Work. The final frontier. Well, at least the last place that I usually want to be.

Work used to be a place that I liked to be at, and came to for the entertainment, social life, I had something to accomplish, and a career.

That, and they pay decently.

Well, things have changed, and I'm now a bit jaded, almost to the point of looking for employment elsewhere.

What changed?

Well, you just had to ask, didn't you. Well, let's do a small history lesson first.

June 2005 - Matt gets hired as a Part Time TSR.

Jan 2006 - Matt moves to the position of Full Time TSR.

July 2006 - Matt moves to the position of Part Time TSR 2.

October 2006 - Matt moves to the position of Part Time Assistant Supervisor TSR (A temp position).

July 2007 - Matt moves to Full Time Assistant Supervisor TSR (Permanent)

October 2008 - Matt moves to the newly created TSR 2 Team Lead

August 2009 - Matt is demoted due to "budgetary reasons" from TSR 2 Team Lead to Full Time TSR 2.

There's the facts as they've been given. However, there are a few things that make absolutely no sense to me on this at all.

For instance, due to "budgetary reasons" they've demoted me, and my duties has been passed over to the Commercial TSR Team Lead. Yet, for some strange reason, I maintain the same salary.

The other thing that makes no sense is a year ago, my supervisor pulled me aside and said that he was creating a new position that might be better suited for me since I didn't seem to like doing my current duties. I'm not sure where he got that idea, as I was frustrated with some of the processes as well as that my fellow team (at the time) got to go play all the work games in meetings while I sat on the floor doing my job, and getting yelled at by customers. So, at the thought of doing something new I applied for, and was hired for that position.

Enter 10 or so months after getting the position, I'm told that they're eliminating my position due to budgetary reasons. I'm still trying to figure this one out, as it shouldn't have been that different. After all, I'm still making the same wage that I had before but without the title and some of the responsibility.

Now some of you are probably asking, "Why the hell are you whining about this?! You're getting paid to do a job of lesser stature!"

True. And I know that. But having the experience in the Assistant Supervisor position I know how things work around here. Or should I say that I know how "things work" around here, if you get my not so subtle drift.

Downgrading myself or anyone else - and there are a couple others that this happened to so I'm not alone in this - causes them to take a "new" position with the company. A position change within the last quarter of the company's fiscal year causes one to be ineligible for a raise in the new year, which starts in September. So, essentially I lose out on a pay raise for the period of what amounts to 2 years.

And that's 100% pure grade "A" awesomeness. After all, the company is always talking about their corporate values, and that they want to have people stay with the company since it costs money to train people, as well as that they are aiming for that magical list of 50 top employers in Canada. Well, what a better way to do that than demoralize them by demoting them and then not giving them a raise when that time comes. After all, in these "tough economic times" we want to make sure that people spend less, and have less money so that they can't stimulate the economy. Brilliant. Absofrigginlutely brilliant.

I'm not mad. But I am frustrated. After all, it's like the last 3 years of my life when down the tube, the ass kissing was worthless and all I'm left with is a krusty brown nose. I'm a bit peeved that the company that I've worked for, put in overtime for, gotten up early for and stayed late for - at their beck and call, worked for bank time at a 1:1 ratio for the first 2 years (an illegal practice), and have come into work to every day I possibly can despite how crappy I feel would do this to me for a thousand or so dollars a year.

Whatever. I'm a bit disenchanted, but I do have to look at the things that this company has given me. I've been able to buy my first home, turn around a lot of things in my life, go on vacations and cash out shares that was given to me as "free" money. As well. I've gained experience. Experience in Tech Support, as a supporting role to front line agents, and gained management experience. I've gone through 2 management courses and successfully completed both of them. These are things that will help me find my next job, where ever and whenever that may be. I'd love to be able to somehow hang on till I can cash out my last set of shares at a decent price, but at the current pace I'd likely not make money for years with the TSX crashing like a Ford Pinto.

But, I'm willing to guess that my luck will run out much sooner than that, and of course I'll have to play my hand.

Unfortunately, I'm not the one in charge of the deck, and the dealer pays me what it wants, and tells me what it wants me to do. For the time being, I'm stuck with my current cards and wide eyes.

Rantfully Yours,

Matt