back of a spreadsheet; back of the net

I have had a miserable few weeks.* I've been supervising some building work in the secure area which has been both isolating and unproductive (on some strands of my job, it's been very productive on the Facilities Management part of my job**), and has involved three weeks of being at the office at dawn. I've then caught a horrible cold (definately a cold says 4 COVID tests).

Work continues to be busy and will be so for another month.***

However, after that work should be calmer until Christmas, I may have some work trips which are actually good fun, with potential visits to Bristol and London.

And more importantly both my dad and my mum appear to have improved medically.

*Not really miserable in the grand scheme of things.

** But I don't actually consider that part of my job, just a hobby I do in between being thwarted doing my actual job.

*** Yes, this will suck, no, there's nothing that can be to make it any better, yes, I've spoken to people about this, it is just part of what happens when you work in a small company - it is why they pay me the big bucks.

1) Do you enjoy your work?

Generally speaking I do enjoy my work. Perhaps more so than the career I would probably have had had my career plans not gone awry just after university.

I am an accountant with a strong commercial focus which I enjoy. It's a nice mix of puzzle solving, legal interpretation and talking to people. It's also portable which means I've worked for large financial services firms, heritage orientated charities, the public sector, cuttting edge software firms. I like this.

Being an accountant puts you close to the centre of any decision making in an organisation.


2) Are you overpaid or underpaid for the work you do (or last did)?

To answer the questions that I think is being asked - I am satisfactorally remunerated for my labour. My salary is not significantly above or below the market rate for my role in the city I live in. I suspect this is changing as demand for accountants increases in Edinburgh. I certainly do not feel aggrieved at my pay. It is likely that my next job will involve a significant pay rise as I move to more senior financial leadership roles. This is not imminent.

More broadly I'm not sure about the concept of under or over pay. Pay is set by the market and is determined not just by the arduousness of the job, or the difficulty of the job but also by the power of the parties to the employment contract and the need to buy (or not) diligent, honest and good performance. I am in a relatively benign position, having some market power, moderately hard to replicate skills and being rewarded for not stealing from my employer. I am not down a coal mine hacking carbon out the ground and my lungs.


3) What one thing do you dislike most about your work?

I think the single biggest thing I dislike about my work is dealing with accounting brethern who are are of a less commercial, people and business focused mindset than me and focus their attention on the numbers and not what they mean. I find it difficult to care about when they get excited about very arcane accounting principles or fret over immaterial amounts.


4) What one thing would make your work life happier or more satisfying?

One of three things. Knowing much, much more about the product so I could help lead the organiation more. Being able to reduce my working week to four days and have Friday off with my son and wife. Acquiring £200m and becoming my own boss as an investor in interesting firms.


5) Do you try to fit into your workplace’s culture? What does that entail?

I don't particularly try but I find I am a decent cultural fit for my work. I work with a lot of computer scientists. So they are smart, a bit geeky and tend to be detail and process orientated. That works for me. The externally facing people, sales and commercial are also smart but more socialiable. Again, that works for me. I'm a sociable introvert. I like being around clever people. I like that the culture here is diligent without being sociopathic, focused on doing the best possible job without being unrealistic about what is possible and focused on doing good work rather than making every last penny squeal for mercy.

I am cycling to work. I know I am. I can feel it in my thighs.

The cycling is working well. It's about three times faster than walking, cutting my journey from just over 30 minutes to about ten. Even with getting changed at work I'm still halving my trip there and back. Crucially, it lets me pick up and drop off the Captain and still make it to work in good time.

I have a locker - in which I keep shoes, a pair of work trousers, some shirts for the week and some toiletries.

The journey to work is mostly down hill so quite fast and exciting. Coming home is a bit more of a slog up Queensferry Road and Lothian Road.

The new bike is performing well overall, but I think needs to go back to the shop this weekend to have it's front gears adjusted.