fuck this job.com

If I had found this site say, 4 years ago, it would be practically jammed with my blogs about my jobs. As a temp worker, which I was back in the day, I must've had at least 15 jobs, none of which I look back on too kindly. So Im starting to wonder - is it me or the job?!? But thats beside the point because I write to you today fellow job haters with a blog about my most recent, 'blink and you'll miss it' job.

So after the monstrosity of the job at the Funeral Directors, I had sorted myself out with a new job which I explained in my previous blog. I was all packed up and ready to go and leave the past behind and get myself settled. Well thats what I thought would happen.

I turned up to work at my new job an hour early. Im not a kiss ass but the place I was working was far away from my house and I had a choice thanks to the northern bus services I could be an hour early or an hour late. Obviously, being my new job I opted for the former.

I was assigned a desk and a slightly ragged looking employee who I was told was here to train me up. So I got stuck in, learnt what I had to, I even took notes god knows why. The job was so simple I could do it standing on my head building a sandcastle and eating an ice cream. Call centre work it was, for a finance company that dealt in personal loans.

Now some people knock call centres but having worked in a couple I have to disagree with those who do. There is nothing more satisfying than listening to a bunch of people call you up all day and complain. One, because sometimes the complaints are funny - when working at a car hire call centre one man was 'utterly distressed' that his car was a Vectra rather than a BMW, apparently he had, and I quote, 'lady friends', that he had to escort around the city to and from venues and he wanted to create a good impression. Hmm. Number Two, listening to people call up and complain over some of the pettiest things ever makes you realise that youre not as sad as you think - there are people out there with no life and too much time that they will call a centre, be put on hold for an hour only to complain about something petty.

Back to the job.

So I had all the training, the boss was pleased, (not a kiss ass but I wanted this job to go well for me), I was loving it, the people were great, the atmosphere was great, it was all good.
So I worked there for three days, Wed Thurs Fri and I had the weekend off.

Monday morning I woke up in pain. Now I had the choice - new job over searing kidney pains inducing vomiting and other unmentionables. In fact I didnt have a choice because I called my mum and straight away she got me an ambulance and called in sick for me. Total disaster. After three days on the job I was already taking a day off. Typical. So on my way to the hospital, speeding over bumps designed to stop that kind of behaviour, I felt sick, but I also felt that I had done enough that the bosses would understand. And they did, they told me to take as much time as I needed. I never intended to, I wanted to get my damn self better and get back to work as sad as that sounds!

So I'm sitting in hospital, reading a magazine I found from about a year ago, in pain but comforted by the fact my manager was willing to allow me one day. But as with illnesses, one day turns into two, into three etc

This was not good news for me. I called into work Tuesday afternoon and was told that they had already drafted in two people on the Monday afternoon to replace me. I had to call THEM to find this out. So I was told that as replacements had been found I was no longer required.

I wanted to scream and cry. This was a job I could actually see myself getting into, working hard at, I mean the people there were enough to keep the job satisfaction thing going.

I cant really complain, I guess this is the trouble with contract work. I was just so damn annoyed that my kidney had to start hurting that day. Grr!!

Turns out I didnt have to be so damn annoyed however. The two people they hired to replace me left, there was a massive redundancy wave, pay cuts throughout the company, and theyre planning to open the call centre in India. Turns out I had a pretty lucky escape! If I had got into that job, only to be told that I was being replaced for cheap labour abroad, I'd have to pick up the pieces and start job hunting again.

So for now, I am relaxing, getting over the pain, and maybe I'll sort something out in the new year.

Fliss xx