Ask HN: What's the weirdest rule your workplace ever had?
I want to know some of the very awkward and weird rules at your workplace which irritated you. For me, at my old office, we weren’t allowed to drink water at our desks. Had to walk to a hydration corner like it was a video game quest. What is it like for you?
5 comments
* Company grew fast and didn't provide enough parking spots. To avoid fines by the city they hired a valet parking service to double- and triple park. It felt weird giving somebody else your car keys in the morning. There was no receipts. In the evening you just told them your license plate number.
* After 9/11 in the European office we were not allowed to open windows facing the street for a couple of weeks. A terrorist could throw a grenade. That was the stated reason. Requests for bulletproof glass or any other window protection were denied though.
* One of the smaller datacenters was so secret the security guy at the front wouldn't disclose I was at the correct address, even after showing my company badge. No signs or hints. I was a "need to know basis and obviously you don't know" situation.
* After 9/11 in the European office we were not allowed to open windows facing the street for a couple of weeks. A terrorist could throw a grenade. That was the stated reason. Requests for bulletproof glass or any other window protection were denied though.
* One of the smaller datacenters was so secret the security guy at the front wouldn't disclose I was at the correct address, even after showing my company badge. No signs or hints. I was a "need to know basis and obviously you don't know" situation.
In 1976 when I started, I was threatened that if I caused an 0C7 abend I would have to sit on a chair in a corner of the office for 15 minutes with a pointy hat on that had '0c7 fool' written on it.
BTW, I had lots of them and never sat on that chair :)
That sounds interesting!
Had to walk to a hydration corner like it was a video game quest.
To me that sounds more like a form of Submission, Domination and Humiliation being enforced on employees. a.k.a. sexual harassment as a policy unless your desk is something like a circuit board fab and there is a legit reason not to have water at that location.
To me that sounds more like a form of Submission, Domination and Humiliation being enforced on employees. a.k.a. sexual harassment as a policy unless your desk is something like a circuit board fab and there is a legit reason not to have water at that location.
There were desktops and other electrical stuff so they made the rule like that. According to the management, once they had a serious incident so they came up with that rule.