Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Change: A Post About My Job

I don't really talk a lot about my job.  I work for a very large company and I like my job and I like working (most of the time).  I have an office, I'm in a middle management type of corporate job.  I have good benefits and I generally like my co-workers and all that. 

I've got changes happening at work.  More responsibility.  Taking on work for other product lines. 

For the past year or so, my primary job function has been bringing product from our sister plant in Sweden to the US.  Initially, it was just the finished products they manufactured and then I got involved in the semi-finished goods that now come to my location and are used in manufacturing.  The product line includes all kinds of cool stuff like this and this and this and lots of other stuff that isn't available commercially.  It's called active hearing protection and involves protecting the hearing but using electronics that detect sound levels to determine how much protection you need.

A few months ago, I picked up a piece of another product line.  Fall protection.  Fall protection is important for window washers and construction workers and so on.  My responsibility is in the area of retractables- so you can hook into your work area and the lead that keeps you connected can retract as you move.  Like one of those dog leashes but these retractables can handle the weight and force of a big fall.

Recently picked up resonsibility for PCB- printed circuit boards.  They are used in our active hearing products so it makes sense that I'd pick those up.

And now, domestically produced safety eyewear.  I will be managing a plant that makes lenses and sends them to a facility that puts lenses into frames and packages the product and then ships the finished product to our distribution center.  Or something along those lines.  I'm just now getting into this one so it's all new to me.

Here's the kicker.  That active hearing stuff was a huge mess when I got it and it took a lot of work to get it fixed up and in a more managable place.  We've got a good team of people involved and while I can't say it runs smoothly, I can say it has improved greatly.

That fall protection stuff... I was told it would be difficult but it hasn't been so bad.  It's just a couple of suppliers and there are bigger issues than my piece of the puzzle. 

PCB's are somewhat new to me and there will be a good amount of manual work required.  I will be juggling semi-finished goods from at least 3 different countries being sent to a 4th country to put the product together and then ship it to us for our own manufacturing.  There's a lot of paperwork shuffling that goes on and a lot of involvement in our inventory management system.

And it looks like this new eyewear job will be a beast.  I've got some huge issues to tackle immediately that relate to a change in manufacturing location. 

So I'm going to be pretty busy over the next few weeks as my already full schedule fills up with more weekly meetings and conference calls.  I'm worried about my existing responsibilities slipping.  It's a whole new balancing act and I'm going to have to really put in some time to figure out the best way to manage all of these new expectations.  Wish me luck, send up some prayers for me, give me words of sage advice.

Photobucket

12 comments:

Garret said...

Advice? Uhhhhhh always have clean underwear on. I never really understood that. An hour later, is it clean? Do you have to change 24 times a day? I'm so confused. Maybe that's not the best advice. I'm stumped.

Let's just forget about this comment and pretend I said something ultra cool and witty. Be sure to blog about me the following day being I gave you the best advice ev-errrr. Yeah, we'll go with that.

Lola said...

What I can do is sympathize and offer my support- my situation is different but similar. As you know, I just started a new job and the work is so much more fast paced and grandiose that I really feel like my head is swimming lately.
The only advice I can give both of us is to BREATHE and to maintain pace -much like running our half marathon in a few weeks, it is all about pacing. We were given these jobs/tasks for a reason, because we CAN handle them and because we are good at what we do. Sure- our focus on some things may be off for a little bit- but that happened when we planned weddings, had children, etc. :)

Amy said...

Sounds like they have a lot of confidence in you. Sending good thoughts for not only balance, but also for enjoyment along the way.

Katherine said...

Good luck!

kbiermom said...

Your head must be spinning! But you'll be well-prepared for the phase of life that involves extracurricular activities :)

Dillypoo said...

This may or not be the kind of advice you're looking for, but...

I work horrendous hours in the fall where I work. 60...70...80 hour weeks. For about three months. I go home to sleep, bathe and change clothes. It'd be very easy to derail my weight loss success that time of year, but I made a plan and stuck with it!

I moved my pantry to my office.

I keep under my desk all kinds of food stuffs that keep me on plan: canned tuna, canned vegetables, a loaf of bread, cereal, and snacks (granola bars, 100 cal pak crackers, etc).

Since you're on a weight loss journey, too, these are my words of advice as you buckle down at the office. Take some groceries to work so you can easily eat healthy and not add the stress of bad food choices nag at you!

Good luck! (Hope this wasn't too long.)

Call Me Cate said...

They must have faith in you based on your past performance so I'm sure you can handle it. It may just take a bit to figure it all out so you feel comfortable with it. Good luck!

julie moore said...

Prayers for you Liz. Reach for encouragement once in a while from my new site www.gracefullwomen.com.

God will give you balance. Wow what a compliment that they would trust you with all that responsibility.

Bill Lisleman said...

I was given some advice years ago about not getting comfortable in a job. Looks like that's not a problem for you. Challenging is good but overwhelming is probably a bit too stressful. It also sounds like you have a good track record to provide you confidence and your attitude is more that half the battle but you must know all this stuff. One other bit of advice from the past only applies when there is plenty of growth - work on giving your job away so you can move on up to the next one. I got off my ladder some years ago and now I forgot where I put the damn thing. Ah too bad ;)

Karen M. Peterson said...

Sometimes I think I'd like to have more responsibility. But then I remember that I don't really want to be in charge. Not at work, anyway.

Good luck! Everything will be great!

Claudya Martinez said...

Wishing you luck. Remember to trust in your abilities.

C. Beth said...

Proud of you, Liz!

Hubs used the safety glasses I got in my 3M race swag bag, as he was putting together our shed last week. He loved them.