board77

We all need someplace safe to share frustrations where there will be no judgement.

b77 is the only real place like that for me, but starting a new topic just for me alone seemed a bit off. I thought a general grrrrrrr thread for everyone wouldn’t go amiss.

I’ll post my own frustration later - don’t want to start my day with a rant.

Okay, I'm in. I was working extra this morning. Occasionally, I do that where I still work the bench for a few hours on a Saturday or Sunday morning to cover shifts.

Well, I am supposed to work hematology, coag, molecular, urinalysis; however, our hospital computer system had a downtime sometime overnight and then it stopped talking to our blood bank computer system. Since I am the blood bank technical specialist, it was a good thing I was at work actually this morning. I spent my morning troubleshooting IT issues instead of actually doing lab work, which I did want to do today. (I mean, I did some, but when 8 sites can't do blood bank that becomes the priority.)

I guess the good thing about this is that I did talk to the big boss quite a bit today, and she said she is working to get us a raise! So I'm pretty happy about that. Plus, I earned brownie points, I think.

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That would be frustrating! There’s a certain amount of mental preparation involved in doing a particular task, even subconsciously, and to have an abrupt change… suddenly you have to flip your whole mindset. Even if you do get the new job done, the payoff or mental congratulations you give yourself isn’t quite the same as if you had finished the job you were meant to do.

I think you've just nailed my mood for today. I have serious imposter syndrome going on, and it is partly because I get pulled in so many directions that my mind is having to constantly shift gears. That means I can't focus worth shit on anything, and I feel like I don't know anything.

I just spent all of today at work thinking, "I'm going to lose my job when they find out how much I don't know." Coupled with, "Can you really do this job? Is your brain too old? Do you have the beginnings of a cognitive decline? Why don't you know if they should order molecular testing for that dad to see if he's Jka positive in order to know if the OB doctor should be really worried about the baby whose mom has the anti-Jka titer of 16 OR if phenotyping with our antisera is good enough? Oh, I know why. YOU'RE NOT QUALIFIED FOR THIS JOB!"

In any case, it's time for me to go to bed, but you haven't shared your rant, Estel. ((Hugs))

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Hey, whaddya know, I was also gonna post my frustration at feeling like I don't know anything at my job. In 2021, I left a job that I knew I was very good at. The best really. And I was widely respected in the company for being the best at what I did. I switched to my current company for a job that should in theory have been basically the same thing. But it turned out this job is vastly more complicated and requires an absurd amount of knowledge and 1.5 years in I still don't know how to do most things. I've gone from feeling like a valued expert to a mediocre idiot. It's led to a major drop in satisfaction in what I do.

My managers seem to be happy with the job I'm doing, and my pay is much better than before, but it doesn't change that work feels frustrating far more often than it feels satisfying.

Awww. I really empathize, obviously. I'm a year in, and I know I know more than I did when I started, but I still feel like I don't know anything.

Yeah. ((Hugs)) FWIW, I have no doubt you're doing fabulously, though.

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I'm trying to decide what my next move should be. My current job is coasting along and unlikely to go anywhere. It gives me complete freedom which I use (and abuse) to the full. It allows me to indulge my passion for Theater, and I'm currently directing the Irish Amateur Premier of "The Phantom of the Opera", and getting paid for it! However, the job has zero satisfaction.

I have been in conversation about a move into a technical sales role that would add up to 30% to my salary (depending on meeting targets, which I don't have now) but would be an unknown in terms of flexibility. I would also need to spend a day a week in Dublin, at least initially (its about a 2.5hr drive)

I'm 53. My intention is to take voluntary redundancy sometime before I hit 65 if the opportunity arises. If I do, my redundancy will be calculated at the higher level should I take the job. Note, nobody has offered me the job, but they are making the right noises about next time a role opens up.

So do I keep my head down, enjoy the freedom and flexibility, and hope my directing side job is more successful, or do I leap into the unknown and risk everything for a potentially more rewarding role both mentally and financially? Hmmm

Oooh, that is a tough choice, especially as we get older. Having made a huge leap and change in my career just about a year ago, I can relate. You can see me expressing the downside of it above, but I also really do like the job and only think about moving back to the bench when I'm feeling particularly stressed or out of my depth. The bench tech job is a much easier job, but it is also less fulfilling.

((Hugs)) I hope you have clarity on what decision to make. It sounds like either choice is not wrong, so it's just trying to figure out which would make you happier.

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If you take this new job, would it significantly cut into your ability to do theatre work?

Three questions come to mind:

- does your current job give you zero job satisfaction, or negative job satisfaction? Meaning, are you just kinda bored and indifferent, or are you sick of doing what your doing?

- what does complete freedom mean exactly? Do you not have things like a set schedule or specific work goals you're required to meet?

- does a more sales oriented position sound exciting to you, or is appeal more about the extra cash? Sales sounds like a nightmare job to me but you were always the resident extroverted people-person so it likely has less horror connotations for you.

It's a tough choice for sure. FWIW, if you *want* that extra challenge, go for it. You've got over 10 years until retirement, it's a lot of boring workdays to endure.

That said, I genuinely believe that it's OK not to want this kind of change. We are conditioned to look for challenges and rewards in the workplace, but you have theater for that.

Can you still retire comfortably without that boost to your income?

Can you find out ahead of time if the new position would interfere with the theater? If it does, will the job provide enough satisfaction to compensate?

Jude wrote: *

Wed 18 Jan , 2023 2:02 pm

If you take this new job, would it significantly cut into your ability to do theatre work?

I don't know. That's part of the issue

yovargas wrote: *

Wed 18 Jan , 2023 3:57 pm

Three questions come to mind:

- does your current job give you zero job satisfaction, or negative job satisfaction? Meaning, are you just kinda bored and indifferent, or are you sick of doing what your doing?

- what does complete freedom mean exactly? Do you not have things like a set schedule or specific work goals you're required to meet?

- does a more sales oriented position sound exciting to you, or is appeal more about the extra cash? Sales sounds like a nightmare job to me but you were always the resident extroverted people-person so it likely has less horror connotations for you.

Just kinda bored
I have work to get done but nobody cares how or when I do it
Its not really sales as such, its providing tech assistance to sales engineers to help them make their sales. Cash is part of it for sure, but also just a change of focus

Frelga wrote: *

Thu 19 Jan , 2023 5:38 am

Can you still retire comfortably without that boost to your income?

Can you find out ahead of time if the new position would interfere with the theater? If it does, will the job provide enough satisfaction to compensate?

Yeah moneys not an issue, plus if I get a few paid directing gigs a year it would probably even out
No, that's really the issue, and no, nothing could compensate for that. I work to live. I live for theatre.

It sounds to me like the main thing is whether it will interfere with your theatre work. Can you find that out before you make any moves?

Its not the best look in a job interview. "So is this gonna interfere with all my extracurricular activities..."

But that's the important question, isn't it. It sounds like the answer would affect the risk/benefit ratio for you.

You could ask about scheduling flexibility, assuming you are able to do 40 hours worth of work even with the extracurriculars. Or mention previous time commitments, although I suppose it's riskier.

I had a coworker back in the 90s who did amateur theater, and she had an agreement that she'd be able to take time off and also take a nap in an empty office. Granted, it was a non-profit, and they were happy to provide perks if it meant they could get staff for less salary. So, not applicable to the Al situation.

Would you be able to go back to your old job (or something like it) if the new one didn't work out? I do think it's reasonable to ask about the work schedule. I'm thinking of my field, but I would guess that providing tech assistance to sales people would be a pretty 9-5ish job, with flexibility in there*. There's the travel aspect, too, but I would expect you get reimbursed for mileage. (I do.) So if you're meeting with clients or if you're on call for when they're meeting with clients, I don't see that taking up the whole work day, nor do I see that taking up after hours too much. But you'd have to find out those things for sure.

*Just spent the day with 3 Ortho/Quidel reps yesterday. They met me at my office at 10. We had a discussion and tour of the lab. We went to lunch, and then went to another lab for a repeat of the morning. They were on their way home by 3.30. One lives nearby. The other two live over 2 hours away (eastern Ohio and Louisville, KY). In my head, this might be similar to what you'd be doing?

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I've decided to take my usual approach and wait till someone actually offers me a job before I worry about it

Well, sheesh. Where's the fun in that?

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I don't have any frustrations worthy of venting. It's just so slow right now where I work that I've started bringing crochet with me to keep busy while waiting for something to happen.

I like my job well enough when I'm busy, but this slowdown is unprecedented in my 25 years with this company. I don't know how long we can keep going at this rate. No orders means no billing which means no money coming in to pay payroll. The owner and the sales manager are working on getting more business, but aren't getting a lot of response.

If we do shut down, I'm retiring. Meanwhile, I'm getting a lot of crochet projects done.