Public Service employees has drastically changed in the past 25 years. Personally, I believe it has a lot to do with government shut-downs: 1981 - November: President Reagan vetoed a CR. 400,000 Federal employees went home at lunch and told not to come back. A few hours later, President Reagan signed a new version of the CR and the workers were back the next morning.
1984 - October: No budget and 500,000 workers are sent home. An emergency spend bill has them all back at work the next day.
1986 - October: 500,000 workers are out for a half day. President Reagan signs a final appropriations bill and the workers are ordered back for the next shift.
1990 - October: The Government shuts down during the entire three-day Columbus Day weekend. Most workers were off anyway and an emergency spending bill signed by President Bush has them back at work Tuesday morning.
1995 - December: In the most serious shutdown in history, different functions of government are idled for varying lengths of time until April of 1996.
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I had worked for the private sector until 1988, when I was chosen for an excepted position [it just so happens Lanier Word Processor was on my resume and Nursing Service had lost the ONLY cleric that had training on this particular machine]. I later learned that I also counted in several personnel stats:
1. female veteran
2. disabled veteran
3. veteran that completed veteran sponsored training
4. an ethnic stat
5. a couple more stats
I loved my first position because there was plenty of work; three years backlog of professional boardings for RNs and LPNs and two years backlog of annual reviews.
Initially, I was ignored for specific instructions, so I began typing rough drafts of annual reviews; gave drafts to head nurses to edit and return. I created a template for the word processor, because final drafts had to be submitted on carbon packs. I became an instant HIT with the Head Nurses and their subordinates for finally, RNs and LPNs could be evaluated in Board Meetings, because their backlog of annual reviews were getting processed.
I quickly learned why being too efficient was not a good thing for my work was being tampered with.
- erased diskettes
- deleted files on word processor
- head nurses complained their final drafts were not in their mailboxes
A fellow cleric shared how her work was being tampered with and we both came up with an idea. We simply saved work on diskettes; hide the diskettes; slowed down our submission process; we still left files on the word processor for "that person who was deleting" - we named her PITA [pain in the assets] and would not talk to each other when she was in the office and we would not place final drafts in the nurses mailboxes - we would hand their drafts when they came to the office to check their mail or hand-deliver to the wards.
PITA became board because she missed our conversations and complaints and would leave for long periods of time. When PITA was out of the office, my fellow cleric and I would stop working and have a ball until someone came into the office or PITA returned.
Yes, PITA was the Admin. Assist. - she was told to slow us down because as nurses got boarded and upgraded, many left the hospital. This station was also experiencing a nursing shortage crisis.
That was my first position at the station, I left that position for an upgraded position in Medical Supplies Distribution (wish I had never left this department); next Agent Cashier (loved the responsibilities; however management and their inner circle was mishandling funds) next Engineering, which was later renamed Facilities Management, until I left in December 2004 - it is now Engineering again.
During the last position; I started working on a Masters Accounting Degree, when that Admin. Assist. learned that I was attending school; she 1st accused me of making educational bills for the department - that was not true, I was going on student loans.
The Chief of the service received a FORM letter from my school, thanking him for supporting my educational endeavors. I never asked, received nor wanted ANY educational funding from my employer [though I was eligible] because over the years, I witnessed the stress of fellow co-workers using station funds for education.
Several experienced nervous breakdowns others are still on depression medications. I would not discuss anything I did after my tour of duty with my co-workers for that's how some of them became stressed and depressed. The corporate culture of the station was very similar to a never ending soap opera and I refused to be a cast member. I never liked watching them on the tube and my pet peeve are people who gossip where anyone can hear them.
My response to good news: "Oh really, WOW"
My response to bad news: "Gee, golly, wow"
When asked, "How are you doing?"
----- my response:
"Gettin' Better by the Tic' Toc'"
