For the past two months, I have been bouncing between two worksites on Saturdays and Sundays. One of my part-time subordinates had to alter his schedule to accommodate his full-time job, so I had to jump through hoops to properly cover multiple sites with too few staff. Thankfully, his situation on the other job has changed somewhat, so we were able to return to our traditional schedule. I don't miss bouncing between sites, but I am now working at a different site than the one which has all of the gorgeous fruit trees, and turkeys. Le sigh... I'll have to go in on a day off and grab a bunch of peaches now.
The good thing is that I am back to spending more time with Fred and Ginger on the weekends... I love those two cuddly cutups.
The return to normal routine is going to end shortly. Yesterday, there was a hiring meeting for a bunch of seasonal workers for our Fall fundraiser. Most of these individuals are students from a local college, and there are many repeat hires that I have come to be very fond of. I was especially pleased to see a diminutive pixie with some serious nerd chops- the first time I met her, we had a nice long conversation about the Uncanny Valley, so I instantly too a liking to her.
The artistic director of our Fall fundraiser, who I have known for five years, quickly became a good friend of mine. I am happy to say that he has expanded his operation and will be concurrently running a similar event in the larger millieu of New York City. For years, I have told him that he needed to delegate more tasks to his talented underlings and to design multiple events if he were to make a full-time living as a creator (when we first met, he had a daytime job crunching numbers for a bank). Of course, I expressed it in kookier aphorisms, stuff like: "You are a crustacean, if you are to grow, you need to break out of your shell." He's a stand-up guy, and it's good to see him diversify.
I figure that I have about a month and a half before things get totally crazy, but once November rolls around, things get r-e-a-l-l-y quiet. It's kind of odd that, in the midst of a sweltering August, I am occupied with October, but my normality is pretty abnormal.
Ahem. You know, Mr. Bastard, when employees must undertake herculean responses to staffing shortages, there is no impetus for the company to increase staffing. Now, you know your specific situation better than anyone, but at least consider the possibility that your unusual level of dedication and flexibility is actually enabling your employer's unwillingness to staff at appropriate operational levels.
ReplyDeleteObviously, you should do what you deem best, but it's worth thinking about.
Let me know if you need a lackey, B^4.
ReplyDelete~
Now, you know your specific situation better than anyone, but at least consider the possibility that your unusual level of dedication and flexibility is actually enabling your employer's unwillingness to staff at appropriate operational levels.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I am an enabler, I suppose, but the job is 75% stress free- I get paid to surf the web and pick fresh fruit and play with funny cats. The funny thing is that they have a hard time finding people to fill the positions when they are hiring- I know of two guys who weren't able to finish a shift because they got the willies.
Let me know if you need a lackey, B^4.
Does Mercedes Lackey count? Sometimes we exchange bon mots in the comments at Raw Story.