Connected 24 x 7 (Photography 101/Day 6)

 

Being connected has its ups and downs. As a mom, I feel comforted knowing I can reach my children when they are away from home. As a wife, knowing that I can call my husband and remind him that we need milk while he is at the grocery store makes my life much easier. But as an employee, being connected comes with baggage.

Like many professionals, I feel an unspoken expectation that I need to be reachable, even on my days off. This not only includes phone calls, but e-mails and instant messaging. It seems there is no escape from the possibility that at any given moment, I am expected to be back “on the job”,  a feeling that negates some of the benefits of being away in the first place.

Even if your employer is not that demanding (and mine really isn’t), as employees there is an addiction to being connected 24 x 7.  It’s part ego and part insecurity. We never want to find out that our employer, boss, or team can actually get along without us.

The umbilical cord that connects us with our employer also connects us to our co-workers through social media. We are Facebook Friends, LinkedIn, and Twitter mates. Personally, I think it is unhealthy to be that connected with the people I work with, especially my manager. While most interactions are harmless, we all know people whose opinions are so ‘out there’ that it affects how we feel about them as a co-worker. And heaven forbid we get too carried away with our own posts our of fear of what our office mate might think.

Connections are like bridges, joining us together, and that is not a bad thing. But even  bridges have limits: times when they may be crossed, limits to what is brought from one side to the next. Our personal connections need some limits too

 

 

 

 

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Expectations

I am not bi-polar or clinically depressed. I don’t suffer from panic attacks or excessive fears. But there are days like yesterday where I feel like the world is pressing down on me, crushing me into the ground.

Monday Morning Blues

Monday’s may not be anyone’s favorite day of the week, but I absolutely hate them. Monday should be a day I  gently slide back into the routine of real life, which for me is my job. I am the lead  business analyst of a large project with many problems. Our delivery date will not be met, yet no one will admit it. My team is inexperienced and needs lots of guidance. My boss  lives in some sort of fantasy world where I am Superwoman and I will save the day (so that mere mortals like herself can sleep well at night), so telling her things are bad doesn’t do much good. And countless project managers who cannot see past the end of their MS Project Plan. Instead of a gentle breeze, Monday blows in like a May tornado, hitting quick and hard, leaving  a trail of debris that needs to be cleaned up.   Between 7:00 am and 9:00 am, I will  have at least two meetings. My e-mail inbox  will include new items to be concerned about, take care of, or do myself. My task list grows longer each day and my inability to complete anything holds up other people from completing their tasks.  I am literally the clog at the bottom of the funnel.  And as I look ahead to the rest of the week, I see no hope of things improving. Monday has barely begun and I am defeated.

For anyone reading this, I’m sorry this is nothing more than a rant and a woe-is-me pity-party. It’s been a week since I last blogged (due to work travel) and I felt I needed to post something. This was all I could muster.  Feel free to add your own “I hate Monday” post. Misery loves company!

Off to my first meeting!

Infidelity

Have you ever thought of cheating on your significant other? Not the juicy extra-marital kind. I am talking about the other significant partner in your life – your employer. I’ll be honest. Things are not going well between me and my employer “M”. There is a lot of stress in the relationship. “M” demands too much out of me. I feel like all my time is spent with “M” with nothing left for me. “M” makes irrational demands, sometimes telling me to do one thing and then telling me I need to do something else. Our once exciting relationship now bores me. I can hardly wait to say good bye at the end of the day.