The Trouble with Jobs

So, I started a new job this week. Well, when I say started, I mean I started the training process – the slightly vague but all important “learning curve.” This is my chance to create a wonderful first impression for my new boss, an individual that could have an inordinate amount of influence over my future in this group, our division and even the company as a whole. So, as you might expect, I have yet to meet this person.

You see, my current employer is in a bit of a transitory state right now. To make a long and boring story only slightly shorter, and yet just as boring, this company recently merged with another company to make one really big company. (Those of you who know me, know where I work. Those of you that don’t know me can start trying to figure it out. It will be a fun game.) Now, attendant with all the joyous talk of mergers and executive bonuses and stock options and becoming the third largest provider in the industry, there is the internal struggle of constantly wondering if you are going to have a job, if there is someone from the other company who does the same job as you, only infinitely better, if the dreaded “o” word will be spoken about your group. That’s right – outsourcing.

Add to that this fun little wrinkle – about six to twelve months down the road in the life of this gigantic company, a portion of the business will be “spun-off” to form a new, smaller company – completely disconnected in every way from the big company. The theory being that the two parts of the business have different objectives and would be working against each other, so they will be split and go their separate ways. In the meantime, the new, huge, merged company will be expounding to the world how wonderful they will be and how good their executives, customers and employees will have it, with the full knowledge that at least one third of those employees will be gone in six months. At the same time, internally to the big company, executives are being named to the new smaller company, and they will be crying from the rooftops how good the small company will be and that the big company is getting in over its head. As an employee not yet assigned to either company, it’s like watching a football game when you’ve bet your wife a month of foot rubs, but not determining who needs to win for you to get the foot rubs. You want someone to win; you’re just not sure who.

From a personal perspective, all this was going on while my wife and I were trying to determine how we could generate additional income as we recently had to purchase a new car. (Our old minivan kept slipping from Drive to Neutral while we were moving. That makes driving just a bit dicey and we decided to get something a little more reliable. Of course, reliable often equates to expensive.) At the same time, my work car died in the middle of a busy intersection during rush hour and will not be rejoining our stable of vehicles, which means we need to save some money for a second car sometime next year. Point being, we needed cash. As a short aside from my short story, that is why there is now an advertisement at the top of my blog. Remember, simply by clicking on said advertisement, I make money. At least, that’s the theory. We’ll see if it works – if you would start clicking!

Okay, back to the wonderful world of corporate America! We chose not to depend solely on the ads on this site, so I began searching for another position – a promotion even. I was told in no uncertain terms that, though I was the strongest candidate for management in my current group, no advancement opportunities would be available for at least 12 months. So, doing what I know was out the window. Fortunately, I was recommended for a promotion to another group that, though much different than what I had been doing, could use some of my current job skills while also offering new opportunities for growth. (That sounds like I stole it right out of the job description, but it’s actually true.) The new job was in the Finance group, but I persevered. It was an assured position in the new, spun-off company, which was a real plus because I seemed to believe those executives more than the executives for the big company. And, they offered me 6% more annually plus a greater yearly bonus opportunity, which assisted with our economic crisis. So, here I am in a new job, learning new things and trying not to screw anything up and lose the chance to make a great impression that will carry me to the top, which apparently is middle management.

But, that takes me back to my new boss – you remember – the one I haven’t met yet. When I initially interviewed for the job, the hiring manager basically said, “I’ll be hiring this position, but I’m about to take a job in another group and someone else will be your manager.” He spoke highly of the new manager and assured me that the job was secure. So, we get to the start date, and I learn that my new manager is going to be on vacation for the entire week. No big deal, though. We can use email for big questions and have the sit-down meeting next week. Well, this morning, the new manager calls and says she has taken a job in another group and that there will be a new, new manager. So, three days into my new job and I have never actually met my boss. Everyone says he’s a good guy, and I’m sure he is. Everyone says the job is secure in the new, smaller company, so I’m pretty confident that we’ll be fine. Personally, I would just like to meet the man.

But, it’s all part of the fun of working in corporate America. In all truth, this job and even the last four plus years as a whole have been a huge blessing to me and my family. In 2001, we chose to leave the exciting world of local television news where I had been laboring as a local news producer extraordinaire. The job was interesting and there was a certain feeling of power that comes along with determining what stories make it on the air and what stories don’t. You’d be surprised at how much goes on in your community that you just never hear about because the newscast is only 30 to 35 minutes long – unless you’re watching a morning show, in which case the newscast is three hours long and you get to hear every story multiple times. But, the problem with television news is there is really no money in it until you get to the top twenty markets or the network level. Even then, the money isn’t what most people think it will be. Now, I don’t want you to get the impression that I’m all about the money. Television news also boasts terrible hours, the opportunity to work most holidays, and, in general, a group of co-workers that have pretty much given up on humanity and are simply looking to make snide remarks about those with even a touch of faith, hope or optimism. So, in 2001, with a brand new baby and the desire to let my wife be able to stay at home, we made the jump to Big Business.

The transition hasn’t always been smooth, but it has been well worth it. Now, with three kids at home, my wife works the most underappreciated job on the earth – full time mother. She is really good at it. Her days are really long and, just because I get home and start helping, she’s still doing many of the same things until the kids are in bed. However, the perks are unbelievable. The kids love the fact that she’s there with them. They have a relationship with her that is impossible to replicate. In fact, I strongly believe that two-parent, single-income families ought to get a huge tax break if they can prove that one parent is at home, taking care of the kids. The research department tells me a study was done recently that tried to place a job-market value on the role of at-home-parents. In the business world, they would be earning six figures. I don’t doubt that for a second. Two years from now, the kids will be in school. Will my wife go back to work then? I hope that won’t be necessary. I would love it if she could have that quiet time during the day that she will have been without for six years. And, I think we’ll be okay. I can always get a second job. I’m sure the quickie-mart down the street is hiring. Maybe by then I’ll actually have met my boss.