Short-timers’ Syndrome

My friend and demanding solo audience member M writes to nag me about not writing. I have good reasons for not writing. Since my procrastination and report-writing frenzy on Sunday/Monday/Tuesday, I’m having one of those weeks where the sentences won’t behave and there are way too many “that”s flying around and clauses dangle in no particular direction and I just can’t get it all linked together. And I’m also crabby. As we will now see.

Next week is my last week at work. I delivered my last client report on Tuesday. Since then, I have been hit with the full force of short-timer’s syndrome. In me, the syndrome consists of a volatile mixture of sentimentality and surliness.

Sentimental because I’ve worked here for over 5 years, from the dot.com days when we had no business plan worthy of the name, through the years when we had 7 employees and a lot of late paychecks, to our current rebirth with something like 120 FTE.

Sentimental because three of my favorite people at work, who I’ve…not mentored exactly, but been truthful with, and encouraging to, and given the straight scoop in such a way that they can navigate the org…have joined my team, and it’s lovely to work with them.

Surly because I don’t get to work with them anymore.

Sentimental because we just won a large proposal, partly on the strength and honesty of my writing.

Surly because most of our best employees feel like they aren’t treated like professionals or allowed to exercise the full strength of their professional judgment, and it's so just fucking stupid and shortsighted to manage them this way.

Sentimental because everyone keeps buying me lunch.