I'm not taking it personally, as in: directed specifically and maliciously against me, but...

[pigwidgeon37]

...I have to say that I'm currently experiencing the very opposite of an ego boost

Comments

[persevero]

Only those who've never experienced it think being paid for doing (almost) nothing sounds like a good idea. I_g was kept on by a multinational for about three months after the work he was doing had been diverted elsewhere and he was not a happy bunny. Hope boss can sort something out before you start staging a coup out of boredom!

[pigwidgeon37]

I agree -- it's a bit of a first world problem, because at least there's a salary, but still. It's nowhere as great as people seem to think.

[gypaetus]

Kommt mir bekannt vor! Da weiß man dann wo die Steuergelder hinkommen

[pigwidgeon37]

Ja, das ist echte Verschwendung von Steuergeldern, hier wie bei Dir. Und denen, die dann halt aus schierer Verzweiflung zu "Owezahrern" werden, kann man auch schwerlich einen Vorwurf machen.

Leider tut sich hier noch absolut nichts in puncto Verkühlung. Aber Mo und Di gibt's mal die Übersiedlungstage, und somit ist auch die nächste Woche eine kurze. Das hilft doch ein bisschen...

[gypaetus]

Ah, keine Sorge - irgendwer wird schon zu hüsteln beginnen (hoffentlich nicht Du! :-) das wäre dann die Strafe :-D

Langes Wochenende und daraus resultierende kurze Woche ist auch schön - sehr sogar :-)

Ich wünsche EUCH 4 erholsame aber auch produktivere Tage :-)

[azulkan2]

Well take your laptop to work and you can at least look busy while surfing the net, or reading, or writing.

[pigwidgeon37]

Oh I can do all that on my work desktop, that's not a problem. It's just that, 1) I have to sit at a desk the whole time, i.e. the number of possible activities is limited, and I can't just leave, and 2) I feel both bored and -- paradoxical though it may sound -- guilty, because I'm doing nothing while being paid for it.

[shiv5468]

That's soul destroying.

[pigwidgeon37]

Yep, it is. What beats me is the employer's indifference to their employees -- it's crystal clear that somebody coming back from abroad already has to cope with a certain amount of loss (money, prestige, living space, friends, etc. etc.), so why make them feel like they're completely unimportant and worth nothing?

[dickgloucester]

Did they forget you were coming and not prepare any work?

I suppose once you find your fee there, you'll be able to give them a list of things you think you ought to be doing. In the meantime, enjoy your free time.

[pigwidgeon37]

No, that's just the Foreign Ministry for you.
As I said to shiv, coming back is already difficult, and *everybody* knows that, but nothing is ever being done to help with that. On the contrary, being treated like this only exacerbates the feeling of loss.

*holds up feet* Found them! No, I'm not going to do the department head's job for him. Putting his people to work, according to their qualifications or lack thereof, is definitely his job.