Morality play

I like to think I hold myself to a fairly strict code of conduct, albeit one that is probably far more malleable than I'd acknowledge. I suspect I simply have a strong streak of idealism when it comes to how the world should operate, and I try to make sure I don't contradict that.

It's probably because of this that today I confessed to my manager I'd applied for another job. I hadn't brought it up with him before, largely because I considered my chances relatively remote and therefore not worth mentioning. I still do, of course (and thank you all for your support, but, trying to be objective, compared to the experience they're asking for I'm only a marginal candidate), but since my c.v. appears to have done what it was supposed to, they're perhaps a little less remote than before, and so I felt it only fair to inform him - regardless of whether I get the job or not. I do get the feeling that he's not quite used to people being so open with him in this regard. Certainly, when others I've worked with decided to seek employment elsewhere, they went about it in a rather clandestine fashion, at least as far as management were concerned, holding off announcing anything until a position had actually been secured. I only partially understand that point of view: not announcing your intentions lest you don't find anything and have to stay in your current job, looking rather foolish and possibly having killed your chances for advancement.

But it just doesn't work for me. I have little stomach for guile and equally little aptitude for deception. It doesn't sit well with my nebulously defined code of morality, so I try to be as transparent as possible when it comes to such matters. It may not always work out for me, I know, but I've been lucky so far. Today, for instance, Howard, my manager, managed to throw back one surprise after I told him what I was up to. I'd already discussed with him my intent to move back to Edinburgh at the end of the year and he told me he'd been talking with our MD and HR department about the possibility of retaining my services by allowing me to work remotely from Edinburgh. I've got to admit, depending on how things work out, it could be a tempting offer, at least in the near term. There are some interesting things going on with the company just now, but the truth is that I want to move on - I want the experience of working with new people in a new environment. Things have gotten a bit... staid recently and I'm hankering for a change (for many changes, in fact). But we'll see. If it does come to pass it will be nice to have at least one option open to me, so I'm not going to sneer at it.

Too much future to worry about just now.