The safest road to hell is the gradual one - the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.
~ C. S. Lewis
Some may say I sound ungrateful when reading this post, it's far from the truth. I'm exceptionally grateful to have shifted my career and have this new job...however there are some things that when heard, rang alarm bells for me.
Firstly let me preface this post with some of the good stuff so that I may seem to be giving an even interpretation.
I like my job. I have been there for a week and I've produced some mixed results, but the first week always feels like you're on a sheer cliff face without secure handholds or sure footing. I'll give myself some more grace to find an even keel before passing judgement too harshly.
1. Work for a non profit
I work for a non profit so everything that happens in the organisation is passed before a board of trustees. The big fellas - the ones who say yay or nay. If you want something, those are the ones you have to schmooz.
That aside, the office setup is open, well lit and I have the largest office of the entire building. Mostly because they don't actually have an office for me so I'm up in the atrium between the offices and the boardroom. I have a nice view and don't feel claustraphobic when I sit at my desk. Blissfully the opposite in fact.
My manager is however a freaking dynamo. She is constantly set to manic mode and her energy is frenetic and bristly. My energy is calm and I tend to keep it like that because it gives me a sense of control even though the world may be moving at a million miles per hour around me.
There is a unisex bathroom downstairs which while I'm not a fan, I can live with - there are locking doors, it's kept clean and while I generally don't like communal toilets, my entire work day is 12 hours long so it's a necessity.
There's a kitchen with all the appliances you need to warm up lunch, cool down drinks and so forth, we are provided with relatively good instant coffee and milk daily as well as the occasional soft drink or bottled water. No complaints there.
I've been issued with a work laptop that while it's not even remotely as awesome as mine in terms of graphics programs and so forth, it's fast, responsive, has a large screen and the keyboard works. I'm equipped with a phone for outgoing/incoming calls and access to the internet via WIFI or by tethering using a CAT5 cable with an RJ45 connector on it...also commonly known as a LAN cable. Their internet is fast and I haven't had any issues there, I've got an email address and so on and so forth. Swanky so far right?
2. Get a good salary
I get paid a relatively good salary for the position that I'm contracted to perform. It's nowhere near those who have been in the industry for yonks, but for a mid level position, I can't complain. Here's the part that ain't quite so shiny. With the grub comes the pain. My manager doesn't really believe in being "off" from work. I picked this up on the first day on the job where 5pm came and went and we weren't really packing up yet. I spend two hours each morning in traffic to get to the office. It's far from ideal but currently, it's the only sustainable way for me to do it as I live about 50kms away from my place of work. That's four hours of my life commuting every day so every minute is important to me.
Don't get me wrong here - I am a dedicated person and I don't mind putting in extra when it's necessary especially in a time of crisis, but I fail to see how every single day is considered a crisis while we're currently ahead of schedule. I'm no slacker at work and I'm diligent and take my work seriously, immaterial of my job title. I get shit done when it's required with no complaints but I also have boundaries and I don't believe in doing overtime for the sake of doing overtime when you don't get paid overtime and there isn't a pressing need for it.
This first two weeks at the office were hardcore. I've had to be a sponge and assimilate a huge amount of information in a very short space of time. My brain kicked into overdrive mode on day three and thank fuck the six days were broken up with a weekend in-between or I'd have brain burnout by now. I like to pace myself and I've trained up enough people to know that you can't just keep throwing new information at someone without a fair amount of slippage after the first 5 hours. People have a finite ability to soak up stuff efficiently and effectively.
3. Be Satan's little helper
So the infinite hours and having to work through weekends and holidays rub me up the wrong way because it's a slippery slope downhill. I was hired as a copywriter but I had no idea that I was going to be writing copy for three of Satan's favourite social media demon-spawn. It could be worse though so for now, I'll stay in my lane and just do what I do - get shit done.
Act like a duck. Be calm on the surface, but paddle like hell underneath.
~ Oliver Luck