Two months ago I was promoted to a higher position for the construction company I work for. Before you all congratulate me, please don’t. I thought a promotion would be great news as it meant more money and hopefully a lot more opportunities. Sadly, it means only a little bit more money, a whole heap of stress, and missing out on doing the aspects of the job that I love most. I loved being a carpenter. It was great. I got to spend my day outside in the sun building stuff and putting it all together. Occasionally I’d go to the hardware store. Bayside tends to have nice weather so I’d enjoy my lunch outside. There was heaps of great banter between me and the other boys on site, and I never really had to worry about administration things such as paperwork or invoicing. Now that I’ve been promoted, suddenly all of that is falling on me. I’m spending less time outside and more time indoors shuffling pens and papers. My promotion means that I am now in charge of logistics, planning and stock control. I tell the worker which job sites they need to be at and at what time. That aspect of things isn’t too bad, although I don’t like bossing my mates around. The hard bit, however, is forecasting how many supplies we need for upcoming jobs. This includes timber, nails, and panelling. Incorrectly forecasting these things can run the risk of leaving jobs unfinished for weeks.
This new position feels like a huge amount of pressure that has suddenly been dumped onto my shoulders. I’ve been running around various Cheltenham timber stores trying to stock up on supplies so none of my workers are left stuck at a job unable to work. So far there haven’t been any major issues or mistakes, but I guarantee my heart rate is through the roof. I’m hoping it’s only because I’m still new in the job and feeling my way through it all.