Another New Phase in Life

I guess this isn't really new as I have been here before... been where? You may ask.  Out of work!

That is correct I am once again without a full-time job, or any paying job.  On Friday afternoon I had the shock to be told that I was no longer required to come back to work.  The reason given: frustration!  But whose frustration?  At first I was told that the staff was frustrated with  me.  That did not make any sense what so ever. Each and every staff member (excluding the bosses) came to me for help to fix errors they have made, or help them with something they did not know how to do, or wanted to share something about their personal life they were going through at that point in time.  OK, so not the staff, maybe frustrated was the wrong word. 

Then came the next item a list of things that I had supposedly done or not done, none of which are reasons to let a person go... at least I don't think so... you be the judge:

I been told to no longer purchase paper direct but to ask for boxes from one of the other stores because they could purchase in larger quantities getting a better price.  Sounds like a great idea but then we are reliant on the other store remembering to place the boxes of paper on a truck or in the car that is headed to our store.  So we were low on paper, the order was placed, the crunch came,  the paper did not, the other store had forgotten to load said paper onto the vehicle; needless to say we ran out of copier paper completely.  I asked our front desk girl to go and buy a case while we waited for the other two to arrive, someone else told her not to buy a case.  Now I was her immediate supervisor so who should she have listened too?

Next reason, an invoice had been entered twice once with the numeric 0 then with the letter O.  I missed the duplication and paid the account, (about $44).  The cheque was returned by the supplier but did not get to my desk but to my bosses desk.  This particular invoice had not been entered by me but a new girl who had just been hired, who I did not teach.  (This was actually a red flag for me as I did not have anything to do with her training, yet I was supposedly her supervisor.)  She even told my boss that she had made the error.  While I am being told this reason I did not tell the owner, who was laying me off, that I had found numerous errors made during invoice posting by the new girl.  Invoices posted to the wrong vendors; totals incorrect due to wrong GST amounts, and various other errors.

Another item on his list:  A piece of equipment had been paid for twice.  Did I do that?   You may ask.  No I did not.  I paid for the item and the vendor in question sent the same invoice to a leasing company that was used and that leasing company also paid for the same item; we in turn had to pay the leasing company.  I worked with this vendor from March until October trying to get our funds returned.  The individual that I phoned every month on a regular basis did not know how to correct this error, their error I might add.  I resorted to emailing the girl and cc-ing to the CEO of the company, the funds were returned to us withing the week.

A third itme on the list:  Copies of invoices that were not paid therefore missing from our office were not requested or not reconciled in a timely fashion.  Once again not an error on my part as I regularly requested copies of missing invoices. Before they can be entered into the system and payed they have to have the purchase order (PO), receiving report and packing slip attached to prove we had ordered and received the item.  There were times when I would request copy of invoices several times but once I passed them to the girl who did all the matching they never got back to my desk.  I would here her say: "If I see this invoice one more time I'll..." well you can guess the rest.  If she could not find PO's for the invoice or other paperwork she would toss the invoice.  She would not do any kind of detective work to make sure we had dealt with the original. As I am at the end of the line for all paperwork of this nature, then it must be my fault.  Is this reason to lay me off?

There you have it.  Ah! now the frustration is mine, that's why they are letting me go.  Way to turn things around, from staff are frustrated with me... to me being frustrated and so I was being let go.

I had worked for this company for just over a year, supposedly as the Accountant but with my hands tied behind my back (figuratively of course).  I had no access to the bank account to download the statements or check on direct deposits or withdrawals.  I had no access to Workers Compensation to file injury reports, actually I had no access to anything... sorry I tell a lie, I could access the owners Visa account and the companies loan account.  I was the Accountant and supervisor of two, none of it was reality, just fiction I was told when I was hired, the same as the salary I was to earn.  All fictitious.

No I was not happy working there, they  have just done me a huge favour; but hurt pride is tough.  I've worked for over 30 years and never been layed off, if anything employers have done their utmost to keep me.  Right now I'm hurt, angry and very upset and having a hard time not letting depression take over. 

Would I take my job back if they offered it, not without a ton of concessions, a much higher salary, and everything in writing.  So if I or you learn anything from this... Get it in writing!!

Where had the time gone

My goodness has it been two months since I last added anything to my blog? 

You know I don't really have anything new to add.  Other that work has been absolutely awful for the last few weeks.  It appeared that I was under the microscope and once again having everything I do checked and analyzed.  To say nothing of being called out in front of other employees and the girl whose boss (supervisor) I am.  Neither of which had any grounds to blame me for the errors.  One was a filing change that was made before I even began working there, the other was something that had never even been asked of me.

This week the main boss (one of the owners of the company) asked me how things were going and how I was doing... my first response was "OK" but then I decided in a split second to be honest and said "actually I am really frustrated right now".  Of course he asked me why and what ensued was a meeting between him, my immediate boss and myself being scheduled for Thursday morning.

The original meeting was set for 9:00 am but did not actually take place until 2:30.  The owner is very diplomatic and began with stating that I was asking about replacing the girl who had recently left and wanting to know what the future holds for the accounting department.  Then he gave me the floor to state any concerns that I had.  I began by stating I was feeling I had taken a step backward if in my employment there. My boss wanted to know what I meant by that.  Basically I said that it appeared to me that where as before I was left to do my job and now he was checking everything I do... or that is how it appeared to me.

I don't want to write an expose on work but just state the short facts.  He (my boss) explained that due to his overload of work with all the new programs that were being built and implemented he had neglected keeping up with everything else.  He actually was not checking my work, at least that is what he said, but checking the everyday activities of the salesmen and confirming that the new program would work for the rentals by reviewing what was actually on the rental contracts.  He also stated he needed to review that everyone was doing their job properly and following company procedures.

My response was that he needed to communicate this with me and what he was looking for and show me the types of errors that were being made, this way I could learn how the company worked and what was expected from everyone and catch errors at my level.  I do not expect to have learned my job in the six months but I do expect to be taught the finer points of the position.  Communication is the key factor, which was reiterated by the owner, he needs to share with me the errors so I know what to look for.

Of course this was all done politically correctly and I am not stupid to think that my work isn't being critiqued.  This is the first time in all my 30 years of working in accounting departments that I have not been taken advantage off for my abilities but been made to feel incompetent.  I must say that my boss did take time on Friday to point out to me things that he was looking for and errors that the salesmen had made in a couple of invoices, and explain other items of work during the day.

For now I will continue to work and hopefully learn, but, I do refuse to micromanage the one employee who is my responsibility.  I want her to feel comfortable working with us and to know that if she has a problem with any part of her work as the receptionist / assistant to me, she is not intimidated and will come to me for help.  I don't like being micromanaged and people do not learn when treated this way, it is extremely demeaning.

Here's hoping that Friday's improved communication will continue but I'm not holding my breath.

Work.. at least I think work

I have now been at my new job for four weeks and am wondering if I will ever get to do all the work that should be part of the position. I would guess that I actually only work about 2 1/2 hrs each day of eight I'm payed to work. This is not of my choosing but all that my immediate supervisor is giving me. It is frustrating. He works most evenings and weekends but yet will not pass work to me. I am unsure if he doesn't trust my abilities or if he just has a hard time relinquishing control.

Take for instance payroll, this is supposed to be part of my position as Senior Accountant, there have been three pay periods and not one have been done by me. I was supposed to assist with Year End, which I have tons of experience with, and yet again, I have done absolutely nothing towards the year end process.

The days drag by and I'm more tired due to the lack of work. I believe it is time for me to sit down and ask for trust in my abilities and to be given work that takes advantage of those abilities.

It seems I've gone from one extreme to another when it comes to the amount of work that I have to do. At the hospital I had so much work that at times I was over loaded, here I am in a position with really no work at all to do.

This past week I actually stood up for myself, probably for one of the first times ever in my work life. The receptionist, front desk girl, worked her last day on Friday, and they will not be replacing her, at least not for the next while. I was asked to share time shifting with the junior accountant working until six to answer phones. This would be too hard on my body which needs to be fed at a regular time before six in the evenings, expecting me to act as the receptionist when I'm supposed to be the Senior Accountant. Everyone answers the phone at some time during the day, when the phones are really busy or when the receptionist is not available, but it's one thing to help out and another to be acting as the receptionist. This was not part of the job description I was interviewed for and am not being payed to just sit and answer phones. So I said no I was not willing to alternate working times in order to answer phones. It is one thing to work late because my responsibilities and actual work requires it but not to stay and answer phones.

This action may have hurt me during my three month probation period but I don't believe at my age I should compromise or need to compromise. If they end up letting me go then so be it.

Work and Stress - Why?

Since the auditors have done their work, (presented us with audited statements and allowed the close of the year end of March 31st,) I have had a July 31st deadline to get the 1st quarter complete for 2008/09 fiscal year. The auditors gave us the go ahead in the beginning of June; since then I have worked diligently to get April, May and June financials complete.

You will remember that I had two weeks holiday at the beginning of July. Before I left for those vacations I had managed to complete April and most of May. I should also state that I not only do the Financial General Ledger (G/L) and the Statistical General Ledger(Stats Trial), I handle all the accounts payable (A/P). In addition to my own work, I assist the Payroll clerk by doing all her reconciliations, correcting all her errors, (especially where they affect the G/L) and have the added responsibility of training her. Also, I assist the Accounts Receivable Clerk and when she is away on vacation, cover her position.

As you know, the bills still have to be paid. It takes time to code all the invoices, ensure they have all been signed off for payment by the correct manager or Lead Hand, then enter them into the system and produce a cheque run, mail out all the cheques. I try to do three cheque runs every month at the time of each bi-weekly payroll run; a third run at the end of the month if time permits.

Back to my deadline. So, I had finished both the G/L and Stats. Trial for April, and the G/L for May. Since getting back from vacation, two weeks ago, I completed the May Stats. Trial, and the G/L and Stats Trial for June, while still producing the necessary A/P duties. I did fail to mention that I also handle all the incoming mail, distributing, opening and dealing with anything that needs immediate attention - and while I am away the only part of my position that gets covered is the mail gets distributed. The fact that I missed the deadline by one day, e-mailing June's items for my supervisor's return from her vacation was due working overtime and with near Herculean effort.

Therefore there was no time to really check anything in the numbers to ensure everything was correct. The important thing was a 1st quarter statements had been completed. I did manage to reconcile the bank accounts for April, May and June; and a few other of the Balance Sheet accounts. I also received a thank you from my supervisor for having June complete for her review on her return from vacation.

So that's the back ground for this blog. Two days ago I received an e-mail telling me I had incorrectly coded a received payment. I was cross and hurt because those payments had always been in the correct code and last year she told me that I was using the wrong code and they should be in the One-Time code. Of course I complied and changed the code. All along, I had been correct and it was her error that she was blaming for; her error, not mine. As you can imagine I was more than a bit hurt and angry at the tone of her e-mail.

That e-mail was nothing compared to the one I received on Friday (yesterday), just before I left work for the day, (actually for a week because this next week I'm taking another well earned vacation.) There were complaints in that e-mail about errors that were made because she had told me to change coding; missing items that she had told me were not required anymore. Now remember: I had not had any time to really review all the numbers that I sent. The important thing was to complete June so we could make a submission to the Government for the first quarter; this is the first time we have ever had to make a first quarter submission. Of course there were going to be errors; of course there would be credits and debits where none should be; I can't control what comes across from the payroll system its an automatic upload from the payroll module. I did not have time to check all the codes that came from the accounts receivable side of things or the pharmacy; I barely had time to meet the deadline.

As for the Stats. Trial: I have never had any training or courses in government required statistics. What I know, I've learned in this positing hands on. I don't understand all the ins and outs of the numbers. Where you use minutes and where you use units; I take the numbers the various departments give me and enter them into they system. I understand the new coding for the payroll items because that came into being while I've been working here. I remember that at the end of last fiscal year my supervisor gave me some notes on changes; but I did not have time to review the notes, let alone make the changes. I barely had time to complete three months of statistics.

Yes, I admit I have some corrections to do on both the G/L and the Stats. Trial. I admit I still have a lot to learn when it comes to the statistics. Surely there is a nicer way of letting me know that there are changes that are required to meet the government reporting standards. An e-mail that makes me sound incompetent when I should have been praised for being able to get anything in at all, is, shall we say, poor management at best. A face to face discussion and questioning of my understanding and an opportunity for me to explain why there were certain errors would have been far more professional and productive. Who wouldn't make errors, miss data, and not review everything in the circumstances and time constraints which were a big factor in many of the errors to say nothing of the miss guidance I have received. Little wonder my remote supervisor has such a high turnover rate at her office.

My last comment on the note I left to the Accounts Receivable Clerk, (who has been away on vacation this past week,) indicating those items on her job I had not had time for this past week, was; "If I return."

The Flower of the Day

Wild Lilly-of-the-Valley

I've been back at work for one week. My holidays seem so far away yet it is only 7 days since we arrived home. It has been a very busy week. I managed to complete April and close the books. This was delayed as I had to first sort all my mail and enter the invoices and make a cheque run. This took me 2 1/2 days to complete. Once I closed April I began working on the May Journal Entries.

I now have one week to complete May and June ready for submission. It will mean working extra time in the evenings and next week-end. I worked today for a few hours and may go in tomorrow. Dead-lines are very important, but this is the first year that I have had one at the first quarter; usually the government give us a break, and don't require a submission until the 2nd quarter. In the past they have taken into consideration the audit and summer vacations; things change; and now we have a 1st quarter submission by July 30th; I'm hoping that we have been granted am extension.

I've always prided myself on keeping up with dead-lines, but this past year that did not happen. I don't believe there was any month that I wasn't struggling to meet the necessary closing date. Much of the time it has not been my fault, I'm the employee that receives from other departments and if they are late then I'm late.

There was a time when I enjoyed work but that has long gone. It's amazing what a difference it makes when you have to work. When there is absolutely no other choice; you work because you must. While it was because I wanted to work for a short while, I looked at it as a challenge; but as time has gone by, work load has increased and the reason for my working has changed; I enjoy my job less and less.

My vacation did help to pull me back from being stressed and at breaking point. Now with renewed energy I believe I can meet the necessary new deal-line. Of course I also have at least another week of holidays, if not two, to come. At least the last two weeks away were not all the vacation time I shall have.

TIREDNESS OR ALLERGIES

Time has flown by and nothing new has been posted here for over a month. Just lately I find myself arriving home from work and sitting in my favourite chair, which of course is in front of the TV. There I remain until I fall asleep and hubby says, "sweetheart go to bed your exhausted. The trouble is I go to bed, sleep until about 2 am and wake-up, and I mean really wake-up, with no desire to sleep. During these wakeful times I find myself doing Sudoku puzzles for about an hour, once I start to drift off to sleep it is time to settle down again. The problem with this routine, I have to be up at 6:00 am in order to get ready for work.

I do accounting work at a hospital and need to be alert to stay focused on all those numbers. It doesn't help that I am in the middle of Year End preparation. The Auditors will here in two weeks time and I have only just printed my first draft of statements. Now comes the tedious task of reviewing all the departments Operational Statements. Once that is done I have to balance all the Balance Sheet accounts. The last task is to prepare the Auditors binder and my Year End Binder. Next week I have to send a copy of the Trial Balance to our Finance Officer for her to review and send me a list of entries she feels are necessary to complete the year. With all this to do and I am so tired, constantly.

I could be tired because we had snow for so long, and once again last weekend we had more of the white stuff and now today, May 3rd, it is snowing. Due to all the snow the snow mold was very bad and my allergies are acting up. The talk at the hospital is the amount of patients who are coming in with severe allergy problems, so I'm not alone. So I decided to take meds for the allergys and just incase I have a cold I'm taking stuff for that too.

I can't wait for our holidays this year. Usually we head to Milwaukee and visit with Laura, Aaron and family, around the middle of June. This year we can't afford to go very far, plus our Congregation has a group coming to run a Vacation Bible School the last week of June, so we have postponed holidays until June 28th. It seems so far away right now, maybe once I've finished with the Year End and the Auditors have finished I shall take a few days off.

Quick Update

I thought it was about time I updated my blog. I've either been too busy, sick or away so this has fallen down on my list of things to do. Now to quickly post a small update. Richard and I went for a week of holiday to Cyprus Hills, Saskatchewan. This proved to be quite a trip and I plan to write more fully on it this weekend. Suffice it to say we don't think we will take such a long trip in such a short space of time again in the near future. Is that a sign of us getting older? I must admit this summer due to being sick so much I have felt like I've aged several years in just a few weeks.

On our first holiday I caught a virus which lasted a full month it seemed I had finally gotten clear of it only to come down with a cold last Friday that has pulled me down to a "poor me" mess this week. I try not to complain too much when I have a cold but this one really got to me. Whether it was because I had been sick with a virus for a month earlier in the summer or that I'm just plain run down, I complained so much that Richard told me I was sounding like a guy. I even left work early on Tuesday I felt so miserable, something I never do for just a cold. Finally the week is drawing to a close and I am feeling a lot better but I have so much work to catch up on I'm not sure where I shall begin. I've barely come near the computer all week, at least here at home, I work on a computer all day but that doesn't count. I have a ton of emails to catch up on and the bills have to be paid, the laundry needs to be done to say nothing of the weeding that I still have to do. Life continues at a hectic pace maybe even more so now I am older. That reminds me Mum always did say that as you get older time moves faster... I finally know what she meant.

ROUTINE

If there was a time when I was grateful for routine, this week was that time. The cold, or whatever it is, that I have (and now Richard has caught), since the 2nd week of my vacation, continues. I did not have the luxury of staying off work sick, in order to become completely healthy again. Tuesday morning found me back at my desk at the hospital working.

I find my job very stressful these days but I was never more grateful for the routine of part of that job, that is the Accounts Payables. Check the invoice make sure it's signed by the correct person, connect any back-up to said invoice, enter it into the computer to be payed asap. Many times during this past week I found myself on the brink of falling to sleep, which meant routine was necessary. There was nothing I had to do that required any deep thinking. This was good. I had two weeks of invoices and other paper work to work through and a cheque run to be made at the end of the week. I then proceeded to clear my desk of two weeks of paperwork that was routine. Next week I will put my mind to work.

Routine also follows at home. Arrive home from work, check e-mail, eat supper, fall asleep in chair, wake-up, go to bed, just about sums up the balance of each day. I shall be so glad when I once again feel healthy. So never knock routine.