OT: Need advice from other Graphic Designers or really anyone with a job.

[alecholland]

So here's the deal.

 

For the last 6 months or so, I have been working an average of 80-100 hours a week creating a brand new catalog for the company at which I work. I went through several preliminary designs and printed several copies of the catalog to show them how things were progressing and make sure that everything was still what they wanted the whole way through the process.

 

A quick departure from my initial story to give some background.

 

My job duties include more than just design. Not only do I do all of the design work which includes advertising and marketing materials such as flyers, brochures, magazine ads, postcard mailers, & technical briefs about equipment we sell, in addition to creating all trade show displays, signage for the showboards and advertising handouts at the trade shows, etc, etc... I also maintain their company website, am overseeing the design & development of a new website for ordering personalized products, assist in the design and development of software we sell, answer all technical support phone calls for said software, develop all new products, work as a salesman at trade shows, answer all e-mails, send out e-mails at the request of everyone in the company, write all business letters, set up all computer systems, install all software, teach everyone how to use all the software, network all computers, answer all in-house technical support questions about every piece of computer equipment or printing equipment in the company, take repair phone calls about laminators we sell, etc, etc... including frequently changing toilet paper in both the men's and women's restrooms and taking out trash in the breakroom.

 

A brief, honest description of my coworkers and bosses (basically everyone in the building thinks they are my boss).

 

My immediate boss comes in late takes 3 hour lunches most days and leaves early. He also takes a vacation every other month, literally ( I haven't taken a vacation since my honeymoon 9 years ago ). The guy in charge of production spends his days playing solitaire on his computer (you would think that would get boring after a while) and when he's not doing that, he's on a smoke break. About once a week he may spend a couple hours doing some actual work (usually when the owners are in, which also tells you a lot about the owners) The guy who is supposed to be in charge of sales sleeps about half the day at his desk almost every day. I have had to wake him up several times to ask him a question. He has hired all young girls for the sales department, doubling our sales staff and sales have dropped consistently for the last 2 years. 2 of the people who work on machines in the production room spend several hours a day writing sermons and studying the bible as they are both ministers, and on and on...

 

Oh also I should mention that I haven't had a raise in three years, they took my retirement benefits away last year, and I spend $700 a month to insure myself and my wife through my company's group plan. To be completely honest, that is just a little less than what I bring home every two weeks.

 

If you've made it this far. God bless you.

 

Back to my story.

 

So I have literally been spending entire nights from 8 am one morning clear through to 5 pm the next day to try and finish this catalog project and keep up with every other project and duty I have. At one point last year I literally had 287 projects I was working on at the same time. I made a list, but nobody wanted to see it or cared.

 

So...I handed in a near final draft of the company catalog to my boss on Tuesday of this week for him to look at and make changes. I am the most loyal employee anyone could have and I do good work.

 

Here's the kicker. In case you just want to skip to the good part.

 

My boss proceeded to take what I have poured my heart and soul into for the last 6 months, missed sooooo much time with my family including every birthday, holiday, and family get together during that time and he had his 16 year old daughter who knows nothing about writing or design critique my work and write her comments in the catalog.

 

This is a catalog for funeral home products by the way. We make memorial bookmarks and other products for funeral homes.

 

Her first comment was "booring, (spelled exactly like that) needs more color! fast!" It wasn't fun enough for her.

One of her other comments was that it was redundant to have the company phone number and website at the bottom of every single page. We wouldn't want to make it too convenient for customers to order from us I guess.

 

One of my bosses comments about the writing (which happens to be my wife's copy by the way. She is an English Literature major and was in the who's who of college writers in the US every year she was in college) was that she made the company sound like we were the best funeral home product company in the country. That was a bad thing according to him. I guess instead of saying we sell quality products, she should have said our bookmarks look like rat feces.

 

The heart of the matter.

 

What would you guys do? How would you feel? I'm thinking about quitting tomorrow or at least after the weekend. The only reason I've stayed this long is because I'm getting my health insurance through them.

 

Comments would be appreciated if anyone has actually read this. I am so upset right now I can't even explain it. This type of thing has been going on for years. They pay other people huge amounts of money to do some of the things I do for them and then I have to redo all of it, every single time.

 

I'm really on tilt right now. I've got the phone in my hand and am planning to call the owners right now and tell them what I really think of them.

 

Thanks.

[FlyingDonut]

Quit. Right now. Don't be an *spoon*, don't burn a bridge, don't be a , but bail. RIGHT NOW. The situation won't get any better, if anything it will get worse, and you won't be able to fix it.

 

Get everything you did into your portfolio, get everything you have into samples, and then give your notice. Be pleasant, be polite, be nice, but be firm and leave. It sounds like you'll have no problem finding a job (I don'tknow where you are, but you sound like you've got top quality skills), but the job you have sounds to be the seventh circle of hell.

[joecgcmaniac]

Donut is right. The longer you stay the more it'll wear on you and make you miserable. Do it before the stress and the b.s. begins affecting your health.

[piper]

Clean up your resume and send it out to as many prospective employers as quickly as you can! I would never recommend quitting your job without having another one to jump to. Employers don't like gaps in employment history.

 

However, if you don't need the money and your job is really that bad, I could understand you quitting.

 

Either way you cut it, it sounds like you need a change of scenery.

 

Best of Luck!

[deamentia]

As a designer myself, you'll always have to understand that people's vision will always vary from your own. Since they're your boss and paying you for this, you've really got no choice. However, it's always best to give them your rationale for your design decisions. I've found if they're presented constructively, they'll usually agree with you. After all, you are the expert at design - not them. You should make sure they know that.

 

The biggest mistake here, is that they should have given you a list of design changes near the beginning of the project - not when you've finished. This is poor management. Also, how come you didn't show them your designs for approval before doing all this work? Get approvals on drafts before moving forward

 

From what you've stated, it sounds like you're in a bad working environment. I'd suggest finding work elsewhere. Seriously, it's all about motivating yourself and knowing your self worth. I realize you probably have a family to support, so try to lock down a new job before leaving this one. Hell, take a well-earned vacation / sick week and find a better place to work.

 

Places like that aren't good for your health. You need to be in a place where you're happy.

[alecholland]

Donut is right. The longer you stay the more it'll wear on you and make you miserable. Do it before the stress and the b.s. begins affecting your health.

 

I've been there 7 years and it's been like this the entire time. It's made me question my abilities. It's definitely similar to an abusive relationship.

 

Too late on the health thing too.

 

Thanks for the comments you guys. I know this is OT and kind of frowned upon, but I just needed to get this off my chest in some way.

[eddly]

Well, I guess you would anticipate some change requests, but it really doesn't sound like they were very professional about it. Sounds like a mickey mouse company. Don't let them walk all over you because they know your history of being loyal.

 

Perhaps their input could have come at an earlier part of the process???!?

 

My suggestion for you would be to do what is best for you and your family. There is nothing wrong with leaving the company for greener pastures... you owe them nothing. That said, I wouldn't quit right away, just use the whole situation as motivation to find another job. Act like everything is fine, then nail them with the two weeks notice when you have not only found a new job, but a better job!

[dopy02]

First, stop working so hard. Second, find another job before you leave this one. Good luck.

[eddly]

 

Thanks for the comments you guys. I know this is OT and kind of frowned upon, but I just needed to get this off my chest in some way.

 

Well, I wouldn't really want comments from coinees that I don't know, so I can see why people tend to use comic general as OT as well. As long as we don't start seeing threads like "what is your favorite color?", or "what is your shoe size?" its all good.

[Davenport]

Wow, what a story. My first reaction was "Quit", but then I thought BEFORE you find something better maybe you should self-examine a bit so it doesn't happen at the next place.

It sounds like you may have a habit of covering everyone else's butt and picking up ALL the slack. If so, you may teach people at the next job just how to treat you...wind up in the same overloaded boat...all alone...rowing upstream like crazy once again.

[alecholland]

As a designer myself, you'll always have to understand that people's vision will always vary from your own. Since they're your boss and paying you for this, you've really got no choice. However, it's always best to give them your rationale for your design decisions. I've found if they're presented constructively, they'll usually agree with you. After all, you are the expert at design - not them. You should make sure they know that.

 

The biggest mistake here, is that they should have given you a list of design changes near the beginning of the project - not when you've finished. This is poor management. Also, how come you didn't show them your designs for approval before doing all this work? Get approvals on drafts before moving forward

 

From what you've stated, it sounds like you're in a bad working environment. I'd suggest finding work elsewhere. Seriously, it's all about motivating yourself and knowing your self worth. I realize you probably have a family to support, so try to lock down a new job before leaving this one. Hell, take a well-earned vacation / sick week and find a better place to work.

 

Places like that aren't good for your health. You need to be in a place where you're happy.

 

This is a light industrial company. They have been in business since 1974 and they want everything I do to look just like it did 30 years ago. They do not think of me as the "expert" which is part of the problem. I have tried to drag them kicking and screaming into the year 2007, but they do not want to listen to me or my ideas.

 

I was working on a new baby bookmark product (not funerals, baby announcements) line last year and literally stole ideas/artwork straight from Hallmark Cards ( I didn't actually use any of it for products, of course) as a test to see what they would say and my boss and the owners all hated it. They said it was too cute along with several original designs I submitted. They wanted me to copy a charcoal drawing that matched one of our bookmarks in our funeral line for announcing a new baby.

 

Also, I did submit several drafts throughout the entire process for approval and the whole time they were like, "it's great", "It's really gonna help sales", and other positive comments. This is a repeating pattern. They always wait until the final draft of anything to tell me they don't like it. The difference is in this case, it was my bosses 16 year old daughter that didn't like it and because he is an *spoon*, then he didn't like it and thought it should be changed according to her suggestions.

[alecholland]

Wow, what a story. My first reaction was "Quit", but then I thought BEFORE you find something better maybe you should self-examine a bit so it doesn't happen at the next place.

It sounds like you may have a habit of covering everyone else's butt and picking up ALL the slack. If so, you may teach people at the next job just how to treat you...wind up in the same overloaded boat...all alone...rowing upstream like crazy once again.

 

Yeah, that's true. I am exactly like that. I always get promoted quickly at every job I've had because I take on everyone else's responsibilities including my own. I don't have an off switch or a play dumb switch. If someone asks me if I can do something, I say yes. If someone is not doing something correctly, I fix it for them. Then before I know it, I'm doing everything.

[skypinkblu]

Don't quit, look for another job first...keep a record of any changes in the conditions of hire, if they make ANY changes, (such as the one with the health insurance) PM me and I'll try to advise you.

You will most probably lose your rights to Unemployment benefits if you leave now, and more employers want people who are employed, you will look better to them.

 

I have a more than a few years of experience in this field, but I don't want to post them here. I'll PM you. Good luck!

[Ze-man]

 

The heart of the matter.

 

What would you guys do? How would you feel? I'm thinking about quitting tomorrow or at least after the weekend. The only reason I've stayed this long is because I'm getting my health insurance through them.

 

Comments would be appreciated if anyone has actually read this. I am so upset right now I can't even explain it. This type of thing has been going on for years. They pay other people huge amounts of money to do some of the things I do for them and then I have to redo all of it, every single time.

 

I'm really on tilt right now. I've got the phone in my hand and am planning to call the owners right now and tell them what I really think of them.

 

Thanks.

 

OK,. first of all.. this is exactly the type of OT post that should be allowed.You made a plea to your peers nothing more, don't feel bad for asking.

 

Secondly.. well actually there is no secondly.. this situation is a total mess. You work for A- holes so normal logic does not apply. You are the proverbial "good guy who works hard and gets screwed daily while " They" get ahead. You should know that by now and play their game better then they do.

 

Sadly that is just how it is, until you either get fed up and leave, or figure out a way to go over their head and play the game better then they do you will continue to eat crow. All the while they take your work and show the higher ups what a good job "THEY" are doing.(they are good at that, they dont care, that's what they do)

 

But there are WAY to many variables in your situation to give really sound advice, so sometimes a simple solution is best. And that is...

 

 

Figure out what you want from your boss and co., and even if you got that would you be happy?

 

Because most times throwing money at a situation will not resolve the pent up frustrations bourne years ago.

 

My advice, continue to eat their crow, smile at them.... and find a way out. Even if it is a only pocket full of dirt at a time,(Shawshank reference) Having the last laugh does not mean walking out in a huff, or having them say you were right. It is more a matter of having a plan, and confidence in yourself to see it through. And finding a place that makes you not mind going to work so much.(if that is possible)

 

Even if the new job might not make you happier at least it is different chit then what you are currently dealing with. And sometimes that is all it takes.

 

Hope my comments are taken in the spirit given.

 

Ze-

[FlyingDonut]

Well, I've been in your position, and I would (and have) bail instantly.

 

That being said, if you want to stick around, do the following:

 

1) Get everything you've done off your machine and onto CDs and out of the office

2) Don't be a jerk and blow up, because no matter how much of a bad situation you're in, if you blow the place up on the way out, that's all that will be remembered.

3) Stop working the insane hours. Just stop. They obviously don't appreciate you anyway, so knock the 100 hour weeks off. If nobody else cares, you shouldn't either. That's harsh, but stop. If they fire you, you can collect unemployment.

4) Start looking for a new job RIGHT NOW.

[sckao]

 

First... what exactly is your job title?

 

It sounds like you're the Art Director, the Webmaster, the Office Services guy, the IT guy, and sometimes the Janitor. Except, of course, there seems to be no one reporting to you... so you're a bunch of 1-person departments.

 

Second, if there are so many people above you and around you... I.E. it's a fairly large company, why are you doing all these things? It sounds like you're actually working for a smaller company. (especially with the health insurance thing.)

 

I do pretty much exactly what you're saying too... I.E. I tend to become the guy that does everything in the company. When you become indispensible though... most normal people realize that and will try to retain you... not stiff you on raises for the last seven years.

 

Bottom line, if you're not happy and they know you're not happy but are not willing to do what it takes to make you happy... then you should move on.

[shiverbones]

I walked away from a graphic design job of 10 years. It wasn't as drastic as you are feeling now, but it was continual lies, false promises & being taken advantage of. I have never been happier being way from it! Of course I feel very guilty since BronzeBruce took my place...

[alecholland]

First... what exactly is your job title?

 

It sounds like you're the Art Director, the Webmaster, the Office Services guy, the IT guy, and sometimes the Janitor. Except, of course, there seems to be no one reporting to you... so you're a bunch of 1-person departments.

 

Second, if there are so many people above you and around you... I.E. it's a fairly large company, why are you doing all these things? It sounds like you're actually working for a smaller company. (especially with the health insurance thing.)

 

I do pretty much exactly what you're saying too... I.E. I tend to become the guy that does everything in the company. When you become indispensible though... most normal people realize that and will try to retain you... not stiff you on raises for the last seven years.

 

Bottom line, if you're not happy and they know you're not happy but are not willing to do what it takes to make you happy... then you should move on.

 

I don't have a job title. It is a small company (less than 30 employees). I do everything you described. My boss takes me with him to every meeting he has and has me talk for him. We just started offering a new service making custom designed bookmarks for museums and the owner asked me to contact some of the museums because he knew the sales manager would lose the sales.

 

It was kind of a last minute, half butted idea to begin with, but they had me design a trade show booth, signage, all the advertising and a dozen bookmarks samples so they could go to a museum store trade show about a month and a half ago. It was the only time in the entire 7 years I've been there that I did not get any input from anyone on my design work. Because it was so last minute, they had to take whatever I had designed. I used big words in my advertising copy like "exclusive" which my boss didn't like because he said it sounded like it was written for college educated people. What does he think museum directors are? At any rate, because I was able to do things my way for the first time ever, now the Metropolitan Museum of Art wants me to design a line of bookmarks for their museum stores. They really liked my ideas and designs.

 

However, when I leave, I'm thinking about deleting all the work I've done and let them swim on their own. I don't want them making a dime off of something that I've done completely on my own with no input, resources, or assistance from anyone.

 

I appreciate everyone's comments and advice. I'm taking my first full weekend off this weekend and spend it with my wife.

 

Cooler heads will prevail. My wife got me to put down the phone a little while ago. I had the owners phone number up on my computer screen, ready to dial. It would have been very entertaining.

[alecholland]

I walked away from a graphic design job of 10 years. It wasn't as drastic as you are feeling now, but it was continual lies, false promises & being taken advantage of. I have never been happier being way from it! Of course I feel very guilty since BronzeBruce took my place...

 

I'm thinking about getting back into doing artwork. I'm not nearly as good as you shiver, but my family, especially my wife, has been trying to get me back into it for many, many years now. I think it would be nice to work on something that was totally my own. I could find a nice job pushing paper and do that for a while I think.

[shiverbones]

You should certainly give it a shot. Anything you can do - there is a niche for it, it just takes some digging to turn it up. Take what you love & find a way to get it to others who love it. The internet REALLY makes that a lot easier. That being said, I didn't have many obligations when I left, just myself, a car payment & about $2K in credit cards, so I could live pretty cheap. Selling a lot of my comics helped too , but it was what I needed to get past the scary bump. If you ever want to talk about it, give me a shout...