Oh Fairy Godmother, Where Art Thou?

[thessalian]

If the office is the world in miniature (a group of people thrown together with no regard for how well they fit together, trying to keep the place going as best they can), then the world is a strange, stupid place.

Three of the doctors have just left, vanished without trace. Three more are on annual leave. And one of the consultants is at the Royal College this week. Which basically means that things are very, very slow. See, there's always backlog, but it shifts; some days it's in our cupboard, other days it's in reporting, still other days it's in check and sort. One way or another, we're always behind. Today it's in reporting because there aren't enough doctors to report things and the ones who are on shift this morning are the laziest buggers ever to grace the department.

So you'd think -- easy day. Right? Wrong. Because the division of labour is never equal in this hole. And when there's little bits of work sitting around, there's two ways of thinking about them:

"Hmm; we can breeze through these no problem! It'll take three minutes and then it'll be all clear; what a relief!"

"Oh, those can sit awhile; we'll work real slow and not worry about it until it gets kind of full-looking in the cupboard..."

The latter one's the philosophy of the rest of my team. The former one's mine. So despite there being little work to do around here, only one person's workload hasn't changed -- mine. I've just heard one of the secs turn their nose up at the one tape that's in the cupboard at the moment because they don't like typing for that particular doctor, so guess who's going to wind up doing that one too?

You know, at least Cinderella got a nice new outfit and a huge party out of the deal. Well, at least the handsome prince part turned out right...

Thess

Comments

[nadriel.livejournal.com]

Look at it as gathering evidence for the "justifiable homicide" plea...

[verlaine.livejournal.com]

Out of interest, what hospital are you at? I was a medical secretary at large in London until a few months ago, when the strain became just too much and I fled to work in a library instead.

My library contract runs out in a few weeks though, so I need all the reminders NOT TO GO BACK INTO MEDICAL TEMPTING I can get!

[thessalian.livejournal.com]

Medical tempting? I've tended to find not, actually... ^_^

Seriously; I work at ChelWest in the Radiology dept. It's not so much the job (dull as pigshit with a few mindfucks thrown in for flavour) as the co-workers (self-absorbed, loudmouthed, narrow-minded, selfish, miserable twerps).

Working in a library, huh? Oh, the blessed silence...

[verlaine.livejournal.com]

I can't think of a scarier Freudian slip I could possibly have made.

I worked at Chelsea & Westminster for a few days, I think, in the Social Work department, if such a thing makes any sense at all. C & W the really impressive hospital that looks as though people actually spent some money on it, isn't it? The job and coworkers sound par for the course though.

[thessalian.livejournal.com]

Well, they'd have to have spent money on it, given its location, I suppose. It's a beautiful hospital and caters to the odd famous person but it's got a horrible reputation in the NHS. They call it "the hotel". As for the co-workers, I can safely say that it's been better. Fine, one place I went my predecessor had actually had a nervous breakdown (which was why they needed a temp) but at least they kept their heads down and did the fucking work.

By the way, can I just say love your icon?

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

When I read your descriptions of your office, I think of the 1st World War trenches...

[thessalian.livejournal.com]

Yeah? Which side?

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Just the trenches. Soldiers in there fighting, ducking their heads, lying in piles of mudd - most of the soldiers cowering and only a few sticking their heads up (and getting shot.)