Hit the Road Jack...

I have a new job. Prayer works. I heard about the job on Wednesday, applied Thursday, interviewed Friday and aced it. I am waiting for Monday and the call from HR to make it official. Same organization. I am transferring from the front office to our off-site back office. I am so at peace. You know it's time to quit, when you end up in the hospital with heart issues because you had to go to work. I want to be inspired, excited to go to work again! I feel loss at leaving my bestie coworker, who jokingly called me 'bitch' when I told her I applied for another job. 

Things I will NOT miss: 

Jurassic Park. The Divasaurus. High maintenance passive aggressive coworker with authority over me. 

Slacker Coworker. In every workplace, there is always that one person who doesn't pull her weight. I am tired of fixing her mistakes, of doing her work because she can't be bothered, her using my brain because two years later she still does not know her job, and her bipolar moodiness. 

A Toxic Workplace. 

In her book, Toxic Work, Barbara Bailey Reinhold, Ed.D. describes ways an unhealthy environment affects your psychological and physical health. According to Reinhold, a toxic workplace is “when the demands of your job, and your response to them undercut the quality of your family life and friendships, you are robbed of the very things you need in order to be fully alive and most creative and productive on the job.” My health has suffered along with my attitude. That is why I got wrote up recently.

My Stalker. There is a coworker, male, from another department who is all together too friendly, touchy and possessive. I have attempted to alert management and it worked for awhile, but he is persistent. I put up with it because he is in a position to do me some harm.

Bonnie and Clyde. The coworker who put me in the hospital... oh wait, I didn't tell you about that, did I? I am still not sure what sparked it. But I set Bonnie off somehow, next thing I know her voice is raised and she is yelling incomprehensible things. Let me start at the beginning...

Once upon a time, there was a hard working servant girl. She was very intelligent and did most everything right. The King and Queen were happy to have her in the castle. There was also a slacker servant girl.

The hard working servant girl would point out to the slacker girl where she missed a cobweb or left soap bubbles on the floor. The slacker girl grumbled because she did not appreciate doing the best job she could for the King and Queen. She plotted ways to get back at the hard working servant girl.

One day, the slacker servant said Princess Bonnie needed the hard working servant girl to do something for her. The hard working servant girl was puzzled because Princess Bonnie always gave her directions in person. She went to Princess Bonnie and requested that Princess Bonnie not send the slacker servant girl, but please speak to the hard working servant girl in person.

Suddenly, the air took on an eerie glow. A cold wind began to blow and Princess Bonnie transformed into a wicked witch who hurled curses at the hard working servant. The hard working servant girl backed away, fearful, attempting to speak words that would send the witch away. The King heard the commotion and when he arrived the witch fled. All too late. The curses began to work on the hard working servant girl and her heart began to break. 

I ended up in the emergency room with chest pains. I was kept overnight hooked to telemetry. I have since followed up with a cardiologist, had an echocardiogram, a stress test, a sleep study, seen my primary physician a couple of times, and a counselor. Most of those bills will be written off due to my employment, but not all. The hospitalization was $8,500 (luckily wrote off). Management has done nothing I know of. Not one word from Bonnie since. She walks past me as if I am invisible. It has escalated to include Clyde. They are attempting to mob me with intimidation and isolation. 

ODAS. The four most hated words in the English language—Other Duties As Assigned. I now have one job to do. I will be the only one to do this work. I go into my space, do my job, and take my paycheck home. Heavenly...

 

It Wasn't Me This Time

I chuckled to myself all afternoon. For once it was not me rocking the boat. It was a 'good girl'. She did not want to register either. Ha! My supervisor sent out an intraoffice memo on the topic.

"One other thing to be mindful of, if there is a call in, it will alter the back up plan. Others will have to step up and help out. We've all been in that situation, whether sick or on vacation. This is a courtesy and expected of everyone. In order for us to provide good customer service, we all have to be back ups to keep our patient flow going....I hope I do not have to address this issue again. We are a team and we will all work as a team. 

Ha. There are only four people on that 'team'. The four of us are heartily sick of the teamwork.

Well Hell

This is the end of my Hell Week. Those 'other duties as assigned' have no option, must do duties. I've had insomnia and a lack of appetite. I spent the day with cramping in my bowels. I've been beaten, thoroughly defeated. 

My supervisor just can't understand why I am the only one that has a problem with the other duties. I came to the conclusion I no longer fit the job. Realization is peace. Imagine my wonder that the glorious internet had just what I needed. Yes to all five. Can I get an amen from the congregation? In Signs the Job No Longer Fits You, by Michelle Franklin, she writes

"It's seldom easy to decide to leave a current job. However, there are times when terminating current employment is the right thing to do. Maybe you are no longer satisfied with the work, or the culture of the company has changed significantly. It could be you are ready for a new challenge, or are simply ready to change careers. The following are some indicators it may be time to think about a job change:

You dread going to work. This one sounds pretty obvious, but when you are truly satisfied and happy with your work, you do not dread it. Everyone has an occasional day, or even a week or two, where work is not appealing. However, when this becomes the norm, it may be an indicator that it's time for a change.

The culture at work has changed and is now uncomfortable. In some ways, 'culture' has become a business buzzword, but there is still truth to the idea that the environment in the workplace can affect employees' happiness and satisfaction. When a company goes through significant cultural change due to shifts in leadership, focus, or goals, it can alter the environment enough to make employees unhappy. If your company culture has changed and no longer fits you, it may be time to look elsewhere.

Your job is no longer satisfying. While some jobs are naturally repetitive, a sense of satisfaction with your work is crucial to your effectiveness. When you no longer feel satisfied either by your work or by the results you achieve, you lose effectiveness at work and may not be fully engaged. Unengaged employees are not good for the company and are not happy with their work. When this occurs and you cannot find a way to reengage, it might be best to move on.

 You do not feel valued or appreciated. A paycheck is the main reason most of us work. However, this is not the only reason. People also need to feel a sense of appreciation for the work they do. After all, we spend more time at work than just about anywhere. If you do not feel valued during that time, it is difficult to feel committed to the work or the organization. Some jobs may provide a sense of value and appreciation through customer interaction. In other cases, this may be achieved through relationships with co-workers. In all cases, if you do not feel like you provide value, you may be prompted to look for something providing a greater sense of making a difference.

You feel burned out or cannot maintain work-life balance. Unfortunately, this is becoming more and more common as companies try to accomplish the same results with fewer and fewer employees. This means that employees left find themselves with increasingly heavy workloads, responsibilities, and assignments. You can only maintain a significantly increased pace for a while before you start to feel burned out with the work. You may still enjoy the work and find a great deal of satisfaction in it, but when work begins to take over the rest of your life, you may want to consider seeking something better suited to your long-term goals and values.

There are many obvious indicators to change a job. When a company is clearly struggling, a supervisor is difficult or impossible to work for, or other circumstances make it impossible to remain, it can be an easy decision. The signs above may be a bit more nebulous but are still valid reasons to examine whether it is time to look for a change.

Monday, Monday La la la la

It's awful knowing that one seventh of our life will be wasted on Mondays. —Anonymous

Just once, I would like to wake up, turn on the news, and hear...'Monday has been cancelled, go back to sleep.' I work for a small town hospital in the business office. With the economy as it is, work has changed. People have lost insurance, people are delaying seeking medical care, medical costs have skyrocketed, and work has morphed into Jerry Mcguire. Show. Me. The. Money. Try to capture the money up front since people often default on medical bills as if this expense was a whim.

♪A mark, a yen, a buck or a pound
A buck or a pound, a buck or a pound
Is all that makes the world go round ♪—Cabaret

I enjoy my job, except for the four most hated words in the English language,…’other duties as assigned’. I have ODAS in a five week rotation; every fifth week is Hell Week. Those duties held me captive last week. On what should have been my return to the world of light and air, I was cast back, a wisp, a shadow. My week was not my week. I was just filling in for the co-worker who went part-time. I would have to repeat Hell Week. It was not fair Lethe was unavailable to keep hell burning. I went to my supervisor to discuss the situation. If you want to get me riled, don’t play fair. Should I now serve double time because I happened to follow her in the roster?

‘When one acts on pity against justice, it is the good whom one punishes for the sake of the evil; when one saves the guilty from suffering, it is the innocent whom one forces to suffer.’ — Hank Rearden 

My supervisor had no solution for me. It was business as usual. She did remark, ‘Have you noticed when you wear brown you get agitated?’ What? Are colors arbitrary? What has a color to do with emotions? I had to find out…

From How Colors Impact Moods, Feelings, and Behaviors: 

"Artists and interior designers have long understood how color can dramatically affect moods, feelings and emotions. It is a powerful communication tool and can be used to signal action, influence mood, and cause physiological reactions.

I asked, does brown cause agitation? What have others found out about the emotion of brown? Rather than starting from scratch in putting together a plan for answering my question, I used the Internet to research.

• Brown is a natural color that evokes a sense of strength and reliability. 
• Brown brings to mind feeling of warmth, comfort, and security. It is often described as natural, down-to-earth, and conventional, but brown can also be sophisticated. 
• Brown is the color of good furniture and favorable smells thus imparting happiness. Amber, auburn, bay, beige, bronze, brunette, buff, burnt sienna, camel, chestnut, chocolate, cinnamon, cocoa, coffee, copper, fallow, fawn, old gold, hazel, khaki, lion, liver, mahogany, nut, ochre, russet, rust, seal brown, sepia, snuff, tan, taupe, toast, tawny, umber. 
• Brown can also create feelings of sadness and isolation. 

Hmmm, these are not words that rankle, goad or irritate. I had to test this. I resolved to wear brown for the entire week to see how things would work out. On Tuesday, I passed my supervisor in the hallway and remarked wow, it has been a day. She pointed at me and stated, ‘Brown’ and kept walking. Next day, I caught her leaving the building. She remarks, ‘Are you doing this on purpose?’ 'No, boss, why would I do that?' All the while keeping a straight face. Thursday and Friday, nothing. Perhaps my wearing of brown had created feelings of sadness and isolation for her? I think it was a great success. I felt confident and strong. What can brown do for you today?

‘Your mind is your only judge of truth–and if others dissent from your verdict, reality is the court of final appeal.’ — John Galt

Nothing With A Face

I am strung out and wrung out. I had an anxiety attack at work because the most hated words in the English language are '...and other duties as assigned'.

I made a lateral move at work because what I had been doing for three years was becoming increasingly stressful. I could no longer deal one-on-one with the public. Nothing with a face across from me ever again. A constant barrage of dealing with problems, personalities, and expectations drained me. In my new position, I have an office with a door.  I close it when the ambient face noise begins to jar my nerves. I deal with a few outside offices by phone. Most of my work arrives electronically. I am safe in my little office cocoon. I can take mental breaks as needed; get up, move around, surf the net, or visit my coworker to consult on some issue.

Not today. I had to fill the old position. A constant stream of strangers in and out of my office for-eight-straight-hours as I prepared their paperwork. Sign here. Make copies. Separate. Shuffle and staple. Give directions. Thank you for coming. Keep moving because people with faces are waiting. One was a woman with four small children, one of whom climbed on my chair, pulled my mouse cord, used an OUTSIDE voice with her sister, all the while her baby sister was crying.

Several did not speak English. One even stared at me to the point I was freaked out. My phone rang off the hook. I couldn't answer because I was not available to take care of their needs. Messages I could not retrieve are piled up for tomorrow. I broke down and cried. I don't want the old job, but the hated words in my job description allow my boss to assign as she pleases.