hostile work environment at hand....

What I have always suspected, has actually now become a reality... When I moved to my new work position in the Los Angeles area, the type of people I work with has a different way of looking at life than I do.  I've blogged about this work location and the first comment from those where I came from to me being "watch your back" and how I didn't even know what that could mean.  The first supervisor I worked under here "B", he was basically a "get along" kind of guy who in order to have a happy workforce, let them run the show. He gave in to some ridiculous practices that allowed using more days off than you had coming in your benefits package, and the theory of "you just tell me what you need"... Well he was moved out of our building 2 months after I got there, I was glad. A new supervisor "K" was promoted was once a mechanic in this building, and he struggled with being management and no longer an hourly kind of friend/supervisor, at the beginning.  But since he transitioned he has now got a bullseye on him. What Bob left in the wake was a work force that "liked things the way they were done before" and so it has been a somewhat difficult period of time for change to be brought into play, and then to get them to understand that "the old way no longer exists" because it was wrong and "you either get on board or you will encounter discipline and/or lose your job"..  There behavior is very much like an honery child who doesn't fear the discipline or just waits till you hand it out and then they whine trying to get out of it.. ugh..

With consistent discipline foreighn to there sensibilities, they have become hopping mad, pointing fingers, trying to get away with the same practices and absolutely livid when they are disciplined.  Over and over again, the shop steward uses the phrase "we liked the way we used to do it" or "if you would just wipe every ones slate clean before you start the new way of doing things."  Huh, well that's not going to happen, just come to work unless you are absolutely vomiting, or bleeding severely.  One employee has 8 sick days a year, and this employee record has probably been off sick 50 times, it's almost uncountable.. it was along time before we finally convinced him to get F.M.L.A.  (family medical leave act) as he claims his diabetes pain in his feet are the reason he takes off so much. FMLA gives him two days a month to call in for two days (total of 4 days).. and trust me he uses them.  But for the entire year of 2011 when there was a holiday on a weekend, he would take one or two days prior and one to two days following the holiday.. Except for this past Friday before New Years. And why might that be, because he was written up for a 3 day suspension for just that reason early in the week, and his next occasion would be a written warning and than firing... So he as usual promised he'd do better, I'm trying, blah blah blah..   I met him in the hallway on Friday and shook his hand and thanked him for making the improvement so quickly and being a valuable part of the team.  He laughed and said, what is it Friday and I forgot what day it was... He's actually a funny guy who jokes around that he's the hardest working employee we have and so on and so on... Keeps him going I guess..

So anyway, there are 17 porters/housekeeping employees, and their are perhaps 4 that do not play these games listed above. (surprising huh?)  There are 8 mechanics and 1 of them lives with one of the porters, they share his hers and ours kids. They make progress, a disciplinary occasion will expire and then they add another one.  The two of them together are each our worst offenders always at the point of "suspension just before losing their jobs" for violations and considered the worst in the district.. Quite a dubious honor if that's what your after in life.  It's a frustrating part of the job that increases paperwork, and the constant difficulty in keeping the building clean  and operating for our dept without enough employees to cover the workload. 

So anyway, before Christmas we had a potluck where one of the mechanics smoked tri tip and we all contributed a dish, and we were invited and participated...
                                       

This week, they planned their own potluck on Friday for New Years perhaps or another excuse to not work, and didn't invite us, so we weren't aware they were having one.  The mechanics supervisor "K" called over the intercom for a specific mechanic "J" to come to the office, he needed him to do a specific job of posting a parking Circle of Honor sign in the employee parking lot.  The mechanic "J" comes into the office and as it's being explained what he needs to take care of, this mechanic asks the supervisor  "K" if he can talk to him in the managers office... Later after "J" had left the office, the supervisor "K" tells me that this mechanic "J" had gone to the potluck, and noticed neither the supervisor "K" or I were there.  And he asked them if we were coming, and a few of the porters  replied "pff, they aren't invited to our potlucks, they are the enemy and we don't like them".... so this mechanic "J" told them "well if you can't invite everyone who is a part of this dept team of porters and mechanics, than you don't have to invite me to anymore of these potlucks either", and he walked out..

Now I want to just say that this is not an easy thing to do in the midst of this rough crowd that he will work with, and it will most likely have some backlash for him.. When I heard this I got teary as it was hard to hear, but that I was very proud of him "J" for taking that stand on our behalf.  I also would hope that I too would take that stand when there is an exclusion of others who are part of a team on purpose.  This picture below has been on an elementary school marquis for months and I took it one day.. it certainly applies here for some adults..

I've done blogs on this work group before and the difficulty of working with them and around them can be.  They are back biters amongst each other, rumor starters of bizarre tales, and just alot of lack of character and bad decision making is evident. My interaction with them is that I input there payroll, schedule vacations and order there supplies and I deal with the backlash of there wrath on many levels, where they are antagonistic between each other, and "authority". I'm a pretty easy person to get along with and really have tried to be sympathetic, understanding, and helpful to them with computer searches when they have asked.. But if you attack me on baseless comments or try to hurt me with "so and so said this about you" yes I will stop you from continuing to talk, because I am no longer in high school and will not stoop to you acting like you are and dragging me into it... so some of these employees don't have my respect and I have withdrawn from much beyond coming in doing my job and laying low in contact.  But boy when they need something they come in and turn on the sweet talk.. ha and I just listen, take a note and tell them I will get back to them with an answer.. and smile pretty.. Apparantly they would like a hug as well and a pat on the back each and every time, and a cookie... whoops, that's not really necessary!

So now they have made the hostile atmosphere of a line in the sand and watch your back... and I will have NO PROBLEM with it.. they on the other hand have policy they need to adhere to in order to keep there job.. period.. I follow it, the supervisors follow it, and they have to follow it.. fair is fair.. no one gets preferential treatment in spite of there desire to receive it..

Today I saw "J" for the first time since Friday and I made sure he understood how much I appreciated his comment and gesture on our behalf.. No lengthy conversation, but just that I knew.  2012 at the office I work in will be an interesting place in light of how 2011 ended, but I will not compromise right decency for being run over to get along..

have to do my part

Project #1

Greg and Shane this afternoon hooked up the tv back onto the wall, all the cables are now plugged into the box inside the wall that has two (4) electrical plugs & the Dish Satellite cable going into the tv. It will be so "clean" looking when it's all done.  Now the part that I forgot is that I said I would go and look for the shelf that will be hung below the tv for the satellite box, Xbox etc.. and I didn't do it.. But Greg found that the homemade (pretty cool) steel bracket he crafted still needs a little tweaking tomorrow at his shop so as to not hit the back of the tv..  So I have another day to produce the mantle like lightweight shelf that I want..  and then the coffee table will again be a coffee table.  There is an unfinished oak wood store close by... or.....

We actually ended up running over to Lowes after dinner to see what they had.. and came across a stair tread with a rounded front edge, and with side pieces that match the front edge that must be glued on to the sides to match.. sweet look and it's the right size.. a coat of verithane over the oak piece and it's ready to go up and complete the look.

 

This is the existing bracket the tv was already mounted on, but just envision the Dish cable going down and then to the wall socket 5 ft to the left, and the electric cord going down and 5 ft to the right to the power plug... not a pretty sight and then the other random cords for DVD and/or XBOX game console down to the table.  Now it will all be up behind the tv recessed and strapped up unseen.

New black hole for all connections, the old satellite connection is visible to bottom left.. Greg groaned when I told him that needed to come out & be patched now that it's not needed.  :)

 hole now covered with a recessed box with 4 electric outlets, and the Dish Satellite cable

Shane & Greg adjusted the box which was cockeyed and even though only we'd know it... it's now straight

"You see son, I did this & connected it to that, welded this clip to the top, and with these bolts it's adjustable".. and so on...

Greg created the brackets that will hang from the tv bracket & the shelf will rest on the "L" part of it without having to bolt it to the wall with the supports that level it off the backside... quite ingenious & the kind of stuff he likes to do

And then it will hang like so..

and walaa the tv is back up on the wall & functioning like it should, only thing missing is the shelf for the stuff that adds to the enjoyment of the tv

Our trip to Lowes found this stair tread that we are converting to a shelf (rather than a flat plank we have to dress up with a router) and the side has trim that will make it look so much better than a flat edge.

like so for the side edge

One tv room down, one more to go... go team go..

progress being made..

There has been progress being made on project #1 and with one more coat of paint, the tv goes back up on the wall. Tomorrow I will go and look for a mantle like piece of "more than a plank" to hang below the tv to have all the "boxes" of Dish DVR, xbox, up higher to read the remote from the kitchen table...

Greg has had more than a few trips to Home Depot in this process and been doing some huffing and puffing when asked those annoying questions like "what will that be for?"  So I have been for two days just laying low and letting the boys get into the line of fire as they offer aid........... I know you know what I'm speaking of. Standing clear, bringing him only what he asked needs from across the room when it's requested..

Today as he's wrapping it up, much lighter demeanor :)

Thankful for a "forced" vacation by his company between Christmas / New Years to give him space to work on the house.  yay!

he took me seriously...

A couple of days before Christmas I asked Greg this question "was he done with his shopping?" and his response was that I hadn't given him any ideas.... hmm, I don't recall his asking.  So I just repeated what I had told him several weeks earlier that I would like him to "just" finish some projects that were started, or take on the projects that needed to be done around the house/yard... There are three that come to mind without having to speak them (unfinished) or that I would like a tripod of good quality and lightweight for a backpack while on a bike or a hike with my camera....

He seemed more inclined towards the latter idea, and away he went after having asked questions on what kind of tripod, looked them up online, asked some more questions.. So I was pretty darn sure that I was getting a tripod (if he could find one still on the shelf where he looked), but was really hoping he'd go for idea #1..

Yep, I got the tripod and it is perfect for biking or hiking....

You might be wondering what immediate projects would I like done:

Project #1 & 2 on my list of wants was to get the tv, dish box, etc cables into the wall behind the 2 tv's from hanging down the wall to the sockets.  They are now draped across the room from behind the tv where they are in plain view. He's off this week and Monday already he starts taking the living room tv off the wall, using his sensor to find the "studs" and then starts cutting a hole(s) in the wall.. today he and Shane (who showed up after dark) crawled in the attic, and then under the house in search of where the "dish network" cables are located, cutting holes and the rest of whatever you need to find or add in order to put all the wires for electricity and cables into a box inside the wall out of sight behind the tv mounted on the wall...  Yay, almost done, hopefully he'll have better luck doing it to tv #2 in the den as that's next on the list....

#3 The incompleted garage door opener put up 2 weeks ago (new one). Which is so sophisticated the chinese instructions have hampered it's completion of installation or the plan to dismantle it and returning it to downsize to something less "sophisticated" for the old garage wooden garage doors we have.  If the new garage is ever built, then he will upgrade.. (if being the key word)

#4 and then the previously blogged about vibrating walking LOUD washing machine on the tile in one of the hallways to be perfected after first attempt failed .. it's still an issue that he knows is an issue without having to say it is an issue. Just running the machine, reminds ya quickly the issue is LOUD.

Oh and then there are lots of "little" items we've discussed that aren't expensive just take his time.. so he could be busy all year as time is not a commodity he likes to give to such things...

Well time for bed, the work alarm will come early.  I might need to hire someone for one of the above..
 heehee..

 

tis the season fa lalala..

After 29 years at UPS, I am actually enjoying this particular Christmas season as the most relaxed one EVER... why you might be asking?  I changed job positions back in early March & to a new location..

I have absolutely no longer anything to do with zipcode assignments for Ground & Air service for the large & small packages, the Time in Transit for Peak Season is not my responsibility for charts / training employees. This is what can dictate success or failure in what the employees know, when they know it and if they didn't WHO was responsible for it.. proofreading 100% accuracy which meant I brought work home everynight.  Whew, from Thanksgiving to New Years was always a feverish daily change, every sort, every building doing something different & specific to them.. 7 buildings was a juggling act.

What I do now is ONE building in Vernon, payroll input daily, employee entitlement tracking & adjustments according to contracts for pay.  I order supplies for everything from toilet paper, cleaning supplies (brooms,mops,hand soap, paper towels) to mechanics needs of screws, nuts, belting, iron, most everything related to keepig the motors to run machinery and everything in between. I write up contracts with vendors and process them for signatures, make sure every vendor has Insurance to be on property or work on property.  I call vendors to come in to do repairs for things that are related to plumbing, electrical, floor scrubbers or getting water out of an Automotive sump pump from rain water, or picking up Bio Hazard materials that are "damaged" in transit (like pig fetus's or dead kittens, stuff happens!).. And then I call to get these particular things invoiced sooner rather than later if they are an item in our current month of budgeting.. If it's something that we would prefer to be invoiced next month, I make sure I issue a PO # first to slow down the process forcing them to wait a little while..  But in the month of Dec we only play a little catch up, reconciling some buildings being so far over budget that the rest of us have to tighten the reigns to make up for it..  But it's every day the same, no peak season RUSH that makes you have crazy busy rushed days and sleepless nights.. Never did I imagine you could or would multi task as much as this job requires.. It's like playing "minute to win it" during the time I'm there and then come back the next day and do it again but nothing life and death like package failure that EVERYBODY in the country knows about immediately. get my point..

Okay so the sleepless nights was a phase I went through recently, but absolutely not work related for sure. 

But honestly, the new hours I work are just NOT intense for the busy peak season for me as they "always" were before.. It's like a night and day difference being out of that loop. The new loop has some stress now and then, but  I start way early enough in the day that I can get some things done in the afternoons after I'm off. The old job position was flexible but rigid tense.

So as Ashley comes home to CA on Tuesday through the next Tuesday..  It will be a good Christmas...  :)