"Clear and warm climbing out of Kuujjuaq"
I was recently waiting for a flight out of the Kuujjuaq airport with a couple of our Store Managers and the subject came up as to how long each of had been with Northern. You should have seen their expressions when I told them that I have 34 years in this month. They just couldn't believe that anyone would stick it out that long at the same job and it occurred to me that it used to be easier. We all seemed to enjoy our jobs more “way back when the world was young” didn't we? Although I do remember having better things to do than haul wood and make a weeks worth of kindling on a Sunday afternoon in Mistassini this became a part of me, one of my favourite stories and I'm glad I put in those finger numbing -40 degree hours.
Staff problems seem to be getting worse everywhere in the north and south both and no one seems to be content with their lot any more. What is it now, something like 7 times that the average person changes jobs in their lifetime? Why is that? Sure, every day of my work life hasn't been perfect but there were some darned good ones in there. It just seems to me that people now are asking and expecting too much. Guess what? The world doesn't owe us a living.
We are responsible for our own life and happiness and no, it's not the Governments obligation to cater to our every whim. The people that whine and demand and complain about every little thing have to wake up, grow brains and take some responsibility for what happens to them. Living isn't supposed to be easy, it’s a challenge and you have to enjoy the daily small victories and realize that every one of those has to be balanced off with the occasional setback. It’s called life so deal with it people!
"Raining in Montreal but not on me!"
2 comments:
Hello,
Been reading your blog for awhile and love your impressions of the north. I have been here for 2 years and I know what you speak of with the complaining thats been going on lately. Unfortunately I can't take side's, I love this company I really love the land in which we get to do our jobs, however I hate not being able to do my job with any degree of proficiency because my store has gone from 4 managers down to me, for a indefinite period of time, with no effort being made to assist. We work our butts off 365 days a year, and in the end get a 1.5% raise a reduction in bonus, and they pay new hires more on day one than I get after 2 years? Seems to me there is a monkey in the system that is going to have to get worked out soon if they're to have a hope of retaining people in for the long haul.
Two years ago I would have been happy to stay with this company till I retire, now... I have a vacation coming up in Sept. (first in two years) and I just might see what the market has to offer while I'm in the south. As I said, I love the job, I love the land, I love the people most days, but the support structure for us is failing badly.
Hope you enjoy your time back home. I'm going to be spending a week in Tobermory during vacation so hopefully we'll get to share some of the same vista's your returning to.
Take Care
Hey, where else can we have as much fun as we do… and wouldn’t we be bored in a routine job in the south!
My problem is that I refuse to take my own advice. I have to start just dealing with things as they happen and then not dwell on them later. Too often I first blame the person who showed up late or perhaps didn't do something to my standards. I'm trying to stop and reflect before I act or say something. First, is it my fault? Did I set a bad example by taking an extra long break myself? Did I not give clear and proper instructions? Has that person been trained properly, or even at all? If one of my staff messes up could it be just as much my fault as theirs? Hmmm... time to pause and think about the occasions when I was the one screwing up. We'll have do some pondering and maybe continue on this theme again later on.
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