++++
30+ minute walk
Smoothie with cinnamon/tumeric
Got in about 7 servings of fruits/veggies
Didn't buy or drink soda
--
Ate chocolate (bought yesterday)
----------------
So ... I like most things about my supervisor. There is just one thing that has slightly irritated me over the past two years. Almost every time I come back from taking a vacation of more than I few days, I find my office space / work supplies rearranged.
I get told that this is done because the way I have things arranged don't make sense to my supervisor and she can't find anything.
(When I am gone, she basically does my job as well as her own. Just she isn't logged on to the information line, so there are somewhat less calls to answer.)
So ... I sort of get this. I get used to the changes, put some things back where I prefer, and move on.
Only to have it happen again the next time.
Oh well. Not a big enough issue to bring up.
But ... a month ago or so I'm told that one of the bus drivers is going to come in and do "light duty" by answering the phone. She would wear my earpiece and I would still sell passes, etc. I was also told that I would "get" to sit at the extra desk.
Um... ok. I didn't like this idea very much (other than not having to answer the phone constantly) but I decided that if it was only for a few days, then I would just deal with it.
It turns out, that it didn't happen.
Until yesterday.
I had a lot of mail in orders that came in over the holiday weekend, needed to enter the work order reports for August, and a few other things - which I needed my computer for. Also, with just a few hours of listening to the light duty person answer the phone, I realized I needed to be there..
Plus, the extra desk is presently occupied by our "retired" accountant who is training our new accountant.
My boss was gone yesterday. So, I stayed put at my desk in my office space. There were multiple times where both lines lit up, and I tried to explain to her how to hear that, and how to deal with that ... but she for some reason couldn't hear the beeps ...
So today my boss comes back and is wondering why I'm sitting at my desk with her. I explain why and she's fine with it.
Then a little while later she comes in and tells me that the others in the back were complaining about the phone not being answered. Um ... not much I can do about that!
So the IT guy attempts to install a second phone line towards the back of my office space, by the lost and found cabinets. I'm told that this phone will be for me. That they'll set up a table or something for me there to work on. Um .. okay.
So .. the person who has no computer skills and is doing what comprises 50% of my work most days, will be sitting by MY computer and using my earpiece. While I will be sitting in the back of my office space with just a phone and a table.
No. Sorry, that just isn't going to work. Not only would I be bored to tears, but there are multiple things I do as part of my job where I NEED my computer.
The phone isn't working yet, so I'm still at my computer. But ... this person is talking like she's going to be here for at least the month of September.
If it was just for a few days .. I could deal with it. But for an entire month? NO WAY JOSE!
I already feel like I get the short end of the stick with absolutely no privacy in my office space. People are constantly walking back and forth in the back of my office space (to the conference room area, lunchroom, bathrooms, etc.) I don't mind this, really. But because just by virtue of being at my desk, anyone walking into the lobby assumes I'm available to help them, I can't make personal phone calls at my desk, eat lunch at my desk, etc. I HAVE to do that in the lunchroom.
I feel kind of ... maybe, disrespected? Like they think I shouldn't care about giving up my space for someone else. Like they can make changes to my space without asking me if I'm okay with it - it's more important for the space to make sense to them - people who spend less than five hours a week in my space.
I'm seriously, seriously irritated right now. I want t approach my boss tomorrow about this, but I'm not sure how best to do it.
We have a pretty good relationship overall, but still, I want to be careful.
I thought about asking her how she'd feel if she was told that she was going to be given an assistant, who was going to do half of her work, and be given her desk space, while she would be relocated somewhere else without all the tools to do her other 50% of the work. Or, how would she feel if she came back from vacation to find that someone had decided to redesign her office for her - to make that space work better for the person redesigning the office.
I'd really like to ask her if they're trying to get me to quit. But I don't really think that's the case. I think she's just not getting how this is sounding/feeling to me. (There's very little that makes this job tolerable. Putting me at a table with just a phone and no computer will drive me beyond bonkers with boredom.)
Please SA, your words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.
Day 3, Work Question (What Would You Do?)
September 8th, 2016 at 12:17 am
September 8th, 2016 at 12:41 am 1473295264
I think the least they can do is give you the right tools and accommodations to get your job done, and perhaps that needs pointing out.
Good luck. Strike the right balance between clearly articulating the problem but not going overboard so she gets irritated or thinks you're being unreasonable.
September 8th, 2016 at 12:47 am 1473295672
Thanks!
September 8th, 2016 at 01:01 am 1473296508
If you don't already, I would suggest reading the blog "Ask a Manager" (www.askamanager.com) Alison is brilliant with wording and taking the emotion out of emotionally charged situations. (For the record, I would be pissed if this were happening to me!)
September 8th, 2016 at 01:12 am 1473297122
I used to read that blog - it was pretty good. I'll have to take a look at it again.
September 8th, 2016 at 01:29 am 1473298164
September 8th, 2016 at 01:39 am 1473298740
September 8th, 2016 at 02:28 am 1473301707
I think the biggest selling point on this being an issue is that you don't have easy access to your computer to do your job. THAT is a problem.
September 8th, 2016 at 02:34 am 1473302050
My DH made a good point when I attempted to talk to him about this tongiht (in the 10 minutes he had before leaving for work) that my boss hasn't changed her attitude towards me, or treated me any differently. So it's not too logical that she'd be trying to get me to quit.
Lirpalynn - This extra person had some kind of shoulder procedure due to a work related injury from driving a bus. She's got a sailor's mouth, is constantly on her smartphone, and does have kind of a big personality. But I don't think she's the one trying to push me out from my desk. I'd met her one time before this I think.
September 8th, 2016 at 02:36 am 1473302162
September 8th, 2016 at 04:51 am 1473310274
September 8th, 2016 at 12:08 pm 1473336512
September 8th, 2016 at 08:08 pm 1473365305
Given your background, experience and education, aren't there other jobs in the organization that offer you more?