Three little words

The annual work staff survey came to an end on Friday and they are now meant to be collating the data from it. We have been told that they are going to publish the results, including the comments, at unit level.

The particular unit I work in is fine - except for the completely insane Head of Unit. She epitomises everything that gives women in positions of power a bad reputation. She is driven by her ego and totally insecure – a really dangerous combination. I have never dealt with anyone who is such a control freak, even down to stopping the handyman at work from fitting a door handle without her standing watching him to make sure he put it at exactly the right height. Or her latest decision is that she is unable to open her own cupboard and get her papers out or turn on the TV that is on her desk. So she has asked a member of my team to do it each morning. I have protested, as I cannot believe how lazy she is, can she not even switch on a TV - and if any of the papers went missing the person from my team who got them out would be directly in the line of fire. The list could go on and I am sure I will give many more examples over time. You’d have to be there to really understand what goes on...

I am slightly dubious if work will be able to stick to its commitment of publishing the results because what will be said by most of my colleagues will be so damning. I am hopeful though that if the results are made known there will be so much outcry there will be no choice but to consider whether she should stay in post.

I was talking to an ex-colleague on Friday and we were trying to decide whether we thought the full results would be published (even the statistics would be really telling, let alone the comments). Anyway, K said three little words to me that made my heart sing and left me with a big grin on my face. So, what were they...? "Freedom of Information".

Where I work is covered by the Freedom of Information Act and so I might have to take the law into my own hands if necessary and request the information if it is not published. Fantastic – I love the law!