It came to me today in yet another random flash of brilliance. Perhaps it isn't so brilliant but I impressed myself nonetheless. A bare-bones dissection of any organization reveals the 3 layers in organizational structure, the classes of employees if you will. It consists of low level workers, middle management & upper management.
Low level workers do all the grunt work. Their tasks can be menial, physical or extremely technical but their work produces the raison d'etre of the organization. Without the workers, there is no need for anything else. Upper management make important org-wide decisions that can have effects trickling down to every last employee mainly because their decisions affect the direction a company takes. Their decisions can make or break the organization.
As for middle management, we always hear about large organizations having too many mid-level managers. It has become a trend to consider middle management as completely unneccesary. Thus, the many layoffs in large companies in recent years create a harsh, competitive landscape for those in middle management positions and re-affirms this myth that we don't need them.
True, too much middle management creates unneccesarily inefficient bureaucracies but just the right amount of middle management will actually create a more cohesive organization. I love real and completely unrelated analogies so here is my brilliant new thought.
Take the nut, the bolt and the washer. The bolt does a half-assed job of holding two parts together but the nut keeps it in line. Without a washer though, that bolt is likely to slide from the nut over time and everything falls apart. I think the expression "cog in the machine" used to apply more to low level employees but now applies more to mid level management. It is actually a more fitting analogy anyway though it is often used incorrectly in the negative for cogs in a machine are absolutely neccesary. Cogs or gears are used for various reasons (from Jen Lewin):
1) They can reverse the direction of a motor or drive.
2) They can increase or decrease the turning of a motor.
3) They can increase or decrease the power of a motor's turning.
To sum up my point: the right cog and the right amount of cogs in the machine can make it a more powerful force to contend with therefore cogs & middle management should not be so easily dismissed.
Showing posts with label The Grind. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Grind. Show all posts
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
OMG wi-fi good on HTC621
this is the longest i have been able to stay connected and actually surf and blog (!!!) on my smartphone super chistmas present from my beloved. this is great! now if only there was wi-fi at both of the places i worked...
today by the way was the absolute-test fucking sickeningly boring day at work ever where i think i did less than a full hours worth of real work in an 8 hour work day. sweet coz i'm getting paid for every minute "wasted" on surfing the net but fuck i wished i would plop over on my keyboard and just died right there...
today by the way was the absolute-test fucking sickeningly boring day at work ever where i think i did less than a full hours worth of real work in an 8 hour work day. sweet coz i'm getting paid for every minute "wasted" on surfing the net but fuck i wished i would plop over on my keyboard and just died right there...
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Offended
You know, honestly there are times when I do not have a "FULL" day's work but often times I do enough. I waste some time here and there, while I work at the same time to keep myself sane because I am a little ADD. But when the work is there, I can always handle it and do it in 8 hours time because i prioritize and organize. Just because I am more efficient, and am not being managed well, it is no fault of mine.
To be accused of being "idle" shows exactly how little my manager knows about what his workers ought to be doing to do their job right. Instead of just piling on the work saying it needs to be handled now, forcing them to constantly start and not finish anything, which ultimately creates more backlog later on. Why not just make and let them finish it through to the end? It's as if I am not already maintaining and constantly adding items to existing PO's (these are tasks he is never even aware of!) OR helping A/P with all the problems that he and his department are dodging phonecalls from. It's not even just that he said I was idle because there are odd times when I am. But at this time when he said he had to keep me busy by bringing me another pile of invoices, even though I told him I only entered a bunch of PR's which need to be followed up on, that's when he said I was idle and I said well no I have to do work on them. He said, come on, be honest with me. Meaning what? That i am lying and saying I have work when I have nothing? It's a slap in the face that's what.
I mean, fuck sticking around just to help him out, why should I? He already screwed my chances of having a forward momentum in this job by not releasing me to A/P just because he could not manage the extra work by NOT having me here. You know, if I am so idle, why don't I just quit and they can do the rest of this on their own. I am hopping mad right now but look at me, here I am working and chugging away. Screw this bullshit, I'm finding a job closer to home.
To be accused of being "idle" shows exactly how little my manager knows about what his workers ought to be doing to do their job right. Instead of just piling on the work saying it needs to be handled now, forcing them to constantly start and not finish anything, which ultimately creates more backlog later on. Why not just make and let them finish it through to the end? It's as if I am not already maintaining and constantly adding items to existing PO's (these are tasks he is never even aware of!) OR helping A/P with all the problems that he and his department are dodging phonecalls from. It's not even just that he said I was idle because there are odd times when I am. But at this time when he said he had to keep me busy by bringing me another pile of invoices, even though I told him I only entered a bunch of PR's which need to be followed up on, that's when he said I was idle and I said well no I have to do work on them. He said, come on, be honest with me. Meaning what? That i am lying and saying I have work when I have nothing? It's a slap in the face that's what.
I mean, fuck sticking around just to help him out, why should I? He already screwed my chances of having a forward momentum in this job by not releasing me to A/P just because he could not manage the extra work by NOT having me here. You know, if I am so idle, why don't I just quit and they can do the rest of this on their own. I am hopping mad right now but look at me, here I am working and chugging away. Screw this bullshit, I'm finding a job closer to home.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
So grey
Wowee it is depressing outside...and inside at work. It's cold, grey and absolutely dreary. Also my not having worked out in a week is making my joints aching for movement. Damn I shouldn't have been lazy. Must stretch tonight and thank god tomorrow night is yoga class. Still another 2 hours before home time, arg. I started yesterday, first day back from the long weekend, oh so well. How quickly it has turned ugly on me!
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Ready for Hibernation
You know how your body temperature drops when you go to sleep? Right now, the office feels just cool enough not to be cold, but enough to make me want to be warm and toasty, curl into a blanket and sleep forever. Damn these hibernation temperatures, makes it so difficult to concentrate!
Yoga classes start tonight! First in a series of 9 and it'll be just me tonight. Starting next week my mom will be going with me. I'm feeling a wee bit of excitement.
Foolishly I agreed to work the Chinese News broadcast every Tuesday night. There's a little bit of regret and kicking myself there, but I suppose at the end of the month I will be $100 richer.
...yay...
Yoga classes start tonight! First in a series of 9 and it'll be just me tonight. Starting next week my mom will be going with me. I'm feeling a wee bit of excitement.
Foolishly I agreed to work the Chinese News broadcast every Tuesday night. There's a little bit of regret and kicking myself there, but I suppose at the end of the month I will be $100 richer.
...yay...
Monday, September 17, 2007
mmm...Watermelon...
It's been awhile since I posted here. I guess I have actually been concentrating on work for a bit since I started listening to audiobooks of The Wheel of Time series. I read through 5 and a half books of the series way back when, during the last years of highschool. Everyone was reading them, I just kind of jumped on the bandwagon. They were an enjoyable series with engaging characters but there was so much going on, especially certain side stories that were of less interest to me than others. I honestly probably skimmed through a good quarter of what I read. Listening to the first few chapters of Book 4 right now and there are some sections I don't remember at all, not that it mattered much to the overall plot progression.
The good thing about the audiobook is if I start "skimming" I can just pause it, go back a minute, 10 minutes, a few chapters or wherever and re-absorb it all. It also helps me focus on work as it plays in the background. It's quite efficient, like eavesdropping on a nearby conversation except it's not some inane banter or useless gossip! It was difficult at first to get used to the 2 voice actors. I really rejected it in the beginning and felt terrible to have their voices read what I had imagined but eventually my voice merged with theirs and they do a much better job than me in emoting the characters' dialogue.
I only wonder what I would do when I finish all 11 audiobooks. Work will return to the old days of ho-hum-dom that I dread. The onset of winter is fast approaching with bleak, dreary and grey days that barely motivates me to roll out of bed let alone get myself to work. I must find another diversion to ease me through the days. If only I had 4 arms and a remote camera sending a feed to a pair of video goggles that look like regular glasses. 2 arms to work under the table, knitting away while the camera shows me what I am knitting, my other 2 arms will type away on the computer and me, looking ever more concentrated with my new specs and all.
Where oh where is the technological future we were promised?
The good thing about the audiobook is if I start "skimming" I can just pause it, go back a minute, 10 minutes, a few chapters or wherever and re-absorb it all. It also helps me focus on work as it plays in the background. It's quite efficient, like eavesdropping on a nearby conversation except it's not some inane banter or useless gossip! It was difficult at first to get used to the 2 voice actors. I really rejected it in the beginning and felt terrible to have their voices read what I had imagined but eventually my voice merged with theirs and they do a much better job than me in emoting the characters' dialogue.
I only wonder what I would do when I finish all 11 audiobooks. Work will return to the old days of ho-hum-dom that I dread. The onset of winter is fast approaching with bleak, dreary and grey days that barely motivates me to roll out of bed let alone get myself to work. I must find another diversion to ease me through the days. If only I had 4 arms and a remote camera sending a feed to a pair of video goggles that look like regular glasses. 2 arms to work under the table, knitting away while the camera shows me what I am knitting, my other 2 arms will type away on the computer and me, looking ever more concentrated with my new specs and all.
Where oh where is the technological future we were promised?
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
6 months
Yesterday was the 6 month luniversary(?) of starting work at this company as a temp. I'm still at temp status but have been asked several times to stay and take on a full time permanent position, on salary, benefits, etc. but it's like a part of me does not want to accept the fact that this is it. It just seems so final, to admit defeat, to accept that I am only as good as this. This should be a reminder to me to actively look for other employment or concede to taking the permanent position. It's not as if I can't quit and go to something else if I have the opportunity, right?
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Wishing luck is on my side today...
Well, in about half an hour I'll be skipping out from work and going to a job interview. If the job would actually pay an acceptable rate, I am pretty excited. Even though it would mean going downtown everyday, it's something related to what I did before and I get to be techie / customer service. I just think it has more potential for me and it seems to be a good compromise. We shall see what comes of my meeting.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Numb is my brain & body
What a brutal day at work! I am falling asleep here. Even with music in my ears, I thought it would save me but it does nothing. I stopped looking up creative/hobby stuff and tried to read more science articles. Some are interesting but something's still making me drowsy. Maybe it's my pork chop lunch causing this itus. Yeah, it's probably the pork.
I shouldn't have agreed to help out at the TV station. Now after hours of doing nothing, I have to show up, wait and do nothing for another 2 hours there before the news broadcast actually starts. Today is driving me nuts. My last email received was 10:58 this morning! There were only a total of 7 emails before that. Where the hell IS everybody? I thought maybe my mailbox was full and I wasn't getting emails, but I just sent one to myself, no problems or error messages popping up. That's the true mark of a bored person there, sending messages to yourself.
Anyways, maybe trying to write lyrics to a song not yet written will help pass some time. The first verse of this I thought of driving home last week.
This is a dedication to...
Those who sweet talk, those who kiss ass,
The ones that smoke c*ck will get the best grass,
The best of choices, the best opportunities,
The best of you and the best of me.
We give without wanting, they'll dazzle before us.
The way of the world, that's how it is.
Can it be changed, can it be different?
Do you really care? I'm kinda distant.
If I get what I need when I need it.
Why expend energy for naught?
Looking out for number one is the only mandate.
I can do it too and won't be caught.
Like steps on a mayan pyramid,
We'll stomp on you to reach the top.
Suppress the ego to nourish the id,
Steep is the climb but it'll never stop.
If you fall behind, bottom of the barrel,
the rat race continues to the high holy shrine.
We'll do it together, a team, no quarrels.
I'll scratch your back then you can scratch mine.
This is dedicated to...
Those who sweet talk, those who kiss ass,
the ones that smoke c*ck will get the best grass,
The best of choices, best opportunities,
awaiting you, awaiting me.
I shouldn't have agreed to help out at the TV station. Now after hours of doing nothing, I have to show up, wait and do nothing for another 2 hours there before the news broadcast actually starts. Today is driving me nuts. My last email received was 10:58 this morning! There were only a total of 7 emails before that. Where the hell IS everybody? I thought maybe my mailbox was full and I wasn't getting emails, but I just sent one to myself, no problems or error messages popping up. That's the true mark of a bored person there, sending messages to yourself.
Anyways, maybe trying to write lyrics to a song not yet written will help pass some time. The first verse of this I thought of driving home last week.
This is a dedication to...
Those who sweet talk, those who kiss ass,
The ones that smoke c*ck will get the best grass,
The best of choices, the best opportunities,
The best of you and the best of me.
We give without wanting, they'll dazzle before us.
The way of the world, that's how it is.
Can it be changed, can it be different?
Do you really care? I'm kinda distant.
If I get what I need when I need it.
Why expend energy for naught?
Looking out for number one is the only mandate.
I can do it too and won't be caught.
Like steps on a mayan pyramid,
We'll stomp on you to reach the top.
Suppress the ego to nourish the id,
Steep is the climb but it'll never stop.
If you fall behind, bottom of the barrel,
the rat race continues to the high holy shrine.
We'll do it together, a team, no quarrels.
I'll scratch your back then you can scratch mine.
This is dedicated to...
Those who sweet talk, those who kiss ass,
the ones that smoke c*ck will get the best grass,
The best of choices, best opportunities,
awaiting you, awaiting me.
Monday, June 11, 2007
He works hard for his money!
Not much to report on. Work is boring but busy enough obviously because I haven't been able to surf and find interesting things to talk about. Or perhaps it's been a slow week in terms of procrastination and idling thoughts.
There was a water salesman who came in this morning. He had so much gusto and umpgh! He was pitching in the boss's office and from out here I can hear and "feel" that the water system he represents is the bestest damned water system in the world. I still felt sorry for him though. People in general now are just immune to hardcore sales pitches. We can easily turn a blind eye/deaf ear nowadays. It definitely takes a certain amount of talent and charm to be a good salesman. There are too many of them, pushed out into the world with nothing but a pamphlet and a promise of commissions, to do a job they are bound to fail at. It's a sad depressing world but kudos to him for trying so hard.
There was a water salesman who came in this morning. He had so much gusto and umpgh! He was pitching in the boss's office and from out here I can hear and "feel" that the water system he represents is the bestest damned water system in the world. I still felt sorry for him though. People in general now are just immune to hardcore sales pitches. We can easily turn a blind eye/deaf ear nowadays. It definitely takes a certain amount of talent and charm to be a good salesman. There are too many of them, pushed out into the world with nothing but a pamphlet and a promise of commissions, to do a job they are bound to fail at. It's a sad depressing world but kudos to him for trying so hard.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
New Digs
So here's the old "temporary" office... It was all open, rows of people like a computer lab.As compared to the new office I was move to today, still under rennovations. It doesn't look like much but considering that it's a dinky little old building in an industrial area, they spent a lot of time & money on making this place nice.
All the offices are fairly large with windows from ceiling to about 2 feet off the ground. Hardwood floor for all the manager's offices and the rest is tile. It may just be that linoleum stuff but they really made a point of making this a comfortable space.
Here's my temporary desk, right by the window. Someone else is supposed to have this seat, when she comes I will have to move. Hopefully NOT into the offices in the back or in the boardroom because I like the sunlight. Another good thing is, even if I feel like being a workaholic, I can't. The guy who locks up leaves at 5pm everyday. I can't hold up the poor guy who's been their since 7:30 now can I?
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
God damn!
As soon as I finished my last blog @ 4:30pm, someone sitting behind me announces that the system's back up and the chump from A/P starts emailing me with stuff to do. OOOH, how does the Man always know how to get you?! Just at the right time too! arrrgh...
Quitting Time
The decision is made. I am not moving to Head Office. My non-boss does not want to let me go to A/P yet, but instead of having me work out of HO, he's moving me to his boss's new office at the newly acquired plant on Weston Rd. It's about half the distance from home to Brampton and only a little further than this temp office here. Although it is probably unneccesary to take the 407, he mentioned on his own, that they would continue paying for the transponder fees (which I haven't used since I've gone to Brampton anwyays). So now I have that option if I choose. I wouldn've liked to work at HO, get used to the environment, see if I like it but I always dread the more inconvenient drive mid-town. Distance-wise HO is no tmuch further but it would take twice the amount of time to commute there during rush hours. I hope the new plant at Weston is nice and new.
As for today, I have no more work to do, anything I need to do is in the system which is down for maintenance for at least 2 hours. I think I'll just be quitting today and come nice and early to move my stuff in the morning. Now I can do some early grocery shopping, yahoo!
As for today, I have no more work to do, anything I need to do is in the system which is down for maintenance for at least 2 hours. I think I'll just be quitting today and come nice and early to move my stuff in the morning. Now I can do some early grocery shopping, yahoo!
Monday, May 28, 2007
Tossed around like an old shoe
Funny. I knew this temporary office is closing down soon but it never quite hits you how soon, especially since I was supposed to have stopped working here months ago because this very office is closing down. I've gone from refusing to work in Brampton, to going to Brampton, then refusing again to work in Brampton, finally coming back to the temp office until it shuts down, extending the term of my assignment about 4 or 5 times now. (Who knows how many times it has been?)
Finally it hits me, when the IT dude comes up to me and says, "Are you moving to head office at the end of today? Let me mark down which computer you have." I was in complete shock. If they take my computer, where would I work? I'm sure as hell not going back to Brampton after the big stink I caused, what with the salary increase and all (although that extra $225 gas allowance is pretty sweet) . I've even made arrangements to transfer to A/P to learn about that. There's been no set date for my transferral because everyone is busy and they want it done neatly through HR. My current non-boss whom I don't really report to, doesn't want to let me go because I am doing a huge chunk of his work. My real boss who I should be reporting to doesn't know what I am doing but wants to help my non-boss because it makes his own team's work run more smoothly. My soon-to-be boss would really like me down at head office but she is waiting on HR to do the negotiations with the boss of my non-boss.
So with all this bureaucracy, and the temp office shutting down by Friday, I've asked IT to keep my computer here for a few extra days to stall the process but then what? Where will I be going? What shall be my fate next week?
Without intention to brag, but if they talk as if I'm such a hot commodity, they sure drag their behinds in sorting out where I should be. Finally, reality sets in for everyone. No more waltzing into work at 9:30 or so every morning, leaving earlier than I should anymore. No more looking like a schlub at work. No more net-surfing all day long when I am bored out of my mind with no work to do because neither my boss or non-boss knows my real workload. I guess the good times are really over.
Finally it hits me, when the IT dude comes up to me and says, "Are you moving to head office at the end of today? Let me mark down which computer you have." I was in complete shock. If they take my computer, where would I work? I'm sure as hell not going back to Brampton after the big stink I caused, what with the salary increase and all (although that extra $225 gas allowance is pretty sweet) . I've even made arrangements to transfer to A/P to learn about that. There's been no set date for my transferral because everyone is busy and they want it done neatly through HR. My current non-boss whom I don't really report to, doesn't want to let me go because I am doing a huge chunk of his work. My real boss who I should be reporting to doesn't know what I am doing but wants to help my non-boss because it makes his own team's work run more smoothly. My soon-to-be boss would really like me down at head office but she is waiting on HR to do the negotiations with the boss of my non-boss.
So with all this bureaucracy, and the temp office shutting down by Friday, I've asked IT to keep my computer here for a few extra days to stall the process but then what? Where will I be going? What shall be my fate next week?
Without intention to brag, but if they talk as if I'm such a hot commodity, they sure drag their behinds in sorting out where I should be. Finally, reality sets in for everyone. No more waltzing into work at 9:30 or so every morning, leaving earlier than I should anymore. No more looking like a schlub at work. No more net-surfing all day long when I am bored out of my mind with no work to do because neither my boss or non-boss knows my real workload. I guess the good times are really over.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Them wacky scientists!
To alleviate boredom at work, I've subscribed to several RSS feeds on Google Reader from some of the more popular science magazines/journals such as Scientific American & Science Daily. Having always been curious about all facets of science at a young age but not quite having the discipline or patience to learn about it fully, I never chose a science-related career path. Instead, I chose the arts. However, it is always interesting to know what new frontiers our scientist brothers and sisters have forged but sometimes after reading these headlines, it just makes me shake my head. Check out some of these nuggets from the past few days:
Personality More Important Than Job Satisfaction In Determining Job Performance Success
I understand the merit of this particular project but who said let's spend X amount of time and money to gather proof on something that I think should be widely assumed already. It's so common sense that any good manager should see it right away without needing the results of such a study to direct his/her interactions with subordinates. I say, if as a manager you don't know this, then you do not have the personality to be a fully successful and effective manager. Which, is fine, because many mediocre people get to the top. It's a fact of life. It's how long before their fall or how much they struggle to prevent that which makes life so interesting.
Finger Length Helps Predict Elementary Exam Results, Study Shows
Excuse me? Are we living in the 21st century? Okay. The article does go on to mention that there is a correlation between finger length and brain development in areas that coorespond to spatial and mathematical skills possibly because of testosterone and oestrogen levels in the womb which can affect both. So after leading to that intermediate conclusion, why dwell on the finger length and coming up with a digit ratio? If a relationship can be found on a chemical level, then how about just determining a prenatal hormon exposure ratio? They say digit ratio cannot replace SAT scores but it will be an interesting insight in relation to other behaviors such as technophobia, choices in career path or developmental disorders. I just don't understand how the relation of the digit ratio actually matters? Hopefully this was just a journalistic choice to make for a quirky read. Maybe the actual study is more about the hormones. One can only hope.
Clues to Mysteries of Physical Attractiveness Revealed
Here's the short feed, I'm not even gonna bother commenting:
"Score one for body language: It seems that body shape and the way people walk hold major cues to their attractiveness to others, according to new research. The attractiveness ratings for perceived women increased by about 50 percent when they walked with hip sway, and attractiveness ratings for perceived men more than doubled when they walked with a swagger in their shoulders."
Personality More Important Than Job Satisfaction In Determining Job Performance Success
I understand the merit of this particular project but who said let's spend X amount of time and money to gather proof on something that I think should be widely assumed already. It's so common sense that any good manager should see it right away without needing the results of such a study to direct his/her interactions with subordinates. I say, if as a manager you don't know this, then you do not have the personality to be a fully successful and effective manager. Which, is fine, because many mediocre people get to the top. It's a fact of life. It's how long before their fall or how much they struggle to prevent that which makes life so interesting.
Finger Length Helps Predict Elementary Exam Results, Study Shows
Excuse me? Are we living in the 21st century? Okay. The article does go on to mention that there is a correlation between finger length and brain development in areas that coorespond to spatial and mathematical skills possibly because of testosterone and oestrogen levels in the womb which can affect both. So after leading to that intermediate conclusion, why dwell on the finger length and coming up with a digit ratio? If a relationship can be found on a chemical level, then how about just determining a prenatal hormon exposure ratio? They say digit ratio cannot replace SAT scores but it will be an interesting insight in relation to other behaviors such as technophobia, choices in career path or developmental disorders. I just don't understand how the relation of the digit ratio actually matters? Hopefully this was just a journalistic choice to make for a quirky read. Maybe the actual study is more about the hormones. One can only hope.
Clues to Mysteries of Physical Attractiveness Revealed
Here's the short feed, I'm not even gonna bother commenting:
"Score one for body language: It seems that body shape and the way people walk hold major cues to their attractiveness to others, according to new research. The attractiveness ratings for perceived women increased by about 50 percent when they walked with hip sway, and attractiveness ratings for perceived men more than doubled when they walked with a swagger in their shoulders."
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Envy & Admiration
The "resident IT guy", as another face in the office once called him, just gets up, closes his backpack every single day at 5:00pm on the dot, or today even earlier. Less than a minute, he is up and out of here. That's the getaway approach I need to learn. Fast as lightning, like a bank robbery. The guy comes in even later than me on most days. I don't know why I care so much about the extra bit of money. Well I know why because I will end up doing it everyday and it adds up. *sigh* Maybe today is the day.
Boredom begets hunger
Talk about true lack of motivation. A few hours ago, I had blogged on my other site about my lack of motivation to exercise the past week. Here I am now, 30 minutes to an hour from the end of work and I am thinking about dinner, looking up recipes to make awesome beef noodle soup tonight. Just the thought of it is making my brain trick me into smelling the sweet broth. I can feel myself salivating.
Boredom tends to do that to you. Makes you hungry, I mean, not just salivate. Although that would be funny. An office full of bored people, wide-eyed, staring at their computers with drool down the side of their mouths. Gross; but hilarious.
Boredom tends to do that to you. Makes you hungry, I mean, not just salivate. Although that would be funny. An office full of bored people, wide-eyed, staring at their computers with drool down the side of their mouths. Gross; but hilarious.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Lunchroom Conversations
01:27
Five minutes ago, I walked into the lunchroom to rinse my mug: reservoir for my fill of soy milk from this morning. You know how it thickens and sticks to the sides, looks like day old splooge. Nasty stuff, that soy milk when dried. Two female co-workers whose names I will not mention (only because I do not know them) are chatting during a break. A typically casual conversation amongst colleagues about the television and movie preferences of their respective kids & significant other.
OL A, "...he really likes the action stuff, really fast paced, you know."
Worker B, "He would really like Die Hard then wouldn't he?"
OL A, "Oh, but that is really adult. No that's...that's too adult."
Worker B, "Well that's got everything!"
OL A, "My husband, he likes 24."
Worker B, "24? Die Hard's like that."
OL A, "No, 24 is more...intelligent, what with the government and all that."
Worker B, "What about those Mel Gibson movies?"
Hearing that conversation alone was enough to signal my blood to boil and jolt me back into full consciousness from my work induced trance.
I suppose I can't blame them. They are just as much affected as I am by the phenomenon of OCBDD (Office-Computer Brain Drain Discorder). When forced to converse in a manner not related to work, it reduces us to make bubble-headed remarks on just about any topic. For shame that we should be plagued by this affliction, when we have the technology in our hands to combat the effects of this ailment. Internet radio, ipods, YouTube; conveniently packaged for the momentary diversion of attention to relieve us of concentration fatigue. All of it is readily available on the very workstations we have but we are cut off or forbidden to access the cure.
The Man is determined to bring us down and drag our brain-dead carcasses across the never changing landscape and barren wasteland of office space. Sure, cubicles may change slightly, at times we are boxed in, others we are a field of people at floating workstations but always under the overbearing dark clouds of corporate policies.
Five minutes ago, I walked into the lunchroom to rinse my mug: reservoir for my fill of soy milk from this morning. You know how it thickens and sticks to the sides, looks like day old splooge. Nasty stuff, that soy milk when dried. Two female co-workers whose names I will not mention (only because I do not know them) are chatting during a break. A typically casual conversation amongst colleagues about the television and movie preferences of their respective kids & significant other.
OL A, "...he really likes the action stuff, really fast paced, you know."
Worker B, "He would really like Die Hard then wouldn't he?"
OL A, "Oh, but that is really adult. No that's...that's too adult."
Worker B, "Well that's got everything!"
OL A, "My husband, he likes 24."
Worker B, "24? Die Hard's like that."
OL A, "No, 24 is more...intelligent, what with the government and all that."
Worker B, "What about those Mel Gibson movies?"
Hearing that conversation alone was enough to signal my blood to boil and jolt me back into full consciousness from my work induced trance.
I suppose I can't blame them. They are just as much affected as I am by the phenomenon of OCBDD (Office-Computer Brain Drain Discorder). When forced to converse in a manner not related to work, it reduces us to make bubble-headed remarks on just about any topic. For shame that we should be plagued by this affliction, when we have the technology in our hands to combat the effects of this ailment. Internet radio, ipods, YouTube; conveniently packaged for the momentary diversion of attention to relieve us of concentration fatigue. All of it is readily available on the very workstations we have but we are cut off or forbidden to access the cure.
The Man is determined to bring us down and drag our brain-dead carcasses across the never changing landscape and barren wasteland of office space. Sure, cubicles may change slightly, at times we are boxed in, others we are a field of people at floating workstations but always under the overbearing dark clouds of corporate policies.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Counting down the minutes to an 8 hour day
Experience the passing of time in an office environment on an unproductive day is like going through various stages of a terminal illness. The journey ahead seems so long and endless but as a human being, we give ourselves hope. We say to ourselves, "It's not so bad, we can occupy ourselves and hope for the best." Somehow we think a miracle will happen and either we are sent home, there is work to do again or we just die on the spot.
As the day goes on, your headache increases and you're constantly looking over your shoulder waiting for the worst to happen. By hour 6, the flesh pocket surrounding my eyes called eyesockets felt like they were swollen or that my eyeballs had sunken deep into its recess all the while shriveling like a prune. They were ready to fall out if a fellow co-worker only nudged me from behind.
Now, finally I am in the home stretch. I should stay until 6 PM but that is much more than I can take for today. The people here must think I am the biggest slacker. In about 15-20 minutes, I will begin to slowly pack things up. Still feeling the pain yet almost giddy with excitement. The heavy feeling in my head will lift the instant I walk out of this building. I simply can't wait.
As the day goes on, your headache increases and you're constantly looking over your shoulder waiting for the worst to happen. By hour 6, the flesh pocket surrounding my eyes called eyesockets felt like they were swollen or that my eyeballs had sunken deep into its recess all the while shriveling like a prune. They were ready to fall out if a fellow co-worker only nudged me from behind.
Now, finally I am in the home stretch. I should stay until 6 PM but that is much more than I can take for today. The people here must think I am the biggest slacker. In about 15-20 minutes, I will begin to slowly pack things up. Still feeling the pain yet almost giddy with excitement. The heavy feeling in my head will lift the instant I walk out of this building. I simply can't wait.
boy! it's gonna be a long day...
Not even an hour into work and I am already out of work to do. This is crazy. I knew that usually on Wednesday, the work slows down as everyone else is trying to catch up on other work while I sit on my thumb, waiting...waiting...waiting for them to get to the PR's I send out. I thought at least today (Thursday) there would be more emails to deal with in the morning. I had three emails this morning. 2 gave me a little bit of work to do, but now someone else needs to do something before I can proceed with them. The other one basically lessened my work.
*sigh* Not a thing to do. I suppose I can find something and pretend to work, but it would not lead to any productive end. My mind is becoming stale, for at least 8 hours of the day it should be learning or problem solving. Next week would be a perfect time to swtich departments, I wonder if that is going to happen. Should I initiate a talk with the powers that be, just to shake things up and make the day more interesting?
If only I had my knitting with me I could finish that shrug today and bring it to my mom's tomorrow as a gift.
*sigh* Not a thing to do. I suppose I can find something and pretend to work, but it would not lead to any productive end. My mind is becoming stale, for at least 8 hours of the day it should be learning or problem solving. Next week would be a perfect time to swtich departments, I wonder if that is going to happen. Should I initiate a talk with the powers that be, just to shake things up and make the day more interesting?
If only I had my knitting with me I could finish that shrug today and bring it to my mom's tomorrow as a gift.
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