June 5, 2005

• The world changed and forgot to tell me.  Of course, I was too deeply involved in my own little world to notice.  The sad part is that I did not get a chance to express my opinion about the change until it was too late.  Now, I am spending a great deal of time playing catch up.

  
  

  Corporations are so afraid of being sued that they have created a machine where people must fit into their various cogs or else leave. 

  
  

  In order to fit into the great oiled machine, you must be willing to fit exactly which allows for you to come to work on time and leave exactly on time with two 15 minute breaks and a half hour lunch -- do not be 1 minute late or else.  How does the machine know you are not working?  Well, you have to clock in and out on your telephone, of course. 

  
  

  Speaking of telephones, you can be listened to and recorded randomly.  This under the guise of checking proper customer service but really checking that you are only doing business on the business-owned phone.  Sounds fair, right?  No!  It is a total violation -- where is the trust.  Where is the give and take of life that allows someone to make a quick call to a doctor's office or home to check on the children?  Where is the option for a really good employee to make a short personal call when not busy.  This rule was obviously created because there are people who will abuse anything. 

  
  

  So, how does the worker retaliate and yes, even the meekest among us will retaliate in an attempt to hold their head erect.  Well, they bring cell phones to work and make personal calls on their personal phones.  Needless, tedious and noisy.  Instead of striking fear into the heart of the "cog,"  the cog has found a way around the silly rule.

  
  

  What happened to the sense of privacy?  When working in cube clusters, you must develop a sense of aloneness.  You think of yourself being surrounded by protective walls and you are safe to do your day's work.  The noise from the other cubes becomes a soft hum in the background.  Then out of nowhere the supervisor's voice breaks the sanctity of your little work-world and says "lower your voice."  Egad!  The sense of safeness has been shattered and not just the person who may be talking too loud but for everyone who could here the "Shush!"  You are immediately thrown into the realm of helplessness.  Your mind shrieks "was it me?  who was it that caused the walls of your illusion to shatter?  Heart races and palms sweat.  Is this being noted in the ominous computer?  How many more "shushes" can you receive before you are WRITTEN UP!  Force yourself further into that box.  Mustn't get written up again.  Could get fired.  Adapt.  Make yourself fit.  After all, you are just a cog in the wheel and the wheel has spoken. 

  
  

  Does this sound like an old science fiction story that you read in your youth?  Well, the future is here and it isn't pretty. 

  • 8:22 am
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