I'd say terminate me now or don't renew me. I get the contracted hours done, easily, with a couple to spare in case I need to leave early occasionally.

Don't let it fester. It'll build up resentment in you, and if you don't nip it in the bud early, the comments will only continue and grow.

[psychocandy]

Arriving late and leaving late always looks better. In a permie job I used to arrive really early and leave early to avoid the M25 traffic. I got the sarky comments. When I switched to arriving late and leaving late, I got the "gosh, still here?" etc. etc. Even though I was present in the office half an hour less on most days.

I'd take option 2. Point out that you are external, you have a contract for x hours and that is what you're doing and you are achieving all that you've been asked to. If he's unhappy with the quality of your work, he only has to say so, and he can get someone else. Point out that the sarky comments mean, at this time, you will not be renewing - but you'd rather resolve the issue than cause the client resourcing problems.

Always the same, come in early no one notices, go home early everyone notices.

[psychocandy]

MTFU & keep invoicing, if they have an actual problem with it they'll stop renewing, everything else is "bantz"

OP - Exactly. Why would the keep renewing you if they had a problem? Anything changed with this guy recently?

I had it once. Guy was great then he got promoted. Then he saw fit to second guess me on everything. Including timekeeping.

This fella used to say "well its a bit different here to where you've worked before probably", implying that they were somehow special. I used to have some right arguments with him and told him I'd been doing this 25 years and worked at some big multi-nationals and no-one had ever seen an issue with what I did. (Always thought it was funny - this guy had worked at a council for 5 years, then this small client for 2/3 years and he thought he knew it all)

Surprisingly, the still offered me an extension. So it was just this guy being a whiny little girl. I turned it down btw - had enough and the permies were twats as well - and this guy was a bit put out.

Point being - there are some people out there who will moan, whinge, act like a twat, just for the sake of it because they can. Especially if they've just been promoted and got a bit of a big ego.

[unixman]

Take no interest in others' opinions on your time keeping. Unless it is the guy who signs your time sheets.

Human nature means as a contract gets longer, there is a growing tendency for the client to treat you as a permy. Ignore it.

If it gets too bad, leave. Say you are tired of traveling. Never give a negative reason for leaving.

[MrMarkyMark]

Heard it all before from someone that used to regularly get in at 10, when I am usually in at 8.

Said, on a regular basis, he hated fecking contractors on a regular basis even though 3/4 of "his" team were made up of them.

MTFU, carry on invoicing and look for another contract.

In the end, he even said "how can you do this to me", when I left at the end of the current extension.

[Mattski]

Be Zen. Let it wash over you.

If the person whinging has no sway over your post, ignore it - what do they know? Set them straight if they start causing problems, or speak to the grownups there about it. If no grownups are present then it may be time to leave (or at least consider not renewing.)

If they do have influence over you then politely discuss the fact that you're in earlier than loads of other people, and if they still have a problem then chances are it's not the best place to work for anyway.

Here, have a haiku:

"Contractor does work
Does not suffer fools gladly
Cash is all they need"

or if you want to be a bit more exotic:

"Contractor is still.
Leaves unfold in autumn bloom.
Boss is a buffoon."