My boss had his interview for the head grower position today. We're all pulling for him, although we really like working for him the way it is now. If he gets the position (and we're fairly sure he will) he'll move up the ladder and we'll be left without a plant manager (or whatever the company is calling that position now. It seems to change every 6 months or so).
That means his job will be open. I've spoken to a few people at work about who would be the best person for our plant, and whether they'll hire an outsider, or if they'll even hire anyone at all knowing that the site will be sold relatively soon. Surprisingly, like everyone assumes my boss is going to get the head position, they also assume a certain person will take his place.
That person is me.
Whoa.
Okay... I guess it makes sense, since I've been his backup/fill-in/weekend manager for a few years. But I usually focused on keeping the wheels turning, solving personnel and planning issues, scheduling, and dealing with the many mini-crises that occur in day-to-day operations. There is a LOT I don't know. For example, I don't have the horticultural background that others do; the chemistry and scientific nitty-gritty like knowing the ideal temperature ranges for each stage of X plant's growth, or the optimum Klux for said plant. This is one area in which I'm more hands-on than book-smart. Horticulture was never a field I'd considered, therefore I didn't pursue further education on the subject. Or any at all, for that matter.
On the other hand, I have several years' experience at this same plant. My boss thinks I could do it. Other people think I could do it. I think I could do it, too. Thing is, I don't believe I want to. These past couple of weeks have been stressful. Without getting into a lot of detail, I'll just say it's been manic. There is *no way* I can continue doing my own job plus take on all the additional responsibilities of managing our plant and crew full-time. I've been doing that lately, with my boss handling the technical stuff, and even with the two of us sharing the workload it's too much. Something will have to give... unfortunately, we're all stretched so tight now that if something did give we'd be in a world of backlash. Plus, the last person who took this position at another plant didn't get a raise. I'm underpaid NOW; I sure as heck ain't doing more for the same pay. "But it's an opportunity!" Yeah, an opportunity for the company to expect even more than they do without compensating me for it. What they expect now has already pushed my limits to the point where I don't want to do it anymore. A challenge is one thing, but taking full advantage of someone and doing so knowing full well that the person has to go along with it or quit is another thing entirely. And quite a few long-time employees have had enough and quit. I may not be the next one, but if they make it any more difficult I'll be on the short-timer list. I'm sucked dry, y'all. I have to ask myself if it's worth it, and if I am offered the position and decline, how that will affect my current status.
The *only* reason I'd consider it, at this point, is knowing we will have new owners within a few months and I may want to grab it while I can. It will look good on my next resume. ;-)
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