Things are getting interesting around work at the moment. We’ve started to talk to people about their futures. The joy of construction work is that when the project is done, the big question on everyone’s lips is, “What’s next.”
We’re in an odd position in that the company moved away from construction some time back but are now making more of a concerted effort to get back into it. One of the things that we lack from that initial move away from the business is the people that are used to moving from project to project on a regular basis. So we have a team of people that are in some cases, going through the process for the first time. If there was another big project looming on the horizon it would be a lot easier, but the big challenge at the moment is that there isn’t such a beast in the offing.
It means that when you sit down to have a conversation with people about where they want to go and what they want to do, the part where we tell them what we have to offer them is sadly lacking. It’s funny how vague promises and commitments don’t seem to fill people with lots of warm and fuzzy feelings. Suddenly morale around the office plummets as people are forced to start thinking about their futures (not that they weren’t already doing so).
On top of all this, as I try to maintain some level of positive morale and keep the productivity up, I of course am going through exactly the same thing. It can be hard to tell people to hang in there, that they will be looked after, that something will come up when at the same time you’re wondering how true that might be.
I’ve been with the company nearly 12 years now. Is it time for a change? What direction do I take? Will I even have a choice in the matter?
It’s the big uncertain.
