On Monday when I was back in the office making my usual rounds of post-vacation souvenirs distribution to everyone, someone kindly told me now that I have shifted my place, please be careful of how my screen was being placed. I know exactly what she meant as I did not expect all the gossiping to die down, even more so since I was away.
A couple of days later, the same kind soul came and spoke to me, asking me to move my computer screen in such a way that no one could see what I was doing. She told me not to tell anyone what she said, including those whom I seem to be close to, because she thinks I trust people too easily and I never know who may be the source of the gossip.
Of course I appreciate that. At least there are still kind souls around, not like those who knows what is going on, yet never bothers to tell me anything, and still partake in the nit-picking. Apparently when I was away, people were saying why I chose to be away at this time when everyone was holding on to their jobs.
Well, is there a good or bad time to go on leave? My parents have been planning the trip since last year. My leave application was applied three months before and approved by my ex-boss before he left the company. How am I supposed to know since then the situation would become so bad that people are desperately holding on to their jobs?
It was too late to cancel anything anyway because I applied for leave only after everything was confirmed. Then I was told I was not allowed to take so many days off (wonder when the company has this new rule?), so the leave I took in November would be unpaid. Thus, five days were cut from my October pay slip. I was pissed but still, I did not dispute, all in a bid to lie low.
Now the latest “news” is that my keyboard is too loud, people can hear me typing from the other end of the room. Really? I have been using the same keyboard since the day I joined the company. Besides the half year or so when I was in the store room, other than that, I had been sitting in the open. I have been in this company for more than two years. So why take until now to say that my keyboard is too loud and people get disturbed?
And because I type so much due to the nature of my work, people now think I am doing “unofficial” work as they claim I do not have that much work. How do people know what kind of work I have anyway? Yes, there are lapse times when I am relatively free, but when there is work to be done, I do it. And I do it fast.
The kind of work I do needs lots of typing (heck, everything needs typing nowadays, even keying in data entry), and some of the documentation work I do can go up to hundreds of pages, so when I need to churn that out, I have to type fast in order to meet the deadline. When I type fast, I do tend to type hard too.
In the first place, the keyboard was given to me by the Infocomm Department when I first joined the company. So is it my fault that the keys are hard? So if they want me to type softer, can people not just tell me for goodness sake instead of gossiping amongst themselves? Besides, I use all my fingers to type, which is why it is fast. I can try to soften by typing slower and using just one finger, but then I will take forever to complete a document, and then people will say I take such a long time to do something.
The thing is, those higher-ups will never bother about politics. They have their own politics to deal with at their level, but I guess it will be mostly work-related and the difficult job of managing difficult people at their level. They will never bother about trivial things that people say about others if it is not work related.
What I cannot fathom is, why is it if the head honchos do not bother, those who are lower-ranking bothers so much? Or is it because they are lower ranking thus lesser work, thus more able to create “trouble” by arrowing in and finding fault with others? If I have a lapse of time, I keep to myself and do my own things, like looking through other documentation, or trying to see if there are any issues still pending, unlike others who huddle in small groups and gossip about just everyone except for those partaking in the gossip. Okay, I admit I do check personal emails, and I do access the net sometimes, but I do not believe I am the only one who does that. So why should people bother if my work is not affected?
Currently I have no direct superior. The Legal Counsel is acting Head but other than that, I am currently Head-less. With the freeze in headcount, and the fact that people are holding on to their seats at this point in time, I doubt the new Head will come anytime soon. The thing is I may or may not be leaving soon.
If I do leave before the new Head comes in, then there may be less trouble for everyone. If not, then perhaps the Head may just be attuned to whatever gossip and draws his / her own conclusions. By right, those who can become so high-ranking are normally capable enough to discern and not jump to their own opinions so easily, but who is to know? I have been fortunate so far, but one never knows. When that happens, then I fear for myself!
A couple of days later, the same kind soul came and spoke to me, asking me to move my computer screen in such a way that no one could see what I was doing. She told me not to tell anyone what she said, including those whom I seem to be close to, because she thinks I trust people too easily and I never know who may be the source of the gossip.
Of course I appreciate that. At least there are still kind souls around, not like those who knows what is going on, yet never bothers to tell me anything, and still partake in the nit-picking. Apparently when I was away, people were saying why I chose to be away at this time when everyone was holding on to their jobs.
Well, is there a good or bad time to go on leave? My parents have been planning the trip since last year. My leave application was applied three months before and approved by my ex-boss before he left the company. How am I supposed to know since then the situation would become so bad that people are desperately holding on to their jobs?
It was too late to cancel anything anyway because I applied for leave only after everything was confirmed. Then I was told I was not allowed to take so many days off (wonder when the company has this new rule?), so the leave I took in November would be unpaid. Thus, five days were cut from my October pay slip. I was pissed but still, I did not dispute, all in a bid to lie low.
Now the latest “news” is that my keyboard is too loud, people can hear me typing from the other end of the room. Really? I have been using the same keyboard since the day I joined the company. Besides the half year or so when I was in the store room, other than that, I had been sitting in the open. I have been in this company for more than two years. So why take until now to say that my keyboard is too loud and people get disturbed?
And because I type so much due to the nature of my work, people now think I am doing “unofficial” work as they claim I do not have that much work. How do people know what kind of work I have anyway? Yes, there are lapse times when I am relatively free, but when there is work to be done, I do it. And I do it fast.
The kind of work I do needs lots of typing (heck, everything needs typing nowadays, even keying in data entry), and some of the documentation work I do can go up to hundreds of pages, so when I need to churn that out, I have to type fast in order to meet the deadline. When I type fast, I do tend to type hard too.
In the first place, the keyboard was given to me by the Infocomm Department when I first joined the company. So is it my fault that the keys are hard? So if they want me to type softer, can people not just tell me for goodness sake instead of gossiping amongst themselves? Besides, I use all my fingers to type, which is why it is fast. I can try to soften by typing slower and using just one finger, but then I will take forever to complete a document, and then people will say I take such a long time to do something.
The thing is, those higher-ups will never bother about politics. They have their own politics to deal with at their level, but I guess it will be mostly work-related and the difficult job of managing difficult people at their level. They will never bother about trivial things that people say about others if it is not work related.
What I cannot fathom is, why is it if the head honchos do not bother, those who are lower-ranking bothers so much? Or is it because they are lower ranking thus lesser work, thus more able to create “trouble” by arrowing in and finding fault with others? If I have a lapse of time, I keep to myself and do my own things, like looking through other documentation, or trying to see if there are any issues still pending, unlike others who huddle in small groups and gossip about just everyone except for those partaking in the gossip. Okay, I admit I do check personal emails, and I do access the net sometimes, but I do not believe I am the only one who does that. So why should people bother if my work is not affected?
Currently I have no direct superior. The Legal Counsel is acting Head but other than that, I am currently Head-less. With the freeze in headcount, and the fact that people are holding on to their seats at this point in time, I doubt the new Head will come anytime soon. The thing is I may or may not be leaving soon.
If I do leave before the new Head comes in, then there may be less trouble for everyone. If not, then perhaps the Head may just be attuned to whatever gossip and draws his / her own conclusions. By right, those who can become so high-ranking are normally capable enough to discern and not jump to their own opinions so easily, but who is to know? I have been fortunate so far, but one never knows. When that happens, then I fear for myself!
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