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.