There will be more of it, I expect.

Lots of anxiety these days, and I need to vent.

My title is "Assistant to the Director" and what that means in practice is that a bunch of the administrative stuff the Director would have to do is my responsibility instead. I just do it without supervision. So I'm like a mini-director. I've been here 27 years and I have 27 years worth of good reviews sitting in my personnel file.

The director (my boss) retired at the end of 2017. It's been 3.5 months since she left. They haven't hired a new director. One of the roles the director had was to assign each new litigation to a team when those new cases came in. They got a senior paralegal to take over that role temporarily. I still do the same stuff I have always done, but it isn't keeping me 100% busy. I help out a couple days a week by running over to Veterans Affairs and reviewing files for new pro bono cases that come in. Feb and March were busy, but April is looking a little slow.

I report to the Chief Human Resources officer, but have only met with her once for 20 minutes two months ago. Basically, I have no boss. No person to keep happy. No person to review me.

Top firm management has brought in consultants to look at the structure of our department, and the IT department that works with our department. The consultants have chatted with some of our paralegals, but never bothered to talk to me.

I'm good, and well regarded. But the consultants don't know me. Our firm's CEO doesn't know me. He makes a real effort to not know anyone, presumably so it's easier on him when he fires them. Most of the big partners I have worked with in the past are retiring, and I don't have as strong relationships with the next generation. They are the ones in charge now.

All this is to say, I think my position is likely to be eliminated. I have a bunch of work I do that will be reallocated to others. Our department and the IT department will likely be merged, I suspect, and I'll be one of the casualties.

So I'm looking around for a place to leap to before I get squashed. I think I have a decent shot at being a Trademark Legal Assistant. The boss of that department is a poor manager, and the workers are overworked. They need more workers. I ran a report of their hours and they work longer hours than I am accustomed to, and they don't take vacations very often, even though they have the leave built up.

So I think I'm going to try to make this move. I'd be good in the job, but the department is poorly managed, and I may be unhappy there. I'm used to having a good boss, and having a poor manager as a boss will be a change. The attorneys in that group are not all that great either. One guy is a really nice guy though.

I could also wait and maybe things will turn out OK. Maybe I'll survive the coming shake up. That's delusional thinking though.

Yesterday morning I sent an e-mail requesting a meeting with the Chief HR person to talk this over. But she didn't acknowledge my email. Maybe I'm already too late. Or maybe she just forgot to respond. I'm going to follow up with her secretary this afternoon and see if I can get on her schedule.

My wife is being really supportive, and we have a nest egg that might last as much as a year.

No need to reply, just venting.

Oh, and one real positive about joining this trademark group is that I would be very marketable once I got training. Right now, my job is so unique there is basically none other like it. I'd have to completely reinvent myself to find a job elsewhere.

Oh, and to get back on topic, my wife and I just realized on Monday that in the two years since I got placed in this open office, we have stopped chatting with each other during the day, and I think it's negatively impacting our relationship.

That sucks. Hope it shakes out better than you're expecting. I guess it's impossible that they might be promoting you to director instead?

Maybe, but I am skeptical.

I got this email two weeks ago. Hidden recipients list.

http://cellar.org/2017/office-space-bobs.png

Good luck sir. I hope that it will work out for the best.

In one sense then, if it's hurting your most important relationship, is it change that's overdue?

Absolutely overdue.

I just hope I can make the jump before I am swatted.

Ugh. Who moved my cheese?

That is anxiety-inducing. At the least.

:fingerx:

Wait, so... April 5th was a week ago. It was just a generic session the way it was described, no one got let go right there on the spot?

It's actually kind of funny. I mean, it's my life they are fucking with, so it's not funny. But seriously, who sets up a training like that?

Gah! Hope it all turns out ok for you Glatt. Sounds like you are doing all the smart things. If the job in the trademark department is a stepping stone maybe the bad bits of it will be more bearable. X


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No one got let go on the spot.

So either it's a really fucked up generic session, or they are trying to scare people into leaving of their own accord instead of firing them.

I wonder if anyone went to the session? I was at the Veterans Affairs, reviewing files and didn't go.

It's possible I'm just reading too much into a whole bunch of coincidental stuff, but I spoke to my old boss on Monday (She called to wish me a happy birthday) and she told me I should be anxious about my job and TM was a good idea.

And then this morning I spoke to the paralegal who is sort of an acting director, and she started off telling me everything was all rosy, but then when I told her I was thinking about TM, she was like "Seriously dude, you should do that."

Doooo eeeeet! WoooOOOOooo, glaaat, DOO EEEET! [/ghost of Christmas future]