How's Work?

The common question I get asked by most people I spend any time talking with is about work. How's work going? As a general rule, it seems we look to use work to define/understand someone as we get to know them - or perhaps it is more simple than that, that we are just looking for common ground. Same as asking a child how school is going. But I could imagine the question becoming a major issue for someone who was long-term unemployed, and that they would be tempted to become reclusive and avoid conversation as a result.

But apart from that, my friends and family know that work is very important to me, and that "going well" in my job is something I strive for. Add to that - the move to Queensland has all been about change on so many levels, including my job, and therefore asking me about work is important to understanding how I am actually handling the transition.

But dealing with the issue of my job in an environment like this is quite tricky. This job I do clearly affects a lot of people. I am contemplating a decision at the moment that will directly affect three or four hundred families - but the issue is confidential at this point. When you are blogging, there is a temptation to think you are keeping a private diary. I get little feedback at all from readers of my blog, so I have no particular idea if there are five or fifty people who read it. Then another layer - mostly I write for friends and family back in Melbourne to keep them updated on what is happening. So - maybe no-one in Queensland actually reads it - I know of few people in this state who even know I have a blog. Yet, while I keep this blog on the web, it is readily available to anyone who wants to read it, and I cannot control who takes advantage of it. So - I can hardly "open up". And even in person, I rarely say what is happening in my job - too easy for people to accidentally pass on things I didn't really want to be public knowledge.

Therefore, I generally say "good", "going well", or the recent favourite - "busy". We like to say to each other that we are busy in our jobs because (a) most of us are, and anyway (b) we are probably supposed to be busy, so we better keep with the program, and (c) it creates a better impression of us than saying we are bored or at a loose end. I occasionally hear people say "work's busy" and think they have no real idea of what a busy job might be - where you probably will never get to the bottom of the in-tray let alone tackle the miriad of issues you could take on if only there was time, and where everyone you meet seems to think it would be good if you could spend some time doing something they think is important (and that no-one else has actually heard of). I think I can justifiably claim to be busy at work. There is a lot going on, and a lot to get my head around. Mum would probably cut in there and say "you wouldn't be happy if you weren't busy" - which is true. But it would be nice to have more time for creative projects rather than being overwhelmed by the reactive things that need to be addressed. But one of the truths in life is that you are generally paid to do things that people need you to do, not what you want to do. Unless they happen to co-incide...

But apart from the usual generic labels, how's work?

It is tough. There are a lot of decisions that need to be made around here that are not easy, and in many cases it would have been better to make them some time ago, but they have not been made. I'm willing to make them, but interestingly you soon find out why they weren't made earlier - every decision you make has consequences and you aren't necessarily going to enjoy them. Despite this, with a few tough decisions already taken and plenty to come, to date I am feeling quite empowered. Like a newly elected politician claiming a mandate for change, I think I came into the role saying I would have fresh eyes and a desire to improve things, and people are largely giving me a go at that. But not on all issues. On some, I have already taken them back and forth a few times to the people I need to convince in an attempt to get commitment to change, and have been knocked back. Changing the world and keeping the right people happy in the process is tough. No other word for it.

The most significant thing about the job that is different is the amount of financial responsibility I have. To be honest, I look back to my job in Victoria and think I underplayed the role Jon played on the finance side of things. Now I have many of those responsibilities, I am finding it challenging. Money is one of those things that polarises people. Money people love the figures. Non-money people don't want to know. Mostly I am working with non-money people, and trying to encourage them to take notice of the money. The money world is black and white. You can only spend each cent once, and once it is gone, you cannot spend it elsewhere. Every decision to spend is also therefore a decision not to spend elsewhere - sometimes several "elsewheres". I am encountering opposition to the idea that people take notice of this. The general thought is "that's your job". I am sometimes stern in reminding people that we are all responsible for staying in budget and spending money wisely. I am finding this a challenge. And financially we face some genuine problems. Not enough people have taken enough care for long enough to avoid falling into problems. There are tough issues to face up to right now to sort those issues out.

Yet - in case that sounds a little negative - I must say that there is a great harvest in the offering here. There are some significant problems to work through, but beyond them, there are great opportunities. I can see them, and I look forward to them. I hope to keep the energy going for the first couple of years to address the big points that get in the way at present so we can move on to the positive world beyond.

How's work? Complicated. Interesting. Amazing. Annoying. Challenging. Stimulating. Frustrating. Exciting. Probably easier just to say "great"!