the no-man’s land of reorganization

as a history teacher we would talk about the concept of no man’s land when it came to warfare.  there was seemed to always be  a swath of land between enemy lines that was inhabited by neither… and that is where it got messy.  when the battle was over, lines were redrawn and eventually there would be another conflict where a patch of land would serve as that purpose as the two sides continued to inflict damage on the other.  my department is being reorganized and instead of land, there appears to be a swath of time where the newly organized structure hasn’t taken place, but the former structure is no more and i’m hoping it doesn’t get messy.  the overwhelming fear right now seems to be the lack of clarity.  how will the work function?  how will folks function as they transition roles?  what folks don’t have roles to transition in to?  questions abound, for sure.  perhaps the one the weighs the heaviest on my mind is the one regarding the day to day 2 ton elephant in the room.  in order to respect the uncertain fate all of us it would be inappropriate to ask others what/if /how they will function when the dust clears, but to ignore that is the situation we are all dealing with makes it tenuous.  if i wasn’t so personally invested perhaps i would see this some sort of fascinating sociology experiment, but it falls just too close to home to view it as anything other than tragic.

while comparatively inconsequential, my blogging has suffered.  i just can’t muster the energy to see beyond the fog that has settled over the whole situation.  i suppose i could give it a go, but i’d prefer to recapture my mojo when the time is right and not force the issue.

yep.

 

long term effects

given my current situation with a reorganization, i’m starting to wonder about the long term effects of keeping people waiting to hear about their job.  obviously, any organization that asks people to wait before tendering a job offer run the risk of that person going elsewhere or finding a job that will give them an answer quicker.  my concerns are what happens to the folks who play the waiting game and remain patient and are eventually rewarded with a position.  has the organization lost the goodwill of the employees?  we talk lots about building up stock with people so that when the relationship takes a hit or something has to be done we have enough stock built up that it isn’t detrimental.  i see the opposite happening all around me.  it seems like a prolonged reorganization can really drain all emotional/professional stock that has been built up.  what happens when that hits zero?  should i be a survivor of what is happening all around me, i’m going to be very interested to see the reactions and the process of settling.  i don’t wish disgruntlement but that doesn’t mean i’m not preparing for what will happen when those who remain (should i be lucky enough to be among them) have some sort of survivor guilt.

maybe i’ll step out of character and find some sort of silver lining…it’s been an interesting gut check.  it has really tested patience for those who aren’t used to exercising it.  i tried.