Change is good...maybe

Corporate life. Arrgh.

With that out of my system, let me explain where that comes from. Last November, I was sitting at my desk, plugging away in the position I had held since August 2000. I get a notice that another department is looking for people to train for a "standby" position. This department is one that had just started in September 2003 and I had applied at that time and unfortunately was not extended an offer. So I applied for the standby position. I get accepted this time. I go through 2 weeks of training. It's determined on the last Friday of training that we will be needed, and that my schedule will be changing as of the coming Monday. Up to that point, I had been working 8-5 Monday-Friday. Pretty good hours. I'm told my new schedule is going to be 9-6, off on Wednesday and Sunday. This is not so cool. Part of the reason I always worked earlier hours is because my son has to be picked up from daycare by 6 or I start paying by the minute. That gets expensive. So I go to the supervisor in this new department and explain my situation and so I work 9-5:30 with a 30 minute lunch. I'm still working Saturdays. That's okay. Sooo...I continue on in my "standby" position, technically on loan from my original department until March 2004, when the powers that be decide that the positions are needed on a permanent basis. Cool deal, right? Well, here's the catch: we all have to apply for the positions that we've been holding for 4 months. Anyway, out of the group that had been on loan, only about half of us are hired for the permanent positions. I'm not in the lucky half. So I apply for another position, get it, move in to my new desk, make new friends, get settled in. I've been in this position for a month when the manager of the department I was on loan to sends me an email that she needs to talk to me. I'm wondering what's going on, what I've done, etc. I go to her office and she offers me the position that I was rejected for a month ago. I tell her I need to think about it. It's more money, but might not be as sure of a deal as where I ended up. I go home and talk to my husband. We decide that I should accept the offer and move back. For those of you keeping count, this is now 3 job titles I've held in 2 months.

I've been there since May. I'm at my second desk since I returned to the department. We're all hanging in, doing our thing, when we have a department meeting. My manager's boss is there and explains, among other things, that as of November 15 our jobs are being moved down a pay grade. Then in the same breath, says that he really hopes that we all stay in the department because of our experience and how valuable we are. Whatever. The grade move isn't affecting our current pay rate, but it will change the salary cap. The new salary cap is about where the midpoint is now. There's a guy I work with who was already past the midpoint in our current grade, so if he stays, he'll never get a raise again since he'll be over the salary cap. That's definite motivation to stay in the department and to do a great job.

Then a couple of days ago, we're notified that our manager is leaving in December and we're getting a new manager who's coming from another city and has no experience in the work that we do. Nice.

I had an interview last week. I haven't heard anything back on that yet, so I'm getting a little discouraged. I have an interview for a different job on Monday. I really like the company I work for, and I feel that I'm a pretty flexible person, but I want some stability. I want to know that my pay rate isn't going to be decreased arbitrarily. I know I won't have that definitely as long as I work in the corporate world. Nothing's guaranteed. But I at least want to move somewhere that the rules don't change every week.