Boredworkers.com

Well, as some of you might already know, I have changed jobs. My last day with my previous employer came just before the Chinese New Year celebrations. Yesterday (06-02-2006), after a weeklong holiday that coincided with the various holidays, I began a new adventure in a new company.

Many people have asked me how I am getting along in my new job. Well, I like to see it as an adventure because I really don’t know what to expect. As with all new jobs, I predict that my first few days will be occupied with reading tons of documentation, and getting up to speed with the products and culture of the company. It is a long and boring process but a necessary one nonetheless. I must have fallen asleep at least twice so far as I wade through the manuals. As my previous boss likes to put it, some light reading to fill the time. HAH!

Although it doesn’t take long to read and digest each individual volume, there are numerous volumes to go through. I still can’t decide which I prefer. The 1000+ page manual from my previous work or the 10+ volumes of 100 page manuals that make up (part of) this company’s documentation. I am leaning towards the former because its easier to find what you need. But that doesn’t mean that the new system isn’t good. Just that they maintain and support alot of products, each with its own nuances to deal with.

During my initial briefing yesterday, I found out that a colleague of mine was going to be on paternity leave towards the end of the month (23-02-2006). I’m to be his understudy and third line support for the product while he’s away. That gives me slightly under 3 weeks to get my act together and become the product expert. Something tells me that that’s not going to happen. Now I know why I had this gut feeling that it was best for me to start early in January instead of dragging it out a month. Oh well, I’m on a best effort basis at the moment, so if it works out, it works out.

The culture here is definitely different from what I’ve experienced before. The company practices a flexi hour system. Official hours are from 8.30am to 5.30pm. However, we’re allowed to come in when we want so long as we clock the necessary hours for the day. That means if you come in at 9.30am, you’ll have to stay till 6.30pm. Most of my colleagues adhere to this rule and are out of the office by 6.00pm. Talk about being laid back.

Unfortunately, the flexi hours also means that the people are a little more distant. While in my previous company, we do lunch together almost everyday, the people here usually head out on their own. I had lunch with a colleague yesterday but today, I ate on my own. I suppose it has its pros and cons. The bad side being that you lose out on socialising and getting to know the people you work with. On the plus side (or at least for the company), you’re done with lunch in 15 minutes flat depending on where you eat, and back in the office long before the lunch hour is over. That in turns means that you’re out of the office even earlier according to the flexi hour system (provided you’ve finished your work of course). Now that’s cool :) If you like this system and want to get into the company, leave a line. I’ll give you more information.

It is still too early to say whether I will be happy with my current employment or whether I will be staying for an extended term with them. I’ll have to wait a month or so before I find that out for certain. However, its looking good and I have intentions to stay here and make a career out of it. Check back in a month or so and I’ll paint you a better picture. As they say, only time will tell.