11:34 p.m. - 2003-02-13
Regular Day
On the train this morning, a group of women comparing notes. They had all worked together in one company, then two moved into one of the companies reputed to be a great employer in that industry, while one stayed behind. What caught my attention were a series of statements made by one of the women who had moved on. She said, "No one is telling me I have to change anymore, we're allowed to laugh, even outside our own group. The company regularly tells us and shows us how much they value us as individuals. They remember to include us in sharing in the results of our efforts. I'm never blamed anymore for things I don't have control over and everyone from top to entry level is allowed to speak with each other."
Compare this with the woman who remained with the first company, commenting that the permission forms, even for social activities, that need to be filled out had increased so much that almost no spontaneity or creativity could occur anymore. The "bottom line" was always the first point of reference for approvals. Funny though, that it's the company that is generous that is actually out-shining the restrictive company by leaps and bounds in the financial realm. She also spoke of the vicious politics between department heads and their use of their staff and titles as pawns.
The first woman's response was "Yeah, I had no idea how stressed that job made me, I'd never go back." The second description is unfortunately more typical of the companies here. Another woman I worked with several years ago, is now at the company the first speaker works for. She commented that she had trouble responding to her new co-workers for a while. Why? "Because they were so nice - I kept asking if they were talking to me". I think I'll keep watching the first company's website to see if there's a place I might fit in. It would be nice to feel valued.
Work was much calmer today, I was basically left on my own. One of the other employees from the data management company, M, is covering for a specialist consultant for a week. She called me to her office first thing this morning. It was obvious she had been in for a while. She said she had had real problems with a spreadsheet and couldn't figure out why it wasn't printing properly last evening, so she had wanted to resolve it before everyone else arrived. We worked through some of the common wobbles in the software together and it didn't take long to find the problem. The coding in the setup layout had been altered. M mentioned that the PC had been working on it.
Shortly after, an intern came by looking for some data that the specialist usually takes care of so I took him to M's office. Realized I was probably going to get into trouble for that too, but it doesn't really matter anymore. I can't control the dysfunction among the other staff and I'm not going to allow it to dominate my days. My software was still not working properly, but I managed to complete the first project I was assigned this morning. Started on the next project that I'd been assigned by B in the afternoon, and as directed, took my questions to D. He didn't feel confident he knew the answers so he went and asked the PC. That wasn't helpful either because the response was to do something else until B returns on Tuesday. Little tough to do since I was told I couldn't help the scientists and the material I've been assigned is considered a priority. This is the only assignment I have right now. I just decided to tackle it as I would in any other company. I can make adjustments to the process without too much trouble when B comes back.
Went out for a visit with one of the women I attended junior and senior high with tonight. We were supposed to meet with the planning committee for the high school reunion. Unfortunately that had been set up to be in a local pub. It was filled with smoke and we didn't see anyone we were certain we recognized. L thought that she knew some of the people in the big group in the middle of the room, but they'd obviously been drinking for quite some time and were loud and rowdy. I've already noted I find it hard to be around people who are intoxicated because of my experiences while married and I'm also very allergic to smoke. We waited an hour for R - the key organizer to arrive. When that didn't happen we left. I felt badly about needing to leave, but for each hour of exposure to smoke I am often sick at least one day - until the smoke is out of my system. I can't afford to take time off work right now, especially since I don't know how long I'll be there. The upside of the evening though, was that we had a good two hours of just talking and catching up. That was a great way to spend some free time.
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