Ok, I'm not new to the world of office politics, but this has really got me laughing. See, I'm a peon. I like being a peon. But I am a peon with a voice. If I want something, I get it. People in the office were already commenting on the fact that I had my own stapler, and scissors, and that no one in my department had them before.
But those were little things that I asked for, all reasonable requests, that I got.
This one I didn't ask for. See, I have a computer. It's the mammography department's. About half of my job is data entry. The room that the computer is in is the Bone Density room. If someone has a bone density, I have to get out and stop doing my job. Bad. My boss does not have her own computer. She uses mine too. No one has their own computer. We need the computer -- a lot.
My direct boss put in a request to the big bosses to get a desk and a computer put into the area where I hang the films for the doctors. In other words, this is communal, shared space. This "Reading Room" is about the size of a bathroom, to give perspective. Today my desk came. It's a temporary desk until we get the new mammography reading equipment delivered. Then, they will see how much room is left in the tiny room and have a desk built for me, and any one else in the mammography department (including all of the doctors) to use.
The temporary desk I have right now came from the office of someone who just left. It's an executive desk. It's fake cherry wood. It's a decent desk. It's in an area, like I said, the size of a bathroom. There is thus far, no chair. I have a CPU, but no monitor, keyboard or mouse yet (I'll probably never have a printer -- no one, but no one gets those where I am).
Within minutes of my desk being delivered, a boss from another department came to my area to snoop. I caught her, and she just smiled and said "gee, that's nice. Is it yours?"
"Yeah, kind of. I have to share it with a lot of people though."
All morning long, people kept stopping by just to see my desk. You'd think they have me a desk made out of solid gold or something.
This afternoon I walked into another department. From behind the closed door I could hear catty hushed voices. I opened the door and everyone fell silent.
ME: "Hey, what's going on?"
They exchanged glances, and finally the person who fills the bully-role in the organization spoke up:
"We want to know what makes you so special that you've got a desk. You just got here, and now you have your own office and a desk. What gives?"
ME: "Nothing. I had no place to do my work before. Now there are new systems coming, and more work that I will have to do, and I need some place to do it. Is there a problem?"
HER: "Yeah, a lot of people here have been waiting a long time to get their own space and a DESK. We want to know why
you got one."
ME: "I guess I'm special
"
With that I walked out. This is sooooo ridiculous. These women are twice my age, and they are acting like they are half my age. I just keep laughing about it. I don't know how else to handle it. I have a closet, with no windows, that I have to share with four doctors, a supervisor (who, believe me, will try to spend as much time as possible in there) and several technitions. And there is one desk, with one computer in this closet, along with an alternator (the great big thing they hang all the films on for the doctor to read) and a CADx (which hasn't come yet, but I hear is large) that digitizes the mamograms, and has some kind of viewing screen for the doctors.
I'm not sure how to handle this situation, other than to laugh. What the hell are they so jealous about?
I'm not sure whether to play their game or not. Some people who I work with who agree with me, that this is really nothing special have decided to start a rumor that I am the new manager, just to see how the rumor will take off.
I think this is a bad idea.
I think my saying that I was special, even though I totally meant it in jest (because the whole situation is a joke!) was the wrong thing to do.
But what the hell do you say when you have at least twenty people P.O.ed at YOU for an administrative decision you had nothing to do with? I didn't ask for any of it, and it's all a result of me having to do EXTRA work.
Office politics suck.
I just want to get my picture hung now, and find some free time where I'm not running around for everyone else, so I can find some time to sit at that desk.
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