Energised in the Fish Factory

It is funny how I have felt energised lately at work. Really odd. For it is all gloom and doom. The changes taking place in the Fish Factory have been forced upon us by mysterious aliens who run the mothership. Except these idiot aliens don't know what communication means and probably had it erased from their dictionaries when they were little alien kiddies. I expect a little exuberance with a black crayon or an unfortunate opportunity of using real scissors when they should of been pulled away before doing any damage. I mean who wants to cut of an alien tentacle by accident. So the things who lead the space ship gave out an enhanced redundancy deal to anyone who fitted the criteria. Which happened to only apply to managers. The aliens expected a 100 per cent take up rate and they nearly got it. Any ordinary savy organization would of said OK, we need to cut costs lets do it in a logical succession management manner. Nope not these nitwits. They went for management posts. So anyone who was over the age of 55, had 15 years service and of management grade were given the choice to leave. Many had taken this choice and in a couple of weeks our management will be pollaxed by half of what it previously was, but I will still be there. Because for a start I didn't fit the criteria I just wasn't old enough, even though I am an old fart. This old fart fell into the slightly younger category of fart so has to stay.

The error of their way it seems they just haven't an understanding on. The decision appears to have been completely made at a financial level. Managers over the age of 55 are generally a wealth of experience and information which can not be bought from a book. But it is not just this, they provide a stability through their long term incumbent positions, a stability which in some cases is admirable having to deal with some pretty lazy employees because there has simply not been the management support to sack them or go through the process of sacking them. For those who don't know the term for this it is called Capability. There is so much comfort which can be gained from asking a question of an experienced manager, one who knows what they are talking about. Let me also state this as with any organization there are also managers who are just as incompetent as the next person, these like their incompetent subordinates are known, and yes again nothing is done. Unfortunately those who are bully's seem to stay on for a long time and make many employees lives a misery.  For we all know bullying and harassment policies are paper tissues used in the toilet and have no teeth. If they did your arse would be pretty raw.

The loss of this great knowledge and experience means there are fewer managers left. The structure of our fish factory is becoming flatter than the earth in the 1800s. We have to chain ourselves together to ensure nobody else falls off the edge into a black abyss. It means those managers who are left have to do twice the job they already do, and the job they already do is twice it used to be anyway, so now it is four times what it once was. It doesn't help at times when you get the feeling of the organization doing it's best to destroy itself with IT which consistently fails. Personally I don't understand why heads have not been rolling on this front. When we have staff sitting at desks ready to work and hours are lost while they watch little blue circles go round and try and contemplate the meaning of life or find a work around to get something to work because the gremlings weren't bright enough to throw a spanner in that particular part of the machine. I am feeling energised  but I have all the reason in the world not to feel energised in the circumstances. Why? Because my boss is going! I do know she works much harder than other bosses at her level but she has a problem of not being able to listen to people, not being able to understand their point of view.  In addition she suffers from a denial syndrome, one which has no doubt kept her in her job for a very long time, because she has denied the knives are out to get her. She has denied the jibes of other bosses or construed to view them in a different way. Unfortunately she has also had the support of a close friend and subordinate manager who in my view has actually been no more than a sycophant, and sycophants like bullies are amongst the most disliked employees about. They employ the art known as back stabbing and do so while smiling into your eyes.

So again I wonder why I have been energised? Perhaps the second reason is because I understand I am more powerful than I every have been. With fewer managers about those who are in place are not just a life blood they are the beating hearts and the bones which keep the body going. And hopefully sometimes the brains. Except of course in my fish factory the brains have gone under the guise of the senior management team. Of which my leaving manager is one of them. A team of people who at times have made disastrous decisions and mistakes which have cost many hundreds of hours of lost working time. Just because they believed they had to bring in an initiative and show they were doing something. However, they would not gather data and consider whether it worked or not, they would just come up with an idea and they would then impose the idea. I had contested these on many occasions but was then ignored. This SMT group suffer from a psychological phenomenon called group think and they are totally oblivious to it. I guess it is what happens when you have people who have worked together 30 plus years.

Anyway, I am energised. Because my voice is now more powerful and I may actually be heard, it is like a freedom and I like it very much. The only thing now is to keep my fingers crossed I don't get a mental break down due to overworking.

A bereavement in the family

Last week Sparkling Eyes lost her mum, she was 84 years old and there was nothing doctors could do to heal her. Her stoma had gotten blocked and she hadn't eaten probably for ten days before she was taken in.  However, this on being admitted the doctors had delegated her to the heart ward. She'd had an erratic heart and they couldn't seem to slow it or control it. A scan was done of her stomach and they found not only was the stoma blocked but a hernia had developed. It was not possible to operate because of her heart.  In addition to these items she already only had 35 percent of just one kidney functioning, she was frail and had lost much weight. For a few days there seemed to be an ongoing battle to sort out the stoma. A doctor Sparkling and L & B man called the Green Mile (after the film) had done his best to digitally remove the blockage. Both Sparkling and L & B man spent days and hours at the hospital by her side, keeping her comfortable, talking and creating a relationship with the nursing staff who were excellent. Then at some point the doctors said no more could be done. The blockage was not clearing and through many hours of very ill health morphine was administered to keep her comfortable. She passed away on 04.02.16. at approximately 10:20 a.m. maybe a few minutes earlier.  I was on a train at this time and began my journey from Kings Cross to Scotland. It has been a very sad and trying time for Sparkling, however she has not as yet had a good hard cry. Once or twice she has been tearful but is doing her best to hold it together to support her brother.

It is odd when someone passes away, for I would see Sparkling's mother nearly every time I went to see Sparkling. So now a mortal human being who has been part of my life for a long time is no longer here.  There is something though which was must be said, she loved every one of her offspring and did her small best to help them whenever she could. Whether it be giving money to them, being a listening ear when needed or being disapproving. She did what she thought she was best to do. Her body was left to medical science and Sparkling and L & B man are executors of her estate. Unfortunately Sparkling tells me L & B while dealing with the estate has been manic and shown the less appealing aspects of his personality, which I'll not go into.

We all have a single mortal coil to this planet and it is best to use it fully for once it is over there is nothing left except the memories and legacies we leave behind. The more I have considered this episode the more I have realised the reality of life smile and leave them happy, touch those people you love with as much affection as you can, and some people will always give more than they get in return.