Reach for the stars...

MatyMoo

I don't know a lot about your field of expertise Nic but would your current employer be able to put any work your way once you were self employed?

There is a bit of satisfaction about being able to work for them at the rate you are worth

niccatw

:rotfl: Maty, I currently work for the NHS! What do you think? However, current "restructuring" likely means that in about 10 years time they will be crying out for consultants [STRIKE]to sort out the chaos[/STRIKE]

Some kind of bizarre spirit just took over my keyboard. I have no control over my typing...

Private practice is also unlikely to be set up in the short term and the client group I currently work with will not have the money to pay for private input (more "restructuring"). However, that too may change in the longer term, so that, I feel, is very much an investment in an uncertain future.

You are right MrsMoo. It's all part of a larger game plan. But I'm not entirely sure of the shape of that game plan... so perhaps I do need to life thingybob!

Things are heading in the right direction. I'm just impatient and need reminding of that!

“It is better to take many small steps in the right direction than to make a great leap forward only to stumble backward.” Chinese proverb



Pub quiz was hilarious - in a hugely random way. There was an entire section on breakfast cereals (and not even UK one's. Not, ofcourse, that I wandered up the supermarket aisle just to check :rotfl:)! It was supposedly a halloween theme?

And we won! :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: I had tears running down my face at that because we really did wonder why we went along; it was so random we pretty much gave up! We decided we'd research pub quizzes across the city and rate them on our own random criteria! (I did actually answer at least one question correctly too :T)

niccatw

Gasman is currently checking out my boiler. Then my hob. Then my gas fire. _pale_ Fully expecting that it can only lead to the spending of more money to fix something that is currently broke...

Grumpy at work mode still in full swing! Dragged in to meeting yesterday to say, essentially, I'm not working hard enough, I don't have enough cases on the go and I should be dealing with more complex cases (which is a joke if I could descibe here what it is I do). Though I am very thorough and effective with the cases I do have. I do believe the word "fantastic" was used, but I may have been suffering auditory hallucinations.

Person holding this meeting has massive caseload. But half of them haven't been seen been in two years and just haven't been discharged.

Lesson learned: People don't care if your thorough and effective and your throughput is good. They'd rather you had the right numbers on a piece of paper and do b*gger all with the cases sitting there. How lesson will be put into practice: don't discharge just before stats are due!

I can't win. If I do as I'm told, I'm told I'm a walkover. If I stick up for myself, I get pulled up for my attitude. If I disagree with supervisor, it goes straight back to boss and no-one ever asks me what happened.

I don't remember feeling like that even as a teenager when my brother and I were doing the "It wasn't me, it was him/her" years and my folks were constantly giving the wrong child into trouble. At least that was swings and roundabouts! This is me stuck on the see-saw because there's two people sitting on the other end! And we all know the see-saw is no bl**dy fun when you're just stuck in the air and you can thud right down at the other person's whim.

Must find another job. Must find another job. Must find another job.

On the plus side, I went to see my friend's band last night, which was huge fun. Normally he plays base guitar in a soul band and it can be hard to hear him for the other instruments (especially when you are as musically challenged as I am). But this was a pop band there were lots of guitar and drum solo sections. Even I could hear when he was playing his solos!

MatyMoo

niccatw wrote: »

Gasman is currently checking out my boiler. Then my hob. Then my gas fire. _pale_ Fully expecting that it can only lead to the spending of more money to fix something that is currently broke...

Grrr, hope he can't find anything.

niccatw wrote: »

Grumpy at work mode still in full swing! Dragged in to meeting yesterday to say, essentially, I'm not working hard enough, I don't have enough cases on the go and I should be dealing with more complex cases (which is a joke if I could descibe here what it is I do). Though I am very thorough and effective with the cases I do have. I do believe the word "fantastic" was used, but I may have been suffering auditory hallucinations.

Person holding this meeting has massive caseload. But half of them haven't been seen been in two years and just haven't been discharged.

Lesson learned: People don't care if your thorough and effective and your throughput is good. They'd rather you had the right numbers on a piece of paper and do b*gger all with the cases sitting there. How lesson will be put into practice: don't discharge just before stats are due!

I can't win. If I do as I'm told, I'm told I'm a walkover. If I stick up for myself, I get pulled up for my attitude. If I disagree with supervisor, it goes straight back to boss and no-one ever asks me what happened.

I don't remember feeling like that even as a teenager when my brother and I were doing the "It wasn't me, it was him/her" years and my folks were constantly giving the wrong child into trouble. At least that was swings and roundabouts! This is me stuck on the see-saw because there's two people sitting on the other end! And we all know the see-saw is no bl**dy fun when you're just stuck in the air and you can thud right down at the other person's whim.

Must find another job. Must find another job. Must find another job.

It is frustrating how many problems at work come down to numbers :mad:

niccatw wrote: »

On the plus side, I went to see my friend's band last night, which was huge fun. Normally he plays base guitar in a soul band and it can be hard to hear him for the other instruments (especially when you are as musically challenged as I am). But this was a pop band there were lots of guitar and drum solo sections. Even I could hear when he was playing his solos!

This sounded like great fun and a well needed break from the carp that is work!

Butti

niccatw wrote: »

Gasman is currently checking out my boiler. Then my hob. Then my gas fire. _pale_ Fully expecting that it can only lead to the spending of more money to fix something that is currently broke...

I kind of think the lodger dying of carbon monoxide poisoning would be a bit more expensive and not good on your CV!

Though I am very thorough and effective with the cases I do have. I do believe the word "fantastic" was used, but I may have been suffering auditory hallucinations.

Maybe that was when someone was commenting on the coffee.

Person holding this meeting has massive caseload. But half of them haven't been seen been in two years .

Has anyone checked under the patio?

Lesson learned: People don't care if your thorough and effective and your throughput is good. They'd rather you had the right numbers on a piece of paper and do b*gger all with the cases sitting there. Must find another job. Must find another job. Must find another job.

You are right Nic. It is all a numbers game because you are judged on what numbers you achieve in the public sector. They haven't worked out a method to judge the quality of what you are doing so we'll focus on the numbers...and how fantastic the coffee is.

This is focusing your mind on getting another job so that's good. Every time you have one of these meetings I think you need to go back to comments you got from your conference. Who do you think is giving the more balanced viewpoint?

B

niccatw

Nice gasman. There are things not meeting current standards but nothing unsafe and no further essential work.

Better get of to work now then.

miggy

Glad the gas man was nice, sorry about the job though. Don't let them drag you down - just because you're doing a great job and they are just holding onto extra cases. If you were in their job and they were in yours I dare say you would be (rightly) pulling them up on all those dormant cases! And I doubt you have auditory hallucinations!

Yes, keep your eyes open for something else.

Has anyone checked under the patio?

@ Butti - :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

niccatw

Cross post this morning! SSorry - wasn't being rude.

Came home to water coming through the ceiling. Upstairs neighbour has moved out in last few days (or at least, the housing association have been clearing out the flat). Call the factors (yes, that Scottish thing again) and they can't do anything until Monday morning because it out of office hours and they can't access the keys for the flat. And it's not an emergency because there's not enough water puring through. And apparently, even if it starts to pour, it wouldn't be an emergency over the weekend and I'm likely to have to wait. Surely that can't be right???

Butti, you know about htese thing? Is you Glasgow job application with GHA or One Management????

And I can't help but be a little paranoid that it might be to do with the gas! Though it can't be as it's coming through the ceiling in the hall. But there's no pipes nearby so I dread to think where it's wound it's way from.

niccatw

Dilemma!

Not water (though that is concerning!) ....jobs!

Looked on recrutment website. Big huge VSO spiel! It's finding me everywhere! It's got to happen!

Anyway, I digress; that's not even the dilemma!

There's a post I am qualified to do at the banding I'm currently at (though I'm nearly at the top of it) in a healthbaord area within commuting distance. But 7.5 hours less than I curently do; essentially 4 days.

Can I afford that pay cut on top of increased travelling expenses?

It would give me an extra day, which would maybe be handy if I want to think about private practice...

But their first obvious question would be why I want to leave my current job so close to the top of my band and with what I have done this year and not go for the next band up the payscale.

And if I applied and I got it, what would that mean for my VSO application... (Not really the kind of question to ask at interview is it - what's your policy on releasing VSO volunteers?)

Though, realistically, there will be a lot of interest and they might want some-one at the bottom of the band (cheaper and can be moulded the way they want) and be concerned I'll be off the next time the band above me is advertised (though that too is unlikely given we know the cut backs the public sector are going through at the moment!)

MatyMoo

Water will always find a way out Nic, you may be better to help it on it's way by poking a screwdriver through where it is dripping at it's worst and sticking a bowl underneath - could save the ceiling coming down.

I just wonder what an emergency would actually be to the factor if it isn't water pouring through a ceiling :mad:

Surely you would be applying for the job because a four day week would give you a better work/life balance and there isn't the opportunity to reduce your hours where you are

Once you are settled in you may be able to make up the difference in income by getting some private practice work. You need to start slowly to build up a customer base and reputation.

Just my initial thoughts!