Worklife

Then there is work. Perhaps I need to start a worklife blog as I did almost two decades ago when I returned to work after almost a decade of fun and frolic and torture and turmoil during my second early retirement period. If there was only time. Then again, do I want to empower the work life that much? I laugh, but I also ponder wide-eyed oh no! and with a wild streak of get me the heck out of here? lol.

Michael came to meet with me on Friday as he said he would. After about ten minutes of productive conversation I felt we were done and Michael agreed. He agreed with my suggestions and thanked me. Just then a flustered Dwight came and stood at the cubicle doorway blocking Michael's exit and started talking. The next forty minutes were a waste of time. He did his best to take over any discussion and several times Michael said he has to go and Dwight just continued rambling and repeating himself and trying to tell Michael what was best and how good he is and continued trying to tell me what to do looking to Michael for support. Michael and I just sat there most of the 40 minutes.

I am not sure Michael actually understood the dynamic. Afterward I suggested to Michael that the next time he wants to meet with me we should set an agenda and do it behind closed doors because I'd rather have shorter meetings and get more work done than just sit and listen to Dwight all day. Michael nodded.

What Michael may not see is that Dwight started talking to people in the office from the moment he arrived about 10am and literally did not stop talking, moving from cubicle to cubicle until after 1pm. He does not have conversations and does not impart anything new or productive, he just throws out ideas and ideals and pipe dreams and talks. It's no wonder everyone does their best to tune him out and the few with offices close their doors. He is such an unproductive waste of time and distraction in an open office. If it keeps up I'll just get less done and explain why to Michael. Michael might have some clue as he gave me a key to the place when I told him I'd come in when it was quieter to get work done if I had access.

The end result of the meeting is we will do it my way. Michael agreed with the points I made before Dwight inserted himself and Dwight's rambling didn't change that. After a while Dwight pretended to agree and tried to claim my ideas as what he's been saying all along (not even close) but was obviously flustered and unhappy. He didn't look at me at all, focused on Michael and trying to sell Michael on his ideas. No sale.

I learned that he has poor physical boundaries. He reached across me a few times to point at the computer screen after I did and he tried to take over my computer a few times nudging my hand off my mouse to try to make points with Michael. I asked him to not interrupt and respect personal space. He acted offended but backed off. In the end, I told Michael what I thought the next steps towards the goals should be and Michael repeated them to Dwight. Dwight repeated them back to Michael a few times as if he didn't believe it or thought they might change.

It was comical and still quite sad.

Unfortunately, Michael will be very sad and probably feel betrayed when I leave, but I doubt I'll stay there long even if the Safety officer job does not come through. $10 an hour and depending on that dysfunctional office to provide me with commissions is not going to cut it. I don't know if he'll offer me more to stay, but it would have to be a whole lot more and an office of my own and a change in my "reporting to Dwight" for me to even consider it.

I stayed until 10pm Friday and got more work done after the office emptied out at 6pm than I did all week. The database is about 60% valid now, instead of of the 10% when I started. It is so very much like The Office in so many ways, the universe must have known I was watching the show online.

So how's your worklife?

Narf :)