On Saturday I finished my third week of my new job. I no longer feel overwhelmed by all of the duties and expectations that I have to remember. Now I feel overwhelmed by all of the duties and expectations that I already know as well as the new (to me) duties that seem to pop up every shift like mushrooms after a rain. All jobs have tasks that are counterintuitive, or at the very least not immediately logical. This is usually because the function of the task has not been explained. The “why” of many of my tasks remain opaque. I like my job so far, but an employee manual that clearly delineates and defines all of the job responsibilities and how to perform some of the more abstruse ones would be much appreciated. The job in and of itself is not difficult to understand, but the way in which my organization bills the State of Illinois, and the accompanying documentation is pretty confusing and frankly tedious. I have a lower than “normal” tolerance for tedium, so the documentation and billing parts of the job challenge me more than they probably should.
My boss assures me that I will get the hang of it soon, and then it will become like second nature to me. I trust her, but I would like the learning curve to flatten out a bit. I have yet to tell y’all about the computer application that we use for the billing and documentation portions of the job. Imagine a program that combines the worst features of Microsoft Word, Excel, and Access, but with far less utility—there’s not even a bloody CTRL+F feature! Picture a user experience that transports one back to the halcyon and heady days of 1997. It’s ugly, janky, and does not reliably save the very notes that are its entire raison d’être. Frustrating don’t begin to describe it properly. I have wanted to shout out loud at the program more than once. If not for the vow I made to myself to never raise my voice above the level of normal conversation in my workplace, I would have already shouted down a collection of ones and zeroes.
The reason that I made a solemn vow to never raise my voice in the home I work at is because I work with a few shouters. Jennifer and I categorically refuse to ever yell in our home, because we will not live in a yelling house ever again. I believe that I should extend the same courtesy to the home in which I work. Seven people live in that house and every one of them deserve to have peace. I will never yell at, belittle, or even argue with the members of my house. I remind myself daily that I am not their warden or any other kind of cop—I am there to support them and to make their living space as comfortable as possible. Sometimes that means cooking them meals, other times unclogging a toilet, or mediating a dispute amongst residents. Sometimes it means being a calm and approachable person that is centered on the needs of my clients. I take my job very seriously. These folks are already very important to me, and I want them all to have the best living environment possible. And to have peace in their home.
I begin my fourth week today, and I am still shadowing the senior employees of my house. Yesterday I received my training on how to properly pass medications to the members of the house. Next week the nurse who oversees the mental health group homes will observe me passing medications, and then I will be given the all clear to go solo on the nights that I work in the home. Wish me luck. I feel pretty confident that I will be able to rise to the challenges of doing my work alone. My house manager and several other people to support me are a phone call or text away, so I don’t feel like I’m on the high wire without a safety net—far from it. That said, wish me luck as I begin the next chapter of this job.
Thank you, as always, for reading.
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Wishing you luck, though you certainly don't need it - you've got compassion & smarts & creativity & skills, and those will carry you through. My own mental rule of thumb is that it takes about 3 months to really start feeling grounded and effective in a new job, so you're ahead of that curve. Woo hoo!