Across the desks

So yes, let’s talk about Stress Management at work.There are many tools to help one deal with work related stress. Sadly none of these quite prepare one for  suddenly being spoken to in a supposedly deserted corridor, late enough in the evening that one wouldn’t expect anyone to be around. Let’s just say that I now have a clearer idea of what the ceiling looks like close up.

People in lower echelons at work places are quite often fairly dismissive of those higher up in the food chain. “Cushy little office job” they might think.

Over the last 15 months or so I’ve had an insight into the way that some people in these “office jobs” work and the pressures that they’re put under.

Once one becomes a salaried employee then “the man” is at you all the time. Clocking in and clocking out may feel like a chain but in reality it is the key that unlocks the chain. You clock out and you’re done. If you’re a salaried employee then you have a series of goals set and you work the required number of hours to try to get those tasks done.

I have watched the effect that this has, sometimes, on someone I know. Early mornings and late nights in darkened meeting rooms, urgently tapping at her laptop, paddling frantically to stay still or even to keep afloat. So many plates spinning on sticks that that just trying to keep track of them all makes her dizzy, never mind the logistics of actually keeping them all spinning.

And yet she’s fantastic at her job. I’m objective enough to recognise someone with a real talent for the “art” involved in what she does. The “admin” part of the job may not be her strong suit but she’s plenty smart enough to deal with it, given a little support. “Support” for people in these kinds of positions isn’t all it could be sometimes, sadly.

Okay, I’m not to blog directly about work; I promised myself that so let’s veer away from the subject. There are lots of crows all around the city.I suppose that they’d creep some people out but they don’t bother me. I’m quite amused by them actually. They’re clearly very intelligent (for birds!) and will cock their heads to one side and fix you you with a very appraising expression. Unless you’ve had a sizeable crow sat about three feet away from you, weighing you up, you really don’t get what I mean. Especially if you have a bag of chips in one hand!

And the swans! There’s a lake called The Lough not far from where I live and I can honestly say that I’ve never seen so many swans together in one place before. I always figured that they were kind of solitary birds that would pair off and then have a defined territory that others weren’t welcome in. Not on The Lough. I’m sure that every pair has their own “turf” but there’s very little conflict that I’ve seen. Harmonious living!

How’s that for a key? Harmonious living. Balancing different aspects of one’s life can be a precarious thing. Work duties and loved ones, offering welcome support and being overpowering like a duvet that’s too heavy for the weather. There’s a tricky middle ground to walk and no-one is going to get it right all the time.

How deep was that lot? Seriously. Also the longest entry there’s been here for some time. All courtesy of a small, pink computer.