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Job woes/wins

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I’m due to start my new role on Monday and have been working through some virtual onboarding stuff this week. They’ve set me up with a schedule for my first few days, introduction to the company, some fun things for me to do and a buddy to help welcome me into the role.

Really impressed with how slick it is, can’t wait to actually get started now.

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Looks like my furlough has been extended to the end of August but with the likelihood I'll be brought back a couple of weeks before that to to start getting things ready for the start of next term. Was hoping to be brought back at the start of August as I'm gonna have a lot of work to do but not much I can do.

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I've been working from home from March 11th. Tomorrow I'll be back to our headquarters to work from there as I have to meet up with a new colleague to tell him about a subject that I know something about. I'm looking forward to going, it'll be nice to see my colleagues again and have some decent lunch.

However, I'm enjoying working from home quite a lot. I have a decent setup and it's very flexible for me to work from home, can usually have dinner ready earlier in the afternoon and stuff.The everyday is so less stressful because of this so will definitely keep working from home some days every week.

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I've been told I'll have to go back to work in one of my jobs on Monday (4 hour job at the shoe shop) but if I'm honest, I don't want to. It's not because I want more time off or anything (because I'm an outdoor person and I've honestly hated staying in...although I've managed to more or less do my fitness courses so bright side and all that) but it's because I genuinely do not feel like it's safe enough. I know it's just 4 hours but I just don't trust the customers enough and honestly, a lot of the time, people tend to come in when they're not well so it makes me wonder if they'll do the same now? When there's a sale, the customers usually just don't give a shit. I've had a couple of staff tell me that I've missed the rush and it's okay but I don't know. It's just messed with my OCD a lot.

Sure, people have gone back and they're fine but the screen is so small that it's pointless to have even installed it but all I got told was "it meets government guidelines". They must have met it to an absolute minimum. In my other job, they have a huge screen and has gone out of their way to make sure I feel safe enough and I have more confidence in returning there than I do to my 4 hour one. I'm considering not going back. I'm probably overreacting, I know, but I've literally more or less stayed inside for months and not really been around anybody. Maybe that's why I feel this way?

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I think it’s totally understandable and all people will feel this way to varying degrees.

If you don’t feel safe then you have to weigh up the risks of what happens if you don’t go back vs. what might happen if you do. Will it be easy to get something else equivelent with lower risk? You should weigh up the pros and cons and see overall what is the best thing to do.

As things stand right now, you’ve either had it or are waiting to get it, all of the measures being put in place are just to slow that spread so as not to put medical resources out of action. I think it’s your right to choose whether you go back to work or not, but need to think about how long you’re willing to remain in your current situation with no assurance it will ever change.

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Haven't been on here the last few days because I work at a bank and I have been put on a remediation team specialising in payment holiday applications, and it's turning into pure chaos. The procedures and what we're being told to do are changing almost daily, it's an absolute mess.

I cannot wait (sarcasm, eye roll, et al) until the potential extensions come into play as was put forward a few weeks ago. 

Live footage of me from yesterday:

tenor.gif

Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful I'm still working, but my workload tripled when Covid reared its ugly head, tripled again when payment holidays were announced, tripled again when those didn't work, tripled again when I started working on this remediation team, and triple every single day that something changes. 

But I do kindly suggest that under no circumstances you should ever take out a loan and should keep all of your money under your bed where it is safest. Maybe invest in a sock collection or something instead. 

Edited by Julius
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I test most of the software and sites that banks use. So I feel you on the workload aspect Julius. Some of it needs to support IE6 Shudder.

Work has been...interesting. Long story short I was about to sign the paperwork for a promotion when we were taken over by another company. Said company promised me the promotion and then...we are still waiting.

I was about ready to jump ship over it, I even told them as such. They gave me money...then covid. Now I get to WFH permanently. Which is a win as I'd wanted that for a very long time.

I've been keeping an eye out for jobs in the interim but nothing has quite taken my fancy (with a few interviews done). It's nice not to stress about it. But I'd have loved to have stayed here with the new role and not worried about moving on in the first place. Bloody politics I swear...

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I'm trying to look for a new job at the moment as I don't think my job at the school is all that secure these days. I think if they decide they need to start saving some money then my job as one of 2 IT guys is expendable.

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I'm 110% done with work at the moment.

Tried to politely tell a project manager they've told all the testers to use the wrong thing and he honestly came back to me saying "I remember the conversations about what to use but not the answer, can you look at the attached and see if you can find the decision?" Like seriously, sod off.

And it's only going to get worse over the next few weeks...

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21 hours ago, Ashley said:

I'm 110% done with work at the moment.

Tried to politely tell a project manager they've told all the testers to use the wrong thing and he honestly came back to me saying "I remember the conversations about what to use but not the answer, can you look at the attached and see if you can find the decision?" Like seriously, sod off.

And it's only going to get worse over the next few weeks...

"Whilst I understand that conversations can be remembered differently, I do not currently have the time to route through all conversations mentioned. If you're unsure of the answer, then perhaps this should have been communicated to the team (aka the testers) at the time." 

AKA, fuck you, do the work and if you didn't know 110% you shouldn't have bluffed it. 

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Work continues to be the gift that keeps on giving. 

Hey, let's stick Julius on a payment holiday specialist team because he's doing well at his job and we want this done right. 

Today, let's tell him to work this spreadsheet.

And three hours later, when he's making good progress, let's take him off that spreadsheet and get him to start handling complaints related to said payment holidays, ignore him and toss aside our contact strategy when he brings up the fact that there's an overlap in customers on the spreadsheet his team and another team are working, and let's ignore the fact that we've created a giant mess out of this. 

This has been my experience over the last week and a half at work, and it's starting to drive me up the wall. Stick me on something, let me get the job done, then move me across to do something else. Moving me about so much and brushing aside problems I notice is the best way to get me to start half-arsing things. 

The managers at my workplace are nice people, but they are not good managers

Edited by Julius
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So annoying hearing about changes at work that are being planned which will cost loads to re-cable rooms etc and while I know it’s not directly connected I still can’t help but sit here feeling annoyed that I and others have been furloughed for months not getting our full pay yet they still make all these stupid choices that are basically being funded by the money they saved not paying us.

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So last night I of all people was put in charge of my team in work!!

Me me?!? What were they thinking giving me ultimate power!!

It was overtime and no manager or charge hand wanted to come in so they came looking to us regular workers to step up and lead the team to greatness and I thought OK I've been here for 14 years I'll step up for one night and prove that this trans girl with autism and a stammer can do what I said for many years I had no desire to do 😂 and the plant didn't even burn down!!

Woke up to this text from my manager.

"Amazing Georgia, a hidden gem u r, such detail and feedback for last night is truly amazing,remember what I have always said, it’s about giving people like yourself the opportunity to demonstrate to the business your ability to achieve more, when I say people like u,I mean, you believe that your ability to achieve more in life is restricted due to your low confidence and mental health stops u from doing so, last nights achievement shows us that you can, and u will again and again Georgia achieve better things in life with a “ can do attitude “ you should be extremely proud of yourself, I am, I have always believed in u G 100%, enjoy your break, again thank u so so much 👍"

Feel pretty good right now :).

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39 minutes ago, soag said:

So last night I of all people was put in charge of my team in work!!

Me me?!? What were they thinking giving me ultimate power!!

It was overtime and no manager or charge hand wanted to come in so they came looking to us regular workers to step up and lead the team to greatness and I thought OK I've been here for 14 years I'll step up for one night and prove that this trans girl with autism and a stammer can do what I said for many years I had no desire to do 😂 and the plant didn't even burn down!!

Woke up to this text from my manager.

"Amazing Georgia, a hidden gem u r, such detail and feedback for last night is truly amazing,remember what I have always said, it’s about giving people like yourself the opportunity to demonstrate to the business your ability to achieve more, when I say people like u,I mean, you believe that your ability to achieve more in life is restricted due to your low confidence and mental health stops u from doing so, last nights achievement shows us that you can, and u will again and again Georgia achieve better things in life with a “ can do attitude “ you should be extremely proud of yourself, I am, I have always believed in u G 100%, enjoy your break, again thank u so so much 👍"

Feel pretty good right now :).

That’s awesome. Also sounds like you have a pretty good manager as well who actually makes the effort to point this stuff out and praise you.

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18 hours ago, Happenstance said:

That’s awesome. Also sounds like you have a pretty good manager as well who actually makes the effort to point this stuff out and praise you.

Yea my boss is the best, I love him to bits. 

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My school has been having issues for a couple of years now ever since the last Bursar left and it only seems to be getting worse. Unqualified people are being put in leadership positions and then just causing more problems, staff are being shuffled around by the Head with no consultation beforehand, the Admin team haven't had support for years and are constantly miserable.

We had one of the new leadership members talking today about how it would be a "new era" as she would have our backs and was then almost in tears saying she felt offended that nobody felt supported because she always stood up for us (she didn't, nearly everything I've ever gone to her about over my 6 years at the school has gone in favour of someone else or some external group). She also has no conflict management skills whatsoever, just getting flustered and trying to turn everyone's complaints around to show how much of a martyr she would be if she was allowed to take the office (the current argument is about moving people into a dark and depressing room that was never designed to be an office and is not fit for purpose). She also fell back on the old "well you are lucky to have jobs in this economy" which to me is always an example of a weak boss trying to use fear to sort problems.

I've always wanted to move from that school as it's a joke the way it's run but I've got a feeling I'm gonna be stuck there for quite a while :(

EDIT: Oh and before I forget the furloughing has been a joke. Nobody bothered to check what any of the furloughed staff did so no work got divided out between the remaining staff, nobody has kept in touch with us since June despite promises of a video call every two weeks and now people are being brought back but they decided they didn't need me. Fair enough if they think they don't but now they are trying to get stuff done that I manage and not knowing how.

Edited by Happenstance
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On 19/08/2020 at 12:34 PM, Happenstance said:

My school has been having issues for a couple of years now ever since the last Bursar left and it only seems to be getting worse. Unqualified people are being put in leadership positions and then just causing more problems, staff are being shuffled around by the Head with no consultation beforehand, the Admin team haven't had support for years and are constantly miserable.

We had one of the new leadership members talking today about how it would be a "new era" as she would have our backs and was then almost in tears saying she felt offended that nobody felt supported because she always stood up for us (she didn't, nearly everything I've ever gone to her about over my 6 years at the school has gone in favour of someone else or some external group). She also has no conflict management skills whatsoever, just getting flustered and trying to turn everyone's complaints around to show how much of a martyr she would be if she was allowed to take the office (the current argument is about moving people into a dark and depressing room that was never designed to be an office and is not fit for purpose). She also fell back on the old "well you are lucky to have jobs in this economy" which to me is always an example of a weak boss trying to use fear to sort problems.

I've always wanted to move from that school as it's a joke the way it's run but I've got a feeling I'm gonna be stuck there for quite a while :(

EDIT: Oh and before I forget the furloughing has been a joke. Nobody bothered to check what any of the furloughed staff did so no work got divided out between the remaining staff, nobody has kept in touch with us since June despite promises of a video call every two weeks and now people are being brought back but they decided they didn't need me. Fair enough if they think they don't but now they are trying to get stuff done that I manage and not knowing how.

It makes me so sad to hear that you haven't been supported Happs.  Not that it makes much difference to how shit its been, but i bet you're kinda loving them struggling without you haha.  When you go back remember you are only one person, and can only achieve so much in one day.  Its on them that its been left to the last minute.    

The bigwigs throw around idle threats at people they deem "replaceable" but they soon get a shock when nothing gets done because they are fucking useless.  All of our bigwigs are STILL working from home, STILL avoiding everything they possibly can.  Now we know who is replaceable ._. I can't stress enough how much the "lowly" admin need to be valued and supported.  Good admin are often the BACKBONE of any working system.  They might do the menial chores, but those things keep the entire structure intact. 

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Things have been a wild ride for the last week or so! Buckle in.

In April last year I decided to finally pluck up the courage and speak to my manager about gaining a new title/role within our team. It'd be sort of sat there waiting for me since our last person left a year or so before. My manager had wanted me for the role and had waited until I felt confident enough to do it. In June the contract had been done and I was just waiting to sign it.

Then we were bought out, first time in our company history. The role was suddenly "delayed" until September. No big, this new company said we could keep going they just needed to look at it as things might need to be added - fair! September comes and goes and I realised that things weren't getting anywhere, so I was pulled into a meeting with my boss and his new boss. Told the role was unlikely to happen and if it did, it'd be at least April 2020. They offered me more money and in response I did what I would never ever do, I said I would leave if this role didn't turn up. I'd hit the roof of my current job and with the take over my role was actually 50% less difficult than it used to be (aka boring).

In Jan-March 2020 I started to look for a new job, taking various interviews, but nothing struck me as worthwhile, then Covid happened and I generally just thanked the luck stars I had a job.

Fast forward until now and I was approached for a job that I genuinely thought was a great fit, but the money was going to be crap - so I asked. The money was double what I expected it to be and meant I'd get a decent raise and new role I'd wanted in my current place. So I went for it last week. On Friday, I found out one of my colleagues in my own team had gotten that job! The fucking chances, obviously I can't say jack to anyone because then everyone will know I've also been looking. 

However, the company is apparently really impressed with me and has two roles they want me to go for, one thats the same job as I applied but a different team and another technical role. I like the sound of both. I now have an interview tomorrow (Friday). I'm really excited about this one, first interview I've had where I've been like that. Its really good money, benefits and all. Plus they are looking into having their staff permanently work from home on a 50/50 basis. So erm fingers crossed? 
 

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That sounds very promising @nightwolf, it’s always a good sign when things like that develop as you’re pre-approved by somebody in the organization. Good luck tomorrow!

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On 10/09/2020 at 10:34 AM, will' said:

That sounds very promising @nightwolf, it’s always a good sign when things like that develop as you’re pre-approved by somebody in the organization. Good luck tomorrow!

Thank you! I posted in the good news thread, but it seemed to go well. The job that I wasn't so keen on and wanted to wait for the other role actually ended up sounding really interesting! So fingers crossed for next week when I hear back. 

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Update from the wonderful world of the NHS...

We've been back full time for about 2months now, those with kids still working from home, although most will be coming back next week. On the delightful department of gastroenterology that I work on, we've gone from a team of 4-5 people down to 2, and the other one has been working from home, went on leave, then went off sick for about a month, which has now been extended for another 4 weeks. There have been no attempts to actually hire any new staff members. So our senior has been taking the brunt of the admin work and everyone chipping in with the typing...

So falling behind again with getting out letters to patients, so some of them have been complaining as ye do. But there's nothing I can do, except tell them they just have to wait.

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20 minutes ago, EEVILMURRAY said:

Update from the wonderful world of the NHS...

We've been back full time for about 2months now, those with kids still working from home, although most will be coming back next week. On the delightful department of gastroenterology that I work on, we've gone from a team of 4-5 people down to 2, and the other one has been working from home, went on leave, then went off sick for about a month, which has now been extended for another 4 weeks. There have been no attempts to actually hire any new staff members. So our senior has been taking the brunt of the admin work and everyone chipping in with the typing...

So falling behind again with getting out letters to patients, so some of them have been complaining as ye do. But there's nothing I can do, except tell them they just have to wait.

that's awful fuckin convenient and exactly what my department does.  NHS is full of corrupt higher ups that do sod all. 

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Just now, Raining_again said:

that's awful fuckin convenient and exactly what my department does.  NHS is full of corrupt higher ups that do sod all. 

BUT WAIT, DERE MORE!

Since we moved from Circle Health to NUH, they've shafted us with the pay. As we got transitioned over we got put on a pay band which was reflected on what we were earning before, which sounds fair you would think, however those other secretaries on the same band do not have the same responsibilities (ie less) than what we're doing. So either:

1 - Pay us a rate reflecting the duties we're expected to do

2 - Reduce our duties to reflect our pay band

There's a petition going round to get that shit in gear, give us backpay (and keep years of service, which doesn't affect me as much as others with 10+ years), otherwise we're threatening strike action. Watch dis space...

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1 minute ago, EEVILMURRAY said:

BUT WAIT, DERE MORE!

Since we moved from Circle Health to NUH, they've shafted us with the pay. As we got transitioned over we got put on a pay band which was reflected on what we were earning before, which sounds fair you would think, however those other secretaries on the same band do not have the same responsibilities (ie less) than what we're doing. So either:

1 - Pay us a rate reflecting the duties we're expected to do

2 - Reduce our duties to reflect our pay band

There's a petition going round to get that shit in gear, give us backpay (and keep years of service, which doesn't affect me as much as others with 10+ years), otherwise we're threatening strike action. Watch dis space...

are you on the Agenda for Change payscale? 

We got move from our old system to AfC and they tried to move us from the old Grade 3 to a Band 2.  We did end up fighting it, and got it approved to a Band 3 on the basis that we take abuse on the regular and handle sensitive data, run data reports and things like that.  Although I pretty much carry out the role of my Band 5 in terms of reports, and probably know more than my 7.  Its bloody ridiculous.  I was also on a temporary contract (not agency, but an actual trust temporary position) for FIVE YEARS before it was upgraded to permanent.  Fuckin hallions the lot of them, trying to get away with treating us all like morons :angry:

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God dammit. Why do so many parents decide to fill in school forms with the shittest handwriting imaginable??? And why am I the mug who volunteered to take home all the forms this term to input them onto the database because we're all too busy??? I can't even read this kids bloody name!

Edited by Happenstance
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