Becoming one of "them"...

Well, in another batch of work related strangeness, I had the dreaded annual "employee review" (bum bum bummmm!) last week.

Instead of the normal one on one routine, they tell me it's going to be with the 4 bosses, so needless to say I am thinking "what the heck?"

Turns out, they decide to make me one of "them", an "associate" (more bum bum, bummm!"), I say yes, maybe stupidly, I haven't decided yet...More work and more hours are sure to follow, and I already hit 70-80 hrs per week. I have to tame the dreaded product "library" (really a stack of very loosely organized catalogues) and go to the management meeting they have on Monday mornings. The good thing is I have my own parking space and a couple of extra bucks in my pocket.

Apparently, though, this was completely unexpected not only to me but to the rest of the office. I have a couple of people who are barely talking to me because they are upset. One is a really good friend who has more seniority than me, so she is understandably upset. She works really hard, so I feel bad for her. There are two other guys who I can't tell what they think yet, but I have noticed the whole office treats me a little differently, whether jokingly calling me sir or Mr., or just plain not talking to me. Maybe I'm just being paranoid.

So now I have become a "them"...I am not sold on not being an "us" yet.