I don't know what's going on with my mood lately. Feeling flat, disinterested and disconnected.
We've had 2 days training as part of the new role at work, though there is more to come. The next lof of training will be more specialised though, what we've had is what the front line people get.
Only problem is, most of the people doing the front line role have been doing a related role for years. Several in our team had the training (2 or 3 years ago) for the related role, but then haven't had anything to do with that role since. Basically office politics meant we weren't able to get access to the required systems so it wasn't possible to keep up or practice. So this new role has new systems but a lot of the technical troubleshooting is the same. All very well if you've been doing that related role, but for the handful of people who haven't (ie: me!) we're a bit lost. Two days of being shown the new systems and then we're let loose on the phones.
The other thing, is that one of the new systems seems like it is really poorly designed. To get something as basic as name/address/date of birth to do an id check, you have to go through 4 different levels to get to these details. As an example, if you had someone ask a question about their plan - say 'when is my contract up', and 'is my service currently active', you'd have to view about 12 different sections. I don't know if it's because I'm unfamiliar with navigating it, or if it is poorly designed but in the billing system we've used for my original role (which we are still doing by the way), you could see all that information in two sections.
I think part of my disconnected feelings come from that. I don't think that's completely it though. Even though I'm feeling like I'm floundering, I can see that it won't be like it forever. I'm getting the hang of the basics and the technical side of it (particularly with the other training to come) really interests me. The geek in me must be coming out, because I'm fascinated by the details like line attenuation and signal to noise ratio. I have to say I'm liking it way more than the line faults role as well.
The team event that I've spoken of before was also on tonight. I didn't end up going. I was going to, but coming home today, I felt so tired and completely and thoroughly disinterested that I just couldn't face the thought of driving over an hour, in Friday night traffic, to see a movie in a genre that I dislike. I tried to nap for a little beforehand but I couldn't shut down my thoughts to rest.
Anyway, this mood has been here for a few days. Not sure what exactly is causing it, but I'm hoping that voicing it here will be a bit cathartic. To be totally honest, I feel like I just want to curl up in a little ball, in a dark room and be alone for a while. I can't do that at home (Chickie won't even let me go the bathroom by myself, some days) and I'm pretty sure people would get a little concerned if I hid under my desk at work.
I'm sure I'll be back to my usual self soon. As they say "This too, shall pass".
6 comments:
If the systems you're using at work are anything like ours, they're poorly designed.
The company spent three years and six million dollars to get a new database for us to use. The old one worked like a charm and if there was a problem with it, my team leader could fix it. The new one still doesn't work properly after eight or nine months of it being cut over.
maybe yes... and maybe no!... Perhaps you need a bit of time to youself these days.
Take it easy and do something in particular just for you... like a manicure or facial. At least you have an hour to yourself.
I used to hide under my desk sometimes if I wanted some peace and quiet. Mind you, I was 19 and pretty cute, and pretty sure I could get away with anything.
These days, they'd haul me out and toss me in a psych van.
I think it's very important to have a couple of hours to yourself each day, especially if things are difficult at work, or things are changing. Take it when you can.
I used to work witha couple of guys that used to kip under their desks during breaks. One actually used to kneel at his desk and answer the phone from there. They were probably two of the hardest workers in our department, and that's not saying we're lazy either.
On the other hand, I've worked with people that would go and have a lie down in the locker room for a while. They were lucky they got made redundant and didn't just get the sack.
Sorry about the mood : )
Thanks everyone. I think you're right, some time to myself sounds good. I have Friday, Saturday and Monday as my days off this week (roster changeover, if it wasn't for the fact that Sunday is double time and there'd be no one to cover the shift, I'd take that as annual leave an have a 4 day weekend) - Friday and Monday I'll have the whole days to myself. So, I need suggestions for some me time! I like the facial idea Izzy. Haven't had one of those in a long time. What do you guys do with your 'me time'?
Oh and steve - after a few more days of using it, I'm thinking our system is poorly designed. It just seems like things are all over the place and things that are related are viewable in 4 different places. How frustrating that new database of yours must be - particularly if your TL is no longer able to fix stuff. As for the workmates that used to snooze on the job, I used to have a workmate who would line up several chairs, use a phone book as a pillow, put his headset on and have a snooze. This was on the overnight shift though, when it was very rare to have any calls.
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