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Oh help help help - I made a suggestion about something we should do to my boss at work - he liked the suggestion but most of my colleagues hate it and now they are peeved with me and I just feel really small and stupid

90 replies

SixSpotBurnet · 17/09/2008 12:48

Help help help.

Have been in new job since January. I joined an existing team which had had a bit of a shake-up and in particular had its reporting lines changed etc.

We have been doing various team-building exercises which to be honest I quite enjoyed and I suggested to my boss that perhaps we could have a full day, off-site (budget permitting) in about six months time to review what we'd done, do some training etc. We used to do this at my old firm and they were quite popular.

Anyway, four of my colleagues have kind of rounded on me out of earshot of boss and basically expressed their disapproval of the idea and instructed me "not to spring any more suggestions like this on them without advance warning".

I feel really small and stupid now, and don't quite know what to do. Anyone got any bright ideas?

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SixSpotBurnet · 17/09/2008 13:22

Anyway, what should I do now?

Do I email line manager and say, look, they all hate the suggestion, can we just quietly drop it?

But I have a feeling that wouldn't work, and that he will be annoyed with them, and that it will be regarded as telling tales. So would probably just make things worse.

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Cappuccino · 17/09/2008 13:24

no you blardy don't

you made a suggestion and they are whining

leave them to whine

Carmenere · 17/09/2008 13:25

I would leave it, just ignore them.

bundle · 17/09/2008 13:26

I would follow the immortal words of Bobby on Brookside:

"Leave it, She."

SixSpotBurnet · 17/09/2008 13:28

Gawd, I loved Brookside in the 80s! Just unmissable, wasn't it?

(Who remembers Harry Cross? I think DH has modelled himself on Harry Cross.)

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bundle · 17/09/2008 13:31

snigger

Harry Cross was God

(I've never met your dh so couldn't comment! )

and Damon, I lurved Damon

SixSpotBurnet · 17/09/2008 13:34

Oh yes, he was very cute, wasn't he? Damon I mean, not Harry Cross.

I liked Barry as well, before he turned all sinister.

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bundle · 17/09/2008 13:37

cute

dh's uncle used to direct Brooky!

Flier · 17/09/2008 13:43

tell them you don't know why they're so unhappy about getting a day out of the office, with (i'm assuming) lunch etc. laugh it off with them, tell them your experience of them at your previous employers.

SixSpotBurnet · 17/09/2008 13:44

Flier - unfortunately I've probably passed that point now of being able to laugh it off, as I was so kind of gobsmacked by their reaction that I just couldn't think of anything to say except sorry.

Bundle, love it.

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bundle · 17/09/2008 13:45

can you transcend? do you work physically close to them??

anniemac · 17/09/2008 13:45

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mabanana · 17/09/2008 13:48

It will be fine! OK, they hate the idea, but your boss loved it, and you don't work for your colleagues, or even your boss really, you work for yourself, and this is good for YOU. They will get over it, after a bit of a sulk!
Definitely don't email ANYONE!

SixSpotBurnet · 17/09/2008 13:49

Yes - I think perhaps if I leave it a while (certainly until something concrete is actually proposed) and then ask for their input, that might be a good way forward. Thanks.

I don't work physically close to any of them - am on a different floor and have my own office now.

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Flier · 17/09/2008 13:49

how are they normally with you? if they are normally cliquey idiots then you'll just have to grin and bear it, rise above it, god arean't women hard on each other?

anniemac · 17/09/2008 13:49

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anniemac · 17/09/2008 13:50

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TotalChaos · 17/09/2008 13:50

e-mail the colleagues and ask whether they want you to tell the boss that they aren't keen on the idea?

SixSpotBurnet · 17/09/2008 13:51

Flier, they are all very nice and I had thought up until this point that I got along well with all of them. Which is why their reaction came as a bit of a shock, I think.

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TotalChaos · 17/09/2008 13:51

Have to say I can see their POV though - unless they are very quiet on work, I imagine a day out of the office would be 7 plus chargeable hours to be made up at another time.

SixSpotBurnet · 17/09/2008 13:51

TC, I wondered about whether to do that. Hmm. Will ponder.

Am tempted to leave it for now though, not least because I feel stupidly a bit emotional about it all.

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WideWebWitch · 17/09/2008 13:55

Oh bloody hell SSB, what a pita. And how unreasonable of them and horrible, you were making a suggestion with the benefit of previous experience and your boss liked it so they should all be sucking up and agreeing with him imo.

So ignore them would be my advice, and concentrate on pleasing your boss and your boss's boss.

WideWebWitch · 17/09/2008 13:58

Anniemac's advice is good. I would leave it. I HATE it when a few gloomy change averse people put downers on good ideas. Fuckers, hey?

SixSpotBurnet · 17/09/2008 14:10

Thanks WWW!

TotalChaos - no, no-one would have to make up the time.

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citronella · 17/09/2008 14:23

Hi SSB! They sound like a miserable bunch. Your suggestion is a perfectly good one. So may times stuff that gets debated and decided is the best thing since sliced bread at the time and then a few weeks later back at the office it all just gets pushed on the back burner. A follow up/catch -up is what you need to see how far you've got and what adjustments you need to make
Don't drop it let them deal with it.

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