Not everyone is going to get along. Life is not that simple. I wish it were. No matter how much we try, we aren’t all going to get along. I have had the same job for 16 years. Through all those years, I have come to know many people. Some (if not many) people I wish I hadn’t. I am not saying these are bad people. In their own right, they are probably good. They just strike a nerve with me. I am (or I like to think I am) a pretty laid back kind of guy. I take most things with stride. I never really was one to panic. But as of lately, that has changed. It last for a bit. I’ll calm myself, view the situation I am in and fix it. Things go wrong. Nothing will ever go right. You can plan, you can look at every angle but no matter what, something will eff it up.
I wasn’t one to complain about work. Lately, I d0. A lot. I really do like my job. I don’t want to say my job is stressful or it is the hardest job there is, but it can be overwhelming at times. In my line of work, everything is based on timing. You are on a constant schedule. One mishap and things can go to hell. But again, you have to adjust everything to fix it. For instance, we cater lunch to 5 (four at the moment) different schools. Cooking can begin as early as 4am. If you start late on that then lunch will be late and then instore business will take the fall. Everything has to be timed. My job is all based on timing. There is no time for error.
Sadly, we hit them. I have never said I was perfect nor are the other people I work with. I like to think that I am. I always joked with a friend that we were perfect. But with errors, blame is brought up and fingers get pointed. No one wants to be the one at fault. I’d hate to know that I eff’ed something up. If I do, I’ll take the heat. There have been issues when it has been my fault. And when it was, I said so. But no one wants to be blamed for something. It makes you feel small. But with what we do, everyone plays a part in the workings of this huge undertaking we brought on ourselves. If you do eff’ed up, don’t point the finger else where. Swallow your pride and take the heat. Learn from your errors.
Back on to this account we acquired. You have 4 different schools. It comes to about 1800 mouths to feed. That’s a lot of people. You have to measure the amount of food you send. You don’t want to send too little and you don’t want to send too much. Sending more is fine. It’s a nice cushion to have but also it means you’re throwing away food that doesn’t need to be. We (mainly I) have to spend more time cooking. If I send 26 pans instead of 29, that save me at least 30 minutes. Those 30 minutes help out me, the delivery drivers, the morning cook, and the servers at the school. I will say it again, everything we do is based on time and teamwork.
Ah, teamwork. It is something we are lacking. Before we brought this “burden” (not really a burden, but sometimes feels like it) on us, it was a staff of 11. Now, we are a staff of 22. That’s 11 more people thrown into our tiny space. You can’t say sparks aren’t going to fly. Not everyone is going to click and be BFF’s. I wish it was that simple. But life isn’t. Work is not one big happy family. I like many people I work with. Those I don’t, I just don’t take the time to be buddy-buddy with them. I’ll talk to them if need be, but to share stories or my deepest secrets, you can bet your sweet ass I won’t be doing that.
Teamwork is something we need. We need to have some sort of alliance between these two sides. It’s like I am trying to come out and say work is broke between two groups. The good and the bad. (be three, but no one there is really that ugly). When you work with people on a daily basis, you become more than just co-workers. Friendship form and love can blossom. I have seen it happen many times. I have many friendships through work and had a relationship once. That went sour. Everyone wants a pal at work. Someone they can talk to. Someone they can vent to about work and all it’s foibles. At least at my job, work is broken between many groups. You have a group that hang out together. This group is angry at another group for being such and such. Then another person is angry at that person. That person is cool with someone else but that someone else is mad at the same person. It’s a never ending cycle. It’s almost to the point of, “who do you trust?”
Who can we trust? You might confine in someone about another employee but be unaware that this person is friends with the one you’re angry with. Rumors spread. Secrets spill out and then you have an all out war. Which is what work feels like at the moment. It’s a f**king war. I’ve been the peacemaker. But sometimes you can only take so much before you crack. People become guilty by assocciation. If I hate you and like John, you’ll probably hate John cause John and I are friends. I once created a graphs of who I can and can’t talk to about things. I might have been wrong on some of it but thinking about it and looking back over it, I think it was pretty good. I know who was friends with who. I knew what people talk to each other. I know who likes to gossip and start rumors. I know who I can trust and who want go out and tell someone just to start drama.
I hate drama. But drama keeps my job alive. I am not putting myself on a pedestal. I know I probably cause drama, spread rumors, and started crap. I wish I hadn’t. I wish I can just go to work, do my job and go home. But this just cannot be avoided. I will take blame for what work has become. I hope others do too. If you don’t take blame, then you’re probably lying. Lord knows, how much I hate liars.
We need teamwork. As much as I would hate to shake hands, wave the white flag, sign on a treaty, whatever. I just want this crap to end. It’s not just draining me but everyone else. I see it in everyone. No one wants to help the other person out. No one wants to take blame for anything. No one wants to give 110%. We want to work our 8 hours and go home. We expect everyone else to do it. We expect it to be, “it’s your job, not mine”. But again, we are a team. We are not an all for one. If we continue to work alone and not as team, things will never improve and the morale we once had, will cease to exsist.
I am not being preachy. I am stating the facts. Everyone I work with is to blame for what our department has become. There is no trust. There is no one reaching out to help the other. And those that do help others, will help the ones they like but not the ones they hate. I am guilty of that too. I work a lot of hours and I get tired too. I would like help too. I want to see people reach out and say, “hey what can I do to help you out?” Cause frankly, it’s to the point to if you don’t help me out, I am not helping you out. And it’s a snowball effect. When you don’t help me out, others will follow suit and not you as well. Then you don’t help them. It will never end.
I guess this really didn’t turn out how I wanted. I was really aiming for talking about work (reader and writer views)but it turned into a rant about work. I am sorry. But this is how I feel about work. It’s a stressful place to be at the moment. We began this account strong. We started with group efforts but now we’re a mess. I don’t know if there is a fix to this. Maybe there isn’t. Maybe we’re a lost cause. But if I take the effort (which I cannot guarantee) to change and try to make work someplace enjoyable for all, then I ask for others to do the same. I spoke earlier with an employee about telling others to eff off. Maybe not the smartest thing but as I said earlier, there are people I just don’t get along with. If we all stop for a second and try to be a team player, maybe things will be easier. But that’s probably asking too much.
I like to blog. I blog so you can read it. When I am not blogging, I like to write. I write about necrophilia, murderers, and bunnies. Oh, I like food too.
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