Thursday 1 November 2007

And I’m still annoyed this morning…

31 October 2007 was not an auspicious day here.

On Tuesday I emailed a surgeon about my mother. A bit of a cheek as I haven’t spoken to him for a year or so, but I needed some questions to be answered by someone who wouldn’t avoid them, and he’s a lovely person. He replied at some length (laboriously as he types with one finger) and also said if I rang him on Wednesday, he would phone back when he was out of theatre.

Unfortunately Wednesday, yesterday, was to be set aside for training a man who needed to use our database for a specific project, so I couldn’t easily accept calls.

The trainee, let’s call him P, turned up an hour late. He asked if could I leave him to go through the database (at my machine) on his own as he would feel stupid if I was looking over his shoulder. I fondly imagined he meant to familiarise himself with it before embarking on the course. Every time I suggested we start, he stalled.

When he eventually said that this was just a good opportunity for him to work on his own, away from the office, I moved him from my desk to another, luckily not being used, so that at least I would be able to get on with my own work. And then he dropped it casually into the conversation that he was thinking about applying for my job.

So I wasted a load of time preparing for the training, missed my telephone call, was displaced from my desk for no good reason, got very little done, and this morning I’ve come in to find P’s manager quizzing me as to how the training went yesterday.

I am sufficiently annoyed to be brutally honest.

5 comments:

  1. Wow, that is bare faced cheek. You are going to have to work out how to outwit him - or pre-empt him by moving on yourself before he gets the chance.

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  2. I know at this time it is not what you really want to be concern with, but after reading an article about a study on perception of women in management, I think you should be concerned. I can't find the article now.

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  3. Hmm yeah. Unpleasant but i would probably check the assumptions on real intent behind the initiation of the training first as i can see potential for misinterpretation. Applying for your job? As in, to do the same job like an extra head-count/hand that can help out or to displace you and get you fired? Maybe you're up for a promotion? Anywayz, i don't know much about your working environment. Wouldn't keep quiet and alone. Sounds like something that needs to get discussed and cleared out. Good luck.

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  4. It's all become very complicated with internal politics. I'm keeping well out of the way. He isn't in a month of Sundays likely to get my job, that much I do know.

    Hathor, if you do come across that article, do let me have the link. I'd be interested to read it.

    aka r'aquel, it was P's boss who first asked me to train P, who then rang to ask if I would prefer to go to him (3 hour drive away) or for him to come to me. He sounded quite keen at the time.

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