Or should I just shut up at work?

[TalkLessSmileMorePlease]

I know that women are always told to be bold but I'm worrying that I'm annoying people. I've always been on to speak out, I guess it's my personality, I'm not loud but I find it hard to hide how I feel. When I was at primary school I tried to get a campaign going to ban meat in the cafeteria (this was the early 90's) and I started writing to my MP about overfishing when I was 11. I know, I sound exhausting.
I've been in my job about three years. I have no managerial responsibilities. I love where I work and what I do but there's loads of systems that just don't work well. I write emails to the management probably once a month or less. I speak out at team meetings. If others mention their concerns to me I sometimes raise it to someone but I never mention names. I do this because women (in admin especially) don't seem to like to being 'a bother.'
The way I see it I feel so passionately about wanting to find a solution that I can't not speak out. I get so frustrated with everyone moaning about things and never looking at solutions! Do they want a solution or do they just want something to moan about?
The downside is I always feel like the mouthy one. The mangers barely conceal their frustration when sending the 'this is just the way it is' emails. I then get frustrated because they're not the ones working with the shit, outdated systems. They don't understand the reality. I make it clear that I don't think I know it all or know better but I ask them if there are alternatives we can look into.
My direct line manager is supportive and tells me to keep raising stuff. However if everyone has issues with something and I raise it and no one backs me up or even speaks in team meetings, I look like an idiot. Sometimes I feel like some colleagues who do the bare minimum and regularly do less than me are actually more respected than me because they don't cause trouble.
I wish I wasn't like this and I could just file my nails and dream about what I was having for tea but I can't help it. Sorry I usually write more eloquently but this is rushed during a lunch break.

Are you NHS? I’d go to your Continuous Improvement/Change team. Ask to shadow, ask for advice on getting changes from the ground up, learn how to get buy in. You sound like you need to switch roles - you would be valuable in CI!

I was you a couple of years ago - I switched careers and worked frontline Ops - and there is huge resistance to change and it frustrated me using outdated methods.

I got into admin support for projects, developed my skills and got promoted and now I get to roll out change to Operations in my agency.

@NormanStangerson I'm definitely not one of those people, I hate those people! They mean they're rude, that's what I tell it like it is really means. Same with 'banter.'

My emails are more about problems and possible solutions. Things like 'hi mr x, I've noticed that we have a great training scheme to introduce trainee dental nurses to basic dental knowledge, could we have some copies of these on reception so the reception team have something to refer to if they need anymore information?' They went with that one, also with my idea to train receptionists (if they wanted to and only expressed an interest!) on infection control and get them hep b vaccinations so they could clean dental instruments if we were busy. That saved so much time in between patients and even though I left that role, they still use that idea today.

@TalkLessSmileMorePlease so they have implemented a couple of your ideas.
What’s your issue then? Is it that you think they need to listen to every single one?

@TalkLessSmileMorePlease

I suppose the thing that bothers me are that systems are introduced by those who don't use them. I don't want to change big things, just make things simpler. I work in healthcare so I know there's no money there. My idea this week was that we had a shared referral spreadsheet to help communication between two departments. This was due to a previous concern where two departments didn't know if the other had done something or not. Pretty basic stuff. Loads of people told me they struggled with this. Completely shut down by management.

Um...

Mgmt don't want you to make things simpler

It means the house of cards that employs their pointless work falls down.

You might not be old enough to know this, but honestly, you need to know. People are always scared of redundancy when someone highlights more efficient ways, but that will be even more true now.

@WhoStoleMyCheese that was my old company

Employers on the whole want a bum on a seat to do a task and then go home.

The HR industry talks about empowerment but no one really means it.

There is not much worse than a person with very black and white thinking and views.

I know it is well meant but my employer would not take kindly to this stuff.

Hi there @TalkLessSmileMorePlease .

You seem wasted - how frustrating.

There are different techniques / approaches you can adopt. You could also apply for something extra, that would use your skills, help you to develop and ultimately land you a more fulfilling role.

Have you considered school governor, mentoring, etc?

Yes, you sound exhausting and irritating and very much like a young administrator I had working for me at one point. He was full,of ideas about how we could improved systems, barely concealed his frustrations about the current set up and the people working in the team. He constantly fired off emails to me, and the other senior managers including my line manager with suggestions of "improvements". He knew best, he was never wrong.

He also never listened when we told him time and time again that we had already considered many of his suggestions and found that they didn't improve processes at all. We had patients to consider and lots of the processes we had were implemented following consultation and feedback from patients because that way was easier for them.

In the end he transferred to another department, then another, then another.....last I heard he was still on the same grade, making the same suggestions.

He was a bright man, he actually did have the talent for change management, but was so keen to be seen as a maverick he didn't manage to channel his considerable energy and talent into something useful.

Personally, if it's not in your job description to solve all these problems, I'd rein it in a bit. But not completely as I think it's important to improve things and provide solutions etc. Equally its important to get on with your tasks and allow others to get on with theirs.

You're complaining about not having any ideas taken on board and not being heard - yet you refuse to take on board acknowledge or listen to a single idea suggested to you. This is after people have taken their time and energy to speak out and give you suggestions of solutions which could improve your approach for a better level of happiness with many many different suggestions. Do you not think maybe your workplace is mirroring your own dismissiveness back at you?

The fact that the op still doesn’t seem to grasp other people’s points of view on the vegetarian issue says it all I think.

I line manage someone exactly like yourself. Really committed and great at her job and sends me polite, enthusiastic emails constantly with suggestions for improvement. I find it so frustrating for a number of reasons.

1. Most suggestions are coming from a point of view of what would work best for her and her team with no real understanding or consideration for how these things impact on the organisation as a whole.

1. She thinks most of her colleagues care too but in reality they usually just agree with her to be polite or like everyone, like a wee moan sometimes for the sake of it. Behind closed doors in supervision they have no issues.

1. She doesn't see most 'innovative' suggestions have been tried and failed in other departments that she isn't aware of. Or that they mean more work for already pushed employees.

She constantly undermines herself because she is fantastic at her role and could easily rise through the ranks if she put her head down and did her own job instead of focusing on things that frankly aren't her business. The only real outcome her great suggestions have is making her an irritant to those above her and highlighting her own lack of understanding.

I don't know why so many posters are slagging off the public sector and saying the OP should go work in the private sector as that's the only place change is valued when the OP has stated she works in the private sector.
Typical public sector bashing.

The vegan thing is bizarre not because of the idea but because it happened years ago. How on earth can someone be citing something they did at ten years old?!

That makes me think that OP is very frustrated, and is harking back to a past glory.

The OP needs to examine exactly why their voice is unheard and is it the company culture or her own approach. If every single company she works in is intransigent, you have to be honest and accept that “maybe it’s me”....

Have they agreed to ANY of your suggestions?

If they have then I would focus on similar things that have already been successful.

If they have not, could it be that maybe the problem is your suggestions are not actually useful after all?

@user1471457751

I don't know why so many posters are slagging off the public sector and saying the OP should go work in the private sector as that's the only place change is valued when the OP has stated she works in the private sector. Typical public sector bashing.

And honestly, it's probably not going to be appreciated in the private sector any more than it is the public. As for the Alan Sugar's of this world, there's a reason why they're all self-employed, and I reckon they all cared very much whom they annoyed when they were starting out and needed money.

The reception thing would have irritated the fuck out of me. I worked that job several times in my life, whilst studying, interim jobs, second jobs to pay bills. It's always a lot of stress and heavy workload for the money. To have someone who wasn't leading that team and not involved in it then suggest ways to add to the workload would be beyond fucking annoying.

Spot on, Gretta. This idea that these innovative suggestions are your own novel idea is arrogant beyond belief.

OP if you are doing a job that involves answering the phone for other people, and doing their scanning then people probably think you are overstepping the mark with your constant suggestions. Unless your job description calls for you to be innovative and a driver of change then you should probably just stick to what you are paid to do. Sounds like you are not being listened to anyway so why put yourself through that stress. Maybe a change of career where your 'problem solving' skill would be more appreciated is in order?

@TalkLessSmileMorePlease I am exactly the same!!!!! I am ALWAYS the one to speak out at work against "injustice" or on behalf of colleagues. It has caused a lot of problems in the past, especially as the vast majority of people are cowards and never back you up publicly

Op do you maybe feel you’re under recognised and more capable than your role?

Irma is correct, it’s very odd to be going on about something you did at nine in this manner, and to still be unable to let it go and arguing now with randoms on line about you being correct. Everyone knows you’re not, many children that’s the only meal they will get. So no it shouldn’t be veggie.

It’s hard to comprehend what you’re doing. But it feels like you’re attention seeking, desperately wanting credit for all the great things, in your head, that you do. Which leads me to think you’re in a very junior low paid admin role you feel is not well respected or acknowledged and you need that recognition. From someone. Anyone. To tell you just how great you are, and so much better than those more senior to you. That you’re wasted in your role, and you are always rhe one going there extra mile.

If you don’t like your job, and feel you’re capable of so much more, then focus on how to develop your skill set so that someone will employ you in a more complex role.

[quote XelaM]@TalkLessSmileMorePlease I am exactly the same!!!!! I am ALWAYS the one to speak out at work against "injustice" or on behalf of colleagues. It has caused a lot of problems in the past, especially as the vast majority of people are cowards and never back you up publicly[/quote]
Because if they wanted to speak out, they'd do so themselves. They're adults. The fact that you then call them cowards speaks volumes.

Repeat after me: "Not my circus, not my monkeys".

Say that to yourself every single day, the minute you start getting involved in resolving some problem or other. Unless it is specific to your job description that you raise these things, then just stop. You are not getting paid to do it, so don't.

And definitely don't ever think about work outside your set hours.

Stop being an advocate for other people. They never appreciate it, and you are the one who becomes a thorn in the management's side, which is going to do your career no good at all.

I have a staff member like you, and he is an exhausting time waster.
This weeks offering was a request to change the way the whole company communicates. No ideas how, just 'change it somehow.' This was because 1 person in another team forgot to pass on 1 bit of information to someone else in the same team. Nothing to do with the complainer, it didn't affect him at all. But he felt the need to come to me and complain.

What people like this seem to forget is that management usually get their jobs because they have extensive experience in the field, and have worked their way up.
So whilst those on the shop floor think they know best and that management know nothing of the reality, they forget that the management probably have experienced this particular situation many times and know how to deal with it. That's why they are management.

It’s great that your heart is in the right place but it sounds like you might need to work on your interpersonal and influencing skills.

If you want to win people over it’s useful to develop strong relationships with them first. You need to choose your battles carefully and know when to bite your tongue.

These things will help you build credibility and respect...acknowledging that while it’s not always right, things aren’t black and white in the workplace. When you get to a certain level, it’s not just about being good at your job and putting forward good ideas. Like it or not you need to learn how to navigate the political game at your work place. There’s always a game and you need to play it right to win.

Sounds like you have some good ideas.

But there has to be a balance.

You say you hate people that whinge all the time and don't change anything, but aren't you doing the same thing? You are complaining about problems, sending emails that you already know won't be listened to, then complaining about that.

You're complaining about not having any ideas taken on board and not being heard - yet you refuse to take on board acknowledge or listen to a single idea suggested to you.

Since the ‘ideas’ seem to consist of, “stop suggesting improvements, know your place, management know best, don’t try to change anything until all your colleagues are 100% on board oh and by the way you are irritating and exhausting”, I can’t say that I blame the OP.