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Unintended Last Day

So this is how it ended. Gone, Good-bye. Kaput mid-day.

Responsibility repaid: Gave the 30 days notice and the offer to help transition anyone new or old into the duties. Told this to The Lead (she still doesn’t have “Manager” behind her name, after 7 years). This was at 8 a.m. She huddled with the Veep at 10 a.m. He huddled with HR at 11 a.m. They called me in at noon – “Can you hold up your lunch for a few minutes” – waited till everyone else had left for vittles, then gave me 15 minutes to clear out my desk. Under supervision.

“Voluntary termination at management request.”

Should have known: The Company is “leaning” again – there’s more Budget credit to cutting me out than having me resign: helps meet the 10% Across-the-Boards management goal.

And the transition?

Hey, nobody – nothing’s – irreplaceable. There’s always someone to take up the slack.

As for the inconvenience, lost time figuring out what’s what, and simple monetary losses from an abrupt departure? That’s what Overhead is all about.

Pretty much of a normal day.

Knowing When To Leave

Probably thought that governments were too bureaucracy-laden and private industry would have more room for initiative. Maybe so, but it seems that whenever you get 3 people together there is a bureaucracy.

Have nothing against bureaucracy as a concept per se, by the way – things have to be organized – but the “bureaucracy” complaining about here is just using Organization as an excuse for, for…

For anything, really. For lack of initiative, of course. For ducking responsibility. To cover tracks. To passively aggress. To excuse when there is no excuse. To manipulate by rules. To let rules decide. To forget what the rules meant for. To dance in a circle.

Ten years ago, maybe longer. Just started in the cubes – not here – and worked in an office with Tom. Seemed like an older man. (40? 45? 50? I was 22, who can tell?) Tom always worked hard. Always busy. Tom had been there so long he had an annual 4 week vacation. We were scared: how do we cover for Tom?!? So, each day, 3 of us divvied up his Incoming and… by Day 4… we were caught up! By Day 5 we could finish his work in ¼ day. By Week 2 one person could finish Tom’s daily workload in ¼ day. Tom, it seems, was always busy because he never finished anything. He simply worked the bureaucracy, filling up one part of an Incoming and forwarding it on, incomplete, with the assurance that it would come back to him in a circle. 4 or 5 steps per Incoming, when he could have done it in 1 or 2. And no one caught on. When he came back, all went back to normal. The circle dance.

(Funny thing – ha, ha – a half year later I was offered promotion to Asst. Manager over Tom [and over the black guy with more knowledge & skill than me]. First thing a “responsible” Asst. Manager would have to do would be to fire Tom – I knew he was not only not carrying his load but was causing others to work harder. This cube worker can’t lay off any middle aged man with a family to care for, so I resigned and found another job elsewhere. Tom was promoted to Asst. Manager. Ha, ha!)

Time to leave here. Give myself 2 months: 30 days notice here and I’ve still got almost 4 weeks of Sick pay accrued – I can scurry around and find something hopefully. It won’t be different anywhere else probably, but I just can’t keep the beat to the circle dance.

Return From Vacation: Déjà Vu

Back from 3 weeks vacation today and – everything – is – exactly – the – same.

Everything.

Not one of the “crisis” issues has been resolved – not even those with “hard” deadlines of 2 weeks earlier.

Desk is piled high with Stuff – expected – but not in a way that indicates any of the Crises were waiting on me. Working my way down the pile(s), I see that the Crises are just going round-and-round in circles.

Maybe that’s why I’m here? The impatience of a lowly cube worker pulling things out of the circle brings resolution? Apparently. Responsibility without Authority.

But what if you don’t want it?

Elsewhere

On vacation.

Noticed something: lived the life of a 21-year-old college student on spring break and have suffered no headaches, digestive problems, carpal tunnel numbness or any of the other daily aches and pains.

Didn’t look at company email/voicemail/hardmail once. Wonder what’s been happening since gone?