Tales of woe

There were three people in the office at the same hotel as me, so tonight we shared a cab.  The talk turned to work, as unfortunately it often does, and the views were pretty unanimous - work sucks, the pruning of trooper colleagues has left great big holes in many parts of the business and the hours seem to be increasing every year.  And yet our UK leader asserts that "we don't have a people shortage, we have a skills shortage".  Where is he looking?

Add in the quarterly results announcements that declare "another quarter of growth", which combine with yearly announcements that there are no pay rises, and you really do wonder where it is all going.  

Certainly, that was the mood in the cab.  We do appreciate the current climate, and are not whinging in isolation from the real world, it is just that our company seems to have fallen out of love with its employees.  What the answer is I really do not know.  I certainly would not like to have the job of trying to turn around morale, and I am both creative and generally upbeat.  In fact I am still relatively content in myself, but I am observing other colleagues who are seemingly much less content, and it does have an affect on a chap.  Dash it all if it doesn't put a man off his Pimms, or diet Coke as it is tonight.

So that is what is on my mind as I write this blog.

The other thing I am pondering is the logistics of changing our front door in to a classic wooden four-panel door with stained glass upper panels. 

Aesthetically, there is no question.  Financially, ouch!  We need a budget and to be honest until we have planning permission we cannot proceed to detailed plans, and without detailed plans we cannot get a decent builder's quote, and without a decent quote we cannot create an accurate budget.  We want to get a lot for our money, so we must be sure that we don't go and get a new front door only to then not have the money to put in a floor.  Or a shower.  

Now, that is not such a bad problem to be having, and does put the first part of the blog in to perspective.  As I said, I am generally optimistic and upbeat, and long may that continue.  If I can only bottle it, would make a fortune.