With my boss away, I had two full weeks of work to do just to begin catching up on my task list. Some of the items there are actually rather important, and even a couple are six months overdue now.
All goes well for the first week. I take life a little easier than I have in quite a while and don't quite put in a full day's work each day, but I equally spend a significant amount of time supporting the rest of the office. It's part of my role, and the part I most enjoy, after all.
My boss, holidaying in Costa Rica, begins answering his phone and checking email after the first week. Shortly afterwards, one of the major organisations (in whose good books we need to remain) rings him and asks "We need to produce documents X, Y and Z, and haven't had time. They need to be completed in time of the meeting on Friday". Boss, instead of saying 'I'm sorry, I'm on holiday until then' replies 'Of course we can do your work for you. You don't even need to pay us. I'll phone the office now and brief them.'
Over that week, I spent several hours on the phone, receiving briefings to prepare documents on behalf of another organisation. Now, almost a week after his return, I've knocked five things off my task list, but added ten more. The six-month overdue activities remain outstanding.
It was also hilarious when he arrived back at the office. I had ensured interns drafted the documents, and they were sitting on my desk to review. I hadn't had time, despite working long hours that week. Other Work had interrupted. On realising this, Boss becomes so tense, so rude, that five minutes after he arrives at work I walk out. I had a wonderful day - went up the river to meet a friend for lunch, went swimming in the river in a thunderstorm in the afternoon, came back home to happy hour at the local cocktail bar.
It's promising, because I think doing that served as a wakeup call for him. For a long time now I've been saying that I have too much work, but I'm not sure he realised it until I cracked. Nothing ever changes in this office. I know that. But I am more optimistic now than I usually am that progress, however slight, might be made.
Not all of his erratic behaviour will disappear at once, though. Today, I am ordering a replacement watch for him on the company credit card. He acknowledges that it is 'a bit dodge' but still excuses it by saying it belongs to the charity and if anyone in the charity needs it, then he will happily lend it to them! We are a charity, funded by public money - of course buying watches for the directors is where that money should go. And anyway, it's only several hundred dollars - the New Yorker carried an article about Baselworld in Switzerland recently. $500 is absolutely nothing for a watch!
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