Drama at Work

This week has been full of drama at work, and it all centers around our boss. I work in the Schwartz lab, named after Dr. David Schwartz. He is very respected in the science, research, pulmonary, and genetics industries. He was recently hired as the head of medicine at the University of Colorado Denver. He told us all along that he wanted to keep both jobs- head of the Center for Genes, Environment, and Health and Head of Medicine at UC Denver. There has been talk that the entire lab is going to move to the University to make it easier for him to keep up with both jobs. This has caused all kinds of rumors. At this point I have heard that the lab will be moving sometime this summer, around July. I've heard that the pay, benefits, and vacation time at the University will be much better. I have also heard that our budget will be even bigger than it already is. There has been more talk about who will go and who will stay. Apparently everyone has the choice to stay at National Jewish, or move with David to the University. Obviously I want to move- it will only help my chances to get into the University's graduate physician's assistant program. But my boss, Judy, likely will not go. There is no ozone machine at the University, and her entire project centers around ozone. I've heard rumors that this person isn't going, this other person is going, this person wants a promotion, this person wants to take over David's job at National Jewish....... it goes on and on. The worst part is that I don't know if any of this is true. This is my crash course in workplace politics and I am lost. I can only hope that I will still be offered a job when I graduate. All signs are still pointing towards a job, but I have no idea what kind of job it will be. At the very least it won't be at National Jewish anymore. The campus is not much further from my house, so that's not really a big deal. If the benefits, pay, and vacation time are better then that's all good news. I just hope that everything I've learned over the last year will help me in this new lab. Right now my skills and experience are very specific to the kind of work we're doing now. If it changes in a big way, I'm afraid I will have to relearn everything. On the other hand, being with the lab for over a year will make me an asset in the process of moving. I can help reestablish the lab at the University with the knowledge I've gained here. If I'm this freaked out about my job possibilities, I can only imagine how everyone else feels. I just wish David would make some decisions and communicate. I'm tired of all the talking and rumors at work. I just want to do my job. Our Christmas party is on Sunday, and I'm sure there will be plenty of talk there too. I will just keep my ears open and glean whatever information I can. In the meantime, I'll continue to work hard and make sure all my coworkers and supervisors feel that I am an essential part of the lab. Hopefully that will mean a job for me in June.