Work…

I have NEVER posted anything here about my work before, on purpose. I wanted this Blog to be mostly positive, or at least informational. The events of today compel me, though. I work with what is supposed to be a fairly autonomous team of people (that’s what I was told in the interview anyway) that reach out to all of the IT sections across a major US Government Health entity, to “foster communication and partnerships”. It sounded like a dream job, where I would be able to do some real good.

Some aspects of the work have been very rewarding, especially making sure I reign in my own central IT group when they try to do something really stupid. The problem is; I am being censored when I report on what I have accomplished. It’s funny, that my own immediate management are the ones doing it. Why you ask?? Simple answer; they want to make sure that any of our central IT group's flaws don’t leak out to the people we support. We have to keep our makeup perfect and just paste some more foundation on any cracks or wrinkles that might appear.

It makes us look like Joan Rivers, a pasty bag of wind that really ought to be buried right now. It makes our customers distrustful and takes away from the most honorable mission we have, and also depletes my morale; I suspect the same for others on the team too.

In the two plus years I have been on this team NO ONE has had the least bit of official praise from upper management for what we do, every day. No awards, or pat on the back, or even a “Good Job” in the hallway. They just pile on more responsibilities with no increase in staff or budget. It’s just wrong, on so many levels. The awards go to the usual suspects in this joint, all the people who get them every year. I am sure they deserve them too, for doing the same old thing, again. Did I mention that they are the ones who are best buddies of “Management”? Oops, did I write that out loud? D-duh.

Waaa, I know, I know. Stop whining, you big fat sissy. The point is, I (and I can speak for most of the team I work with, as wanting the same) want to do right by the people I actually support, outside my organization. They are the ones I “work for”, not the bimbos in management above me. And they appreciate what my team does for them more than my managers realize. Want to know why? It’s because my managers never ask anyone. These donkeys don’t look at what I accomplished; they only look at what I am complaining about within my own organization, then take out the big eraser and make those bad vibes disappear from anyone’s sight. All is right in the world, to them.

My immediate manager has not met a single customer I support. He has never come to a regular meeting (that I can recall, anyway) and the one day a month we get the customers all together for a big pow-wow, he works from home, doesn’t even dial into the meeting. He doesn’t participate in what we really do at all.

Out of sight, out of mind... I came to this place to “make a difference”, and I was told I could do that. I was lied to. If anyone needs a customer service/Helpdesk/Desktop Support manager in southern Maryland, please let me know.