Warning - rant!

[folderol]

Well they did it to me again. You'd think I'd know better by now wouldn't you

Monday and Tuesday were 8am to 7pm, flat out, no breaks, moving a printing press paper alignment system we make from one machine to another. 1st machine is being scrapped and 2nd one has a very poor record of paper control.

Why me? you may ask (and so did I). Well the fact is the system was designed by three people: The (retired) managing director, an ex-employee... and me

I was told the job was pretty much a spur-of-the-moment decision - yeah right - and had to be done in that time frame as the old one was broken up by scrap merchants today, and the machine the system was moved to had a couple of days down-time while a motor and some bearings were changed.

This time I couldn't even gain the assistance of either our apprentice or one of my colleagues - there simply was not room for more than one person to work on the cabinet. Indeed I'd argue there wasn't room for just me!

I will admit I did have a moment's glee at the end. The new production manager at our customer's is quite hands-on (without being a pest) and was keen to see the system start up, having never seen it run on the old machine before it was mothballed.

Once the press had been put back together and all the parts mechanically aligned following the refurbishment, it was run up with a not terribly important job so I could instruct the operators on the differences with the control system. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the guys astonishment as I made a few adjustments to the tracking while the operator manually aligned the paper. By the time he'd done that I was able to switch the system to auto and it held everything tight without any fuss. I was highly relieved, I can tell you!

What was priceless though was after stopping to set the next job, the production manager said "Of course the real test is to see how quickly it locks the next job." Well, I know the system - if it holds one job it holds them all! The operator started the machine again and as the press came up to speed, the production manager asked how long it would take to 'lock' the job. I had a real struggle keeping a straight face as I told him it already had. He grabbed one of the printed, folded sheets coming out, examined it, swore and looked at the operator who just grinned.

A slight spoiler was today (my day off) when I kept getting stupid calls from our office people wanting explanations of all sorts of decisions I had to make on the spot. What they didn't know though was that our Ex MD had invited me to his place for a late (and partially liquid) lunch. After several calls, he grabbed the phone from me almost shouted at them to leave me alone and told them they could book me an extra hour's overtime for the interruptions


Now, perhaps I can get on with the really important stuff again - music

[offthewall]

 
Well, Mr Godfrey ...... 

Having been in similar situations in the past my advice would be ...
from this 'unique' position of relative power, go in to the managers office first thing tomorrow and apply for 'early retirement'.  If that is refused you demand a promotion or a salary increase based on results which no-one else could have achieved.


 
In truth, my friend .... you are working far too hard.
Please look after yourself. Your employer obviously won't. 

 
James

[Azell]

Totally agree with James. See Rony, too much work, too tired and stop, gone forever, so he wanted to do only music. Please take care of you.
Azell

[elwoodblues1969]

Will,

Even after I retired on disability 9 years ago,I was still permitted to work part time,so I did just that for a while.What I had discovered then,was that work was even more stressful to me than it ever was before,because of how hard it is to find work when you're disabled & how awful disabled persons are treated on the job,because of their situation.
I constantly had to fight to find a job,keep a job and to be treated fairly,which was rarely the case.I worked in a lot of retail stores & I could handle the stress of the job itself & the customers usually,but all of the grief that I received from management was always unbearable.

There are many legitimate reasons for me being fully retired now,but one of the main reasons,is that management not only never appreciated all of my sincere & hard work,but made my job impossible most of the time,because they never wanted to hire me in the first place and they were very bitter over the fact that the law forced them to give me the job.

All this being said,if you can afford to retire early-then by all means do it...even if it requires that you scale down your lifestyle a bit,in order to manage your more modest income.
You have posted countless rants over the years over your job & it does not sound like a healthy situation at all.If you must continue working,perhaps a part time job in a less stressful environment will suffice.

I knew almost nothing of Rony's personal life & his situation,but it always seemed to me,that he never allowed any time to relax & exercise & that is a real shame.
Even when I worked full time,I always found time to exercise and even when my disability became worse,I persevered & I still exercise to this day.
It's been 2 years since I had worked and now I can't even fathom how I dealt with any of that stress.Life should consist of more than just birth,school work & death.


-Thom

[bvdp]

Okay, this story really ticks me off. I've never been called back to a job like that. I can only assume that my talents weren't all that appreciated in the first place ... or they knew what the answer would be if they did call

Exercise: yup, very important no matter what your age. I do a little routine for 15-20 minutes each morning before my shower (a rowing machine and some yoga). I really should do much more, but I congratulate myself for doing what I do. Point is that I feel much better with the exercise. But, it is so easy to NOT do it.

The killers in life are:

 - smoking ... what a terrible addiction that is. (Did Kara smoke?). My wife finally stopped last year after a scary spell in hospital with pneumonia. She used a drug to help her (called Champix in Canada, different names in different counties). If you can't quit on your own, do look at this. I have to add that I quit cold-turkey about 35 years ago.

 - excess weight. I was in getting my annual checkup the other day. I'm about 20lbs too heavy and know I should do something about it. But, it did make me feel a bit better to note that of all 10 people in the waiting room I had the slimiest waistline .

 - stress. This has to number 1 in the bad things dept. I have no idea how one reduces ones levels, but it's a killer!

I could go on ... but if we could reduce these 3 in our western/rich/lazy cultures we'd have a much healthier world.

[Oren]

...as the press came up to speed, the production manager asked how long it would take to 'lock' the job. I had a real struggle keeping a straight face as I told him it already had. He grabbed one of the printed, folded sheets coming out, examined it, swore and looked at the operator who just grinned.
A slight spoiler was today (my day off) when I kept getting stupid calls from our office people wanting explanations of all sorts of decisions I had to make on the spot...

The workplace can be a perplexing environment.
I have no answers, but I know that, although money has little intrinsic meaning to me, gainful employment is an essential part of my happiness. Twisted, I know...

I also know that the good people will recognize your value, and the bad people should, ideally, be ignored. The trick seems to be in developing the emotional maturity to focus only on the recognition - and constructive criticism - that comes your way.

[folderol]

Thank you everyone for such great support. The situation clearly has to change but most of you have touched on different aspects of how complicated these things can get.

I had originally intended to drop to just 3 days a week this year, but the way prices for absolutely everything have gone though the roof this last year or two means I'm already taking a hit on my living standards

Up until 2-3 years ago I really enjoyed the work. It was challenging, but manageable. I've sometimes wondered if the tightening financial situation has made managers meaner, or whether I was just losing stamina. In truth it is probably a combination of both. Added to that it was about 2 years ago that the old MD retired (he and I are from very similar backgrounds) and I think he was far more supportive of his employees than the current lot are.

In theory I can take early retirement and still get a fully paid-up pension. In practice, although I would end up with a lot of free time, I wouldn't be able to afford to do anything with it - the mortgage still has a couple of years to run. Also, suddenly getting all that free time would be a bad move I think. I've seen to many people get very isolated that way and lose sense of purpose. Much better, if at all possible to gradually build up leisure contacts.

I've thought about changing jobs as well, but I'm 62 now. It would be a hell of a struggle getting something even half decent. In spite of supposed 'level playing field' employers are very effectively biased against people who are perceived (however wrongly) as less productive and  may only be with them a few years.

So, with all that I still don't know exactly what I'll do. I do know that having such good friends on here is a great comfort.

[elwoodblues1969]

I completely understand your reservations for not wanting to stop working altogether,as my efforts to fill up all of my free time has been a challenge for me,at times.
My only real purpose in life,is my music,this forum & taking care of my cat(the majority of the time)...but then,my situation & lifestyle is a very modest one.
In fact,I am on the bottom rung of society(income-wise)...but I've managed to stretch out my income in ways some people can't even fathom.This included me selling my car,as I could no longer afford my insurance(which was literally more costly than my rent).
It was a very difficult decision,but the reality of it was,is that maintaining a car after I stopped working,would use up every penny of my petty cash for the month...which meant that ALL of my disability pay would go to the expense of my car,after all of my utilities & rent were paid for the month.
Even though there are times when I miss working & affording more amenities,I simply arrived to a pivotal point in my life,were I realized that the stress of working was no longer manageable and of course,I have a very long list of reasons why I don't miss working any longer.
Forgive me if I'm overstepping my bounds by suggesting this,but perhaps selling your home & renting a modest apartment might afford you a comfortable lifestyle in retirement?
I realize that letting go of a home can be a devastating change,but it seems like a very practical move,from my perspective.

My uncle is a few years older than you & he speaks often of his precarious financial situation,but yet he is unwilling to give up his yacht,the slip he keeps it in & the storage facility he rents(all of which he rarely uses) & he becomes very upset with me by the mere mention of it.


Anyhow,I hope everything pans out for you and it all comes to a peaceful resolution.


-Thom