Just Received a SURPRISE BOX at the Office!

 

Going to the Office during ECQ/GCQ

Just a short glimpse of my life during work days when I go to the office while the city is still under ECQ then GCQ. I already posted my vid walking from Busay to the city. 

In this vid, it's from Imus Avenue going inside the office. We are still working with skeletal force, and clients are only allowed until the lobby, so you will see less people in the office for now.

Yes, after 2 months of working from home, we were directed to be back at the office starting the last week of May.

Moving On. Once Again.

Time to move on once again.

This Friday will be my last day at this company.

The owner/CEO didn't want to regularize me, because according to him, he "wasn't able to feel me".

I know it's his decision since he owns this company, and he has been running it for 15 years, but at least I can explain my side here in my own blog, where no one else can read it.

For the past 5 months that I have been working here, there was not a single training nor event that I dropped. I am proud to say that for the budgetting, I have even saved the company a lot of money while not having to compromise quality.

I have the HR Manager as my immediate supervisor. I reach out to her if (and only if) I cannot solve issues on my end. I never reach out straight to our CEO. It's called chain of command. 

Apparently, he wanted me to reach out to him so he can "feel" me.

I was never informed of that when I started, and I believe it is unethical and unprofessional - you know, bypassing your own supervisor to go straight to the top. Besides, my supervisor has been very supportive.

Oh well, what's done is done.

Or in my case, what's not done is not done.

Time to look for those open windows as this door will be closed to me in 4 days.

Time to move on once again.

The Return

One day more, another day, another destiny..

Today was my first day at my new office. It's kind of a dream come true, in the sense that it is really my dream to go back to the academe. It is not a state university, but it is perhaps one of the best private schools in the country, or even internationally since it is an international school - a British School.

I enjoyed my first day, and I am looking forward to staying here for a very, very long time. My tasks are quite challenging now since I will be working on them alone, but I am looking forward to a lot of things once the school year will start in July because I know I will be able to do more things with a team of talented students.

Crossing my fingers, closing my eyes and leaping..

Wish me luck!

Chasing my Dreams

Today is the start of hopefully a new life for me. I am grateful to the BPO industry for the 7 rollercoaster years, but I've had enough. I haven't been really lucky with that industry, and after 7 years, I'm finally saying goodbye to it..for now? Haha. If I can help it, I'd want to say goodbye to it forever.

When I left the call center industry a a few weeks ago, people have been asking me about my plans and where I'm going. I told them I finally have the courage to pursue my dreams. Some of my dreams, at least.

Now after almost a month, I'm finally starting a new path. Only time can tell if I will be living a dream with with this new thing, but I'm braver now to pursue this. It still won't be easy, but at least it's something I know I want.

I can do this! :)

Alone

At the office,

I feel so alone even if there are a lot of people around me.

Pay Difference

I remember my first job as a guidance counselor and college professor. The pay was relatively smaller than the pay I'm receiving in the BPO industry, but somehow I was able to have extra to buy things for myself. Ever since I started working in the call center industry, I've been struggling. Well, there were times though in the academe that I just had skyflakes and coffee for lunch, but that was a rarity.

If given the chance to go back to the academe, given that I will be receiving less again, would I survive? I think I will. And besides, the stress in the call center industry is slowly killing me so if ever, I'd be double dead. Haha.

Missing the Academe

I am so tired already of working in a contact center. Yes, I've been with the BPO industry for 7 years already and I think this is more than enough. I've always believed that this job is for the younger generation, especially those without any other responsibilities.

I so miss those times that I am always available for my family's activities. Whenever my daughter has a presentation in school, or my sister has an event, I was always there. Until I started working in the BPO industry, that is. Yes, there were times when I was able to be with them, but that has been so rare in the past 7 years.

I don't regret leaving my first job as an educator and the assistant of the university president because working in the corporate world has taught me a lot that I couldn't have learned if I just stayed put. I miss the academe now, and it's not easy going back. It's kinda sad that even with my credentials, it's difficult for me to go back to the academe because there'll always be 'favorites' and 'backers' whether it's a private or state university.

I will always be an educator. Even now that I'm not working in a school. That's something in me that no one will be able to take away. I'm just praying that for this new year, I would have the opportunity to be a professor again, and not just an educator.

Dispensable

I came back because I had such good memories here. It was not the best times of my career, but it was certainly memorable. Never did I expect to be in a situation like this with my batchmates. Pardon my French, but I cannot find a better word to describe our situation other than SH*TTY.

We were the unlucky ones who was certified around the same time from communications training and was given a job offer for this retail account, to serve only for the peak season as they call it. What made it worse was that we had an instant training - compressed into a little less than 2 weeks when it was supposedly a month. We had trainer who was not really a trainer yet (I'm sure she's not certified), and spent most of her time reading the slides which I think is her way of "training" us.

Four weeks of taking calls, we're still given our measly training allowance. Heck, the security guards are getting a lot more than us, and to think that we have the same duties as the regular employees whose basic pay is more than double our allowance. Worse is that we are not assured of being absorbed here and getting the chance to become regular employees. They told us that we will be transferred to another account, and undergo PST again for more than a month this time. That will mean continuing our sorry excuse of an allowance until early next year. I cannot afford that. Not with a daughter who's in school.

*sigh*

Hoping for the best but not really expecting to stay here for long. It's sad to think that though my first stint here was not perfect, I was in good company in a company and account that really took care of us as we took care of those below us.

Now we're just dispensable.

Blue

I am back to a place where I've stayed for almost 3 years before. Aside from a few familiar faces, so many things have changed, most especially the quality of training.

I am really disappointed, considering that not so long ago, we were under the best trainers and we went through hell and back to earn our lanyards and our pins. We prided ourselves in wearing our colored lanyards because we knew that we earned it.

Change.

The only constant thing in the world.

*sigh*

Farewell, VNI

So many things have happened, and will happen in the next few days, the next few weeks. I will be saying goodbye to a lot of people, to a lot of things, to a place I've loved since I started working here three years ago. Yes, time to move on once again. I will welcome this change with open arms because I know the Lord will never let me down.

We're on the road 

We move from place to place 

And oftentimes when I'm about to call it home 

We'd have to move along 

Life is a constant change... 

The friends we know we meet along the way 

Too soon the times we share form part of yesterday 

'Cause life's a constant change 

And nothing stays the same..

~Jose Mari Chan

About to Move On Once Again

Martial law at the office that's slowly leading to turmoil, I am again looking for a new job somewhere else. I am definitely going back to the academe some time at the end of this year, or early next year, but between then and now, I need to feed my family, at least my daughter.

If I'm still here in this company in October, I would be celebrating my third year. Yes, I stayed here for a long time because I loved the company, and I loved the people around. I still do. It's just that our so-called manager has finally shown his dark side. I don't believe he changed. I believe that this is really who he is, and that he just hid it from everyone else before.

I have a bullseye on my back just because he puts malice in everything that's happened in the office. EVERYTHING. And that's a person supposedly "innocent" from the corruptions of society. He's a great example of someone trying to show this to the world, yet unconsciously showing something else.

Yes, actions speak louder than words, and I'm about to do a lot of action with very few words very soon.

18 Hours

Seven hours more and I'll finally be done with this 18 hour shift. Been here since lunch time today, and will go home tomorrow, breakfast time. Yes, it's tiring but someone's got to do this job.

Today is also my last day in the swing shift, and will be back in the morning shift starting Monday, until the end of the month. 3 different shifts for some of us, and permanent shifts for most. Since I'm getting sleepy, let me try to list down some of the advantages and disadvantages of our 3 different shifts.

* Morning shift

6 AM to 3 PM

Advantages

- Basically normal working hours (day shift), just a couple of hours earlier

- When you get off from work, you still have a lot of time (and sunlight) to do a lot of things

Disadvantage

- Waking up really early

* Swing shift

1 PM to 10 PM

Advantages

- For people with an active night life, their other lives start after shift

- For people like me, I get to go home, play or watch DVD's until dawn, sleep, and still won't be late for work

- It's the least busiest shift

Disadvantages

- I will miss all the gigs and events, or even a simple family dinner because I get out after dinnertime

- The sun is scorching hot on the way to the office

* Graveyard shift

9:30 PM to 6:30 AM

Advantages

- I can still have a semi-normal life and have gigs before my shift (that's the whole day)

- There's no sun that'll burn my skin

Disadvantages

- Sooo sleepy

- Until now, I still find it kinda weird going to work on a certain date, and going out on a different date

These are the things I can think of as of now. I may think of new things in the future and I may or I may not update this post. Haha!

New Dawn

At long last, after more than a year of suffering, the office has finally decided to let go of the wolf that has been tormenting me and has been after my head for the longest time. Personally, I feel sorry for him because his wife just gave birth to their third child, but at the same time, he was asking for it (termination) for a long time. He's actually lucky to have reached this far with all the violations he has committed for more than a year. In all other companies, he would have been terminated a long time ago.

Yes, it's a new dawn for our office, with new people coming in. I'm optimistic that this will be a good year for all of us.

Back to the Morning Shift

I am bidding farewell to the shift I love most - at least for now. It has been a good month, I was able to finish the complete 8 seasons of Charmed and I was able to relax a bit. On Monday, I'll be back to the busiest shift of the month, and probably the busiest of my career since our client will be shutting down the old versions of the software we're supporting so all those who haven't upgraded their programs, which is most of the Australian and New Zealand clients, won't have a program to use and will be very pissed off.

This will be a big test of my patience and experience. I don't want this but I have to do it. August is a long month, I can't wait to go back to the swing shift in October. It's a long way off but at least I have something to look forward to.

Morning shift, I can do this!

Hungry, Sick, Homesick and Furious

It's not the best job and company in the world, but I've learned to love my job and my workplace. The pay is not much but it is proportionate to the workload, or the lack thereof. The stress level is not that high compared to the bigger companies I've worked with before. I've been here for almost a year, and I don't want to leave, but one thing is really making me think about leaving very soon. The absences of my so-called teammate. Yes, the same teammate making my life miserable here ever since.

I've been sick the past week, but I forced myself to work because I have family to feed. My shift this month is from 1PM to 10PM, then that teammate supposedly takes over from 10PM to 6AM. Now, that person texted at 9:59PM that he's "sick" and will be absent tonight. Again, not informing us ahead so we can make some arrangements. He's forcing me to cover for his shift tonight, something I can't do because my daughter is home alone!

What's worse is that our office manager is not replying to any of my text messages, and he locked our office land line so we can't call mobile phones, his mobile phone. I'm basically stuck here, hungry, sick, thinking about my daughter back home, and having this job that I can't leave anytime. They can't blame me if I leave now, right? I'm seriously thinking of leaving right now and going home, and probably never coming back to this office. Ever.

This is what I get for sticking with a company that despite being around for quite some time now, doesn't have clear policies and penalties for absences and call-ins. In all the big companies I've been with, people always call-in at least 2 hours before their scheduled shift to inform the office that they'll be absent, and it has to be a phone call. People in this office are so lax and a lot have been abusing the leniency of the company. Sad to say, this company will never grow if this culture continues. We used to call this a "small Australian company." It will continue to be that way if higher management down to the lowest rank and file will continue their ways.

I am very disappointed, and I'm very pissed.

Disappearing Supplies

Some people just don't respect other people's properties. Just because our drawers in the office doesn't have locks, doesn't mean anyone can just get anything from the drawers of their officemates. No, I'm not leaving valuables in my drawer but whatever is inside it, no matter how cheap it is, is mine, and I don't appreciate people taking them without my permission.

I know I'm just ranting but still can't get over the fact that my box of coffee is empty when I haven't been drinking coffee for a month already, my new roll of tissue is getting thinner and thinner everyday, and my new big alcohol is already half-empty when it was still full yesterday. Seems like I'm being the source of supplies again for a lot of people, which I really don't mind if only they have the decency to at least ask permission.

Lesson learned, I'm not leaving any supply anymore in my drawer, even if it means bringing a bigger bag to work everyday.. or I can put a snake or scorpion in my drawer and if somebody is bitten, hey it's not my fault, it's my drawer!

Absentee Employee

For someone who's always criticizing everyone in the office for not following certain policies, he's a model employee-for-not-following-policies himself.

For the past 2 days, I have been working for 12.5 hours because he has been absent. I don't mind him not coming to work, but we've always had the policy to inform the office before your shift (2 hours at least) so we would be able to cover up. The other day, we didn't receive any notice from him so I texted him more than 2 hours after the start of his shift and asked if he's coming to work. I received a reply from him saying that he sent a text earlier, and that maybe I just didn't receive it. Yesterday, I received a text less than an hour before his shift that he's still sick and can't make it to the office. Today, no word from him. I already sent 3 messages, no reply. This will be my 3rd straight day of doing overtime and it's not funny anymore. I have not been able to spend time or even just talk to my family anymore because everyone's asleep when I get home, and they're still sleeping when I leave for work. This guy should have followed the simple protocol and informed us so we can make the necessary arrangements and adjustments. The only reason acceptable that he's not able to send even a single text message is that he's either dead or dying.

The wolf is slowly shedding the sheep's skin he's been hiding in the past months. He's showing his true colors. The people didn't even like him when he was still a sheep, how much more now when they realize that he's a wolf.

Office Alone

One hour and 9 minutes more, and I'm done with my Maundy Thursday all-alone-in-the-office-graveyard shift. Tonight will be my last shift for the week, and my last graveyard shift for now as I'll finally be going back to the swing shift next week. It will also be a Good Friday all-alone-in-the-office-graveyard shift. I don't know if I'm just unlucky but since I started working here, I'm always the unlucky bloke assigned to the graveyard shift during Holidays. It sucks big time that's why I just have to think about the double pay every time it happens.

There's another holiday next week, but at least I'll be at the swing shift already, the shift I love most because I will have more time to spend with my daughter. And I will definitely have to spend as much time with her as I can before she starts grade school in a couple of months.

Hoping

Not counting the shift I'm in now, I have just 7 working days left in the stressful graveyard shift before I'll be back in the swing shift. I am so looking forward to that because I am stressed and tired of the shift I'm in now. I am reconsidering my plan to resign, it all depends on what will happen in the next few days.

Despite its shortcomings (a lot of them, actually), I still love the company, but I'm really starting to dislike the client. I know I have to deal with it because I'm just an employee, and I am dealing with it. This blog is my buffer. It's cathartic in a way just to let it all out here.

I'm hoping for the best. I've always been optimistic about everything, although there are times when I have my own doubts. Here's hoping everything will turn out fine soon.