About twenty-five years ago, I read or heard something about being in a "better-than-nothing" relationship. Pretty self-explanatory. Being in a relationship just to avoid being alone. I'd rather be alone than in that type of relationship. Being in a better-than-nothing job is an entirely different matter.
There is the matter of supporting oneself. Unless you're financially independent, you need a job. Even if you're financially independent, you'd probably want some type of employment. It helps in many ways to be gainfully employed. I tend to believe that most people have a better-than-nothing job. I know I do.
The thing is, how do you find work that helps you in the ways you would be helped if you didn't need a job? I guess that the answer for me is to pretend that I am financially independent, that I don't need the money, but that I want a full-time job that will benefit me in other ways. It would probably be a good idea to figure out what those other ways are.
I've often heard of wealthy people being bored, depressed, and feeling useless. So a job that is better than better-than-nothing would help a person feel engaged, happy, and, for lack of a better word, useful. But there is a lot more to it than that. In my current job, I do feel useful. In fact, I used to feel overused and overwhelmed. I inherited a mess, a much bigger and nastier mess than I was led to believe in my interviews. I stuck with it, though, and never really thought about quitting. It was scary, at times, to look at the amount of work I had in front of me. But I did it. So now that I have pretty much cleared things up and settled down, why do I feel dissatisfied with my job?
There are many more factors to a job than just the duties and responsibilities that go along with it. There is the environment, for one thing. The environment at my current job is incredibly negative. On the surface, people get along with each other. But there is an undercurrent of negativity that is pervasive. As usual, it starts at the top. I have written here about the abusive boss. I've heard of abusive relationships and how the abuser is able to switch moods with frightening speed. If you read my post about the boss yelling at people, you know how such a person is able to do such a thing as yelling at his employees, and then within a few minutes, be laughing and joking with someone. I can't turn on and off like that. I don't understand people who can.
To sum up my current job, I'd say that overall it's a good job, but the better-than-nothing aspect of it comes from the negative environment. Employees are constantly walking on eggshells, hoping not to upset the easily upsettable boss. He manages by intimidation, which is not a good way to keep loyal employees. Or to keep employees loyal. I recently read one of those things that people spread around on the Internet, that said something like "Never push a loyal person to the point that they no longer care". Wow. Well, it's too late here. More people don't care here than do, I think. The employees here care enough about their jobs to do whatever they need to do to keep those jobs, but that's about it. There is no real joy here. As far as I can see, no one really enjoys their job. That's sad.
Before I found out about this job sixteen months ago, I was in a situation that I liked but was not paying enough and provided no real benefits other than job satisfaction. I thought about what kind of job I wanted. I came up with the idea that I wanted to work at a place that had nice things, pretty things, things that are pleasing to the eye and pleasant to be around. Not long after, this job came along. I got what I wanted, as far as the pretty things. But there was a cost involved that I didn't factor in, and that is the cost of being in a negative atmosphere all day long. The assignment I hereby give myself is to spend some time imagining an ideal job. I didn't do that last year. I need to do it now.
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Out of the Loop
In most of my jobs, I've felt out of the loop. That's probably because I actually was out of the loop. My current place of employment has two employees who have been with the owners for many years. These two people have the keys to just about everything here. The owners trust them completely. They also, as a result, wield a bit of power. They maintain the loop from which I am excluded.
After having been here fifteen months, I still don't have a key to the building. I don't know the alarm code. I don't have online access to the bank accounts. I don't know the code to open the safe. I have to ask for blank checks when I run out. I am told very little about what goes on here. And yet I am the accountant.
Being out of the loop can be a good thing, though. Sometimes, the less you know, the better off you are. Not having a key means I can't be expected to be here when no one else is. Not knowing what is going on, I can always plead ignorance. Which is, of course, bliss. Being out of the loop can be demeaning and infuriating, but it can also be comforting. I guess I choose to be comfortable.
After having been here fifteen months, I still don't have a key to the building. I don't know the alarm code. I don't have online access to the bank accounts. I don't know the code to open the safe. I have to ask for blank checks when I run out. I am told very little about what goes on here. And yet I am the accountant.
Being out of the loop can be a good thing, though. Sometimes, the less you know, the better off you are. Not having a key means I can't be expected to be here when no one else is. Not knowing what is going on, I can always plead ignorance. Which is, of course, bliss. Being out of the loop can be demeaning and infuriating, but it can also be comforting. I guess I choose to be comfortable.
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Being Yelled At by Your Boss
In all my years of working, I can honestly say I have never been yelled at by a boss. Until March 24, 2015 that is. That date is emblazoned on my brain. It is an experience that I will never forget, although apologies have been made and accepted, and even a little monetary compensation changed hands after the whole thing was over.
Let me start by saying that I do not believe I have ever been yelled at, truly yelled at, since I was in high school. We had a Math teacher named Sr. Catherine who literally yelled at us while we were at the blackboard working out problems. Once one becomes an adult, however, one does not expect someone to yell at one. That all changed for me last year. I accepted a job as an accountant at a company, well, actually three companies, owned by one man and his son. I'll tell that story another time, the one about how I got this job. I think I'll entitle it Listening to You Gut. Anyway...
Not long into this job, my boss, whose office is right next to mine, had a knock-down-drag-out with one of his employees, an event planner. They're both pretty vocal and vociferous, and boy, did they get into it. He was yelling at her and she was yelling back and it was just one big messy meltdown. Sometime after it ended, he came in and apologized to me. Since I was still new, I figure he was embarrassed by the impression I now had of him. He need not have apologized. Once I witness someone doing something like that, it's hard to erase the memory. She (the employee) also came by later and apologized. Those apologies made me squirm.
Months went by and little by little I began to see what kind of hothead this guy is. He fusses at the drop of a hat. He jumps the gun. He blames people. He is always trying to find someone to blame for something. He seems to thrive on that. But again, more on that later. The result of his behavior was to make me wonder when the other shoe would drop; when would it be my turn?
Back in March he came up with some convoluted, serpentine plan to get paid by a contract worker who owed him some money, before paying the worker for something he owed. The plan involved my participation. Long story short, other people were involved as well, involved in some dealings that should have just been between the two men. Each person involved (except for the two principals) messed up in some way, including me. Well, Boss Man realizes this when he's on a little morning business trip to a city about ninety minutes away, and he calls me. He is royally pissed and he lets me know that when he gets back to the office after lunch, he will let us all have it. I took some consolation in the fact that I was not alone in this.
He did get back and he called us into his office and left the door wide open. He started asking questions and he really did lose it. He yelled, louder than I have ever heard anyone else yell in my life. He yelled at his son. He yelled at me. He yelled at a couple other people. And all over some trivial matter that, as I said, should have been handled by him and his contract worker. Later, that same afternoon, he was all smiles and he came in to apologize to me. He apologized to everyone. The next morning he apologized again. A few days later he and his son came in and presented me with a nice little check in appreciation for all my hard work. That meant something, but I will never forget the verbal abuse I received earlier that week.
Have you ever been yelled at by a boss or coworker? Three months have passed since that incident, but it is never far from my mind. This job has many advantages: a four-minute commute from home, health insurance that is paid for 100% by my employer, and I get to be around pretty things. But it all comes with a price.
Let me start by saying that I do not believe I have ever been yelled at, truly yelled at, since I was in high school. We had a Math teacher named Sr. Catherine who literally yelled at us while we were at the blackboard working out problems. Once one becomes an adult, however, one does not expect someone to yell at one. That all changed for me last year. I accepted a job as an accountant at a company, well, actually three companies, owned by one man and his son. I'll tell that story another time, the one about how I got this job. I think I'll entitle it Listening to You Gut. Anyway...
Not long into this job, my boss, whose office is right next to mine, had a knock-down-drag-out with one of his employees, an event planner. They're both pretty vocal and vociferous, and boy, did they get into it. He was yelling at her and she was yelling back and it was just one big messy meltdown. Sometime after it ended, he came in and apologized to me. Since I was still new, I figure he was embarrassed by the impression I now had of him. He need not have apologized. Once I witness someone doing something like that, it's hard to erase the memory. She (the employee) also came by later and apologized. Those apologies made me squirm.
Months went by and little by little I began to see what kind of hothead this guy is. He fusses at the drop of a hat. He jumps the gun. He blames people. He is always trying to find someone to blame for something. He seems to thrive on that. But again, more on that later. The result of his behavior was to make me wonder when the other shoe would drop; when would it be my turn?
Back in March he came up with some convoluted, serpentine plan to get paid by a contract worker who owed him some money, before paying the worker for something he owed. The plan involved my participation. Long story short, other people were involved as well, involved in some dealings that should have just been between the two men. Each person involved (except for the two principals) messed up in some way, including me. Well, Boss Man realizes this when he's on a little morning business trip to a city about ninety minutes away, and he calls me. He is royally pissed and he lets me know that when he gets back to the office after lunch, he will let us all have it. I took some consolation in the fact that I was not alone in this.
He did get back and he called us into his office and left the door wide open. He started asking questions and he really did lose it. He yelled, louder than I have ever heard anyone else yell in my life. He yelled at his son. He yelled at me. He yelled at a couple other people. And all over some trivial matter that, as I said, should have been handled by him and his contract worker. Later, that same afternoon, he was all smiles and he came in to apologize to me. He apologized to everyone. The next morning he apologized again. A few days later he and his son came in and presented me with a nice little check in appreciation for all my hard work. That meant something, but I will never forget the verbal abuse I received earlier that week.
Have you ever been yelled at by a boss or coworker? Three months have passed since that incident, but it is never far from my mind. This job has many advantages: a four-minute commute from home, health insurance that is paid for 100% by my employer, and I get to be around pretty things. But it all comes with a price.
Welcome, Job Haters!
After almost 35 years in the full-time workforce and many jobs, I feel I am ready to write about my experiences as a wage slave. I've worked with many different types of people in many different situations, and I'm eager to share and discuss my experiences and hear about yours. I hope you find this blog entertaining, edifying, and maybe even cathartic. Thanks for checking in.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)