Inculcation of bureaucracy

I believe I mentioned in a previous post that my company was sold last November.  If I didn't, well, my company was sold last November.

Since 1953 it had been a family run construction firm.  We now are owned by a group of investment firms that know a whole lot about the Bottom Line, and absolutely nothing about construction.  From the neck down we're the same company; there's just a bigger head at the top of it all.  By necessity, we have been adding staff fairly aggressively over the past year.  And too, at least in part by necessity, there has been a marked increase in the level of policy and procedure that has crept into our daily lives.

What I'm getting at here is a general complaint that I'm starting to feel a little restricted.  I still love the level of autonomy that I experience at work, but I can feel the walls closing in just a wee little bit.

An example: for the past couple days I have experienced internet restrictions when clicking on certain sites from work.  The updated Symantec security is restricting me from visiting specific locations.  This is not to say that I lust after porn at work.  I regularly visit Brightweavings sporadically thru the day and now I find that I can't access certain of their forum threads.  I can some, but not others.  I am halted by a 'DDR Error' - This page will not be displayed because it contains prohibited words or it has exceeded its tolerance of questionable words.  Perhaps the words used on this site are simply not in the Symantec dictionary - they are a well-read lot.

Similarly for Paul's journal.  Paul, I guess Symantec just doesn't like your home-made tomato sauce or a singing Gov-General.  I'll have to read from home.

I'm just hoping out loud here that my company doesn't cease to be a family-oriented firm and start wending its way towards a corporation.  I would then have to start reconsidering my employment options.  Though frankly, I don't think the current operational management would allow that.

If I ever do actually find myself in a cubicle complaining about a pointy-haired boss, I'll know that I've outstayed my tenure.  And a sudden realisation: I actually own a Swingline stapler, with my name labeled across the top, and have had it in my possession for the past 5 years.  (This will make sense if you've ever seen the movie Office Space.)

Spooky.

Comments

[Paul]

Uh, Simon, yeah. I'm, ah, going to have to ask you to go ahead and move your blog over against that wall. We need this space to store a larger Symantec dictionary. So, if you could just go ahead and do that before the end of the day, that would be just great. Thanks, Simon.

[Simon]

Well, OK. Just don't take my stapler.