12 April 2006

Top Ten Signs You're A Lame Duck at Work

So, one day, you hand in your resignation letter. You decided you have had it. And you're ready to move on.

And if you're like 99.999% of us who have to serve our notice period, you officially start your lame duck period. I mean, when people know you're about to leave, do you really think that what you do matters?

Your office mates start casting their eyes on your desk to see if there's something they can take once you leave. And they will start drawing up lists of all your belongings that will be recycled so that they can chiop (RSVP) it.

If you create a new process - what makes you think someone will follow? If you create a brand new product - do you think your boss won't suspect it's sabotage? If you start taking interest in a customer problem, do you think you are going to do your company a favor? Who knows, but probably not.

So - you're a lame duck. And it's only going to get worst.

And here are the top signs in case you're too busy working to notice ....

  • The cleaning lady has been told to stop cleaning you cubicle.
  • All those unwanted brochures, unwanted print outs and unused laptops they are putting on your desk ...
  • From now until the end of your stay, you have been given the coffee making duty.
  • Your boss already forgot your name.
  • Your phone has been removed, and replaced with an old condensed milk can with a string attached.
  • They replaced your office LAN connection with a Streamyx broadband connection. Actually, it's Moz's Streamyx connection you're getting.
  • The tea lady / cleaning lady has started to put the dish washing liquid under your table. And they have already started using your chair to dry their cleaning cloth.
  • In the monthly executive meeting, your seat was outside the meeting room.
  • Your office mates have stopped asking you out for teh tarik.
  • You have to start brining your own toilet paper because the office admin won't dispense it to you anymore.
I have to stay that I'm already feeling a bit like a lame duck already here. I hope they'll let me go soon ....

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those were from YOUR points of view.

I know of somebody who is about to leave her current job, and she just refuses to learn anymore. I guess she reminds herself everyday that she will no longer working with that company.

She takes things for granted. She does things half-heartedly. She is less responsible compared to when she just joined the company. She b*tches about her boss opportunistically. And if possible, she would rather work outside the office (anywhere, it does not matter) as long as she does not have to face her boss.

Sometimes you wished you could treat her as a lame duck!

(OMG, I'm turning your comment box into my blog post. Sorry!)

moz monster said...

pelf: Actually, those are all collections of experiences from other people.

Personally, I haven't got any of those. Maybe because I think they still don't know what to do with me - I haven't received any indication if my resignation has been accepted.

Anyways, I'm starting to feel less motivated. Maybe I'm becoming a lame duck myself ...

ducky said...

oi, why all this duck calling, cant you call it a lame ayam or kambing.
if i resign in my office, i can bet i would need to do task for the next 3 months ahead.

moz monster said...

ducky: Not belittling you lah - lame duck is really what it is - a figure of speech.

OK lah ... for your benefit I start calling lame sotong from today lah ... Happy ?

Soon someone blogger called sotongy or squidy will come and complain ... **sigh ... can't please everyone **

Anonymous said...

Once I handed in my resignation letter....and guess what ?
My boss automatically shut me off from everything. It's like I don't exist anymore. Bugger!
So I spent the rest of my days in my previous company as a lame duck.

moz monster said...

che-cheh: No such luck here. I was just told I need to serve my full month's notice. Which means I get no break between this job and the next as well. Gosh.