Another day
Oct. 7th, 2005 09:47 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bethlakshmiGot 'talked to' yesterday by my direct reporting to boss (I have so many bosses, it's unreal), about coming in on time. I hate mornings, and it's easy to slack and not be in until 9:10, 9:15. But company policy is 9:00 and apparently it's been noticed. So... in favor of being a good little monkey, I was here today at 8:50/55 (depends what clock you look at). Blech.
I hate this part of my company. When I started, I knew the case - this is a "follow the rules and no one gets hurt" sort of place. Innovation and creativity is fine - in moderation. But what they really want is for everyone to follow the rules, not use their own judgement, and there are a LOT of rules to follow. In the last 3 months, I've taken at least one 'refresher' course a month, sometimes two. There's been:
- safe chemical use (even though I don't work with chemicals)
- static management (even though I have neither the statis control equipment nor any need to have it - computers are assembled by the time I get them)
- security policy - OK, that one was relevant, but conducted for really stupid people - it needed to move faster and be more succinct.
- sexual harassment ethics - relevant to everyone, but largely common sense
We get policy updates, often DAILY.
This is not my favorite part of working here. I find alot of it pretty crappy, because it rules out the idea that I'm a thinking person. I do come in late... but I tend to work even later. I will skip lunch or stay late to make sure that the job is done as well as possible. I take the extra time to make sure my vendors are getting the information they need to do a good job for me, and I spend the extra few minutes on courtesy and hospitality when visitors are here from out of town - all things that don't get reflected on a schedule or time card.
The tradeoff used to be that you gave alot to The Company - but you got a lot back. Good health benefits - where you could have nearly any doctor, full vision, full dental. Tuition was wonderfully easy going - fairly easy forms, C or better (even for grad school), and not obligation to stay in the company for a year. We had a nurse on site, so if you had a wierd itchy bump, rash or some other "is this a problem?" question, you could get confidential assistance. We continue to have dry cleaning services, cafeteria and a credit union on campus, although a photo development service has fallen by the wayside.
Those benefits are beginning to disappear. The cafeteria is no longer cheaper than local area restaraunts, you jump through more hoops for tuition, health plans are decreasing in coverage. It ain't cool.
Having limited benefits was fine, when I was working in a little 1000 person company, and it was OK for me to have interesting color hair, come in at 9:15 if there were no morning meetings, and wear very casual casual dress. The tradeoff was worth it.
No class last night - didn't make Middle Eastern, and didn't teach Indian. That was all good, I think I needed a slacking time. Did wash my fabric in Synthrapol, and then managed two dye vats - a tea dye upstairs for the mummy wrappings, and a vat of Aztec Gold for part of the demon flame fabric. Unfortunately, seem to have burgundy, not crimson in the dye stash. But I think it will be OK.
Spent a large chunk of evening looking for dining. My home area's limited dining options got more limited:
- The Common Ground - place of great sandwiches and lovely decor - now closes their kitchen at 8:00 - virtually guaranteeing I won't go there anymore. Closing the kitchen at 9:00 was problematic. 8:00 means that I have to make the place a dedicated trip right after work.
- Phale - pan-asian sushi/japanese/chinese food - closed for no explicable reason.
Finally gave up and went to Chinatown for Korean.
Shopping yesterday was exceedingly fruitful:
- 2 demoness dresses
- new, cheap Indianoid bangles for Lakshmi
- 300 count Egyptian cotton sheets that feel like satin ($30!)
- soft black towel, Glamazon size
Did the short form of Budokan today before going to work. It is definitely an ass kicker, but I think it may only be raising my heart rate for 10 minutes. The yoga part has me sweating, but I don't see my heart rate going up.
I hate this part of my company. When I started, I knew the case - this is a "follow the rules and no one gets hurt" sort of place. Innovation and creativity is fine - in moderation. But what they really want is for everyone to follow the rules, not use their own judgement, and there are a LOT of rules to follow. In the last 3 months, I've taken at least one 'refresher' course a month, sometimes two. There's been:
- safe chemical use (even though I don't work with chemicals)
- static management (even though I have neither the statis control equipment nor any need to have it - computers are assembled by the time I get them)
- security policy - OK, that one was relevant, but conducted for really stupid people - it needed to move faster and be more succinct.
- sexual harassment ethics - relevant to everyone, but largely common sense
We get policy updates, often DAILY.
This is not my favorite part of working here. I find alot of it pretty crappy, because it rules out the idea that I'm a thinking person. I do come in late... but I tend to work even later. I will skip lunch or stay late to make sure that the job is done as well as possible. I take the extra time to make sure my vendors are getting the information they need to do a good job for me, and I spend the extra few minutes on courtesy and hospitality when visitors are here from out of town - all things that don't get reflected on a schedule or time card.
The tradeoff used to be that you gave alot to The Company - but you got a lot back. Good health benefits - where you could have nearly any doctor, full vision, full dental. Tuition was wonderfully easy going - fairly easy forms, C or better (even for grad school), and not obligation to stay in the company for a year. We had a nurse on site, so if you had a wierd itchy bump, rash or some other "is this a problem?" question, you could get confidential assistance. We continue to have dry cleaning services, cafeteria and a credit union on campus, although a photo development service has fallen by the wayside.
Those benefits are beginning to disappear. The cafeteria is no longer cheaper than local area restaraunts, you jump through more hoops for tuition, health plans are decreasing in coverage. It ain't cool.
Having limited benefits was fine, when I was working in a little 1000 person company, and it was OK for me to have interesting color hair, come in at 9:15 if there were no morning meetings, and wear very casual casual dress. The tradeoff was worth it.
No class last night - didn't make Middle Eastern, and didn't teach Indian. That was all good, I think I needed a slacking time. Did wash my fabric in Synthrapol, and then managed two dye vats - a tea dye upstairs for the mummy wrappings, and a vat of Aztec Gold for part of the demon flame fabric. Unfortunately, seem to have burgundy, not crimson in the dye stash. But I think it will be OK.
Spent a large chunk of evening looking for dining. My home area's limited dining options got more limited:
- The Common Ground - place of great sandwiches and lovely decor - now closes their kitchen at 8:00 - virtually guaranteeing I won't go there anymore. Closing the kitchen at 9:00 was problematic. 8:00 means that I have to make the place a dedicated trip right after work.
- Phale - pan-asian sushi/japanese/chinese food - closed for no explicable reason.
Finally gave up and went to Chinatown for Korean.
Shopping yesterday was exceedingly fruitful:
- 2 demoness dresses
- new, cheap Indianoid bangles for Lakshmi
- 300 count Egyptian cotton sheets that feel like satin ($30!)
- soft black towel, Glamazon size
Did the short form of Budokan today before going to work. It is definitely an ass kicker, but I think it may only be raising my heart rate for 10 minutes. The yoga part has me sweating, but I don't see my heart rate going up.
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I hear ya sista!
Date: 2005-10-07 07:27 pm (UTC)"The tradeoff used to be that you gave a lot to The Company - but you got a lot back. Good health benefits - where you could have nearly any doctor, full vision, full dental. Tuition was wonderfully easy going - fairly easy forms, C or better (even for grad school), and not obligation to stay in the company for a year. We had a nurse on site, so if you had a wierd itchy bump, rash or some other "is this a problem?" question, you could get confidential assistance. We continue to have dry cleaning services, cafeteria and a credit union on campus, although a photo development service has fallen by the wayside.
Those benefits are beginning to disappear. The cafeteria is no longer cheaper than local area restaraunts, you jump through more hoops for tuition, health plans are decreasing in coverage. It ain't cool."
---
This SO true. I work a minimum of 50 hours and usually more, all my end users are happy - some even insist(!) on making a thank you to me a part of their website, but I get grief about coming in 10 minutes late. I am even coming in on the monday holiday (for once not a floater) at 7:30 am and still I am not allowed the same flex time as my colleagues get to leave early (ie 4pm) on a Friday afternoon.
Besides which the cafeteria is so expensive that it is cheaper to spend the money on gas to drive off campus and find another restaurant to eat at (and I don't mean fast food like that that they serve in the cafeteria)!
Ok, my rant is ended. Power to the people!