Work

I've been quiet on the blogging front, until today. I have been tired all week, probably with going to Teesside for 2 days and having stuff on my mind and finding it hard to sleep for a few days. Not knowing what is happening with my units merger with Teesside it's becoming annoying, no one is telling us anything. Exactly what I said would happen and highlighted in our meeting shouldn't happen.

There is now only one person in Teesside to merge with because the other person got a new job on Monday but doesn't actually start until January. From what I understand the remaining person does not want to come to Durham at all. I can sort of understand this, I don't want to go over Teesside 2 days a week either but I am having to. So by the same standards she should have to come over to Durham at least 1 day a week to see how we work, while there are still other staff in Teesside to cover. It seems that Teesside are being looked after more than Durham at the moment and everyone in Durham QAU has said the same thing. The person who doesn't want to come to Durham wouldn't have to travel any further or longer in time, unlike myself and my line manager. I am guessing it's just because she is used to working in Teesside and knows everyone and will be out of her comfort zone until she gets to know everyone else. Double standards seem to be applying at the moment!

I am totally skint at the moment, going to Teesside isn't helping. Having to pay for parking and using more petrol in 2 days than I normally would in an entire week. I will get to claim this back but I wont get it until the end of November, 8 weeks from when I started travelling there. I asked for stuff like this to be sorted out before we went there, but it hasn't. I daren't drive anywhere this weekend because I know I wont have enough money to put petrol in the car twice before pay day.

I did get some good news yesterday, the pay reviews have been agreed and we should receive letters in the next 2 weeks with the details. I guess then I will know whether I am leaving or not. If I don't receive a resonable increase and hear more information on the merger I AM LEAVING, just in time for the new year. Hopefully this wont be nescessary but I am fed up with the stuff I have been through the last few months and the stuff we are going through now.

I was listening to 2 managers talking, who were sat on spare desks next to me. They said that people in a meeting the day before were impressed that unlike other areas our staff weren't negative are were very positive. I had to bite my tongue not to tell them to actually open their eyes are ears. Management really do appear to have no idea how the staff are actually feeling. I have heard 3 seperate PO's in the last week say how totally fed up they are and are looking at their career options. All 3 normally love their jobs and are some of the hardest working, not just saying that because they are friends. I have spoke to a lot of other staff in the last 2 weeks at different levels and all are very down because of work and have no idea where they stand. The Chief is trying to be very open which is a good idea, but telling people something then not telling them any detail just makes things worse. Staff are then left not knowing where they stand for weeks/months. It just creates negativity and bad feeling because people are left in limbo.

One of the managers said if people were negative then what were they doing working for us they should leave. If all the people who are negative and feeling fed up at the moment left there seriously would be no one left. I haven't heard anyone being positive except for a handful of senior mangers, everyone certainly isn't. Maybe we should create an area where staff can anonymously write blogs of how they are feeling and express their views, maybe then management might actually then realise just how bad feeling is at the moment through out the area. The staff survey is pointless and is hardly anonymous with the questions it asks.

The last thing I will mention is the amount of staff pissed off about a new building in Durham where many staff will be moving to next year. There is hardly anywhere to park (10 spaces I believe), so people will have to pay for either car parking fees or the Park and Ride. This will add a minimum of £8.50 per person a week (park and ride) and considerable amounts of time. It's also impracticle for some staff who leave the office throughout the day for visits. It's another thing adding to bad feeling at the moment. This doesn't effect me in slightest but if managers think staff are happy at the moment they are living on another planet (wake up and smell the shit).