A New Chapter in the Office Saga

 


It's Wednesday, which means I'm in the office.  Because it's important that I be in the office, right?  (If you need to catch up:  https://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2022/09/new-weekly-routine.html, which is really the start of the whole process...sort of.)  As a side note, the express bus was EARLY this morning and while I gave myself enough time to get to the stop based on the time that it was supposed to arrive at my location, when I checked on my walk down, what should have been a bus arriving in 15 minutes was now arriving in 7.  Good thing I wore old loafers as I did a modified "run" (I'm NOT a runner) downhill and managed to get to the stop with 4 minutes to spare...This express bus thing can be a challenge.  It also requires more walking, but it takes me DIRECTLY to Penn Station in Newark and if I purchase a Flex Pass (20 one-way trips to be used in 30 days) it will be cheaper than what I am currently doing.  Of course that means that I'd have to be in the office for 10 days during any given month so until now it hasn't been an option, but...

I can't recall if I wrote about it (I MUST have...I always do!), but we were told earlier in the year, that we were "requested" to return to the office 3 days a week (vs the one that we are currently doing).  This return was supposed to begin in "early May".  Well, last year they brought up the return to the office one day a week and then didn't really “require" (although nothing is technically "required", but...) it until after Labor Day.  So when they said the beginning of May...well I was thinking if I was lucky, it would be over the summer and if I wasn't it would be mid-May.  I was wrong.  Early May means as of MAY 1.  

This was announced on April 25th (nothing like giving you a heads up) and it is EXPECTED (I can't use the word "required" officially) that starting Monday everyone will be in the office 3 days a week.  (And aren't we lucky that we don't HAVE to go in every single day?  Am I feeling lucky?)

The "good" thing is that other than Wednesday (which is a must), I get to "select" whatever days I want to work in the office.  Those days don't always have to be the same (again, except for Wednesday), so I can go in on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (which is what I think I will do next week) or Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday ...or any other 3-day combination I want.  (You'll notice I've left out Friday...if I can at all avoid it, I don't want to go to Newark on Friday, especially as we get into the warmer months.)  

But wait there's more!  (As they say in those ubiquitous commercials.)  When I come in on Monday (or Tuesday if for some reason this Monday doesn't work out), I will NOT be going to the little workstation that I have been sitting in (and personalizing the "Bfth way") since September of last year.  No, I, along with my co-worker (currently on my left side) and my boss (currently on my left nearest the window) will be moving down 7 rows (from Section 420 to 416) to the "northern" section of the building.  (I am currently sitting in a more centralized area.)  This places me further away from the kitchen area, ladies’ room, help desk and elevators.  Why is this move being made?  So that I can be closer to other "teammates."  (People who I have never met face to face and rarely interact with, but...) It will also put all of us in sight of the bigger boss (two steps up from my manager) who will be moving from the (cool kid) 3rd floor to our floor.  While his office doesn't have a window, it does allow him to look out, past the worker bees, to see the outdoors.  It also means he can interact with us more.  (Let me be clear, he is a nice man, but he is a TALKER.  To be completely honest, most of what he talks about, I don't care about [sorry!] and he can be a distraction when I am busy.)  Personally, I think this is all just a way to better monitor who is in the office and when.  As I see it, the corporation spent big bucks renting and renovating this space and they need bodies in chairs to prove that it was worth the investment.  (My opinion:  it wasn't.)  Productivity and "being better when we're together" is...do I have to say it?  As always, most of the people I deal with on a regular basis I never see.  (And in some cases I never have met face to face.)  They are field salespeople (who don't have an official office and production people (who work in other parts of the country).  So...

Come Monday morning, I'll be going to my new space.  (My "stuff" is already packed in the small little portable drawer space that we have each been given and ready to roll down the aisle.) The very first thing I will do will be to set up MY space (because if I have to be there, I'm going to make it MINE as best as I can) and doing what I always do.  (In my personal opinion, I do it better from home because with no commute I am online longer.)  Let the fun begin again!


Comments

  1. momApril 26, 2023 at 12:41 PM

    Sorry to hear that you have to go through more nonsense.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

We Have Taken America Back

Image
Back to a time when all men (and women) are not created equal.  Where women's healthcare is determined by men's laws and not by medical professionals. Where education tells only the "winning" side of the story and truth does not matter.  Where banning and burning books is a social event.  Where people who are "different" than those in power can be mocked, shunned and hurt with no real consequences. Where lies are acceptable and integrity is  just a word on a page We have moved into a time where rage is the rage.  Where hate is not just normal, but accepted and even cheered. Where leaders can ask to have their "enemies" killed and no one will bat an eye.  Where it's "funny" to see someone struggle.  Where felony is applauded. Where compassion is not shown and caring for others is looked down upon. We have taken America back to a time of pain and suffering for many.  Back to when the "haves" can have and the have nots don'...
Read more

It's Not About Starbucks (or is it)?

Image
  About a block and a half from my home in a major intersection.  At the southeast corner (which is nearest to me), is an empty building.  Back in 1995 it was a Bank of NY (I remember this because they didn't shovel/de-ice their parking lot well and my husband fell and broke his ankle one Monday morning.  I recall this clearly because we were not yet married and it was the first day of a new job for me.  I had gotten on the bus to work and he was catching a later one; only he never got there.  Instead he ended up laying on the ground until an employee came to open up the bank.  Then he had them call an ambulance AND my mother who took control of the situation until I arrived home that night blissfully unaware of what had happened that day.)  It eventually became a Chase Bank; the second one in my small little town.  It eventually closed.  I'm not sure when but it's been empty for quite a long time.  (I do know that it was open in 20...
Read more

As Is

Image
  Today I want to discuss what I think it is a relatively simple concept, but may be difficult for some, even an attorney who might have once, over a decade ago won a  prestigious award  for young lawyers .  That term is "AS IS." As you may know, I volunteer in a thrift shop.  Everything we sell, from all the donations we receive, is "as is."  The items are not brand new.  They are not perfect.  That doesn't mean they aren't any good or worth something. They are sold "as is."  Buyers should go in knowing that. (After all you are shopping in a thrift shop!)  In some cases, particularly when we are offering higher end products, we will actually write on the price tag, "as is." Such is the case of two designer purses that I purchased from there this summer.  (I'm a purse-aholic!  Don't look in my closet.)  They were reasonably priced (especially when you consider the name brand), but each had an "as is" clearly marked o...
Read more