Temps rarely are heard talking about how great their working conditions are. And this post won't counter that. Normally, we are jammed into spaces far more cramped than the casual observer might think is conducive to high-functioning intellectual activity, which is, at least nominally, that in which we are supposed to be engaged. (My mother was an English teacher. Sue me. Your bitching about proper grammatical construction is something up with which I will not put. So fuck you.)
In any event, this project isn't that bad as far as crowding goes. Sure, we're in fairly tight quarters, and we don't have the luxury of privacy (I no longer tolerate the complaints of people who work in "cube farms," where a mere divider separates workers from each other. I shank them. We have no dividers, and considerably less space than each person has in a cube farm.) So we have no-more-than-usual crowding (and less than many projects I have worked), no rats, a newly built-out space with some really inspiring art work, and a semi-decent kitchen/dining area. What's not to like?
Apparently, somebody in management decided that all of those factors combined made us just a little too pampered, so they cut the hours of the cleaning staff. "Staff" might be a strong word here -- near as I can tell it was one woman. I am told that she used to work 50 hours a week, but that was cut to 40. Then, starting this week, her 40 hours were cut to 20. I don't know if it had anything to do with the looming mandates under Obamacare, but I do know that cutting her hours in half means that at the end of the day, trash cans in the kitchen area are overflowing onto the floor. I'm not seeing an upside to this.
I don't know who made this decision. I don't know why that person made this decision. I just am not surprised by the decision. Livable working conditions for temps never has been a big concern for the folks who run temp agencies. Many of the people who work at temp agencies are much more sympathetic. Agency heads? Not so much.
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