Taking time off as an IT Admin really is a double edged sword. On the one side, you need to get away from the office before you start snapping necks. The constant complaining and getting shit on is enough to get to any man. Even one with a long fuse like myself. On the other side though, you know when you come back there is going to be a shit ton of work waiting for you.
Last week I was in training. I missed 5 days (+1 Personal Day yesterday, Mental Health Day). During that time the IIC claimed that there would be coverage while I was out. Of course, this coverage was probably a $15/hr tech right out of school that knows nothing. During my time off, I must have received 50 emails a day asking for shit. Why do I bother documenting things? I went so far that I created a folder on our shared drive called Help & How-To with step by step tutorials for users and admins alike. All you have to do is read them and you can figure things out. If you have the desire or the common sense. The kicker is that during the time I was gone one task above all else was left for me to handle. Instead of actually CHANGING the backups tapes, they decided to stack them on my desk and leave them there. So basically, I haven't had a backup at my main location for 10 calendar days. NO BACKUPS?!?!?!??! Of all the things to let slip, I mean come on. That's IT 101. Data protection. Data is the lifeblood of ALL IT organizations.
People may think I'm being mean when I call people names like the IIC (Idiot in Charge) and maybe I am. When you make mistakes like this though on a recurring basis one of two things needs to happen. You need to be replaced by a small shell script or I should be allowed to nunchuck your ass. It's sad that the people that make the decisions in most cases do not understand what they are deciding on, nor what the consequences of their actions will be. Yet another reason why there should be a personnel manager and a technical manager at my firm. I hate working with monkeys.