Ugh, also Ugh

[branchandroot]

So, the axe finally dropped, today, in that Pres Mark sent out an email to the whole university saying that we're looking at a pretty dire deficit this year (largely but not solely because the University Hospital is part of the University financial structure as a whole), pay increases are frozen, hiring is frozen, furloughs are voluntary now but may not be at some point in the future.

Now, this is not actually a problem for my team, by and large. We are (once more with feeling) the only instructional design unit for about seventy percent of the university. They're already talking about doing Fall fully online. They can't actually furlough any of us without massive disruption of critical service.

But you betcha I spent an hour or so intermittently shrieking CRITICAL SERVICE, YOU ASSHOLE, I'M TRYING TO REPLACE STAFF WHO ARE LEAVING, I'M ALREADY SHORTHANDED, GIVE ME BACK MY JOB SEARCH YOU LITTLE WORM. It's not unlikely I'll /get/ my job search back, really, because again, critical staff. But this has not been a warm and fuzzy day.

So I went out on the porch, and ordered some comfort food by delivery, and now I'm going to make good use of my newly arrived rum and have a nice mojito.

Comments

[zulu]

Ugh indeed! You mean you were in the middle of hiring when they froze everything? THE WORST. Well, I'm glad they can't get rid of you without toppling the whole house of cards! There's that at least.

[branchandroot]

Yes! We hadn't gotten to interviews, but I did proposal-paperwork-committee-posting and then a huge Halt. And it's not like I'm trying to expand, here, just replace the person who's retiring. In a /month/. *headdesks*

So yeah. Definitely consoling myself with job security.

[rthstewart]

Oh damn. To have been in the middle if hiring. And the possibility that school won't open in the fall sucks.

[branchandroot]

Yeah, everyone is still waffling around about "well, maybe hybrid" and "well, maybe online", and I'm standing here going "I can support either, but you gotta make a decision soon if you want it to be creditably online" and nobody listening. Ugh.

[ephemera]

Ugh - this is NOT FUN (we were literally at the point of the job offer letter was on HR-person's desk with a fixed-term fully-funded post, and even that has been frozen...)

[branchandroot]

Aaaaugh! Oh that /sucks/. *passes the Teaching Tequila*

[rheasilvia]

Aaaaaargh. I'm glad your job is secure, but aaaaargh. This trick of trying to make a single employee do the work of 2, then 3, then 4 or more as other employees leave... man. I've been there. A very common and very &%%$&§§$%&%&$%& practice.

[branchandroot]

It's really infuriating. Thankfully, the entire boss-chain for three or four people up have my job search at the top of the "pry this out of the provost by hook or by crook" list, so at least /someone's/ thinking straight.