3rd Shift #3: Patronized

Big Phil continues to write his own Notes From The Cube . . .

'Least enjoyable thing about 3rd shift is the patronizing attitude we get from non-3rd shift management.

Gotta emphasize: 3rd shift management is cool - they're like us, stuck out here in the dark, pretty much savoring our own, inspired-by-neglect independence. We're all Can-Do on 3rd shift because:
a. the daytime bosses and maintenance and other support groups truly hate having to get up to help us, and
b. we learn quickly to make do with what we have and get by as best we can. (Hey!, that's our everyday lives anyway. Not a big stretch.)

But, every now and then, the Day Boys decide we need Attention in order to Feel Like We're Part Of The Company. Ho-hum, what "Employee Relations" book did they get that from?

Someone usually shows up early - say 6 a.m. - to gather us all together and give us a pep talk, or tell us what's happening during the regular hours, or invite us to a company function that people sleeping during the daytime can't make without difficulty. We had a company Christmas party last year, for example, set on a Friday night - soooo, to accommodate us, we had to work on our Sunday off day so that we could have the Friday night free. Were the ribs and turkey and hotel mashed potatoes worth it? They tasted good. They were free. Sort of like showing up at HomeTown Buffet, though: didn't know the other people there, sat at tables with our own 3rd shift friends (just like the 2nd shifters sat with... blah blah), had a good time as long as Day Boy management didn't stop at our tables with their false bonhommie and pretend to talk to us for 5 minutes of awkward good cheer.

Aye, laddies, that's the rub: it's an awkward "friendliness" - very patronizing. Would be better if they dropped by, said "Wow, you guys have the rough shift, but we appreciate it, need it, and here's a bonus envelope that the daytimers don't deserve." Short, sweet, honest, appreciative.

Certainly better than those really awkward times when a "team" of Day Boys (and, to be politically correct, "Boys" means men and women) shows up in our midst at 2 a.m. to spread their "message" - whatever the "message" is that day. I've got no quarrels with "message" - I was happy to learn the reasoning behind why half the cubicles had been moved from the left side of the room to the right side - but they made such a Big Deal about being up so early for us. C'mon, it's not like we don't do this every day! Suck it up and just be here.

Or move me to day shift, too, so that I can show up at 2 a.m. sometimes and pass down wisdom to my old colleagues. Tell you what, though: I won't be patronizing. I'll say, "Glad I'm not here every night, kids, but since I am tonight, here's what's what."

Like I said a few times: we 3rd shifters have our own rough independence and don't need the coddling like daytimers.