Office Space
This morning as we were getting ready for work, Nathan said, “Guess what today is.”
I really hate guessing, and since I’m really the keeper of all birthdates, anniversaries and milestones, I had no idea what he was talking about. “Just tell me,” I said.
“It’s my nine year anniversary of working at HMI,” he said. “Nine years. I get my service bonus in my next paycheck.”
Wow. Nine years working for the same company. He’s got me beat.
I’ve been thinking a lot about jobs and careers lately, mostly because of my return to work. I thought I’d come back with a renewed perspective, and for a few days I did look at my job differently. I was convinced that no matter what happened, I wasn’t going to let petty work issues get to me. Then yesterday was one of those days when most of my time was spent on the phone and I realized how little had changed, especially my attitude.
This is only the third job I’ve had since I was 17. I manage to stay put for a good amount of time as long as I’m able to do new things. At Target I moved around a lot, from department to department, from cashier to fitting room and from price change team to working 3rd shift stocking toys during the holidays. At HMI, I worked on one chair line, then another. I spent time training other workers, learned how to drive a hilo and a picker and worked side by side with the guys in the warehouse.
My current job, however, has offered little flexibility and few opportunities for growth. After the training period was over (and it was quite a long training period), I found myself doing the same things over and over again and the job became mundane and unsatisfying.
I was discussing the job with one of my co-workers the other day and mentioned that this October will mark my five-year anniversary in this office. She was floored and I’m sure couldn’t imagine how I’ve managed to stay so long. Of course I think the same thing of another co-worker who’s been here longer than I have. How has she managed to stick it out?
So this co-worker and I are hoping this year will be our year, that we’ll each find a new position that will prove more satisfying. At first I thought that as long as I had Autumn to come home to, it didn’t matter what went on at work. This week, however, I realized that my work life has to be satisfying because I spend more waking hours here than at home. I’ll try not to get too depressed about that.
Of course today in our weekly meeting our supervisor jokingly ordered none of us to get pregnant or think about leaving for the next year and a half. She said she’s going to chain all of us to our desks in order to get us to stay.
I guess I’ll have to invest in a good blowtorch.
I really hate guessing, and since I’m really the keeper of all birthdates, anniversaries and milestones, I had no idea what he was talking about. “Just tell me,” I said.
“It’s my nine year anniversary of working at HMI,” he said. “Nine years. I get my service bonus in my next paycheck.”
Wow. Nine years working for the same company. He’s got me beat.
I’ve been thinking a lot about jobs and careers lately, mostly because of my return to work. I thought I’d come back with a renewed perspective, and for a few days I did look at my job differently. I was convinced that no matter what happened, I wasn’t going to let petty work issues get to me. Then yesterday was one of those days when most of my time was spent on the phone and I realized how little had changed, especially my attitude.
This is only the third job I’ve had since I was 17. I manage to stay put for a good amount of time as long as I’m able to do new things. At Target I moved around a lot, from department to department, from cashier to fitting room and from price change team to working 3rd shift stocking toys during the holidays. At HMI, I worked on one chair line, then another. I spent time training other workers, learned how to drive a hilo and a picker and worked side by side with the guys in the warehouse.
My current job, however, has offered little flexibility and few opportunities for growth. After the training period was over (and it was quite a long training period), I found myself doing the same things over and over again and the job became mundane and unsatisfying.
I was discussing the job with one of my co-workers the other day and mentioned that this October will mark my five-year anniversary in this office. She was floored and I’m sure couldn’t imagine how I’ve managed to stay so long. Of course I think the same thing of another co-worker who’s been here longer than I have. How has she managed to stick it out?
So this co-worker and I are hoping this year will be our year, that we’ll each find a new position that will prove more satisfying. At first I thought that as long as I had Autumn to come home to, it didn’t matter what went on at work. This week, however, I realized that my work life has to be satisfying because I spend more waking hours here than at home. I’ll try not to get too depressed about that.
Of course today in our weekly meeting our supervisor jokingly ordered none of us to get pregnant or think about leaving for the next year and a half. She said she’s going to chain all of us to our desks in order to get us to stay.
I guess I’ll have to invest in a good blowtorch.
