Everybody is Important...

in their own mind.  

As an Admin there is a hierarchy of people in my life.  Numero Uno?  My boss.  When he says he is free, he is free.  When he says piss off to a persistent client, I translate it to a more palatable 'He is busy, we'll get back to you with a more convenient time.'

Everyone has something that is earth shatteringly important.  One of the few things that trumps my boss is his boss. And that is understandable.  

But a consultant we've done business with, who only wants to pitch a new venture is at the bottom of the heap.  Especially when he's been told that my boss's plate is over flowing with high priority things.  

Will they never learn?

Traveling Well with Others

I’m sitting on a jammed packed flight, on my way home from a successful business trip. I’m grooving to my iPod as I review my notes, when the man in 17C decides to fling his seat back to it’s fullest recline. I now have six inches between the top of his balding head and my nose.

Can I tell you that I am justifiably offended?

Most people will recline their seats minimally, understanding that the people behind them might have their laptops open working, meals on the tray, or are enjoying a book.

Instead I must restrain myself from jamming my knees in the back of his seat. In order to not spend the rest of he flight staring at his bald spot, I now have to sit slouched. Somehow I do not believe that he will pay for the chiropratic adjustment this is going to require.

I really dislike inconsiderate people.

Give A Gal A Bone

Admin Gal feels like a dog with a bone and ten toys, guarding her stash.

I walk a fine line with my resources so that the business needs may be met by the employees in her care while working with the consultants that are in the midst of the company transition.

Frankly I’m exhausted!

Help me do the math.  200 employees, 5 functioning conference rooms, 20-30 meetings on any given day.  Add to this volatile mix, consultants who are doing data transfers who require quiet places to hold hour plus long conference calls at indeterminate times.  The math doesn’t work!

There are no guarantees that I can get the consultants a conference room, so they are in cubes conducting these calls on speakerphone.  Things are tense already.

I’d say give the Admin Gal a bone, but right now I’m guarding my stash and won’t come out of my hole.

So, giving me another bone to guard might not be a great idea when I'm ready to snap.

Politics at Work

Politics & Religion should always be discussed with great sensitivity and tolerance.  There is nothing that is a bigger hot button topic.

But I have a bit of a pet peeve.  It's one thing when the company you work for encourages you to 'do your civic duty and get out there to vote'. It's another when they direct you specifically to do certain actions regarding bills in process. Up to and including form letters and scripts to Congress people and Senators.  These letters do not offer a choice of opinion, but a specific view point that supports the political views of the company.

I get it.  I can make a difference.  The point is 'I' can make the difference.  I have the backing of the Constitution & the Bill of Rights to vote my conscience.  Not be a political lackey for the company I work for.


For a minimum of 2,080 hours out of a year, thats 8,760 hours, I give my employer my full attention.  Often it is much more than that.  That time does not give them the right to influence my political view point.


I'm willing to have a civil discussion about politics and religion with people I trust to respond in kind.  But I won't allow my self to be used to further the political agenda of a corporation.

On the Cheap

Nothing seems to be safe anymore in today’s employment climate. Gone is security of generations gone by. Very few people can stick with one company for their entire career. If they manage to do that, they have to reinvent themselves to stay ahead of the latest management model that leans toward automation, downsizing or out-sourcing.

I realize that there are many processes that can be outsourced, off-shored, and just plain automated. When all these cost cutting measures are taking place, what happens to the actual employee, who helped build the company? The general morale? The principles that built the company? More importantly the corporate history?

While the government gives lip-service to keeping jobs in the country, more and more companies are sending department functions overseas. Why? ‘Because it can be done cheaper elsewhere’. Sure, there are binding contracts that impose penalties if things are not done to the SLA's (service level agreements) of the corporation, but what happens to the customer service interface? There are no guarantees that expectations will be met.

To be frank the customer wants to interface with employees they feel confident will fulfill their needs. Not third-party vendors that have no clue as to why the company even exists.

As employees ride these waves of uncertainty in the workplace, they go through cycles of anger and fear. Rightfully so. Whether they have been with the company 3 months or 30 years, their livelihood is threatened. So the affected portions of the company are shunted off to the side, cut off from the rest of their corporate brethren. The isolation takes its toll on morale and perception.
While the management who has to manage the outsourcing process must be sensitive to the needs of the employees, the rest of the company is oblivious and often makes matters worse.

I don’t have a crystal ball that tells the future, but I do know that when a company treats their employee as well as it treats its customers there is a renaissance in business and vitality.

When a corporation treats its employees as so much dross, they will soon follow their greatest assets, the employee, into oblivion.

The Air is Filled with Music

Songs fill the air as unattended cell phones ring forlornly for their owners.  Pieces of songs from Alicia Keyes, Black Eye Peas, Metallica, Gershwin filter across the floor.  Then the annoying message alarms that range from Beep, Blat, Honk, Clash and Boom.
Admin Gal admits that she likes a relatively quiet workplace.  Not silence, just everyone doing their job. If someone is listening to music, that's what ear buds are for.  This need to abandon a cell phone on the desk and leave it off vibrate is just plain inconsiderate of others in the work place.
Yes, we live in the age of unilateral communications.  Be considerate, keep you cell phone with you so the rest of us don't have to listen to people try to get a hold of you.