|
|
11:42 a.m. - 2007-03-24 Just Catching UpI wrote a couple entries back how impossibly tough my job was getting to be. Actually, I enjoy the challenging nature of it and don't mind the extreme multitasking and concentration involved. It is working for the guy we call Nanoman (a man who takes micromanaging to an all time extreme) and not getting a raise, yet being expected to put in longer hours for no pay. Toward the end of 2006, when our sales goals were falling way short of the promise he made to the company owner, he started getting mean. When he started getting mean, I started getting uncooperative which led to big time tension between me and Nanoman that culminated in a really tense annual review session and no raise. Actually, I am not taking the no raise bit personally as no one in the company got an increase, yet we were all told we had to work harder and longer. This is when I made my decision to get out of there, which then made me realize that before I could do that, I had to get my health issues resolved. Since our confrontation behind closed doors, we have learned how to "play" each other. He gives me the respect I feel I deserve and I in turn respectfully carry out whatever orders he gives me with a smile, no matter how stupid they might sound. If Nanoman tells me to put flowers in a vase upside down....I put flowers in a vase upside down...with a smile. I can do this because every morning in my car before I go in, I prepare myself the way an actor prepares to go on stage. I also can do this because I know that I am on my way out. In the end, I will win this game. I can only win if I leave the company in good standing with him thinking highly of me, thereby giving me a good reference should I need one. I have found that playing him means buttering him up. I noticed this in my review when I told him that I truly loved all my co-workers and had never felt part of a team they way I do at this job. After that comment, there was a glow in his eyes, a proud smile on his face and the review took a sharp upturn. He prides himself on creating such an environment. Actually the team feeling comes more from all of us having the same feelings about Nanoman and the camaraderie from the joke telling we do behind his back. Since then, I have gone out of my way to be "tight" with Nanoman...his right hand gal...the one who he can trust the most. I also do not tell any jokes behind his back anymore. I do love my coworkers...I work with some of the best people I have ever worked with, but that is not because of Nanoman...it's because the former powers that be, assembled a crew of really good people and none of them have quit YET!!!! I keep my feelings to myself now because not only does Nanoman have sharper hearing than Superman, but you never know when someone else will spill their beans. If I don't talk, nothing can slip out. My revenge, (and it will only be revenge in my mind as I will have no way of really knowing the fall out of when I leave), will be that Nanoman has no idea how hard it is to work for him and that in me he has someone who has a sticktoitivness (Is that a word?) that is beyond most workers. There are many situations in my life where I stick with something far longer than any other human being I know of. My marriage is one example. I created my job based on the idiosyncrasies of this man. I built up the house of cards I work under from the first card and have leanred bit by bit...like a frog being boiled in a pot of slowly heated water, how to manage the thousands of files and how to work bass ackwards under the stress of being saddled and ridden by this man moment in and moment out. The work load is so great that I am always months behind....piles and piles of work needing to be caught up on. I dare say....some newbie thrown into that fire will be toast in no time. I doubt many self respecting women will allow themselves to remain in such an environment. I am imagining that he will have trouble finding someone who will stay All in all though, I am not the least bit sorry I ever worked for him. If I can work for this man, I can work for anybody. Working for Nanoman has made me surprise myself. I had no idea I was capable of multitasking at the level I multitask at. Going anywhere else....I don't care who I work for...will be gravy. I have also learned many new business skills. One of them is being a supervisor. I don't think I mentioned to you guys that along the line, I became somebodys boss. I have always wanted to be a boss. It was one of my goals when I got hired at this start up. If I proved myself worthy, as the company grew, I would serve in the capacity of Office Manager and oversee any future administrative staff. As of October, 2006, I oversee a staff of 1/2. I have 1 part time, 20 hour per week worker, and after experiencing being boss to 1/2 a person, I don't think I want to be boss again. Now being boss is great....if you are the head boss and don't have another boss over you...but when you are a mid level boss (and this is something I did not know)...you are personally responsible for every bone head mistake that your underlings make. Not only that but you have to protect your underlings when they are being unfairly dealt with by your superiors. I don't know what my future holds but I think I will keep my mouth shut about being boss from now on. Well...I am going on way to long about this....I wanted to tell you about the little woodland creature I supervise and how being boss has been for me but I'll save that for another post. Until then.... P. I. Yarnsmith
|