I’m in a gopher farm. That’s the one where there are lots of cubicles and, if there’s any kind of commotion, people’s heads pop up over the walls like gophers peeking out of their holes.
- yeah, we really look like that
I didn’t want to be in this room in the first place. But when I was directed by the boss to go there (“…so you can be closer to the people you’ll be working with…”*), I only had a few cubicles to choose from. The one right next to the front door of the room…or the one right outside the boss’s office.
I chose the one by the front door for a couple reasons. First, it made for a quick escape whenever it was time to go home or go to lunch. Second, I actually had a window! But the bigger reason was the boss himself. At the time, we had a boss who was an avid proponent of the L.O.S.T. method of handing out jobs.
L.O.S.T. – Line Of Sight Tasking
In other words, when the boss had a job to hand out, his tendency was to give it to the first person he sees when he walks out the door. I HAD to have the office most removed from his sight.
Well, since moving in, the boss has moved on**. The new boss? A milquetoast. Rarely in the office and quiet as a mouse when she is. She’s handed off the job assignment task to her deputy dawg. He does not use L.O.S.T. to assign jobs. He uses the “You’re next on my list” method. No matter that I may be uniquely qualified to do the next or last job on his list. No matter that my other assignments are butt-ugly and take lots of my time to do already. It’s my turn to get a job, so I get it. <heavy sigh>
But there’s partially*** good news. I changed my office recently. We’ve had quite the turnover of people, so a couple offices opened up. I now have a quiet office, relatively out of view of the boss types (not that they don’t track me down still).
And I still long for a boss who actually knows how to assign jobs to the right people at the right time…and know when to tell their bosses, “No, we’re not doing that!”
A dream, I’m thinking…
=-=-=-=-=-=
*<smirk> …like I’m actually going to work…
**He has found his “Peter Principle”, rising to a position where he is totally incompetent to accomplish the job.
***…and it will remain “partially” until I can retire!
July 9, 2010 at 02:25 |
Yeah, I have a an MECYK method boss (Make Eye Contact, You’re FUCKED). I spend a lot of time examining my pedicure. Fortunately, it’s usually fabulous.
July 9, 2010 at 03:12 |
I have a problem with delegation. I only give my assistant work to do if I’m convinced I won’t have to do it over again after she’s finished
July 9, 2010 at 03:12 |
And yes Dolce, I’ve seen your pedicure and it’s totally lustworthy
July 9, 2010 at 07:38 |
Meercats are sweet things. I like having next level up bosses who loathe the boss the level up from them – promotes camaraderie and hijinks amongst the lower orders!
July 9, 2010 at 08:09 |
and here I thought “Peter Principle” was related to “Office Space”… sigh…
July 9, 2010 at 09:55 |
Not sure I could function in a cubicle, unless it was a toilet cubicle. Then I could function just fine.
July 9, 2010 at 20:17 |
dolce – now, would that MECYK work for me in a bar with women? just asking…
nursemyra – true that. sometimes it’s easier to do it yourself than clean up the mess.
nursemyra II – i don’t recall photos of those in the batch… an oversight?
mitzi – yeah, you’re right…those are meerkats, not gophers. good catch. and, yeah, if you’re not directly involved in the hubbub, it is fun to watch from the sidelines when they snipe at each other.
stephanie – ooo, yet another illusion shattered. do you have a dustbin full of illusion shards yet?
s. le – well, then you’d do fine in a work cubicle…we do nothing, it seems, but process shit there, too.
July 10, 2010 at 05:00 |
You’re the Martin Luther King Jr of the corporate world.
July 10, 2010 at 08:45 |
Too true!
July 10, 2010 at 08:48 |
kyknoord – i HAD a dream… but that was ripped screaming from my corporate soul by idiot bosses
s. le – if it only weren’t, i might actually work harder…nahhhh…
July 10, 2010 at 10:19 |
aren’t you due up to retire in a few years? Start working on that gopher tunnel out of there.
July 10, 2010 at 15:29 |
hisqueen – working the numbers…if i want to maintain this festive lifestyle, will have to work a few years longer…