I was offered a more challenging and better compensated position. I accepted. I will remain part time until I finish school in January, but I’m no longer employed by the Commission for Women. I’m now working for the Commission on Economic Policy. For the rest of the year I will be working on the financial feasibility of certain sustainability policies throughout the county, from air quality to wildlife preservation. I will actually be making policy as opposed to merely analyzing it.
My new office is in a brand new building, a building where the stench of fresh paint, new carpet, and electrical wires, is at times overwhelming. Also overwhelming, or possibly the term is overbearing, are the human resource department heads.
Having never had direct contact with HR at the Commission on Women (the offices were in a different area of the city, far from the HR base office), it is jarring to see everyone in the same place, and the various heads of the HR departments around every corner.
HR hires the pool of people who act as research or administrative assistants for those of us who work in any of a number of offices or commissions here. They do not hire the researchers, analysts, attorneys, commissioners, and so on. Those positions are elected, or filled with department head hires like me. Despite having no jurisdiction over us, our work is often made easier, or more difficult, because of HR’s decisions.
I went to the office on Tuesday, scheduled an afternoon meeting with Denise (my assistant), and attended a meeting. When I returned to the office the head of the department that doles out assignments had determined that I needed a different assistant. This women felt it best to assign me an older more experienced assistant, now that I was working for the economic policy commission. In other words, when I walked in that morning she saw how young I was and wrongly decided that my assistant should be older than me. This is the same person who has been assigning Denise to me all along, but has never seen me in person. I’ve worked with Denise almost exclusively for the past year. We work well together. She is part time and has been following my work schedule..Though she wasn’t exclusively mine, there was no reason to change this set-up.
Despite my protests, my explanation that it was not necessary, that it was actually inconvenient and would hinder my work (at least initially), the woman won’t budge. This is such a misguided mother knows best power play that I’m having a hard time understanding it. Though I know I could easily get this taken care of behind her back with a phone call, I can’t seem to go there.
What is misery if it can’t be shared?
Peace
Tags: career, follies, human resources, misery, stress, work
I’d want to get all hoity-toity and tell her “look lady I’m a friggin analyst — you hire secretaries” “give me my girl back”…geesh.
Because it’s not your style the axe is a good idea.
ben´s last blog ..Ways of Seeing
That would relieve some tension.
Well, congrats anyway on the new position.
Sterling (Chip) Camden´s last blog ..Regex Anglorum
Hey, Sterling nice to see you again.
I’d settle for an assistant of any kind.
It’s a similar set up at my firm. The resource pool, marketing, and public relations are HR, the rest are different hire mostly academic based. Here the HR people get touchy because they don’t feel respected, so it’s not worth it to tangle with them. Let them win, or pretend to respect, them and you can better get what you want from them.
Good idea.
Don’t sweat it.
My assistants switch around all the time. No consistency. There are times that I have to do my own assisting, when I have no assistant (technically called a bar-back), it all works out.
;)
g´s last blog ..Another Potential Money Maker
Sometime you make me smile so hard my cheeks hurt.
Hopefully HR doesn’t know about your blog or you run the risk of being dooced for even airing your grief. Seems the sweet is often accompanied by the bitter. Congrats on the promotion — sounds like important work you’re doing.
I also don’t know what it feels like to have an assistant (I’m kind of a one-off in my department and thus report directly to the Engineering Director); hopefully the new assistant will be competent, friendly, and respect your talented brains over your youthful beauty.
HR can’t fire me, I am not their employee on any level. I know that sounds arrogant but it’s a fact. I do respect the work they do, but I think this women took proving her power a little far.
I doubt it will bother me for more than a day or two, but having met with , the assistant she wants to assign to me next week, I am not satisfied with the arrangement.
Well, first of all, congratulations on your new position. Ain’t you fancy?
Second, welcome to the wonderful world of HR. This is one reason I’ve avoided working anywhere big enough to have such an office since I was at The Carter Center in the mid-90s.
Doug´s last blog ..Scimitar
Not fancy — just hope to one day be able to consult while surfing in Tahiti. A necessary change.
I can’t see you putting up with an HR department overstuffed with “managers”.
I love them though, really I do.
Ah, an “I WANT MY LITTLE OFFICE IN OBSCURE LOCATION BACK” moment.
Sometimes you just have to move on. In this case I don’t think it unfair of you to request the same assistant. Request not demand. Request in writing.
Twice.
Then forget it, unless you absolutely can’t work with the one assigned to you.
Ah, an “I WANT MY LITTLE OFFICE IN OBSCURE LOCATION BACK” moment.
You got that right Joe.
Congratulations!
I find that HR people often make any endeavour more difficult rather than easier. It’s too easy for them to think that HR is the central business rather than a support to the central business.
ChrisJ´s last blog ..There Are Busy Bees in Them Thar Woods
yea noticed that. It as nice when I had nothing to do with the office at all, and I never did anything but call in my needs from my office on the other side of town or from home. This office is much larger and the building is brand spanking new, a floor with a research library and so on, but I actually am only in the office a couple of days a week. The rest of the time except for meetings I will be doing the work at home.
The good thing about teaching is no HR, the bad thing about teaching is there is no HR.
I’d approach her again at least one more time. When you are doing the kind of work you do it seems that it would be beneficial to keep the synchronized work relationship going if it’s worked so far.
kait´s last blog ..Love My Calvin
There was really no reason for it.
She didn’t think you needed an older more experienced assistant when working for women because what…women don’t matter?
That’s off track I know, but it just came to me that the excuse of her’s is weak.
I am considering starting a blog when I start my residency. Can’t do it now but maybe during residency — if I get one.
There is something to be said for not seeing (in person) the people you are supplying manpower to.
That would be interesting Gills .
See I told you, you are going places. You handled the situation more maturely than you appear too I recon.
Bathwater´s last blog ..Chevelle
It’s not that big of a jump but it is necessary for me to do more all encompassing things as time goes on.
Good job on the new job. Hope you like it. If you do any work on health care policy, definitely let us know on here.
Chris´s last blog ..Its All About Efficiency
I will be sure to let you know, I don’t foresee it in this current position, or at least what I am working on through October.
Though I have been contacted by a state representative to analyse some state policies and give a summary and review. It is an extra piece of resume building, no real policy making.
I still have a term of school left.
The reason I like our HR is that they are remote.
That is a nice job to get while still in school.
Remote does have it’s perks.
Congrats!
Stage a sit down strike. Since that won’t work – welcome to the world of total bureaucracy
You might try explaining that you already have a mother who gives you twin sets. As that won’t work, and you don’t won’t to come off as discriminating against older women (we all know you don’t, but…) try to make sure Denise gets a really great boss, and maybe in a couple of months you could switch if you still want her back.…
I can’t wait until you run the world
I had to finish up some work for my old job and start some work for this one and I believe I’ll be using Denise again next week. I groveled slightly, that and the women they assigned me had no logical analysis skills, and was not much into research — unlike Denise. The HR actually understood that the assistants with Denise’s qualifications are to be assigned to the analysts, so I’m not sure why she missed the boat on this one.
It will work out. The HR people at the company I worked for before starting my own firm were in the basement — that helped a lot.
I bet you get her back.
jacob´s last blog ..Tiger back at Bridgestone Invitational
You’re so smart.
A friend of mine just started working in HR at a hospital here. She said their whole department is on the sub basement.