A Rocked World

I participate in the meetings that involve moving groups of associates because I am responsible for the printers. We have the office split up into different virtual networks (VLANs), so I need to coordinate on the print server when we move a printer with the department. This is actually a pretty easy job and it also has its perks. It's kind of fun to be in the know about who is moving and when.

Our company has had to change the hardware used to build the cubicles. The new standard offers less privacy, but it does allow for more passage of light. People no longer have individual caves, because the walls between cubes are now only about 4 feet tall. There is still a tall border in between rows of cubes.

As part of this hardware change they are swapping out some of the old hardware for some new. They still use the old hardware where they can. The group across the hall from me got theirs changed out over the weekend. This group includes some of the grumpiest support people in the Bank.

I expected the Unix support folks to have problems with it. They tend not to like anything. However, I was surprised by how poorly the mainframe guys took it. You'd think that we have them working in a courtyard in their underwear the way they reacted. One guy was slamming boxes around and making sounds like he would quit if it weren't for him being so close to retirement. One known talker was so upset that he became speechless. It was an incredible reaction.

Some of us indeed tend not to like change. I still don't like sitting in my "fishbowl" cube, but I've made the best of it. I'm just glad to have this job.