Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Hardnosed - 11/05
It is something that I don't want to be. But, oh, it's so easy to be stubborn and want things my way. I struggle with this issue so much. All the time. It is especially difficult this season, at the store, because it is the first time that I haven't been in charge. Mmmmm...how I love being in charge. I'm the oldest of my sibs, an Aries and I believe that I was born genetically bossy. Since I seem to come by it naturally, and I'm so good at it, why is it so difficult for the rest of the world to get with the program?
One of my best qualities is that I am very organized. Details and problem solving fascinate me. I consider being anal-retentive a gift. I'm only half kidding about that. Even when I settle on a system for something, I continue to try new things and fine tune the beans out of it. Unfortunately, this being organized is also one of my worst, most annoying qualities. I'm at a place where I try to moderate my enthusiasm. Most of the time I'm successful, well, fairly successful, but there are the occasions when my perfectionism still gets in the way. I've been on the schedule for just a few days, and I'm already feeling sorry for the other people with whom I work.
They are all very nice. Most of them are on the youngish side, and while that youthful energy can be a great asset, their collective lack of work ethic has the potential to drive me insane. Learning the stock and solving the problem of my extremely sore feet are taking a back-seat to finding a way to not be bothered by co-workers who do the barest minimum amount of work.
A perfect example was this past week during the shift change. One of the young women came down to take over the store, and while I was telling her what things had been during my time there, she was down the counter, shuffling through the pile of papers that she and several others have so that they can play a number game called Suduko.
They, collectively, are so unconcerned about doing any actual work that they don't even try to hide their time-wasting. One of them brought his laptop to work and played games on it.
Two of them call each other on the phone, one in the store, the other in the kiosk.
Another came down from the base store to relieve me for lunch. (As a side note, we get only one break during the day because the company won't hire enough people to allow for proper, and probably legally required breaks, but that's another story.) She must have thought that I had left the store for lunch, and when I came out of the storeroom to get something, she nearly fainted. There were five customers in the store and she wasn't helping any of them, but was sitting behind the counter, reading a book.
I am the only person who does any cleaning. At this time in the season, housekeeping chores are a welcome diversion, and I'm glad to have things to fill the long stretches of time in between customers. I'd be lying if I said that I like those kinds of chores, but dusting, sweeping the carpet, mopping the floor and straightening the stock are necessary tasks, and it's going to be a serious problem when we have more traffic. Here is where my organization and sense of responsibility cause problems. The person who is supposed to be in charge hasn't given them much training, so a lot of this isn't their fault, but I still have to wonder why they seem unable to realize that they are here to work, not play games or socialize. Is this group of slackers a rarity? Are my expectations that my co-workers actually do some work too high? Is it unreasonable to expect that management spend time training new employees? Am I just some old crotchety babe with extravagant standards? Perhaps it's some delicious alchemy of all of those.
You know, some folk believe that the things that irritate us in other people are merely a reflection of the things we need to work on in our own lives. I don't know that that's always true, but I'm going to consider it a possibility and try to find the lesson that must be hidden in there, somewhere. At any rate, I'm keeping my own counsel. I do whatever I need to do, and consider myself well-paid for it.
And, of course, I plan to come back here to complain about it.
One of my best qualities is that I am very organized. Details and problem solving fascinate me. I consider being anal-retentive a gift. I'm only half kidding about that. Even when I settle on a system for something, I continue to try new things and fine tune the beans out of it. Unfortunately, this being organized is also one of my worst, most annoying qualities. I'm at a place where I try to moderate my enthusiasm. Most of the time I'm successful, well, fairly successful, but there are the occasions when my perfectionism still gets in the way. I've been on the schedule for just a few days, and I'm already feeling sorry for the other people with whom I work.
They are all very nice. Most of them are on the youngish side, and while that youthful energy can be a great asset, their collective lack of work ethic has the potential to drive me insane. Learning the stock and solving the problem of my extremely sore feet are taking a back-seat to finding a way to not be bothered by co-workers who do the barest minimum amount of work.
A perfect example was this past week during the shift change. One of the young women came down to take over the store, and while I was telling her what things had been during my time there, she was down the counter, shuffling through the pile of papers that she and several others have so that they can play a number game called Suduko.
They, collectively, are so unconcerned about doing any actual work that they don't even try to hide their time-wasting. One of them brought his laptop to work and played games on it.
Two of them call each other on the phone, one in the store, the other in the kiosk.
Another came down from the base store to relieve me for lunch. (As a side note, we get only one break during the day because the company won't hire enough people to allow for proper, and probably legally required breaks, but that's another story.) She must have thought that I had left the store for lunch, and when I came out of the storeroom to get something, she nearly fainted. There were five customers in the store and she wasn't helping any of them, but was sitting behind the counter, reading a book.
I am the only person who does any cleaning. At this time in the season, housekeeping chores are a welcome diversion, and I'm glad to have things to fill the long stretches of time in between customers. I'd be lying if I said that I like those kinds of chores, but dusting, sweeping the carpet, mopping the floor and straightening the stock are necessary tasks, and it's going to be a serious problem when we have more traffic. Here is where my organization and sense of responsibility cause problems. The person who is supposed to be in charge hasn't given them much training, so a lot of this isn't their fault, but I still have to wonder why they seem unable to realize that they are here to work, not play games or socialize. Is this group of slackers a rarity? Are my expectations that my co-workers actually do some work too high? Is it unreasonable to expect that management spend time training new employees? Am I just some old crotchety babe with extravagant standards? Perhaps it's some delicious alchemy of all of those.
You know, some folk believe that the things that irritate us in other people are merely a reflection of the things we need to work on in our own lives. I don't know that that's always true, but I'm going to consider it a possibility and try to find the lesson that must be hidden in there, somewhere. At any rate, I'm keeping my own counsel. I do whatever I need to do, and consider myself well-paid for it.
And, of course, I plan to come back here to complain about it.
// posted by MoonGoddess @ 12:12 PM 
