There are many facets of my job that bore the living life out of me. It can be mundane and process oriented work. There aren't enough distractions in the world on some days to keep me from going crazy at what I do. It's amazing to me because there are people on my team that have done this forever and, from what I can tell, never intend to stop. They have found their comfort zone and their little corner of the world and they love it. For them, I am happy, but I still wonder, isn't there something more to look forward to?
Maybe its because I have been working my butt off for 3 years to get my bachelor's degree and want...nay, expect...to be rewarded with a better job. Maybe its just my nature to want different challenges. Does this mean I will never be happy in a job? Maybe...I guess I will know on my death bed how that one turns out. To give you an idea, here is what I do:
When a person is in need of an application, or applications, the local business service liason (BSL) puts in a request for the application to be installed. It is triaged to either a more automated group where things are done with minimal contact with the user or to the less automated group if a manual install (files copied from a server and installed manually) is needed or if the install causes a reboot or is a more advanced install. We work both groups, but focus mainly on the 2nd. Once the request is filed in one of the groups, I, or one of my team mates, will assign it to ourselves and then work the request. This involves contacting the user for a scheduled time to install or to get information such as the computer name or to find out if they work at home.
Once we have the situation scoped out, we perform the install. Sometimes its super easy and we just push an automated package, send a completion email and close the request 24 hours later. This is the majority of our requests. I often say that trained monkeys could do my job, but its more like a drive thru.
"Thank you for visiting CSS. What application(s) can we install for you today?"
"Oh? That comes with a side of Java and Oracle. Would you like Office Communicator with that?"
"Please give me your machine name and drive around."
Thats the gist. There are bumps in the road. Some installs have inherent problems that for some reason our counterparts in the desktop engineering group cannot fix, even though they get paid to fix such things. We have installs that would normally take 25 minutes take 4 hours because of varying and asundry issues. But the bulk of the requests follow the McDonald's model.
So with all that said, I am bored. I rarely am excited when doing my job. Is that part of it being a job? Should it be un-fun? Is it a me problem or simply the nature of the beast? Should I seek out challenges more than I do? I already try to take the harder installs when I can. I volunteer for things. I make an effort. Could I do more though?
I am very thankful that I have a job that requires so little and pays pretty well. I am not in a coal mine and I am not scaling building cleaning windows. Should I just be thankful and not look for more? I have tried to complain less...and don't see this as a complaint, just an idea of where I am right now at work.
What do you do to make your daily grind a little more bearable?
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2 comments:
I'll tell you what I do, and it may not be for everyone, and I am not trying to sound haughty...
I have always made sure that my job is only about 10% or less of who I am. Some people say if you have a career and not just a job, you'll be happy. I say bull stuff. Society has set up this wicked system where we, especially men, are defined by our jobs. What is usually the first question you get when you meet someone for the first time after names are exchanged? "So, what do you do?" and they mean for work. I have a snooty answer now. I start at the top with Husband and father and way down the list try and make to my job.
So basically I make sure that my worth comes from the things that are important and then the daily grind just doesn't bother me so much. Some people can truly get all their happiness from their jobs/careers. But only a small percentage of those have their priorities straight, so they make everyone around them miserable.
I'll stop, I may need to post on this at my blog...
Rock on! I also think that a job is just a job. I am not a career person... there is far more to life than focusing on a career! That said, I work way too hard and am way too loyal to my bosses (and my job, for that matter)... I rarely take time off, and when I do, I consider the needs of the office whenever possible. I do anything and everything they ask me to do... I look for ways to improve things and volunteer for jobs that nobody else wants. I do this because somebody has to do it, and maybe in playing mindgames with myself, I feel better about doing those things if it's my choice as opposed to a delegated task. Whatever... I am working on my master's degree, but I know that nothing will change in terms of my job. They'll probably give me even more work with no pay increase! "You're qualified!" Thanks.
We spend a good portion of our lives at work, even when it isn't a career. I believe that it is rare for someone to actually do something they are excited about and call it "going to work." Well, except professional kids... I mean, athletes. =) If you enjoy your work, consider it a bonus. If not, take your paycheck and be thankful that you aren't being mistreated and miserable. If you are miserable, look for another job. All this doesn't mean that you can't be happy and excited about work, or that you can't hope to be happy at work... but if you don't expect it, you won't be disappointed. =)
By the way, I like Rich's answer to the "what do you do" question. Good call!
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