SPOILER!!:
Quote:
Originally Posted by
lazykitty 
"That's what I thought," Roxanne replied with a smile. The dancing mermaids were where they belonged; at a gypsy swap meet. This was the Environmental Department, so she couldn't justify just throwing something away, no matter how gaudy.
Jasmine's look in response to her question was an odd one. Just because she was the boss didn't mean she couldn't be polite. But at least she remained polite in her tone of voice and phrasing. "Considering I was off having a baby, it was pretty good." Tiring, but good. Then it seemed her input wasn't needed, as the two women began to chat about bills and things. Which Roxanne couldn't really relate to. Since, well you know.
She checked her watch then and finally decided to start the meeting. Jeremy and Perwyn would just have to catch up later. Not to mention that she would be seeing them in her office. Have a talk with them about what she expects out of her supervisors. Because missing important meetings was not it. At all. "Well, it looks like we're the only ones showing up today." It was said with a smile, but it was obvious that she wasn't exactly happy with the absent ones. "So, let's get started then. First off, I wanted to let you guys know that our department is rather short on numbers right now. It's just the two of you and Elizibeth, whenever she decides to come back, plus our newbies Jeremy and Perywn. I'm not going to lie, applications for employment in all the departments is currently down. This is being looked into." Just so they were aware. It sucked, but that was just the way things went sometimes. Though, she did have her suspicions that all the events at Hogwarts had something to do with it. That it was preventing students from qualifying for university which meant smaller numbers all over the workforce. Anyway, that wasn't for her to figure out. "What this means for you guys is that more will be expected of you." She paused just then to let that sink in a bit and so that questions could be asked.
Ahh, it seemed they were about to start the meeting a little early. Or was it on time? It was hard to tell, since only the three of them had shown up; Roxanne, Jasmine, and Laura. There was a lull in applicants for Ministry positions as far as Laura could tell, but they couldn't have been the only Environment employees. In any case, there was nothing to be done but to listen up as Roxanne started to speak. To the whole
two people in the audience...
Laura plucked out the pen she had tucked behind her ear, swept the bangs that had come loose from her ponytail out of her face, and leaned forward a little in her chair, attention on the department head. She nodded as Roxanne mentioned the severe lack in Ministry employment. It absolutely sounded like a problem that would no doubt affect them soon. As the wizarding community grew, they needed the number of Ministry employees to grow and keep up as well, not diminish. Hopefully, they discovered a solution to the problem soon.
Then, Roxanne mentioned the fact that the few of them left in the office would have to pick up the slack. Of course. It was affecting them now. Work distribution would have to be tweaked in order to accommodate current conditions in the Ministry. Laura took a moment to process this. She scribbled a note on her notepad.
Step it up! Then, she looked back up at her boss.
"Roxanne, our division has seen anywhere up to four or five workers in employment at a time. Even if Elizabeth returns, we'll be pretty short," she said.
"Given the circumstances, should we be ploughing ahead with big projects, or should we devote more time to doing whatever we can do to increase employment?" Laura paused for a moment to gather her thoughts.
"Perhaps we could discuss ways to get Hogwarts students or recent graduates one step closer to being qualified for Ministry positions. Like outreach programs. Or internships." Biting her lip, Laura realized that the higher-ups were probably already thinking about these kinds of things. Taking a deep breath, she continued.
"But since I assume we are most likely to continue with our usual jobs, I wonder, with the reduced staff and increased workload, if there would be any overtime," she said.