LOSERS: the next generation

Yeah, I know what you're probably thinking- something along the lines of  'what a hateful person'. And it does sound-   uncharitable to say the least. 
Still,  going by the expressions on those young folks' faces standing in the line, (like they're too good to be here), I don't think so. But hateful? Naah. More like contempt with compassion. 

You see, I've waited on people much like the ones standing in line, and for a long time! I worked for the State for 22 years, most of them in an office much like the one you see pictured(or at least depicted)here. Believe me, I've seen a lot of characters come through our doors in all that time. And having had more than my share of working the front counter, I feel like I've had to deal with every single one of them. 

I remember being told in training, back in 1991 when I hired on, that after a couple years we'd start to recognize the same folks coming through the doors--not just the folks whose work is weather-dependent, like your trades laborers, or seasonal like your bus driver/monitors or factory workers, but those dysfunctional dodos who just plain can't keep a job!!

Yes, we see them year in year out. After a couple years(really, less time than that)you see the pattern, the recurrence. After 22 years, you've not only seen these folks for a whole damn career(mine?theirs?)but you start to see their offspring!!And sometimes even their offspring. 

We did witness a Mom and Dad(who'd been frequent filers, two of our chronic patients)bringing Junior in for benefits. Even though we joked among ourselves about it being a Kodak moment, it was really pretty sad. We were laughing to keep from crying.

So it goes on and on. I don't regret my years there, and feel good that I was able to help folks with some of their difficulties(even though I sure was tired of hearing about them!), but am glad to have moved on. 

My leaving when I did, a year early, as actually Alternate Plan C(Plan A was working part-time, the option for which was eliminated, along with those working in that capacity; and Plan B was just to tough it out until my actual retirement in September of 2014). What I'd have really liked to see was a whole new crop of workers hired in 2014, 4 or 5 or more new folks coming in the year I'm heading out. 

Boy it feels good being outa there! Like a big weight has been lifted. Thanks for the 22 years, but hasta la vista baby! Still, I hope there's somebody left to help those folks. And I don't mean the ones who won't do what they need to do, but the ones who can't. Who just plain can't do it. Fortunately there are a great many more who could if they tried..

This is it!!

Well it finally happened. I had that special day, the one with just the right amount of stress and toxicity to make me play my exit card. 

May 29, 2013 was my decisive day, actually the morning half of the day. I was working the front counter, which is my nemesis anyway as far as most-hated-job-in-office. And it was a non-stop 4 hours, a never-ending line of folks, with more than a few acrimonious moments with more than a few clients. Leaving for lunch(which ended up being 20 minutes late, a nice stress-cherry on top of my frazzle sundae)I said to a co-worker, "I'm gettin' outa here."
  
 Well, no, not right that minute. Came back from lunch, finished out the day, went home and thought about the kind of day I'd had, and then came back to work the next morning and put in my notice. May 30, 2013 was Decision Day.

It's nice to give 30 days notice if you can, best also to work until the end of the given month. So June 28th was set to be my last day, and got moved up to the 26th due to personal days that have to be used or lost. Three more working days. 

There are times in life where the best thing you can do is weather the situation. Tough it out. And there are other times where you need to know when you're licked. I figured on that day-of-special-stress that it wasn't going to get any better. My "adversary"(in this case, mainly the front counter)was just going to get bigger and badder, so the best thing for me to do is just walk away from the fight. 

So this is how it ends. 14 months earlier than I'd hoped, but it's time to jump from this sinking ship. I did bring my life preserver with me, so I should be okay. 

Actually, I think I'll be better than okay. But I've gotta get there first. Three more days.

 

More in the saga

Well, the playing field has once again shifted, with our old laid-off folks out the door and our 'bumped in' folks taking their places- plus the other people we got due to them being ousted from their workplace.

We're just a week or so into all this, so much remains to be seen. I'm sure there will be problems, or at least flare-ups, as we get further into the year. So far everyone's getting along, making that extra effort to adjust. With all these extra bodies in our office now, it's gone from a Ghost Town to a packed house--an almost cloistered environment, with everyone in their assigned rows. 

The problem is not with all our new arrivals. The folks we got all know what they're doing and are good workers as far as that esprit de corps so necessary to the job, and people are adjusting to having less space. No, the problem is with management, and the things that are mandated for us to do in conjunction with our jobs. 

Basically, they're looking to automate everything(and not just the 'core' services, but everything, Jim, everything!). So our jobs at this point are designed more toward phasing ourselves out: preparing clients for the point when we're no longer there to help them!


With not a whole lot of time left myself in my working life, at least this job, this whole process is at least somewhat consistent with my own plans: phasing out. I'm phasing out right along with 'em. But for those with still 10 or even 5 more years to go, they have a tougher road to hoe. By the time they're ready to retire, they'll have had to move elsewhere to do it. 

The one saving grace in all this is that we've got good workers. If left(at least somewhat)to our own devices, we know what to do, and can get the job done. Regardless, at least we're all in it together. 

September 1st of 2014(my RETIREMENT DATE) will get here with or without me. The plan is to make it all the way to the finish line. With all the cuts being made--and there're supposed to be more in June--I wonder if there will be a finish line for me to cross. 

Time will tell.      

Arrivals and Departures

The phun continues at the local government office where I continue to work(and now for a maximum of 17 months--yes, much like serving time!)with another round of layoffs. 

Last Friday, we lost 7 people from our office. All but one of them have other jobs, and with other agencies, so at least they have somewhere to go. And the common sentiment among those of us who didn't get cut is that they're better off. In a better place, as it were. That phrase, as well as everything happens for a reason, usually kinda irks me, as it presumes an omniscience none of us could possibly have(yes, thank you but how the fuck could you know that?!)but in this case I like it. They probably are in a better place. We'll leave the other platitude alone for now....

 Of the people we lost(which includes another 3 last October), there's no one I outright didn't like--even though there were a few who were sometimes less-than-easy to work with.  Didn't know some of the newer folks real well, but still had a couple years working alongside them, doing all that Important Government Work we purport to do. It's gonna feel weird tomorrow at work without them there. 

But as happens in life, one door closes and another one opens(this is a 'common' phrase I actually like!), as we get a whole new crop of people to replace the old ones. Actually, the "new" folks we're getting tomorrow have much more experience than the "old" ones we just lost. We got them because they have enough years in to survive the layoff. A couple of these "newbies" I've worked with in years past--and right where we'll be working again--and am looking forward to their return(even though they may not be!). 

Our job is not an easy one. We deal with an often unfriendly and often undereducated public, a group of people who've just lost their jobs and-again, quite often-don't have the skills or the means otherwise to get another one. They don't read the materials we give them regarding the rules and regs of the program--i.e. how to get the money they're supposed to get--and then come back on us when they screw up, claiming "nobody told me". That's the kind of stuff that wears you out over the years. 

When I started, back in 1991, I remember our manager telling us newbies that the folks you're gonna see the most of are the fuck-ups. And damn if that isn't true. Really, how could it not be?! If you have the wherewithal to file your paperwork and follow it through, chances are you won't have to see us. If you do it online, you may never have to set foot in our office. Probably some great folks out there I'll never meet, who'd be easy to deal with if they ever had a problem. But they don't. 

So your main clientele consists of the fuck-ups, sometimes year after year. They can't hold a job, and don't read the material we give them--well, I went over all this a minute ago. Some of them are personable, and thus more enjoyable to deal with, but they're still fuck-ups! You still have to fix their boo-boo's, and spell everything out as far as what they're supposed to do next(we actually have a booklet which explains all that!!). 

What saves this situation(besides the fact that despite the difficulty in dealing with some of these folks, it does feel good to have helped someone out of a mess)is that there's always been a good camaraderie among the workers. We get along, and enjoy a fair amount of jocularity. The new/old crew we're getting tomorrow should fall right in, as far as that goes. As I said, I've worked with some of these folks and am looking forward to working with them again. 

In my almost 22 years, I've seen the playing field shift more than a few times. This is not, as it were, the first Rodeo I've been to. We are also getting some staff from our regional office, the "honchos" who oversee what we do as well as the other offices in the region. That is a change I'm not looking forward to. New workers, yes!; honchos, no!  

17 months to go, until I can receive a pension. It's been a bumpy ride these past couple years, what with all the changes: layoffs, office closings- and I anticipate more bumps in the road before it's all over. I told one of the folks returning to the office, 'it'll be crazy, but I'm glad you guys are in it with me'. We shall see.....

My Pal Nutso

Over the course of 21 years at any job, you're going to have a few alliances. This character is one of mine. 

We started the same year- 1991, me in April and him in November, and have survived two managers and a seemingly astronomical number of workers over all these years. Lots of stories- or(especially in his case)the same stories over and over. (Well, my ex-wife used to complain that after 3 years, she'd heard all of mine, so maybe I'm guilty here too..).

    This is an ebullient individual, quite over-the-top, caught here in a rare moment of repose. Most of the time,  this is quite infectious: whatever he's spewing, you get caught up in it. There are a few instances, though, usually first thing in the morning, when I have to say, "just give me an hour"--to which he's generally cool, but still times you! Definitely someone you'd say was on.

For a good while now, he's been "safely" sequestered off in this semi'private office(somewhat akin to The Swamp on the MASH TV series, only without the Still--at least to my knowledge) but  used to work among us on the floor. At that point, one of the more senior workers, who referred to him as Nutso, put a For Sale sign up at her desk.

So this morning, I'm having my coffee and reveling in the three-day weekend, having a Sunday without dread-of-Monday, and there's a knock at the door. 

It's 8:45 in the morning. Who the hell would be knocking on my door on Sunday morning at 8:45? 

Nutso. He needed to borrow my badge to get into the building. Wanted to work on some assignments. No problem. (Assignments are a body of tasks , some common to all of us, some more specialized, in one of our computer systems.)I have a feeling he did some of this yesterday as well. 

Once in a blue moon, we'll have a Saturday where we're requested to come in, but normally it's strictly Monday through Friday, from whenever to whenever and no longer. I remember, when we were more fully staffed, getting some mild flak from a few folks about being there after 4:30. It was in jest, but still staying after school wasn't a common practice. 

In my friend's case, it's not some big supererogatory display to impress the boss, but more just filling a void. During the week, he's there at 7:50 or so when I arrive, and still there at 4:30 when I go home. Lotsa hours in there, but more just to keep him occupied. Besides, that approach of putting in beaucoup hours to show your dedication can backfire on you. Either they permanently assign you all those extra hours or the boss figures, negatively, that you're unable to complete your work in five days and lets you go for "incompetence".

 I gotta say, he does make things fun around the office. As far as specific instances, the shenanigans are too numerous(and juvenile--or at least hadda-be-there )to go into, but they've been a big part of things. Like I said, all week he's there when I get there and still there when I go. Back in the beginning, I started 7 months before he did, but I bet he'll still be there when I go. I predict he'll be found back in that office, slumped over. The year: 2022. 

Nutso takes better care of himself than most of us, so this longevity is not unlikely. But I hope he expires someplace else- unless he's got a babe back there.         

Pink Slip Panic

It's been happening all around me at work. Waves of layoffs and office closures, one after another. Definitely a treacherous body of water we're sailing on. And we just got hit with another wave. The vast majority of our already truncated workforce got their notices just last week.  

So this coming week is a series of "bump meetings", wherein you find out who has less time in the books than you, so if need be you could "bump" them out of their jobs--and of course who could bump you out of yours!Survival of the fattest. 

 Then the dust will settle and we'll see a playing field that's once again changed. This happens anyway every couple of years, "budget problems" notwithstanding, a shift in personnel. New faces. But this time it'll just be the old faces who've got enough time on the books to bump into our location.  And naturally, being as that you know all the prospectives,  there are people you hope to see on the new workfloor, and a few you hope not to see there. 

 With this kind of upheaval, the office feels very much like a sinking ship--like the Titanic right after it hit the iceberg.(What am I saying- it is a sinking ship!)You just see all the repercussions coming your way,  the progressive destruction. The air is abuzz with all the controversy and the rumors and half-truths that follow, so you have to exercise caution as to just how much of all this you allow to filter into your own opinions. All too easy to repeat, to reiterate something enough times that it becomes "truth". I think that's also called propaganda...

With 21 years in, I'm not going to get any kind of layoff/bumping rights notice. At least not in this round. But I wouldn't be surprised if I got dinged myself down the road, had my position eliminated out from under me. 

And it is suspicious in this regard(to say the least) that there are a goodly number of position openings in IT and upper management but nothing down at the nuts-n-bolts level where they're most needed. In other words, nothing for my position.

Hmmmm. Might lead you to believe(but again, wanting to sidestep the maelstrom of rumor and half-truth already thick in the atmosphere)that you're being phased out yourself. Who am I kidding- it's a certainty. Just a question of when. It'd be nice to make it all the way to the finish line next August, but if they cut me between now and then, so be it.  

 Freaky times. 

Blue Monday

 This is Monday where I work. Well actually, every day looks about like this anymore, but especially Monday. We always start the week like this. 
  Quite often at least a few of these folks are waiting in their cars when I pull in at 7:50 or so. They have at least a 40 minute wait--but as the day goes, it may be an hour or even two, so I can see their point. Get in, get off, get out. 

It used to be that I hated seeing people sitting in their cars out front when I pulled in to work in the morning(it's like they're giving you a 'sneak preview' of the shit you're gonna have to deal with in about 40 minutes!)but I almost wish more folks would follow suit with this first-in-first-out business. Get in, get off, get out. From our standpoint, the day would start out gangbusters,but taper off signifigantly, to where you might even have little-to-no traffic in the afternoon. Ugh changing to ahhh, rather than one steady ugh. 

    But you're going to have a lot of folks to take care of, regardless of how it's managed. And the minute the doors open, you have at least a couple people to deal with right off the bat.The day always starts off with a bang. 
  
  Most people who read this(if if even gets a readership)will identify with the folks standing in line in these pictures(maybe--probably--having been there themselves at some point), but I'm writing it from the perspective of the people working behind the counters, the people whose job is serving the long lines of customers.

 It's a necessary function, the reception area- somebody's gotta be there!- but it's the shittiest job in the office. Why? Well just look to your left and there's your answer: because you have to deal with all those fucking people, that's why!! 

Pardon my French here, but it's very enervating having to tend to a steady stream of humanity like that, one after another after another. It would be draining enough under optimum conditions, with each person you get being blissfully happy. You'd still have one person after another planted right in front of you.

And of course they're anything but blissfully happy(if they're blissfully happy and standing in our line, then there's really something wrong with them!) Each one of the folks standing there, every single person you have to deal with  has a bad situation, a bundle of misery to dump "your way ward". Either they just lost their job(or they lost it 7 months ago and are just now getting around to coming in) or has some other kind of financial crisis they're coming to see if they can alleviate. They're in pain(sometimes very mild pain**, but pain nonetheless..). 
   Unlike the lines at movie theatres

and restaurants, they're not coming to see you to feel good, to have an enjoyable sensory or gastronomic experience. They're in to see you because they don't feel good, because they've got a boo boo that you can hopefully repair. 

       Understood. Thus I try not to take too much of their sometimes less-than-good humor personally, and see what I can do to help. Still, all the bitching, all the moaning and  groaning- however justified- wears on you. I used  to refer to the aural atmosphere of our office as the PPC Level. Phones, printers and complaining. Those were(and still are)the sounds filling the air. Most heavily, unfortunately, on the 'c'.

  These days, we have lines of folks in our lobby much like those in the pictures. There are lulls(mercifully)but mostly long periods with a seemingly interminable and querulous queue of customers(no meals or movies here *). Like I said, it's the shittiest job in the office. 

  At this juncture in my 19-more-months-to-go, I am not working in that enviable position, but have spent much time there over the past 21-almost-22 years. Much time. 

 I know there are those out there with personalities such that this kind of job just rolls off their backs, but for me it was always the most draining. Absolutely hate every minute of it. Worked many a Monday up there, and for a good while this last year, just about every Monday: the shittiest job in the office on the shittiest day of the week = compounded shit! And it was always The Big Obstacle to get through for the week. I must say, though, it did make the rest of the week seem easier, but was something to dread on Sunday. So you got your good with your bad. 

  I hope to never have to work up there again in my 19-more-months-to-go, but if I do then so be it. But then it might raise the PPC to a dangerous level of toxicity(at least deleterious to my working health!)and drive me to an early exit. Not from life but from working--at least the counter(if negotiable). 

Thanks to good old vacation time, I am excused tomorrow from the rigors of daygig(a musician reference to one's job, can't help it), and will miss the experience of Monday morning- which for our office will be pretty close to the pictures above. A long line of folks who just want to get their boo boo fixed(sometimes this involves a band-aid, others the systemic equivalent of quadruple bypass surgery). And not nearly enough workers on the other side of the counter to help make that happen. 

   With even a few more of us, of course, there'd be a lot  less of them, but this is something only we seem to see. And that's the problem right there. It's a shame. 

  But for now, I'm going to enjoy- well, now!- and the rest of my 4-day weekend--which, having the next two days off, is sans dread-of-Monday, something that usually colors(or should I say discolors at least the latter part of Sunday). My condolences to those who are working tomorrow. 

   As for me, for these next couple of days, I aspire to be like a movie theater or restaurant customer and enjoy myself. Food and movies are available here as well as out in the retail world of course.   



* Movies have never been a part of our "backstage" life at the office, but food is almost always available. We celebrate the usual events with some sort of chow offering , and there is usually something to munch on around our desks, courtesy of our supervisor. One of the perks of working there.  


** I got these bass-ackwards, somehow. An example of mild financial pain might be something like "I don't need the money, but it wouldn't hurt".