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Thread: Work has gotten very bad

  1. #1
    Senior Member Tradd's Avatar
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    Work has gotten very bad

    Title says it all.

    Manager and supervisor keep telling me I'm disorganized. Maybe I am, a bit, but I'm also overwhelmed by too much work. This time last year, we had 4 full-time people in my department doing imports. Now we have just two - me and supervisor. We have one girl out on maternity leave until early March who did both imports and exports. We have two other people, but they are gearing up for a huge project, and they can only help out perhaps half the day. They haven't been in the business long and can't do the full range, but they can do bits that help.

    Being forced to take several days off in December to use up my vacation time didn't help, on top of Christmas Day and New Year's. Then the two week severe cold spell has wrecked havoc on deliveries (diesel engines don't like the cold), and truckers can't make or are being late on deliveries, which mean we spend a lot of time on the phone explaining to customers, trying to calm them down, and trying to find different truckers for some shipments.

    Yesterday, supervisor sat down with me and helped organize my file cart better. Thing is, if I don't have the time to get to things, then being better organized doesn't really help.

    Work was just horrid this afternoon. Started out all right. I kept having issues to deal with. I spent most of my lunch hour on the phone dealing with a massive problem. At 2:30 or so I mentioned to supervisor that I'd not been able to get to some important things. She glared at me and said I better get them done. More problems. Customers demanding things I *had* to get done right then and there. Manager sent me an email saying if I'm "following the process [of stuff in order to be done in my cart]" then I shouldn't have any problems getting stuff done. She actually expects that if I have problems that take up 1/3 of my day that I'm still going to get everything done. Talk about unrealistic expectations! I was told OT has to end. I was still there at 6 as I had other things (rate quotes to customers) that had to be done before I left, otherwise they would scream bloody murder on Monday. I told manager what I had been able to be done. She said I can't expect them to do my work. I told her I wasn't expecting them to do my work, but I was simply stating a fact that I had not been able to get to a lot. She just shrugged and said I'd have to do it on Monday. No kidding! I'm sure she talked to supervisor after I left and they pulled my file cart apart. And I'm sure I'll hear about it on Monday.

    The one new girl is a golden girl and being treated like the 8th wonder of the world since she learns so quickly. She has very little industry experience, though, and had been off 2 years after having a baby. Maybe 5 years total experience in a different area. She can do no wrong.

    I had been planning on spending $1K on a new dive computer when I got my income tax refund. That's not going to happen now. I've got the $1K emergency fund that Dave Ramsey recommends, but no other savings besides my current 401K (balance is $30K right now) and IRA (rollover 401K from previous job, balance is nearly $57K). I would be willing to cash out the current 401K, regardless of the tax penalty. I've been spending my spare cash on diving.

    I'm selling my one rifle (including ammo and accessories) - should net me about $1K. My diving drysuit has been up for sale for a month, but no takers as of yet. Doesn't help that it was a custom suit, but I've shrunk too much for it. It's been reduced to $950. I've got an underwater camera I don't use up for sale ($100). Trying to sell any bits and pieces I can. I'm going to be going over my budget with a fine tooth comb this weekend. Really my food budget is the only place I can really cut. The weather has been so cold here that I've had to keep my heat more and higher than I normally would.

    A friend's son helps people with their resumes on the side, so I'm going to be sending mine to him this weekend.

  2. #2
    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    Tradd, I'm so sorry to hear about this. I have no advice, except don't give up anything you love. Otherwise, do what you're doing--circulate your resume and just do your best to toe the line, as unrealistic as it is.
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
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  3. #3
    Senior Member Tradd's Avatar
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    I like where I work, for the most part, aside from the recent BS. I can work in jeans.

    I'll sell gun stuff before I sell diving gear I use. My laps in the pool 3-4x a week keep me sane. The membership is a bargain at $30 a month. Plus I shower after swimming, which saves on my gas hot water a wee bit. At least it's the diving off season. Nothing but a pool dive once a month. At least I have the quarry for cheap local diving ($20/day plus gas and tolls, 1.5 hour drive each way). The Great Lakes diving season doesn't start until mid-May and the quarry opens in early April.

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    probably a little late but I would keep a short and simple log of calls that have nothing to do with the list of work in your cart. Present it to management. I bet every company is in this fix right now.

    I think you are wise to think ahead. My husband always says "good luck is the intersection of preparedness and opportunity".

  5. #5
    Senior Member herbgeek's Avatar
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    I would put off purchasing any diving equipment for a couple of months and save as much as possible, just in case this doesn't go in a positive direction. By springtime, you should know better how things are going. If bad, you'll also have your tax refund to help out and if not, well bonus, you're in a better financial position all around.

  6. #6
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    How can they expect 2 people to do the work of 4? Is there a requisition in with HR to hire another person? That's unfair to expect the same output with half the people.

  7. #7
    Senior Member Tradd's Avatar
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    What do you folks think about temporarily stopping 401K contributions? Current percentage works out to be about $250 per paycheck.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Tradd View Post
    What do you folks think about temporarily stopping 401K contributions? Current percentage works out to be about $250 per paycheck.
    I'll be interested to hear what people say on this.

    My view would be to temporarily stop them and throw the same amount into your emergency fund,

    Also to really ramp up job search out of town and try to look for area with lower cost of living--upper Midwest, like where we live, Traverse City, maybe? I seem to remember you are from Michigan (I thought) but Northern Michigan (not UP, we are not that cold) would have great diving, not the problems of lower Michigan, gorgeous nature, maritime economy, and a much lower cost of living than Chicago.

    They also seem to have more jobs and less competition for them.

    Finally, I would so try to avoid taking out of that 401k if at all possible, which DR always says, so if you could finesse a job change to someplace like up here, you would not need to.

  9. #9
    Senior Member razz's Avatar
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    Can you log a simple record of each customer contact each day? Lawyers , for example, have to log every 15 mins of billing.

    Talking to a supervisor or manager doesn't keep a clear record of the conversation allowing too much flexibility in personal interpretation of what was said but an email would CYA should it become an issue.
    The new manager has learned to do this in her HR life and might be the way to deal with time crunch pressure in terms that she will understand. If not that, find out what it is if possible.

    Also, based on personal experience, start your day with a strong affirmation of your worth, your uniqueness, and the all the desirable qualities that you value and express. Criticism drains your self-esteem so counteract it vigorously.
    As Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

  10. #10
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    If your 401K offers a temporary stop, that is a good idea. Prevents penalty for early withdrawal and can be made up if you can up the amount later.

    Razz has a great idea of affirmation of worth. Remember how much effort you went to for your training and the experience you have.

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