Thoughts of a Working Man

It has been an interesting morning, so far. First there was my horoscope:

If you've been wondering about whether or not you did the right think in a recent situation, wonder no longer. You're about to receive a very direct hint from the heavens telling you that you're not just headed down the right path, but you're also aimed directly at making a cherished dream a reality. Pay attention to where you are right now--and realize that you're only a few steps from where you've always wanted to be.

My boss and his boss stopped by the cube this morning to (a) tell me that had a major project they wanted me to document, and (b) that the boss's boss wants to talk to me about making my position here permanent. It's not my dream of early retirement and a life of ease and stability, but it is a stable job with the prospect of having a contributing purpose in being here.

I let it be known several months ago that I would not be averse to extending my employment here and making it permanent. Their reactions were at first not favorable and then ambiguous. The boss liked my work, but I guess the previous boss's boss (uberboss?) was focused on cutting costs. The former uberboss is gone. Perhaps the new uberboss has a different outlook. It seems promising.

I think that was what was driving yesterday's long musing on purpose in life. All I ask from my work is that I be considered a contributor. Often in technical documentation, especially in contract work, I feel like a necessary evil to be taken up only under duress and dropped as soon as possible. Often I feel that the people who hire me don't really want documentation, but they've been ordered from on high to get some documentation done. Often I have this strong sense that my work will never be used by anyone, so no one seems to care about what I've done or getting it right.

Okay, documentation isn't the organization's stock in trade, but it can make all of the organization's processes run more smoothly. And if the processes run smoothly, productivity improves, quality improves, and costs go down. Unfortunately, in today's business climate, it requires too long a term of vision to see that. It may take a year to put the information house in order; it may take five years. That makes it tough in a 14 week business quarter to justify any longer term investment.

# posted by Tom @ 9:22 AM