Sigmund Freud. Now there was a man ahead of his time. A century ago his theories of the unconscious mind and defence mechanism of repression made him the Father of Psychoanalysis. In 2008 it seems to me that much of society is a throng of Freudian conflict.
At my place of work, we’ve been short-staffed since a member of the team departed for pastures new a few weeks ago. With budget constraints meaning the vacant post has still to be advertised the pressure on those of us left is intense. The only way to get the work done in the manner it should be is to work overtime and take work home. But there lies the crux of the matter. If we work extra hours and work on tasks at home, giving up precious weekends, then the work gets done. And paying us overtime – or even worse giving us time off in lieu which would be somewhat contradictory given we can’t afford time away from work – is infinitely cheaper than employing a replacement. And with the work getting done it shows we can cope.
So, in the true tradition of Freud, we have decided not take work home. Or work any overtime we don’t want to. Yes, the pressure will intensify as the work piles up. Yes, senior management will ask questions as to why things aren’t getting done. And, yes, things will get uncomfortable. But, in my view, we have to demonstrate that we can’t cope with being one person short. Because we can’t. Already, mistakes are happening that shouldn’t happen and the quality of work has slipped. Working all the hours won’t help that. Given Heart of Midlothian FC’s woeful attempts at playing association football this season, working on a Saturday afternoon is indeed tempting. But I won’t be. Because senior managers will look at the savings made and the work still getting done and think all is dandy. Which, of course, is far from the case.
All very Freudian, admittedly. It brings to mind (no pun intended) the story of a doctor and a lawyer in separate vehicles who collided on Edinburgh’s Queensferry Road. The fault was questionable and both men were badly shaken. The lawyer offered the doctor a drink from his hip flask that the doctor took all too readily, knocking back a couple of large mouthfuls.
As the lawyer started to put the cap back on the flask, the doctor asked “Aren’t you going to have a drink too, to steady your nerves?’
‘Of course I am’ replied the lawyer, ‘After the police get here…..’
At my place of work, we’ve been short-staffed since a member of the team departed for pastures new a few weeks ago. With budget constraints meaning the vacant post has still to be advertised the pressure on those of us left is intense. The only way to get the work done in the manner it should be is to work overtime and take work home. But there lies the crux of the matter. If we work extra hours and work on tasks at home, giving up precious weekends, then the work gets done. And paying us overtime – or even worse giving us time off in lieu which would be somewhat contradictory given we can’t afford time away from work – is infinitely cheaper than employing a replacement. And with the work getting done it shows we can cope.
So, in the true tradition of Freud, we have decided not take work home. Or work any overtime we don’t want to. Yes, the pressure will intensify as the work piles up. Yes, senior management will ask questions as to why things aren’t getting done. And, yes, things will get uncomfortable. But, in my view, we have to demonstrate that we can’t cope with being one person short. Because we can’t. Already, mistakes are happening that shouldn’t happen and the quality of work has slipped. Working all the hours won’t help that. Given Heart of Midlothian FC’s woeful attempts at playing association football this season, working on a Saturday afternoon is indeed tempting. But I won’t be. Because senior managers will look at the savings made and the work still getting done and think all is dandy. Which, of course, is far from the case.
All very Freudian, admittedly. It brings to mind (no pun intended) the story of a doctor and a lawyer in separate vehicles who collided on Edinburgh’s Queensferry Road. The fault was questionable and both men were badly shaken. The lawyer offered the doctor a drink from his hip flask that the doctor took all too readily, knocking back a couple of large mouthfuls.
As the lawyer started to put the cap back on the flask, the doctor asked “Aren’t you going to have a drink too, to steady your nerves?’
‘Of course I am’ replied the lawyer, ‘After the police get here…..’
2 comments:
Yes, I think you are doing the right thing, Management will start thinking they won't need anyone while everyone in your office is killing themselves with work at home and lots of overtime. I hope they will get a new person soon in your office, I know how that is...
I've been in a similar situation myself, single-handedly producing a weekly newspaper for six weeks due to my colleague being absent. And when my colleague came back, all I got from management was a "thank you".
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