And that’s why we ALL need a vacation

At 9pm I get a message on the company chat platform from the Asia team. It’s their morning, so emails are not unusual at this hour. Chats, less so.

She’s letting me know about a change they want made to one of their projects. She can explain why they want a change. She can give a big picture view of what they hope the change will address.

But there are no specifics on what they actually want to change, with which to act or even weigh in on a timeline, or feasibility.

When I ask if this has all been discussed with the project manager, who is working with them on their overarching program, the answer is no. They have not.

They have just locally decided they want this change.

Which may or may not be a decision they are free to make. Maybe. Probably. But they would still need it to be on the project radar.

And somehow, despite literally no one involved knowing one blessed thing about it, they have also set a timeline for the change. That deadline is in 2 weeks.

Two weeks. When no one has reviewed from either a program or legal perspective. When no one who will actually do any of it has specifics, and the team is short-staffed to boot. When we have no idea the scope of the changes, whether translation services are needed, etc. So we can’t say if two weeks is enough time, because we don’t know what is actually being requested.

But despite all that, they set a deadline. Which I am finding out at 9pm via a Chat, basically two nights before I leave for my Caribbean cruise.

Nice.

Note: We. Do. Not. Report. To. These. People.

Also: This Is Not How You Ask For Something.

Which technically they haven’t. I have a chat thread saying a request is coming. I have no actual request.

I let her know we need the details, via email. I let her know that in light of all of the above, their timeline is aggressive. I let her know that once we receive the information on the change, we can review and confirm what is possible and when.

Incidentally, two business days later, we still have not actually received the request email, nor any details. If I knew what to do I’d try take care of it so the guys won’t have to mess with it. But no. Of course not.

This is why we all need a vacation.

These people could drive a person to drink.