Friday Evening
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Friday Evening
| Fri, 04-07-2006 - 11:14pm |
So I hope Littlebigs is OK with me taking off with her thread title here... just needed to vent a bit about my week.
I haven't had much time for myself lately and was just frazzeled today. It all came to a head about lunchtime today and after having a nice long vent with a co-worker she convinced me to see the VP of our company and talk about stuff. He and I had a nice chat but right now I don't feel like I've made any progress really. Maybe Monday when my supervisor comes back to work. We just automated some areas, switched to a much newer software system to allow this automation to happen. My job before the switch goes to a different department and I've known for about 9 months that my job would move to another dept (and I'm so happy not to be doing that job anymore) and my manager was fighting with the Pres, VP,lab director and everyone else above her to keep me in her dept and not lose me to the other dept.which would be a dead end for me. She was successful and I am only physically in the other dept. for about 8 weeks (4 have passed already) to help with the transition after which I have no idea what duties I will be asked to do. I got pissed when a little no one from another dept asked me with a disdainful tone what I was doing here (in the dept I was training). I told her I was assisting them with the transition because I was the only person in the entire company that knew how to do what I did with the exception of my supervisor who was much to busy with helping her dept and others with the software transition.
Well, the managers I've talked to have alluded to some responsibilities but nobody has told me what happens next. It's frustrating because before I knew most areas of our old system. The new I only know two areas and one of them I won't use at all in a couple of weeks and the other area is only enough work for about an hour a day. During my chat with the VP of the company he says to me "well it's been a month in a few weeks you go back to client services support and only have to do your (Old old) job", meaning what I was doing more than a year ago (not what I am training other dept. to do) and don't know how to do in our new systems. That would also be a step down and I know after giving me a nearly 10% raise 2 months ago they are not sending me back to an entry level data entry position where my typing speed is the only skill I would get to use. I had asked my supervisor outright at the begining if I would have to work Saturdays during the transition. She said she didn't know and would let me know, but she never did. It would always be I had to ask on Friday or was told very late they needed me to work, meanwhile my supervisor is going home early, not working weekends, when we all are pulling down 60+ hours a week trying to make the transition to new systems. Well I suspected, but was in denial that she was pregnant. She finally announced it Wednesday and didn't tell me, I found out from another woman in our department. I feel like I am OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND. I've sort of always felt this way about my relationship with my supervisor, because when I joined the company there was an interpersonal relationship problem between two of the girls in the department so she was spending a lot of time with them going to lunch and having little chats outside. I didn't know what was going on then and I guess because I got along fine without hand holding she didn't give me much, just kept giving me more responsibility as I earned it.
Anyhow, she finally came to me later in the day and "announced" and I said "I know so and so told me". She asked if I was freaking out. I wasn't then, but today I started to because she was home sick and I could reach her on and AIM type chat client, but usually she's like a filter keeping annoying people at bay or helping me on a problem I can't fix with the new system because she is the only person on site that knows the system inside out upside down back and foward. Our sister company in another state knows it because they've used it for years, but it is difficult to work a problem with them long distance when they are in a different sector of the industry and don't know our company like she does.
When she went on maternity leave the first time I had been trained in some areas but not all that I needed, but ended up taking on the lead role in the department though I was 4th of 5 people in seniority. It was a challange, but I was able to learn what I didn't know quickly and I know it was noticed by other department managers and even upper management. What I'm afraid of now that I know my supervisor is pregnant is that I will end up with her job come October. It's scary and exciting to think about. My gut tells me she won't return to work this time and the other people in my department are telling me they feel the same way. Only one of them was there last time she was on leave and she says she too thinks our supervisor will not return and I will get her job. There are 5 new people in the last year. One of them also told me today they think I will be running the department. The other two are in the dark, they were only hired as temps and see my work as not related to the department because I've been detached from the dept. a bit and others have taken team lead roles recently, but even they ask me for help several times evey day. The last one person in the department is on vacation this week and next and I'm just dying to find out what she thinks of all of this because I told her about the opening and asked her to apply for her job and we've been friends for about 8 yrs from another job. Sorry this is so long, but I'm just a little overwhelmed right now and needed to vent.
Pam
I haven't had much time for myself lately and was just frazzeled today. It all came to a head about lunchtime today and after having a nice long vent with a co-worker she convinced me to see the VP of our company and talk about stuff. He and I had a nice chat but right now I don't feel like I've made any progress really. Maybe Monday when my supervisor comes back to work. We just automated some areas, switched to a much newer software system to allow this automation to happen. My job before the switch goes to a different department and I've known for about 9 months that my job would move to another dept (and I'm so happy not to be doing that job anymore) and my manager was fighting with the Pres, VP,lab director and everyone else above her to keep me in her dept and not lose me to the other dept.which would be a dead end for me. She was successful and I am only physically in the other dept. for about 8 weeks (4 have passed already) to help with the transition after which I have no idea what duties I will be asked to do. I got pissed when a little no one from another dept asked me with a disdainful tone what I was doing here (in the dept I was training). I told her I was assisting them with the transition because I was the only person in the entire company that knew how to do what I did with the exception of my supervisor who was much to busy with helping her dept and others with the software transition.
Well, the managers I've talked to have alluded to some responsibilities but nobody has told me what happens next. It's frustrating because before I knew most areas of our old system. The new I only know two areas and one of them I won't use at all in a couple of weeks and the other area is only enough work for about an hour a day. During my chat with the VP of the company he says to me "well it's been a month in a few weeks you go back to client services support and only have to do your (Old old) job", meaning what I was doing more than a year ago (not what I am training other dept. to do) and don't know how to do in our new systems. That would also be a step down and I know after giving me a nearly 10% raise 2 months ago they are not sending me back to an entry level data entry position where my typing speed is the only skill I would get to use. I had asked my supervisor outright at the begining if I would have to work Saturdays during the transition. She said she didn't know and would let me know, but she never did. It would always be I had to ask on Friday or was told very late they needed me to work, meanwhile my supervisor is going home early, not working weekends, when we all are pulling down 60+ hours a week trying to make the transition to new systems. Well I suspected, but was in denial that she was pregnant. She finally announced it Wednesday and didn't tell me, I found out from another woman in our department. I feel like I am OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND. I've sort of always felt this way about my relationship with my supervisor, because when I joined the company there was an interpersonal relationship problem between two of the girls in the department so she was spending a lot of time with them going to lunch and having little chats outside. I didn't know what was going on then and I guess because I got along fine without hand holding she didn't give me much, just kept giving me more responsibility as I earned it.
Anyhow, she finally came to me later in the day and "announced" and I said "I know so and so told me". She asked if I was freaking out. I wasn't then, but today I started to because she was home sick and I could reach her on and AIM type chat client, but usually she's like a filter keeping annoying people at bay or helping me on a problem I can't fix with the new system because she is the only person on site that knows the system inside out upside down back and foward. Our sister company in another state knows it because they've used it for years, but it is difficult to work a problem with them long distance when they are in a different sector of the industry and don't know our company like she does.
When she went on maternity leave the first time I had been trained in some areas but not all that I needed, but ended up taking on the lead role in the department though I was 4th of 5 people in seniority. It was a challange, but I was able to learn what I didn't know quickly and I know it was noticed by other department managers and even upper management. What I'm afraid of now that I know my supervisor is pregnant is that I will end up with her job come October. It's scary and exciting to think about. My gut tells me she won't return to work this time and the other people in my department are telling me they feel the same way. Only one of them was there last time she was on leave and she says she too thinks our supervisor will not return and I will get her job. There are 5 new people in the last year. One of them also told me today they think I will be running the department. The other two are in the dark, they were only hired as temps and see my work as not related to the department because I've been detached from the dept. a bit and others have taken team lead roles recently, but even they ask me for help several times evey day. The last one person in the department is on vacation this week and next and I'm just dying to find out what she thinks of all of this because I told her about the opening and asked her to apply for her job and we've been friends for about 8 yrs from another job. Sorry this is so long, but I'm just a little overwhelmed right now and needed to vent.
Pam


Dear Pam,
You can use my thread titles any time! I use the day and time because I don't know what else to type.
Hang in there! Work can get so complicated, and with all the extra time and transitioning it sounds like you are doing, it can get very ovewhelming. I know that I am fighting for my job sanity, too............they asked me last week if I wanted to have a laptop to bring home and use at work ,and I was one of the few who said NO because I need a distinct divide between home and work. (If you said yes, you were assumed to always be AVAILABLE) Also, I am only being paid for 40 hours.....They would want MORE......I don't have it to give.
HUGS!
Littlesbigs