Work, work, work I had a dream set at work last night. That's the second one since this contract started in May. In the dream someone brought me my paycheque instead of my having to go get it. We also discussed the wherabouts of a person who's been off sick all week in real life and my boss came and collected some things that really were dropped off for him with me. It was so close to a real day at work could get (except for the cheque delivery) that I've been having flashes all day of "did that really happen?". It's a distinctly odd feeling. I also managed to get myself a set of drawers in a cabinet to go underneath my table. I was just saying to my mom yesterday that I had no drawers and today I've arranged to get some. Now I'll be able to tidy up my desk area a bit. Maybe I'll bring in a drawer organizer and some file folders. One of the reasons I like working here is that I really feel like I'm a part of the project rather than just an add-on to do the grunt work. Whenever I go into my supervisor's office to ask a question I end up staying for at least 15 minutes while he talks about some part of the project or the government or something. Often I'll go into his office with a question and he'll be talking with someone else already. Instead of asking me to come back later, I'm always invited in and involved in the conversation to some degree. He goes out of his way, I think, to not only include me but educate me. However, it's still a mad house, where no one really wants to spend money on anything but still wants the stuff, everyone needs everything done yesterday, and the pushiest people get what they want. I'm sure every company is like that to some degree but I think a lot of the bad aspects are made worse here by the way the department is structured and by the fact that the present structure is quite new and very different from the old structure. As far as I can tell, the new structure requires the scientists to be much more accountable for their work and for their projects in regards to usefullness and timeliness. Instead of just researching what they want and only meeting deadlines they set for themselves, now they must have a defined project within pre-set categories, and they get a certain amount of money and a certain amount of time to use it in. Life is very different for the scientists and I don't think they like it very much. |