I find it a challenge to work for a bureaucracy after being self employed for years.
Part of the problem is that when I don't really know what I'm doing I defer to people I think do know and in a bureaucracy people just tell you random stuff that is just what they are thinking at the moment or at worst, try to manipulate you.
In a modern work environment there is no danger of ever getting punched. This is because The only thing that will certainly get you fired is showing righteous anger.
So people do these chicken-poop little things akin to peeing in your booze when your not looking. Not that there is anything wrong with peeing someone's booze as long as you don't get caught.
Not that this has any relevance in my job....
Yesterday was my mowing day. However it rained a lot.
I asked how one evaluated this situation and just what the previous groundskeeper did in the winter when it was pouring down rain.
I got two different opinions plus a lot of random off subject comments about how things used to be done, but like an i-dot I showed confusion.
This is bad...Followed by worse failures in judgement as you shall see.
I had a sound plan.
I would blow leaves until morning break. Then run the push mower until midmorning. Then drive around in my cart a lot, or blow more leaves. Then, after lunch break I would get out the riding/bagging mower and do the small lots when no one was looking.
But no...
I got into a discussion with another groundskeeper who wants to work together. Her idea was to have two of us spread lime and fertilizer. We could use the tractor and spinner spreader and one person would load and one drive. This sounded good.
Then the supervisor showed up.
He thought this was a good idea.
This is a mistake. Talking innovation with the supervisor.
Talking to him got him thinking. He had a plan for me to use the push mower. Apparently I am supposed to use the push mower on the little strips between the street and the lawns because someone once hit a pop up sprinkler head.
I don't because it takes forever to run the big push mower from place to place.
There are no good ramps for the trailer.
Plus, I don't hit sprinkler heads or plastic utility boxes because I've done this kind of thing my whole life.
Today I'm going to learn how to run a push mower.... Oh joy...
Thing is, it all pays the same...
Not enough, in this case.
Here is a view from my "cab."
Can you see where I dropped my coffee cup and the guidance system over-corrected?
Posts
Bureaucracy is what made this country grea....ah.....what it is.
ReplyDeleteOver inflate the tires & explain that you need an inside job because you are causing ruts in the wet lawn. As an advantage, the more weight you gain the desk job, the more danger of ruts. It worked for your previous 'little' helper. Of course they may give you a rake with a handle.
ReplyDeleteOr I could start drinking on the job...
Delete1. But what about the leaves?
ReplyDelete2. As a manager I found the best thing to do was abstractly talk about how I might get things done, give a list of everything that had to be done and that I'd like to get done and then just leave them alone. Good teams don't need managers.
3. You should coordinate w/ the person in charge of the sprinklers and ask how many they'd like wacked off.
4. I used to be in that organization/bureaucracy space but now enjoy my current world of just working all day doing things in the order I want, as good or as poorly as I like or care and working from 7AM to 10PM.
5. Do they ever buy you free lunch? It's good team building.
No free lunches. Supervisor is trying to boost morale. He bought a coffeemaker but no one would set it up. Finally got set up and someone is making coffee. I drink it.
DeleteLast Friday he brought doughnuts. People seemed afraid to eat them.
I had three.
I suppose this now means I'll have to also spend the other half of my life in Hades.
Perhaps that only applies to fruit?
No free lunches. Supervisor is trying to boost morale. He bought a coffeemaker but no one would set it up. Finally got set up and someone is making coffee. I drink it.
DeleteLast Friday he brought doughnuts. People seemed afraid to eat them.
I had three.
I suppose this now means I'll have to also spend the other half of my life in Hades.
Perhaps that only applies to fruit?
I think eating doughnuts is the opposite from eating an apple from the tree of knowledge.
Deleteyou are giving me fits thinking about my corporate life.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting and beautiful article.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.