Whenever new people come into an office, there is a period of necessary adjustment.
The problem with being the guy who's been here the longest is that it also makes you the guy that everyone asks everything. Finance? Health benefits? How do I make a shortcut to the shared drive? Where's the potty? Go-to-man, right here.
Deep down in my heart, I do not mind these questions. I actually kind of feel good helping out the new guys and they are all good guys. On the surface, I am also quite pleased to be helping out the new guys. I offer assistance and am as receptive as I can be at any given time.
Somewhere between the surface and deep, deep down exists a level that resents being the go-to-man.
I am a person who is quite content with my hamster wheel. Give me my mission and I'll happily peck it out as long as you don't mess with me too much. Make sure I'm fed and wattered and my mission will prosper. The fact that I now have to a a de facto manager -- only during this period of adjustment, we are all peers, technically -- means that I have to get off my doggone wheel and climb into the tunnels. I have to squeeze my fat ass through these tunnels and into the various compartments of our labyrinthine bureaucracy.
Making sure that everyone is squared away is a good thing. Ensuring that everyone knows not only how to do their job, but how this new lifestyle works, is important for the entire office. I do wish I was better prepared to handle it though.
Just let me get back to my wheel and no one will get hurt.
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