Alright.
So I signed onto the new job with the company spoken of in this thread on 12-1-08.
I really couldn't pass it up. I had got an offer for FedEX to work there for $18/hr with very little health benefits, as I'd be a contractor for the first 6 months. In addition, I had an interview with autozone that went fantastic. Probably the absolute best job interview I ever took. But the next day their stock dropped like a rock and about a week later, after hearing nothing in return even after such a good interview, I spoke to the hiring manager. He told me that the day after my interview, they had put a hiring freeze in effect.
So when the offer came along from the company that included much more money than FedEX had offered, plus a $12k signing bonus, I couldn't pass it up.
The job is working grave shift, which is fine, I've done it for a number of years. However, come 1-3, the first pay week of 2009, I was required to switch to 12 hr shifts. Working 3 days one week followed by 4 days the next.
I thought the 12 hr shifts would be great. Work my ass off, then I'd have 3 and 4 day weekends. Not too shabby. However the last 2 weeks, Ive ended up with headaches and just overall being sick. My last 4 day off week I spent 2 of those days in bed with a massive headache that took 2 days to recover from. So much for enjoying a 4 day weekend.
Im hoping it's just an adjustment period and I'll be ok soon. we'll see.
Something happened 2 days ago that got me into a bit of a bind. The team got an email from the boss man saying we're not to speak to the management of the client I'm assigned too. The email said "we're not to air our dirty laundry in our customer's house". So later that night a manager came to me asking for some advise and I provided it. I spoke to my colleagues to make sure I was complying with the new policy and my advise contained no such "dirty laundry" so... I sent my email and out of courtesy cc'd my boss.
Next day, I get a call asking why I spoke to the client's management. I gave my explanation that it didn't contain any dirty laundry. and the advise I provided was about my experiences from more than 5 years ago.
So here's the deal. I'm getting headaches and I haven't confirmed, but believe they maybe tied to my 12 hr shifts, and now I'm being told I can't communicate with the client except by approval of my boss. I haven't a clue why... I asked for a list of exceptions or what brought this on and wasn't provided any. So, I'm a bit flustered as my job duties involve talking to the client's management fairly often. More so than anyone else on my team.
Sadly, the signing bonus is contingent of me working until the end of April. I got 1/2 when I accepted the position and will get the other half at the end of april. If I leave before then, I lose both halves of the signing bonus. Due to that rule, that signing bonus is setting in a savings account and isn't being touched. But $12k is a nice little carrot to hold over my head.
Whatever brought on the policy of not speaking to the management of the client I'm solely assigned to work with will likely pass, it's still irritating. Sucks I don't know what's going on in the background. Maybe if I knew I could improve the situation. After all, wasn't that why I was hired?
For the record, I emailed my boss asking for him to contact management for 2 different things. No comment from him yet and it's been 2 days.
I feel like a mushroom. A well paid mushroom, but a mushroom...
