The company I work at started with a few employees above a garage. It really was much easier, as we all knew what each other was doing. Cramped quarters led to our hearing all the conversations, so basically, it enabled us to keep things moving, always knowing what was going on. Communication was easier. There was more work and we all had to wear more hats, but we settled in and it became the norm to us. There was a flow to it.
7 years later, over a 100 employees, 8 jobs going at once, we’ve grown in leaps and bounds, and you would think that the original employees would have less to do. Somehow the opposite seems to have happened. We’ve taken on lots of employees who’ve narrowed their “job descriptions” to one or two items. And still the original employees are picking up the pieces.
These new “executives” have this protocol they seem to have invoked. They want policies followed. So essentially, now, when something is needed, not only does it get passed to at least 4 people, it then has to go through some bizarre approval process. What used to take 4 minutes to do, now takes at least a day. In essence it slows down production and at the same time justifies their worth. SERIOUSLY?
Let me give you an example of the lunacy. To get one of the minimum wage clerks to make copies of certain items, you have to start at the VP of Accounting, who then tells the accounts payable manager, who then tells the payables clerk, who then talks to the clerk. How frigging crazy is that? How bout the minimum wage clerk being happy go lucky enough that whoever comes to her with a task, she just does it. Ahhh but the real reason behind all the supervisors of supervisors of supervisors, is because of labor laws….. 90% of the accounting department fall under hourly employees, and that would be time consuming for the VP to actually supervise, so the result is, everybody supervises everybody…… YAY…. Voila …..salaried employees.
A majority of banks, CFO’s, lawyers, professionals aren’t looking to wait on answers, so inevitably they email me, and I get them the information and get it to them. My boss, although depending on me to get the job done, on the flip side gets annoyed that a majority of my day is spent “cleaning up” what other people don’t accomplish.
This is the crux of my stress level. You would think the boss would be annoyed that others are not doing their job, but instead I am penalized for picking up the slack. Yet in meetings he will flat out tell others to just go straight to me, she’ll get it done.
The lack of synergy and team effort drives me crazy. The top executives have got it in their heads that they supervise, they keep telling me they want to learn what I and others do so they can better do their jobs. HA……… I fully believe that if everyone did their piece of the puzzle, and was secure enough to be in their positions, that we could all turn to each other for answers when needed and the team would be created….
You’re suppose to learn something every day and teach something every day, I really try to do this. I encourage those under my supervision to learn everything I do, so they are able to surpass me one day, that is the way I was taught. The problem lies in that above me are the “yes men”, I have another name for them that isn’t as pretty. The yes men do not want to teach, the want power and control. They do not ask for help, they flounder until the boss has someone else accomplish the task. Then they create the smoke screen that they couldn’t do their job because others are withholding valuable information.
We have a very expensive server that stores and holds all the information, but it is beneath them to look there. They find it more productive to walk down a hall, or email someone for information than to just look for it. These are the same people six figure income people who have come to me with the following questions……
• We have a new employee starting and they will need a key, what do I do?
• There is no toilet paper in the bathroom….
• The boss sent me an email telling me to do something, will you witness that I’m only doing what he told me to do?
• The boss initialed these invoices for payment, should I pay them?
• Should I call so and so on their cell phone or at their office number to get information?
• The file folders we purchased are too small, what should we do?
• All the forks are missing from the kitchen…..
How do you survive in a job, when you are surrounded by morons?
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