Round peg, square hole

Around 4:30pm yesterday, I walked into CFB's office and handed her an envelope. "So," I said, "that's my resignation letter. You have me for another 3 weeks." She calmly stated that this was not a surprise to her, then asked if I wanted to talk about it. I sat down and said, "It's not the work, it's just too tightly wound around here." CFB then proceeded to draw her own conclusions (or pretend that she was) about how the pace was what put me off, saying that I'd be exactly the sort of employee some place else would need, but maybe "not here." This was undoubtedly a conclusion she drew before I'd even made it to my first probationary review. I have no other explanation for how any manager would feel justified in dismissing an employee's request for vacation time, out of hand, under the blatantly false pretense that it's because no more than one Studio Artist can be out of the office at any time.

She scanned through my letter and feigned gratitude that I'd be around until Friday, December 19th. Truth be told, the project I'm working on right now is a nightmare and I'd pity anybody else who had to come into it mid-way, but I was sorely tempted to screw her over. My concern was that I'd actually being screwing over my current co-workers, who don't deserve that in the slightest. Of course, I don't believe they deserve the day-to-day worklife this place offers, either, but it's not my place to tell them.

It was all very civil, and I was relieved that I didn't tear her a new one right then and there. I have, however, responded to the President & CEO's invitation to discuss ways to improve workplace efficiency, by suggesting he hear me out about employee retention. I have an informal meeting with a member of the office staff on Thursday during which I intend to highlight the fact that the company might as well install a revolving door in the Studio, if they're going to insist on working employees so hard that:

• designers are discouraged from working from home even if their partners are undergoing cancer treatment


• making personal calls of any kind is discouraged


• personal visits are discouraged


• one is required to stare at the status indicator bar when saving a file, as opposed to doing anything "unproductive" like checking one's personal email or reading an article


• designers are discouraged from taking a lunch break


• one can have vacation time owed, but cannot actually use it


• it's to be believed that calling in on one's day off is normal


• having your manager watch over your shoulder while you work is also normal

I'm starting to get a sense of the utterly silly politics around the place, and while I'm glad that I won't have to put up with that bullshit any more, I only hope not to make the situation worse for my current co-workers.