The End Result

So how did my office drama of last week end?

I was super proud of myself on Friday when I fought for a better deal, but the ordeal wasn't over.  Not by a long shot.

I went into the office early today to prepare for battle, if you will. I knew Boss 1 was on my side, but I also knew that Boss 2 was on the warpath to get her way, no matter the consequences.  The wild card was what the Big Boss would say as the final word.

I just don't understand why Boss 2 doesn't listen to me when I say that I don't work well in certain circumstances. I'm not trying to pull one over on her or completely resist change or anything. It just became a battle of wills at the end.

So I had a meeting with the sympathetic boss, and she completely understood my situation, the points I was trying to make, everything. She was so supportive and awesome about the entire thing. She had her own opinion--she, like me, thought I should stay where I was--but told me that whatever happened, she just wanted to make sure I was happy. How cool is she?! She mentioned that she would go up to bat for me (and had had a word with Big Boss), but she advised me stand up for myself if things turned sour. It's good practice, because now that she is moving offices down the road, I won't have her as a buffer at my company anymore--not really. And she was the one that kept everything so stable for me thus far.  My other boss is turning out to be a bit on the unpredictable/bad communicator side. Since the good boss is in the field I want to work in in the long run, she also mentioned that she'd slowly try to 'extract' me from the field that I enjoy but don't feel quite as passionate about.

That boss had been talking to the other one about the situation, and for some reason, Boss 2 had told her that the situation was resolved and decided. Uh, whaaaaa? Very confusing--no one had told me that!

So then it was time to go to Boss 2. I told her that Boss 1 felt the same way that I did, and Boss 2 got confused at that point.  She obviously heard something different than what I heard--she said that Boss 1 agreed with her (no, she didn't--she simply said that she could understand theoretically what Boss 2 was thinking when they made the plan--they were using false information--not that she agreed with her, especially in light of the fact that the information was WRONG). There are major communication issues here.

I presented what Boss 1 and I decided that I should present:  I move, but into an office with fewer people/distractions and MY OWN DESK, or I stay where I am. In no uncertain terms, I said I'd be unhappy with the other office as originally planned.

Boss 2 looked doubtful and said she had to discuss it with the BIGGEST Boss--even bigger than Big Boss--like, the CEO of my company. Yikes. I got the feeling that she would fail me. I didn't trust her to present my side of the story at that point, so I tried to find someone who would be at that meeting that would represent me (since I obviously wasn't allowed to be there?!).

In the end, I couldn't find the Big Boss to discuss it, so I wrote yet another demanding email. I swear, I'm getting really good at these. I cc'd my two bosses on it for completion's sake, so no one would feel like I was going over their heads or whatever.

Big Boss came into my office about an hour later after reading it and agreed to move me to my own desk in an office with less people. This office also has my favorite person in the company in it, so I'm kind of psyched at how this turned out, actually!  I will miss being right next to the printer, having a view of the Sky Tower, and having the kitchen right next to me for snacks, but I guess I will deal with it somehow.

I also kind of salvaged the other situation that was bothering me today, too. Boss 1 kindly agreed to pay for me to take the course in addition to the other person.

Meanwhile, during the crazy up in the air conversations about where my office would be, Boss 2 kind of freaked out on me about something unrelated. I talked to her Friday about a task, and operated on the assumption that what she had said less than ONE business day before was still true. Guess what? NOT TRUE. I got in trouble for doing what she told me to do. What a nutter! I was going a little crazy myself at how she and I were suddenly NOT getting along. She is a very kind person, but is way too cautious and passive, and obviously not a great communicator. I also think she has a lot of experience, which makes her know more than I do, of course, but as a scientist on the whole, I can see myself hitting the ceiling of what I can learn from her in terms of basic good science practice. Basically, working with her doesn't make me a better scientist.  I don't want to say it is because we are equal in that category, but maybe she doesn't challenge me? or inspire me? to be better--it's like she doesn't know any better, herself, sometimes. The quality is more consistent and much, much higher with my other boss, who accepts nothing less than absolutely perfect.

Oh well.  That was my day, basically. I am SO GLAD it is over. Fighting for what you deserve is thrilling but quite exhausting.  How was yours?