Are We at War or What?

Recently the company that I work for declared that unused vacations were growing out of control. The Company has to carry unused vacations as a fiscal liability, and the vacation balance is starting to become a sizeable obligation. So a couple of decisions were announced: First, there will be no vacation carry-forward after this fiscal year (which ends in June). Second, all staff must take all of their accrued vacation before the end of June, and furthermore, should take at least half of their accrued vacation in this calendar year. I have 20 days unused at the moment, so I’ve been FORCED to take 10 working days vacation this month on top of the statuary holidays!
You should hear the complaining: “They’re making me take vacation!!” On this face of it this might seem surprising, but I think it is a case of not letting the team down.
It’s a bit like Iraq. It is amazing to hear volunteer soldiers who are injured can’t wait to get back to what is truly an awful situation. They don’t want to let their comrades face danger without them. It’s very noble to be sure, but I think it is also a quite primitive and fundamental tribal instinct.
My colleagues and I are all working hard – much more than the 37.5 required hours per week (or whatever it is). Making money may be part of the motive, but in fact extra work can only influence bonuses in the near term. Mostly I think we are ‘in it together’ as a team. I work long hours because they work long hours, and they expect that I will work long hours because they are, and since I know they expect it…
It’s hardly the same as being under hostile fire, but there is arguably a health dimension. The Company has certainly taken that tack: “We don’t want you to burn out. Your performance will be better after you have had a real break. This is an important health issue.”
I’m actually looking forward to having more than two weeks off, and my guilt is lessened by the knowledge that many of my colleagues are being forced to take the same time off. Mind you, since most of us work from home, working often just means looking at our e-mail in-boxes… Some have already declared that they will book out the vacation time and work as usual – I'm pretending not to have heard that.

What is an Original Document in the Electronic World?

An editorial I authored was just posted on the eyeforpharma website:http://www.eyeforpharma.com/index.asp?news=43996
The article starts:
"Electronic technologies have had a profound influence on the ways people work; even in the life sciences almost everyone uses e-mail and voice mail in their daily jobs, and many use web conferencing, document authoring, websites, etc. Usually these e-technologies were implemented by companies to promote process efficiencies, or even just to ‘keep up’ with other companies. But just as Napster and other file-swapping technologies have challenged standard business models, so are electronic technologies forcing process changes within companies, not necessarily only to achieve benefits, but also to maintain or achieve compliance. (11/10/2004)
As an example, consider the concept of an ‘original document’ which is very common to many structured processes in life sciences companies: in the electronic world there is no such thing as an ‘original’ – there can be any number of exactly equivalent versions that cannot be distinguished by special paper or blue ink signatures as paper originals have traditionally been. Nevertheless, for compliance reasons we need to confidently point to a specific document as being ‘authoritative’; with tightly implemented controls this can be achieved within a company (a “closed system” under 21 CFR Part 11), but then how do we do the same as we exchange documents with partners, regulators and even the public? This article briefly surveys some alternate approaches, including the industry SAFE initiative..."

MIA

Oh what a lot has gone on since I last posted. And oh what a lot of blog postings I thought about in that time. But now they will never see the light of the web, but no great loss. Onwards…

A Tale of Two Knights - Part X?

I’ve had a few people ask me when I was going to post Part 2 of 'A Tale of Two Knights'. I guess I wasn't clear enough. The Tale is a poorly disguised allegory to a battle that I am currently engaged in, along with many colleagues. We work for one company, and we are fighting in the marketplace against another. And while I described the other company as having "... put on a few pounds and become complacent..." they are indeed fighting back now – which makes it even more interesting. But the next phase of the Tale will probably take a few years to develop, so if I don't make up the happy ending that I hope for, I won't be telling the next Part for some time.

Karina's Next Milestone

The proud Father refers you to: http://www.yorku.ca/yfile/archive/index.asp?Article=3449