Inspiration
The Redneck has inspired me.
I have a fairly easy job that requires surprisingly little of me. When it first started, it was difficult to remember everything I had to do, but as time has passed I have come to the realization that I am getting paid for doing almost nothing. True, I have moments in each month where I suddenly get swamped with this and that, but I'm the type that needs to be finished with the tasks that loom over my head. So I do what needs to be done as quickly and efficiently as possible and then I return to surfing the net, editing pictures I've taken, buying crap on ebay, and reading blogs like Born Again Redneck and The Drudge Siren(where I am the only reader that doesn't know the authors and I am hated for it). I'm also obsessed with a band called stone down and that takes up some of my time. On top of all that, I have this goofy idea in my head that I could make some pretty cool t-shirts so I sometimes spend a little time over at café press or in Microsoft Paint. Meanwhile, there is one task in particular that I have avoided like the plague.
First, a little info on what exactly it is I do.
I am a supervisor in a large call center that handles around 800,000 accounts, 2-3% of which are delinquent. I manage a team of 8 people that spend all day researching accounts that don't have any good numbers to call. For my employees, the job is stressful. They are required to not only find good numbers to reach these delinquent customers with whom we have lost contact, but they are also required to call said numbers and get the accounts up-to-date. A large part of my job is to observe them as they work and provide them with feedback on the job they're doing. That's the part I detest. I loathe and abhor the practice of observing their work and commenting on it. The process is simple and is the same for every supervisor across the board. It's not like I have to be creative, I just have to fill out a form. I hate forms. I hate phone calls. I hate this damned job. Literally 85% of my month is free time that I have to fill with bullshit. Since November, I have done half the feedback I am supposed to do and my boss can't stop telling me what a great job I'm doing.
My boss is a whole other problem. He has a reputation as a real asshole and everyone is scared of him. No one wants to work for this guy and everything I have ever heard about him was negative. But he treats me like gold. The guy constantly tells me that I am doing a bang up job and I never hear anything negative from him. I have heard rumors that he will act like everything is OK and then surprise you with something that was bugging him 3 months ago when he writes the performance review. But he told me specifically that if he never says anything to me, it means that I am doing a great job and he will never surprise an employee with anything that hasn't already been addressed face-to-face. So here I am goofing off all day and thinking that he sees only the good I do, and then I'm losing sleep at night wondering whether he's going to screw me on my review.
So the only way to resolve this is to get my ass to work. But when am I supposed to do all the other crap I don't get paid to do? Huh? How the hell does that get resolved? The internet isn't going to surf itself! People are commenting and arguing with each other over at Born Again Redneck and I need to be there to comment! I am the voice of reason, damn it!
I think I know the real problem here. I am obsessed with myself. I am the only person I know that has his own picture as the wallpaper on his cell phone. But that's a subject for another post.
I have a fairly easy job that requires surprisingly little of me. When it first started, it was difficult to remember everything I had to do, but as time has passed I have come to the realization that I am getting paid for doing almost nothing. True, I have moments in each month where I suddenly get swamped with this and that, but I'm the type that needs to be finished with the tasks that loom over my head. So I do what needs to be done as quickly and efficiently as possible and then I return to surfing the net, editing pictures I've taken, buying crap on ebay, and reading blogs like Born Again Redneck and The Drudge Siren(where I am the only reader that doesn't know the authors and I am hated for it). I'm also obsessed with a band called stone down and that takes up some of my time. On top of all that, I have this goofy idea in my head that I could make some pretty cool t-shirts so I sometimes spend a little time over at café press or in Microsoft Paint. Meanwhile, there is one task in particular that I have avoided like the plague.
First, a little info on what exactly it is I do.
I am a supervisor in a large call center that handles around 800,000 accounts, 2-3% of which are delinquent. I manage a team of 8 people that spend all day researching accounts that don't have any good numbers to call. For my employees, the job is stressful. They are required to not only find good numbers to reach these delinquent customers with whom we have lost contact, but they are also required to call said numbers and get the accounts up-to-date. A large part of my job is to observe them as they work and provide them with feedback on the job they're doing. That's the part I detest. I loathe and abhor the practice of observing their work and commenting on it. The process is simple and is the same for every supervisor across the board. It's not like I have to be creative, I just have to fill out a form. I hate forms. I hate phone calls. I hate this damned job. Literally 85% of my month is free time that I have to fill with bullshit. Since November, I have done half the feedback I am supposed to do and my boss can't stop telling me what a great job I'm doing.
My boss is a whole other problem. He has a reputation as a real asshole and everyone is scared of him. No one wants to work for this guy and everything I have ever heard about him was negative. But he treats me like gold. The guy constantly tells me that I am doing a bang up job and I never hear anything negative from him. I have heard rumors that he will act like everything is OK and then surprise you with something that was bugging him 3 months ago when he writes the performance review. But he told me specifically that if he never says anything to me, it means that I am doing a great job and he will never surprise an employee with anything that hasn't already been addressed face-to-face. So here I am goofing off all day and thinking that he sees only the good I do, and then I'm losing sleep at night wondering whether he's going to screw me on my review.
So the only way to resolve this is to get my ass to work. But when am I supposed to do all the other crap I don't get paid to do? Huh? How the hell does that get resolved? The internet isn't going to surf itself! People are commenting and arguing with each other over at Born Again Redneck and I need to be there to comment! I am the voice of reason, damn it!
I think I know the real problem here. I am obsessed with myself. I am the only person I know that has his own picture as the wallpaper on his cell phone. But that's a subject for another post.
posted by Mitch/Mike at 1/26/2006 10:57:00 AM
4 Comments:
Well, I nearly didn't stop by today because I thought I'd have to look at that nasty pic pf De Lay again. I'm glad I did.
"Literally 85% of my month is free time that I have to fill with bullshit."
I've never had a job like that but I've had slow days with not much to do and it nearly drove me nuts.
"I am the voice of reason, damn it!"
Yes, you are and you are much appreciated.
Well, we're waiting for the post about the guy who has "his own picture as the wallpaper on his cell phone."
After reading your post and giving it great thought (about 28 seconds worth), and also after looking at your picture, I've come to this conclusion: Your boss is gay; trust me on this. You've got 'eyes'.
Aw, I don't hate you. I tolerate you.
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