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Dropping shoes
I woke up to something by Miles Davis this morning. I don't really enjoy a lot of jazz, but this piece was good. Not coherent enough to catch the name of it though, although I did realize someone had changed the radio station. Not BBC anymore, now I'm getting the university station - CJSW. Dressed lightly given that the forecast was for temperatures in the 12 C/55 F range and I knew I would be doing a lot of lifting and shifting during the day. Or so I thought.
Walked in to work and heard that hysterical type of laughter that makes one want to turn around and walk back out the door. The whole of the staff was in an uproar and I heard enough to know that some part, at least, of the company had been sold. A lot of the staff were deeply distressed - tears everywhere - and some were also very angry - hence the maniacal laughter. Oi. Divestments always mean job loss and everyone there knew it. Back in the "old days" companies were very upfront about that and the axe fell quickly. The problem for them was that the press would quite often carry stories about the human equation of corporate mergers - the loss of a job is devastating to most people. Not what the companies want their shareholders to see given their very nice statements about social justice and good community corporate citizenship. Now they transfer everyone over to the new company, wait a couple of months until attention is diverted elsewhere - then the axe falls. Unemployed workers are not about community building or enhancement. As I've mentioned in my posts to you before, dear diary, if the timing is wrong it can also lead to the dissolution of the family structure and a number of other social problems can also arise - like alcoholism and suicide - for at least some workers.
As I was offering comfort to a couple of the women, my cell phone rang. It was one of the recruiters from the agency I will be working for when I move jobs. Just not great timing there. She was almost as upset as the women I was standing and talking to. My current supervisor shouldn't contact my new liaison at the next company. It is against their HR policies. That's fine, but how does the timing of when I move from one worksite to the next get worked out then. I know I could walk away from this site on Monday if I wished, but that leaves hard feelings when certain tasks are left unfinished. Come to think of it my tasks might be completely changed with the news from this morning too. It was apparent that some of the staff thought I had known from the beginning that the sale was imminent and there was anger expressed to me as a result. That sense of betrayal coming out full force. Not so, I wasn't even made privy to all the facts surrounding the data management's contract. I've mentioned that in my posts too and I've had a sense of betrayal for a while too. See, that intuitive voice needs to be able to be heard more often. I explained some of that to the recruiter and promised to talk with my current supervisor about it. Sent him an email tonight in the end, so there couldn't be any miscommunication - I hope. Sent another email to the new agency asking some "new employee" questions such as start and end times for work each day. Those are important - at least to me.
Given I had worked on some of the capital assets that were divested today when they were divested a few years back, I knew that there was a history of damage/destruction that came with the last sale. Having heard a certain level of anger expressed that left me uncomfortable, I went and spoke to one of the people in the company that I feel I can trust. Just told them the story about the last incident and left it at that. It's inappropriate and unfair to accuse anyone of anything without proof, but given the consequences should a similar activity be undertaken, there were some delicate due diligence issues that needed to be addressed. The last thing I want to hear is cries of "terrorism' when it is nothing of the sort. Well maybe in one sense it is, since often it is one's own friends, peers and family that wreak more havoc in one's life than anything any terrorist could do.
Went out for a walk along the river path at lunch. It's been either too cold or there has been to much pressure to produce, for me to have had a chance to do that up until now. Beautiful spring day. It was fun to see the river in her many moods. Sometimes stiff with icy disapproval and sometimes bubbling up in unexpectd little pools of diamond light in others. A lot of happy faces, as people realized the worst of winter has passed too. Came back to work much calmer and centered as a result. Ther had been an employee meeting in session when I left and, apparently, quantities of comfort food had been ordered in to help staff settle a bit. The auditors who had assessed the company's worth sent even more. We were invited to partake, which isn't the norm. I think that everyone suddenly realized that they were in the same position as we find ourselves every few months - looking for another assignment. Suddenly there was a lot of common ground. Some of the people who had been really rude to me were all of a sudden being very nice. "Walk a mile in my shoes".
Talked with my tech briefly as well. He also is consulting to the company and so it leaves him hanging too. I mntioned some posting that I had seen recently in my inbox. I guess there was a reason for his training in Ottawa to be scheduled now. Problem he said he had, was he is supposed to leave in a few days and he still hasn't received his airline tickets or any other documentation or information. Typical, as you know dear diary, but just one more layer of anxiety to deal with. I emailed him tonight to ask if the package Elections Canada had promised had arrived in the mail today. If not, I guess I know how my breaks tomorrow will be spent - on the phone long distance with EC trying to get the material he needs. A call from their liaison located in this city. Progress report required. Fine. There is a convention of sorts for the political party in power next week. I doubt that any election will be called during that time. Just get off my back and let me focus my productive time on getting things done instead of creating another wasteful and ineffective layer of reporting that moves me no closer to the goals I have to reach in order to be ready if an election is called. And it's all just in a day's work.
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