anniversary
I started my current job one year ago today. At times it feels like I've been doing it much longer. Perhaps that's because this project is dragging on and on. Other times it feels like it's flown by. That may be because I've been so freakin' busy with work and personal things this last year.
Overall, I'm really pleased with this job. Like I've mentioned before, the company honestly seems to care about its employees' happiness. We're compensated fairly. We get good travel allowances. (No more expectations of an $80 hotel room, thank you very much.) We get an annual bonus that is more than $26 after taxes (again, unlike the last job). I get to work from home when I'm not traveling. That one has probably been the biggest lifestyle change. Oh, how I love working in pajamas. My project supervisors recognize the joy (she says sarcastically) that is Shreveport. They provide support in many ways--not the least of which was an Ann Taylor giftcard that I totally blew through yesterday. Yea for Ann Taylor Loft! Yea for sales! Yea for actually finding things I liked while possessing a gift card!
Yeah, it's pretty swell. However, two things have bothered me over this year. One is that I haven't really gotten to travel anywhere terribly exciting. At least 3 people I know have gotten to travel overseas with this company in the last year (many more than these three have gone...there are just three I know personally). I've never gotten to do that. Period. I know it's the luck of the draw and my time will come and all that but sometimes a girl gets a little tired of waiting. "Then make it happen," you say. Well, the alleged leisure trip to Italy/Greece that a friend and I were planning for next month fell through. I can do a lot of things alone but traveling abroad is not on that list. That's too sad even for me.
The other thing that's bothered/bothering me happened on Friday. A few weeks before, those same project supervisors nominated me for an award to acknowledge the work I've been doing in Shreveport. That wasn't the problem; that was really appreciated. We have monthly phone calls where these things, along with anniversaries, get recognized in front of the big group. One of the down sides to being home-based is that you don't have an office to go to which means there's no one to interact with face-to-face which means it's hard for anyone to see how great you are. It takes a lot to prove yourself. That promise of recognition meant a lot to me. So I called in and waited for my moment. The one where my manager announced my award and read the little narrative that had been written about me to say why I was getting it. And recognizing my anniversary.
Other managers went first. They said nice things about some of their employees. They read lengthy schpeels about why these people were great. They mentioned these people by oh, I don't know, their first and last names. My manager comes on and sounds sick and like she had a bad connection. She mentions no one's anniversary. She mentions that she has two awards, both for "general fabulousness." One is to Blah Blah and one is to [insert my first name here]. That's it. No schpeel let alone my freakin' last name. And the connection was so bad you wouldn't have heard it at all if you hadn't been listening for it.
I understand that she may have been sick and calling in from home instead of being at the office. She may not have been prepared for the meeting. Well, if you don't want to have someone cover for you perhaps you could defer till the next meeting. I would have minded that a lot less. Yeah, it really hurt my feelings. It just felt cheapened and a little unfair. It's not a huge deal, no Employee of the Month or whatever. But it was a little something that showed a bit of fairness in the world the way grades in school used to...you put in extra effort; it paid off. Or not. So maybe I'm just writing this to say, "Hey, I got an award, dammit." Go me.
Overall, I'm really pleased with this job. Like I've mentioned before, the company honestly seems to care about its employees' happiness. We're compensated fairly. We get good travel allowances. (No more expectations of an $80 hotel room, thank you very much.) We get an annual bonus that is more than $26 after taxes (again, unlike the last job). I get to work from home when I'm not traveling. That one has probably been the biggest lifestyle change. Oh, how I love working in pajamas. My project supervisors recognize the joy (she says sarcastically) that is Shreveport. They provide support in many ways--not the least of which was an Ann Taylor giftcard that I totally blew through yesterday. Yea for Ann Taylor Loft! Yea for sales! Yea for actually finding things I liked while possessing a gift card!
Yeah, it's pretty swell. However, two things have bothered me over this year. One is that I haven't really gotten to travel anywhere terribly exciting. At least 3 people I know have gotten to travel overseas with this company in the last year (many more than these three have gone...there are just three I know personally). I've never gotten to do that. Period. I know it's the luck of the draw and my time will come and all that but sometimes a girl gets a little tired of waiting. "Then make it happen," you say. Well, the alleged leisure trip to Italy/Greece that a friend and I were planning for next month fell through. I can do a lot of things alone but traveling abroad is not on that list. That's too sad even for me.
The other thing that's bothered/bothering me happened on Friday. A few weeks before, those same project supervisors nominated me for an award to acknowledge the work I've been doing in Shreveport. That wasn't the problem; that was really appreciated. We have monthly phone calls where these things, along with anniversaries, get recognized in front of the big group. One of the down sides to being home-based is that you don't have an office to go to which means there's no one to interact with face-to-face which means it's hard for anyone to see how great you are. It takes a lot to prove yourself. That promise of recognition meant a lot to me. So I called in and waited for my moment. The one where my manager announced my award and read the little narrative that had been written about me to say why I was getting it. And recognizing my anniversary.
Other managers went first. They said nice things about some of their employees. They read lengthy schpeels about why these people were great. They mentioned these people by oh, I don't know, their first and last names. My manager comes on and sounds sick and like she had a bad connection. She mentions no one's anniversary. She mentions that she has two awards, both for "general fabulousness." One is to Blah Blah and one is to [insert my first name here]. That's it. No schpeel let alone my freakin' last name. And the connection was so bad you wouldn't have heard it at all if you hadn't been listening for it.
I understand that she may have been sick and calling in from home instead of being at the office. She may not have been prepared for the meeting. Well, if you don't want to have someone cover for you perhaps you could defer till the next meeting. I would have minded that a lot less. Yeah, it really hurt my feelings. It just felt cheapened and a little unfair. It's not a huge deal, no Employee of the Month or whatever. But it was a little something that showed a bit of fairness in the world the way grades in school used to...you put in extra effort; it paid off. Or not. So maybe I'm just writing this to say, "Hey, I got an award, dammit." Go me.
Comments
Congrats on the award!
(Spock has to move over for me too.)
cph
Poo poo on that manager.