Thursday, April 18, 2013

Unplanned Evacuation, Sort of

Things are work have been somewhat of a nightmare. For almost a year we have been extremely under staffed, over worked and trampled on. My department isn't the only area that is feeling this burden and frustration, and it keeps growing.

Moral is down, way down, or at least mine is. I dread going to work. I wake up each day, get ready, drive 20 minutes, to sit at a computer and crunch numbers for 8+ hours. I know, hard life. I am grateful to have said job, but spending the last nine months playing catch-up, I am spent! We are always behind, and when we finally think we are gonna get ahead, some issues is discovered and takes weeks or months to resolve, but until it is, we have to spend time doing work arounds or manual corrections.

Since November 2011, was hired the month before, my priority task has not changed. I am the guru of this process, mostly because I have been doing it for so long. Because of my vast knowledge, I have been promoted to lead on a new but similar process, but 17 months of looking at the same thing over and over has finally caused me to become unpleasant and/or irritable. I'm glad I'm able to help answer questions and provide accurate information and training to those learning, I just wished it happened sooner...but it couldn't.

Since June 2012, we have been short staffed. Three people doing the work of at least people. As of the start of this year, that dropped to two. The head of our department has known and tried to get approval to get more staff in, but it hasn't been until this last month that the big wigs asked for numbers to see if there is a need... Really? You need graphs and reports to see that this area is understaffed? Oh yeah, I forgot, we are robots and you don't really care to open your eyes and see that there is in fact a need. But you approve the use of temps, smart!

The constant waste of money bothers me. It is cheaper to hire and train someone as a full time employee, then contracting workers from an outside vendor and paying twice as much an hour for someone that I feel there is no reason to invest in. When the contract is up, they are most likely gone, and we are left short handed.

I'm not sure what to do, stick it out, or start looking for something new? I recently had a long talk with my manager, and she has expressed her concern for me and that she wants me to "be happy" and not quit, but she also understands where I'm coming from. I love the people I work with, but the work load is too much for the amount of people assigned to it. The projects keep growing, but the size of the team stays the same or shrinks.

We have a major department meeting with the big wigs come May, and everyday I feel more and more like I'm suppose to make a stand and become a voice. Not to embarrass or cause hurt feelings, but to express the frustrations that are currently running rampant.  We are not drones that do as they are told because they have no need to have personality, but we sure do get treated like it.

What will happen if I speak up? Not sure.