Office Space

For those that may not know. I hate my job. The picture above is pretty much how I feel about it. I'm an Administrative Specialist for a state agency. While the job isn't hard, and honestly I normally don't have all that much to do, its extremely boring and I feel brain dead most of the time. I directly support 8 people and provide assistance when needed to 12 others who do not have their own support staff anymore after lay offs last summer.

So, about six months ago I was having a lot of problems with my stomach. I went to the doctor and as far as they can tell I simply have irritable bowl syndrome. I had a colonoscopy done just to make sure it wasn't more serious. The doctor then proscribed me some nasty prescription drink mix stuff that I took for 2 days then refused to drink more. I'm currently taking some over the counter stuff along with a fiber supplement to try and help keep things going as they should, but it doesn't help every day. Some days being more than 20 feet from a toilet is not a good thing. On top of this I've been dealing with stress headaches that cause nausea and some depression.

For the last several months I've been missing a lot of work The last several pay checks I've not even made my full 80 hours because I just don't have the vacation or sick leave anymore. I've only been working here for 3 years and it takes a full month for me earn 1 day of sick and vacation time. So as you can imagine I don't have any.

Now this gets me into the whole reason for this blog. On Friday my boss had a short meeting with me to go over some projects I need to be working on and to follow up on my performance evaluation from December. It came up that I've been missing a lot of work and that I need to make more of an effort to be here. I wake up every morning and get in the shower. Every morning. By the time I'm done with my shower I normally know how I'm feeling and whether or not I'll be mobile that day. But I understand where my boss is coming from. I do need to be here and I know that.

What pissed me off to no end though is what she said after that, telling me how even though she is gone a lot, she never uses up all of her sick/vacation leave. Well, not only is she an Exempt employee, meaning she only has to work 1 minute of every 4 hours to not have to take leave time, I'm pretty sure she never accurately records when she is gone. More often than not she gets away with this by claiming she is working from home. And she can get away with it because she is a very large woman. Up words of probably 600 pounds. She has a lot of health problems that make her "disabled".  Some of the health problems cause the weight and some are caused by the weight. Because of this she is rarely here, even though early last year she got a motorized chair to help her get around better. But having it hasn't made her be here anymore or to be any more punctual. This says to me that there is something other than just health keeping her from being here most days.

A prime example of this happened yesterday. She gets here at about 9:15, making it to her 9am meeting late. It lasted until about 10:15 or so. She had another meeting at 10:30 that lasted until about 11:30. Then she spent some time at her desk until approximately noon when she comes by my desk to tell me that she's going home for the afternoon because the bug she had 2 weeks ago is hitting her again. Ok, fine, what ever. But this isn't the end. At about 1:45 I get an email from one of the project managers I support asking me to print of a document for my boss who will be by to pick it up. I emailed her back asking when this would be as she went home sick. I was told that my boss would be "turning around" to come back and get it? Turning around? You mean after 2 hours she still hasn't made it home? I thought she was sick? Then I spoke to another project manager about it and found out that shortly before she left they were discussing what is on the buffet at a local restaurant today. WTF? Now when I'm sick and go home, I go home and curl up in bed and crash, I don't drive around town for anther 2 hours. So she come back for the document along with 2 others she was able to email me about on her way, and as usual I have to run them down stairs to her.

It stuff like that that pisses me off. And remember that evaluation I told you about? Myself and all the project managers had our evaluations with her the same week...over the phone...while she sat in her parking spot downstairs. She actually wanted us to come down there and sit in her vehicle with her for them. We all refused because it would be too uncomfortable.

It's just crazy.I need a new job, but no one is hiring with all the budget cut backs. So for now I'm sticking it out, even though our legislature is proposing a 5% cut in all state employee wages but closing all state offices at 3pm on Friday's. And on top of that my agency alone is having trouble meeting the cuts they want us to make and some of the options the legislature is liking the most is to cut 50 jobs or simply dissolve the agency. Now you understand the stress headaches.

Ok, I think I'm done ranting for now. I'll try for a more cheery topic next time.