A good day at the office
Today was one of the better days so far. Business-wise, that is. For one, I finally got my external hard disk working. I brought it, containing my digital self, but I’ve been fighting with it over the past week to get it working. Machines wouldn’t recognize it, or it would stop working mid-way. Turned out, after screwing the thing open, the internal power cord wasn’t connected all that well.
And I talked to the assistent DG (Director General) today. A good thing. Already in my first week here, I created a couple of handwritten (!) documents with observations and suggestions. No follow-ups on these documents have been done so far. Also, I still don’t have a signed contract and no Internet connection (I’ve hijacked someone else’s). The contract is quite pressing. Without a contract, I don’t get paid by PSO. If I don’t get paid, why am I working?
I’ve been voicing my concerns about this non-action from my first week here. This week, as it turned out, my ‘boss’ has gone away, for a week, to Bulawayo. It was time to take it to the next level.
I wrote a memo, but preferred a chat. Wednesday morning, I made it clear to Joseph (assistent DG) I thought it wise to talk. He agreed we would talk later in the morning. Nothing. So I left the rather ‘strong’ memo in his inbox at the end of the day. The next morning, less then five minutes after my entering the office, Joseph wanted to talk. He claimed he hadn’t read the memo yet, but I’m not so sure about that.
The memo and our talk made it clear that if what I’ve been seeing of the SRC over the past four weeks is typical, my position won’t be extended. In fact, if I don’t get my contract signed rather quickly, I won’t be showing up at the SRC anymore. And I suggested it was time to act on the suggestions I had putten forward over the past weeks. It felt rather good to voice my concerns at a slightly higher level.
At the end of our talk, Joseph seemed sincere in his concern and he said he would take immediate action. I’m still waiting.