Does it look bad if I don't participate in these contests at work?

[ironpony]

At my work, they are competetive with showing off their production in contests with other companies.  They want all the workers to participate in the contests but showing off our work as well, online.  But in order to do this, I have to go through this painstaking process, of constantly having to be assigned new passwords cause the old ones don't work a lot of the time.  I can't participate in the contests because of this.

So I feel like if the password is not going to work, then I am just not going to keep bothering, on my own time to try to figure it them out.  But does this look bad on my part, especially when you have a boss that is all about these competitions and is full of pep? 

[d0nnivain]

Yes it looks bad that you don't participate.  It's a team effort & when you bow out, your managers think you are not a team player & you don't care about making the company better.  Somebody's bonus is also probably tied to productivity so when you don't participate you are taking money out of somebody's pocket which will make you unpopular fast. 

Write the password down if you have to but participate.  

[ironpony]

13 minutes ago, d0nnivain said:

Yes it looks bad that you don't participate.  It's a team effort & when you bow out, your managers think you are not a team player & you don't care about making the company better.  Somebody's bonus is also probably tied to productivity so when you don't participate you are taking money out of somebody's pocket which will make you unpopular fast. 

Write the password down if you have to but participate.  

oh okay but I have the password written down but it keeps changing and even though I used the new ones and never works. So I'm not trying to bow out at all but I have to tell the boss that I can't do it if it's not going to work though.

[d0nnivain]

Ask the boss for a bit of extra training on how to use the contest system. Perhaps find a work buddy who can log you in as you if that needs to happen.   If you at least show enthusiasm like you are trying to participate that will go a long way toward making you look like a team player.  

[ironpony]

Oh okay, but I won't be able to figure it all out in time though, before the contest deadline is up.  I could ask the boss for help over the weekend, but does it look bad to ask over the weekend, when we are not working?

[CautiouslyOptimistic]

2 minutes ago, ironpony said:

Oh okay, but I won't be able to figure it all out in time though, before the contest deadline is up.  I could ask the boss for help over the weekend, but does it look bad to ask over the weekend, when we are not working?

Yes, don't do that.

Is everyone else having to constantly change passwords?  Or is it just you?

[ironpony]

I am not sure, because I haven't been following what others have been doing?  I've only been there for two weeks now, but just getting use to the work, and a lot of the job is driving around, so I do not see the other co-workers as much, since they do the same thing.  I talked to one co-worker so far and he said that he didn't have any problems.  But if I wait till Monday, when the boss is back at work, I only have two days to figure it out then, before the deadline.

[ironpony]

Plus I won't even have a lot of time on those two days since I am working overtime, so I am not sure how to figure it out in time, if they really want me to participate in this competition before the deadline.

[Veronica73]

I don’t even know what you are talking about...I’ve never had to enter contests. But just by reading what you’re saying I feel for you.

This is probably not even remotely related, but it reminds me of how irritating I find it to have to go to company holiday parties and such....in what little free time I have. 

[Happy Lemming]

1 hour ago, Veronica73 said:

This is probably not even remotely related, but it reminds me of how irritating I find it to have to go to company holiday parties and such....in what little free time I have. 

100% agree.... I really hated going to the company holiday parties (when I worked).  I really hated all of the "Secret Santa" bull crap.  I always picked out something thoughtful and nice (for the person whose name I picked) and always received re-gifted crap for my efforts. I would always ask the receptionist to delete my name from the "Secret Santa" name bag and she would always put it in anyway.  in addition to having to shop for another person, I'd have to prepare something for the "pot luck" holiday dinner.  What an absolute pain!!

As far as the OP, this contest crap sounds like an underhanded way to push production and force employees to work against one another. 

All you can do is your best, I wouldn't be so worried about winning the contest. Show up for work, do your job to the best of your ability and try to stay under the radar.

[elaine567]

Yes but not entering the apparently mandatory "contest" is not staying under the radar,. he will stick out like a sore thumb.
If the boss is "all about" this competition then he is not going to very pleased when he finds out ironpony has not participated.
Why wait till the weekend, ie last minute before seeking help?

[Happy Lemming]

21 minutes ago, elaine567 said:

If the boss is "all about" this competition then he is not going to very pleased when he finds out ironpony has not participated.
 

If the supervisor wants "ironpony" to succeed, then he has to provide the tools for such.  As long as "ironpony" documents his efforts (ie capture screenshots, print out attempts, etc.)then the onus on the boss/supervisor for not providing "ironpony" with the tools to complete the task.

[ironpony]

3 hours ago, elaine567 said:

Yes but not entering the apparently mandatory "contest" is not staying under the radar,. he will stick out like a sore thumb.
If the boss is "all about" this competition then he is not going to very pleased when he finds out ironpony has not participated.
Why wait till the weekend, ie last minute before seeking help?

well it's the weekend right now I mean.  so should I ask my boss about it over this weekend or should I wait till Monday? If I wait till Monday then it gives me a last time to try to figure all this out.

[basil67]

Don't call your boss on the weekend for anything short of an emergency.

[ironpony]

K.  I just hope it doesn't look bad if I can't figure out the website problems before the deadline in the next few days.

Edited September 19, 2020 by ironpony

[Ruby Slippers]

Try to participate but do politely explain the technical issues on Monday. Those should be resolved if management expects participation.

[d0nnivain]

You have only been there for 2 weeks.  Do tell the boss on Monday that you didn't understand the contest.  Get the info you need so you can participate in the next contest.  

[ironpony]

Oh okay, well I was finally able to get a new password but now the site is down for maintenance it says.  So I am not going to be able to participate but I am worried the boss will not think of me as a team player, or that I did not take it seriously enough to try to circumvent the problem more.

[d0nnivain]

You have only been there 2 weeks.  If you talk to your boss about the efforts you made for this context & you fully participate in the next contest I'm sure it will be OK

[Happy Lemming]

1 hour ago, ironpony said:

Oh okay, well I was finally able to get a new password but now the site is down for maintenance it says. 

Try to capture a screen shot of the site being down.  Document what time you were finally given a working password, if your boss questions you, show him that you made the attempt.

Again, if this contest was HUGELY important to your boss, then he should have given you the tools to complete the task.

Many years ago, I worked for a company and management purchased some report generator software and attached it to my accounting software.  The makers of this (attachment) report generator software said it could generate all kinds of unique and custom reports.  Needless to say, after reading the manual I couldn't get it to function.  I went to my boss, showed her what I had done and that the manual didn't explain how to make the software work correctly.  She went to the owner of the company, who authorized the cost for me to go to a 3 day class (out of town) to learn this software.  The company gave me the necessary tools to complete the task they were asking of me.

[ironpony]

Oh okay, I had to work off sight today, so I was not able to see my boss about it, but I texted her, about it, to show that I was at least not trying to wait.  No texts back about it, but maybe it's too hard to explain over the phone.

Edited September 22, 2020 by ironpony

[Happy Lemming]

With any job there is a learning curve.  No one expects a new employee to jump in and be up to speed overnight.

[Ellener]

On 9/19/2020 at 12:13 PM, Veronica73 said:

I don’t even know what you are talking about...I’ve never had to enter contests. But just by reading what you’re saying I feel for you.

This is probably not even remotely related, but it reminds me of how irritating I find it to have to go to company holiday parties and such....in what little free time I have. 

I come from England where none of this corporate training or team-building nonsense was expected, at least not back then before I emigrated. But one day I was in Kroger grocery store and saw all these workers doing a weird chant, with the leader yelling 'come on, jump up and down!' it seemed very undignified to them but some kind of corporate policy that they did it as a so-called team-building exercise every day. I got to know a lot of their team during those weeks after Harvey recovery and the last thing it was doing was strengthening loyalty to their company. The workers themselves said they felt denigrated by these 'stupid gimmicks'. 

There should be a boundary between work and private life I think, for 101 good reasons! If work intrudes into people's private lives then people will start living out their personal lives at work...

Nothing good can come of that.

 

[ironpony]

Oh okay.  Well another thing about this job, is the shifts change a lot and they want me to look at my cell phone's calendar to see whenever a shift is changed.  However, the calendar doesn't even update half the time, so it's been a problem for me so far.  I never use my cell phone calendar and always use an old fashion paper calendar.  So whenever they want to change a shift, I wish they would either text me or call and leave a message.

But they want to use this calendar system which is unreliable if the phone doesn't catch updates all the time. is there anything I can do?

Plus I don't think of looking at the calendar all the time.  The reason why I don't think of looking is because I am expecting a calendar to stay the same and not change, unless there is a phone call or message.  So is there a way I can get my phone to warn me of any updates without me having to constantly look?

[Happy Lemming]

12 hours ago, ironpony said:

But they want to use this calendar system which is unreliable if the phone doesn't catch updates all the time. is there anything I can do?

Again, your employer is NOT giving you the tools to do the job.  They need to provide you with a reliable system of scheduling. 

If I were you, I might think about trying to find a new job.  I worked for one company that just didn't have the money to get the proper equipment or supplies to fulfill the contracts that the owner bid on.  It was a complete and total mess which caused more and more frustration.  I NEVER had a good day at work, just anger and frustration, so I found another job.