Random acts of typing

SERIOUSLY.  I’m NOT kidding. 

I have a serious thought here that many people are oblivious to.  The concept of individuals other than their self having processes and appointments and interactions that are necessary to their lives.  I understand that this is a concept that may be difficult to grasp, but let’s walk through it.

The act of supervision denotes some degree of responsibility and intelligence.  One would think.  One would assume that individuals who hold supervisory positions would have forethought and plan ahead for scheduling issues and coverage.  One would think.

This is NOT always the case.  In the particular situation that has raised my irritation, there is a department, FULL of capable individuals who have equivalent or more knowledge about the subject of our employment to what I possess.  They WORK in this department.  Their titles INCLUDE the name of the department.  Their BUSINESS CARDS are indicative of the department.  MINE are NOT, interestingly enough.  That being said, there is a schedule created bi-weekly to determine coverage for the front desk/reception area of the office.  This schedule includes 3 people who are NOT part of that department, thanks to the imaginative musings of the upper eschelon management to whom we are all accountable. 

That is a topic in and of itself and I won’t vent on this issue here.  The issue I’d like to discuss is the lack of guidance and planning.  THAT is what has my panties all in a twist, and that’s not a good thing.  The individual responsible for the schedule publishes it the Friday before it is to go into effect.  That is poor planning.  When a scheduled individual is out, there is no determination as to coverage.  That is poor planning.  The individuals who are then TOLD to cover have already contributed an entire DAY to this endeavor, though their 40-hour position is being left bythe wayside.  In addition to the DAY being taken from their regular, full time position for which they were hired, they are now asked to contribute even MORE time to a position for which there are plentiful bodies who are capable of supplying the same information.  This, in my opinion, is piss-poor planning.

The argument that I present is one that will not be rectified by a blog on wordpress.  It won’t be resolved by whining and complaining to my supervisor.  It won’t be taken care of by venting to the Director of the department.  Unfortunately, due to the lackadaisical management style of the individuals involved, the remainder of us are simply stuck with poor planning, a lack of understanding, and a primadonna attitude from certain individuals regarding the structure of the office.  It’s unfortunate.  There are some very good ways to circumvent these issues and provide outstanding customer service.  There are more efficient ways of functioning as an office, a department, and and individual.  It’s incredibly unfortunate that this is not recognized.  I suppose I get to sit back and watch the fireworks if and when they decide to go off.