My Full Time Job

I’ve taken a “full time” job. After 12 years of being my own boss with my office in my home, I have decided to work in an office outside of my home and adhere to regular hours.

When self employed, I could do what I wanted to do when I wanted to do it. It was possible, thanks to technology, to be shopping or at the baseball game and still take calls and tend to a little business in the process. If I knew I would be “at” the office all day, I could work in cut offs and a tee shirt with no socks and deck shoes. I could listen to music I like in the background.

All that is in the past. Now I have to be at work by 8 am and leave not earlier than 5 pm with an hour for lunch. Of course I get “comp” time for any extra hours worked, paid holidays, paid vacation, and, I think, sick leave. I haven’t been sick in ten years (fingers crossed).

I am supplied an office and all the equipment that goes with it. In addition, there are other employees to interact with and to assist me when needed.

At home, it was just the cat and me and the cat is not a very good typist. But we did talk to each other and I believe we developed a mutual understanding in spite of language barriers. Oops, sorry; I digress.

Those working in my area probably think I’m the dumbest person ever to occupy a nearby office. I’ve been there a week and nobody can make my telephone ring. Instead of Outlook Express, my employer uses Outlook. No offense, but Express is much easier and does the same basic thing.

I now use a copy machine that does everything but pat me on the rear. At home, I have a real Xerox copier. It does what it is supposed to do. It makes copies. The office machine copies, sorts, staples, collates, and on and on and on. It took me four days to figure that if I just want one copy, I can put the original in and press the copy button. Prior to that I was spending two to three minutes going through the complicated menu and cussing (silently) over each step.

On my first day at work, I wanted to print something I had typed. I have a printer by my computer. So when I finished typing, I pressed print and waited. Nothing happened. I checked to make sure the printer was on and it was. So I decided to try again, nothing happened. In desperation I called for help and one of the young ladies showed me what to do. To my amazement I can access six different printers with my computer and I was not using the printer by my desk. Now I know.

As a sole proprietor, I wrote letters and memos and sent them out. Now everything must be approved and everybody must agree on the wording and punctuation before it gets sent out. That’s alright as long as I can remember who is supposed to approve what.

Don’t get me wrong. I like my new job and I love the people I am working with. I know I can do the job and do it well. But there sure are a lot of little obstacles I must master to be 100% efficient.

I hope that happens soon....and I know the employees do too.