Well, the aforementioned 'Roy' has had his contract terminated, great news, if only we had not wasted circa £75,000 on this idiot (arguably this figure should be closer to £150,000 as he added little value to the office during his tenure).
So me, well I have been thinking long and hard, whilst sat in the newly established roadworks on the M6. I am not in any financial position to pack in work, sell up and move to Cornwall or some remote part of Scotland. So I have to make my lot as good as it can be whilst I feather my nest for future foraging adventures.
We have a new contract at work, and the new base is only 20 miles from my house. This will not only reduce my carbon footprint but also shave at least 2 hours per day off my commute. I have enquired about any positions at this location and will hopefully get the chance to have a chat with one of the Directors there. We live in hope.
Meanwhile, I am overdrawn again, so have to scrape pennies to go and pay the overdraft amount tomorrow. Another 10 days of scrimping for diesel to look forward to, along with prayers that no unexpected bills require payment before pay-day. I so love working like a dog for about 8 pence of free cash at the end of the month!
Oh well, onwards and upwards Rodney!
Sunday 20 September 2009
Wednesday 9 September 2009
Sandstone Trail
I have 23 days holiday remaining, my work levels during this credit crunch / recession have reached stupidity levels, but I have decided to take a couple of days off and walk the sandstone trail with my cousin.
The trail is 34 miles long and we plan to do this in 3 days so we wont be rushing, but it will be a welcome change to being a desk jockey even if it is just for a few days.
I am fortunate enough to be working at home today, but have got loads to do thanks to an ever demanding client. The client is based in an African country and they have a different work ethic to us. After spending a week with them, they work very hard but the desire to achieve success drives them to ridiculous levels of effort. Unfortunately these efforts are not particularly efficient. I was called up on Friday last week to ask if I could support the Client with some additional work, work that we did not include within our fee proposal, I agreed to help them out as a favour, and stated that I would not be able to complete the work before Thursday, it may be possible to complete the work on Wednesday with a big push, but fee earning work would have to take priority. I was surprised therefore, to receive emails from my directors asking why I had not completed the task on Tuesday! After explaining the timelines I had agreed, they still seemed unhappy with my performance. Oh well.
These situations and timelines all make me more determined to break free from this routine. The only timeline we should be following should be the seasons. We should be working hard all year round, but if we are simply working to sustain our lives, then sewing seeds at the start of spring, harvesting in autumn and preserving before winter are typical deadlines that are not so strongly enforced but more critical than completing a spreadsheet by 5 o'clock!
I watched Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall with his fishing in the Channel Islands last night. I must admit to being a big fan, but his business appears to have grown and his ambitions to obtaining a simple life (in series one of River Cottage) outside of the rat race appear to have diminished. The other side of the coin is the profile of Hugh and River Cottage is doing a lot of good with welfare for animals and good seasonal food for families. So to summarise my opinion about Hugh, Great bloke, great ideas, great business, great shame. Perhaps we need heroes who are not interested in money, or is money the bi-product of being a hero?
The trail is 34 miles long and we plan to do this in 3 days so we wont be rushing, but it will be a welcome change to being a desk jockey even if it is just for a few days.
I am fortunate enough to be working at home today, but have got loads to do thanks to an ever demanding client. The client is based in an African country and they have a different work ethic to us. After spending a week with them, they work very hard but the desire to achieve success drives them to ridiculous levels of effort. Unfortunately these efforts are not particularly efficient. I was called up on Friday last week to ask if I could support the Client with some additional work, work that we did not include within our fee proposal, I agreed to help them out as a favour, and stated that I would not be able to complete the work before Thursday, it may be possible to complete the work on Wednesday with a big push, but fee earning work would have to take priority. I was surprised therefore, to receive emails from my directors asking why I had not completed the task on Tuesday! After explaining the timelines I had agreed, they still seemed unhappy with my performance. Oh well.
These situations and timelines all make me more determined to break free from this routine. The only timeline we should be following should be the seasons. We should be working hard all year round, but if we are simply working to sustain our lives, then sewing seeds at the start of spring, harvesting in autumn and preserving before winter are typical deadlines that are not so strongly enforced but more critical than completing a spreadsheet by 5 o'clock!
I watched Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall with his fishing in the Channel Islands last night. I must admit to being a big fan, but his business appears to have grown and his ambitions to obtaining a simple life (in series one of River Cottage) outside of the rat race appear to have diminished. The other side of the coin is the profile of Hugh and River Cottage is doing a lot of good with welfare for animals and good seasonal food for families. So to summarise my opinion about Hugh, Great bloke, great ideas, great business, great shame. Perhaps we need heroes who are not interested in money, or is money the bi-product of being a hero?
Monday 7 September 2009
Directors who cannot direct!?!?
I used to enjoy my work, putting loads of effort in, going the extra mile, eager to learn etc etc. But then, through several promotions I started to work alongside Directors.
The Directors I refer to are described loosely, they do not direct, they appear to only block. One example of my recent dealings with Directors is as follows:-
Director(s): This is Roy, he is joining our company and will be setting up a brand new team of project managers, bringing the team with him.
Me: Roy seems a bit bull-ish, are we sure we are doing this the right way?
Director(s): Yes, this is the right way, we are certain.
12 months go by, Roy's team expands by 5 people, they fail to win any work yet they continue to expand, contrary to my protestations.
My frustration leads to increased complaints from me, and other people within the office. I get knocked back from a promotion due to my "protestations" and lack of respect (this despite my team and I out-performing the rest of the office by 75%), and even get a visit from the friendly HR officer who asked me if my grievances were personal. My response was "yes it's personal, because I care about the company and the staff!" response obviously confused the system!
So move forward 6 months and where are we now? Well 'Roy' has been suspended twice for alleged bullying, has retaliated to these claims by going off work with full pay through stress related illnesses, and we are here working our butt off to pay for this loser in a recession!
My latest 'Personal Development Review' has been rejected because I listed my only career goal as "getting an apology from the Directors who thought my grievances were personal". We are at an impasse now though because I genuinely have no career goals.
The company are also very upset to hear that it is personal pride and wanting to develop my young team, that keep me going (oh and a mortgage), and I do not aspire to be like any of the Directors who I have come into contact with!
So what do I do?
My mortgage dictates my work, I cannot work the minimum, because I care, so how do I ween myself off this commercial merry-go-round.
On a lighter note, managed to make some Damson Jam and some Damson and Apple Jam at the weekend. The damsons were picked from hedgerows, the apples came out of my garden and the jars were of course, all recycled.
The Directors I refer to are described loosely, they do not direct, they appear to only block. One example of my recent dealings with Directors is as follows:-
Director(s): This is Roy, he is joining our company and will be setting up a brand new team of project managers, bringing the team with him.
Me: Roy seems a bit bull-ish, are we sure we are doing this the right way?
Director(s): Yes, this is the right way, we are certain.
12 months go by, Roy's team expands by 5 people, they fail to win any work yet they continue to expand, contrary to my protestations.
My frustration leads to increased complaints from me, and other people within the office. I get knocked back from a promotion due to my "protestations" and lack of respect (this despite my team and I out-performing the rest of the office by 75%), and even get a visit from the friendly HR officer who asked me if my grievances were personal. My response was "yes it's personal, because I care about the company and the staff!" response obviously confused the system!
So move forward 6 months and where are we now? Well 'Roy' has been suspended twice for alleged bullying, has retaliated to these claims by going off work with full pay through stress related illnesses, and we are here working our butt off to pay for this loser in a recession!
My latest 'Personal Development Review' has been rejected because I listed my only career goal as "getting an apology from the Directors who thought my grievances were personal". We are at an impasse now though because I genuinely have no career goals.
The company are also very upset to hear that it is personal pride and wanting to develop my young team, that keep me going (oh and a mortgage), and I do not aspire to be like any of the Directors who I have come into contact with!
So what do I do?
My mortgage dictates my work, I cannot work the minimum, because I care, so how do I ween myself off this commercial merry-go-round.
On a lighter note, managed to make some Damson Jam and some Damson and Apple Jam at the weekend. The damsons were picked from hedgerows, the apples came out of my garden and the jars were of course, all recycled.
Sunday 6 September 2009
The first day of the rest of my life!
Well, here I go!
I am going to document my attempts of cutting the cord between me and my desk at work, my mortgage, my life of commercial slavery.
All sounds a bit severe doesnt it, but in truth this is my 21st summer of working full-time and yes i am well paid, live in a nice house, but it is never enough is it?
I have a plan.
Initially this plan was going to be instantly put into practice, but in truth I cannot do that for fear of returning to former ways, the ways I want to get away from.
So I will start this blog by filling you in on my current situation, my plan and how I intend to implement it.
You may be able to help, my life decisions could be assisted by you all (well the odd few that may have similar thoughts or have already gone back to basics).
I am certain that there are millions of people, especially here in the UK that want to do what I want to do, that is, pack it all in and put all my hard work into supporting myself and mine, NOT putting food on the plate of others via huge bonuses etc etc.
I am going to document my attempts of cutting the cord between me and my desk at work, my mortgage, my life of commercial slavery.
All sounds a bit severe doesnt it, but in truth this is my 21st summer of working full-time and yes i am well paid, live in a nice house, but it is never enough is it?
I have a plan.
Initially this plan was going to be instantly put into practice, but in truth I cannot do that for fear of returning to former ways, the ways I want to get away from.
So I will start this blog by filling you in on my current situation, my plan and how I intend to implement it.
You may be able to help, my life decisions could be assisted by you all (well the odd few that may have similar thoughts or have already gone back to basics).
I am certain that there are millions of people, especially here in the UK that want to do what I want to do, that is, pack it all in and put all my hard work into supporting myself and mine, NOT putting food on the plate of others via huge bonuses etc etc.
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