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The thing, is, I don't really have any complaints! Usually talking about work means WHINE WHINE WHINE MY BOSS SUCKS MY COWORKERS ARE DICKS WHINE WHINE.
Which I can understand -- I've worked in less ideal environments before.
However, I gotta say -- it's nice that when my boss returns from a vacation and comes to check in with my progress I suddenly feel more motivated to work, more inspired to creativity and, frankly, more excited about being alive (1).
This is because my boss rocks. He's that rare creature -- someone who is actually good at managing people and also employed as a manager. He worked his way up from the bottom, so he knows all about how the job is done -- he was a programmer himself, he understands the process, and when he has nothing better to do or we're in a major crunch he'll actually get his hands dirty with some code. He's really helped me adapt to corporate culture and federal employment culture, guiding me through office politics and gently making me feel like an utter twat when I screw up -- because I deserved it and it drove the lesson home. I'm now extremely well-equipped to deal with office life, which is a major life skill for someone in my line of work.
He's frank and understanding and lenient about things like when we can come in or what we wear -- but strict and demanding when it matters: he's really good at making sure the job gets done and done well. (Again, it helps that he knows what "a job well done" looks like.) He doesn't lord his position over anybody on his team but will joyfully bully anyone not in our team to make sure we get the best equipment, people, time slots, etc. that we can. He also shields his developers from the bureaucracy, which is a MAJOR plus -- he pretty much takes care of all administrative details, leaving us developers with very few interruptions to us doing what we're paid to do.
As a result, our team consistently puts out the best products in the shortest time with the best documentation.
In short, he's a great boss.
Sure, I have some gripes about work -- my coworkers annoy the shit out of me sometimes, especially my officemate, but they're largely competent and easy enough to get along with. I have major issues with our development platform -- we use the .NET environment and I HATE it because it's sloppy and ugly and generally awful -- but it's something I can't change (har har, federal standards and contracts, lawl) and have gotten used to working around. But really, I'm lucky in my job. I'm paid well, I got great benefits out of it, some of them for life (401k *CHEERS WILDLY*), I'm gaining valuable experience, and I enjoy working here.
Honestly.
It's just that I've been feeling kind of like crap lately, due to school drama and pointy-things-in-my-mouth drama and family drama. I'd forgotten that work is actually fun.
( So here's the deal with the footnote up there about being more excited to be alive again )
Which I can understand -- I've worked in less ideal environments before.
However, I gotta say -- it's nice that when my boss returns from a vacation and comes to check in with my progress I suddenly feel more motivated to work, more inspired to creativity and, frankly, more excited about being alive (1).
This is because my boss rocks. He's that rare creature -- someone who is actually good at managing people and also employed as a manager. He worked his way up from the bottom, so he knows all about how the job is done -- he was a programmer himself, he understands the process, and when he has nothing better to do or we're in a major crunch he'll actually get his hands dirty with some code. He's really helped me adapt to corporate culture and federal employment culture, guiding me through office politics and gently making me feel like an utter twat when I screw up -- because I deserved it and it drove the lesson home. I'm now extremely well-equipped to deal with office life, which is a major life skill for someone in my line of work.
He's frank and understanding and lenient about things like when we can come in or what we wear -- but strict and demanding when it matters: he's really good at making sure the job gets done and done well. (Again, it helps that he knows what "a job well done" looks like.) He doesn't lord his position over anybody on his team but will joyfully bully anyone not in our team to make sure we get the best equipment, people, time slots, etc. that we can. He also shields his developers from the bureaucracy, which is a MAJOR plus -- he pretty much takes care of all administrative details, leaving us developers with very few interruptions to us doing what we're paid to do.
As a result, our team consistently puts out the best products in the shortest time with the best documentation.
In short, he's a great boss.
Sure, I have some gripes about work -- my coworkers annoy the shit out of me sometimes, especially my officemate, but they're largely competent and easy enough to get along with. I have major issues with our development platform -- we use the .NET environment and I HATE it because it's sloppy and ugly and generally awful -- but it's something I can't change (har har, federal standards and contracts, lawl) and have gotten used to working around. But really, I'm lucky in my job. I'm paid well, I got great benefits out of it, some of them for life (401k *CHEERS WILDLY*), I'm gaining valuable experience, and I enjoy working here.
Honestly.
It's just that I've been feeling kind of like crap lately, due to school drama and pointy-things-in-my-mouth drama and family drama. I'd forgotten that work is actually fun.
( So here's the deal with the footnote up there about being more excited to be alive again )