Effectively I had been demoted - the past week at work

Monday

I got to work early, intending to make a good start, but Ryan M (Operations Director) and Felix S were sitting on the edges of desks in the middle of the Marketing department talking so that I couldn't concentrate ("...tried to play on Saturday" said Ryan, "but as soon as I kicked the ball my foot went again... trouble is we have lots of sixteen and seventeen year old lads who want to join the team... I think my days are numbered...).

They eventually left when the working day began and other staff arrived.

Most of the day I spent in a "review" meeting with my boss Tom D.  It is obvious we do not like each other.  As I am leaving at the end of the year I no longer bother to hide my contempt for the way he operates.

Tuesday

The new combined Marketing & Research department has been allocated new space - still on the ground floor but with much more room.  This morning I drew up a plan of how I wanted the desks arranged, and ordered new cupboards.  Although I am leaving in a few weeks I feel totally absorbed in what the department is doing.

PR Officer Josie S looked so unhappy that other people in the offices became concerned.  She is recovering from an office romance (although the romantic element seemed to have been entirely one-sided).  I am unsure how to handle this, and so far have simply left her alone, although she hardly does any work.

The little work she does do is concerned with PR for the Operations department (all the departments have their own PR matrix).  As her former lover was Ryan M, Operations director, this has led to several low-level unpleasant incidents where she has been ignored or her work unfairly criticised.  This afternoon she asked Ryan M whether he had looked at a press release she had prepared and he told her rudely "Yeah, I took it home and threw darts at it".

I keep thinking she will snap out of it and become the person she used to be (diligent, capable, focussed on her work).

Wednesday

My meeting with Tom D on Monday had obviously lingered in his mind, and when he arrived this morning he walked past my desk and curtly asked me to come into his office (he said this without stopping - it was so rude it was comical).  In this meeting he told me that the merger of Marketing and Research would no longer go ahead, and that I was no longer manager of the Information team, leaving me just two staff to manage.  Effectively I had been demoted.

Then a meeting of all the Communications staff was held in the Board Room, and the new changes were announced.  A new Research manager is to be recruited, and the merger will go ahead under that person.  Everyone appeared to be stunned at this news, and the only person to speak was Caron in the Information Team who said:  "I'd like to thank Andrew for being a wonderful manager" (exaggerated, but a nice thing to say).

Thursday

When I arrived at the offices this morning at 7.30 to my surprise I found Josie S also there.  When I asked how she was she told me "I am stupid" which was a mysterious thing to say.  I got myself a cup of coffee and superficially looked at the papers on my desk although for the first time I considered the possibility that Josie might do something genuinely stupid.

I spent some time with Ron J, the new Marketing Officer who has just joined the department, arranging his training.

Leaving at 3pm (justifiable because I had started so early) I went to another session at the driving range with Felix S and Ryan M.  Lovely mild afternoon.  I was able to drive some of the balls past the 100 yards mark (which for me is good progress!).

Friday

Ethereal mists over the fields as I drove to work.

A relaxed day at the NGO, mainly because so many people were away today.

The monthly PR report for October was prepared by Josie S and e-mailed to me to look over before it was distributed.  This report lists the media exposure the NGO has achieved over the last month.  It was very thin, and reflected the fact that Josie S hasn't been working very hard (briefly I thought of suppressing the report, but that might raise too many questions).

A conference I am helping to organise is going very well, and initial bookings are very strong - at least something is going right!

In the evening at home I worked out my finances for the month and things look fine for the future (which is why I am not too worried about the fact that soon I will not have a job).