happy national day
one of my friends told me this story about the company he is working in. he is older than me, and has been working in the company for quite a number of years.
in the beginning, it was just a small company, with a boss, a few managers, and a number of staff under them. the company was making profits every year, not a huge margin, but good enough.
he told me life was good then, everyone was happy at the company, in fact it felt more like a huge family (cliched, i know). working hours were reasonable and staff benefits were good, not fantastic, but good enough too.
then some years back, the boss "went crazy" and decided he wanted to expand the company. in the following years, they began hiring many new workers and eventually bought over the entire building.
that was fine he said, but then the management started to squeeze out profits from the company. working hours were longer, employee benefits reduced, pay increments came sparingly if at all. even arriving slightly late for work would get a stern reprimand, and lunch time was strictly an hour.
he said one of the most absurd things was that the management quietly increased parking prices and even the prices of drinks in the vending machines. the building is so overcrowded now that they'll surely be earning no matter how high they set the prices.
the overcrowding was so bad but the boss refused to move to a larger complex due to the costs. each cubicle was now reduced to a tiny space, toilets were overused and dirty, lifts were out of order from lack of maintenance.
it wasn't just that, the entire working environment became so shitty. they no longer went out to dinner (too tired after work) after work or celebrated birthdays (office time was strictly for working, lunch time so short and besides no one was in the mood anymore). everyone was just a machine now, with the sole purpose of churning out money for the company.
of course none of this affected the management. they now enjoyed higher pay, company issued vehicles, and best of all, bonuses based on company profits, which just made them really squeeeeze out every last drop.
they couldn't understand the troubles faced by the staff. for example, sometimes they came in late because it was raining in the morning or there were traffic jams, and they would get scolded. "why is it that i can get here on time and not you?!"
of course the management didn't face such problems. they lived in expensive properties near the central district where the company was and they had free cars to use while the staff had to squeeze on the train or bus.
many of the old staff were unhappy at the current situation. the new staff were oblivious because this is how it has always been for them. some of the old staff approached the management and boss regarding their unhappiness, but soon after they were mysteriously fired for 'underperforming' and replaced with new workers.
the old staff now knew that their positions in the company were expendable. after all, they were a toll on the company's resources, since their pay scale and benefits were more than those of the new staff, plus the new staff didn't have complaints about the company.
the management often reminded them that they should be thankful to be working in such an illustrious company, and how this expansion has brought so much profits and recognition to the company.
"what the fuck?" my friend said, "what in the fuck kind of logic is this? why should we be thankful when we are the ones working our asses off only for them to get all the bonuses? and seriously why in the fuck would we care about the company's profits when we don't even get to smell it?"
my friend is usually a very chill guy, and this was the first time i've seen him get so worked up. very stupidly, i asked him why don't they just leave if they find it so hard there?
"young man, you think it's so easy to leave? most of us are so old, you think any company would want us? they can easily hire a new worker for so much cheaper, just like what my company is doing now!"
so now they have no choice but to stay there, each day getting more and more unhappy as the management's squeeze gets tighter and crazier, waiting for the inevitable end where he too gets replaced.
in the beginning, it was just a small company, with a boss, a few managers, and a number of staff under them. the company was making profits every year, not a huge margin, but good enough.
he told me life was good then, everyone was happy at the company, in fact it felt more like a huge family (cliched, i know). working hours were reasonable and staff benefits were good, not fantastic, but good enough too.
then some years back, the boss "went crazy" and decided he wanted to expand the company. in the following years, they began hiring many new workers and eventually bought over the entire building.
that was fine he said, but then the management started to squeeze out profits from the company. working hours were longer, employee benefits reduced, pay increments came sparingly if at all. even arriving slightly late for work would get a stern reprimand, and lunch time was strictly an hour.
he said one of the most absurd things was that the management quietly increased parking prices and even the prices of drinks in the vending machines. the building is so overcrowded now that they'll surely be earning no matter how high they set the prices.
the overcrowding was so bad but the boss refused to move to a larger complex due to the costs. each cubicle was now reduced to a tiny space, toilets were overused and dirty, lifts were out of order from lack of maintenance.
it wasn't just that, the entire working environment became so shitty. they no longer went out to dinner (too tired after work) after work or celebrated birthdays (office time was strictly for working, lunch time so short and besides no one was in the mood anymore). everyone was just a machine now, with the sole purpose of churning out money for the company.
of course none of this affected the management. they now enjoyed higher pay, company issued vehicles, and best of all, bonuses based on company profits, which just made them really squeeeeze out every last drop.
they couldn't understand the troubles faced by the staff. for example, sometimes they came in late because it was raining in the morning or there were traffic jams, and they would get scolded. "why is it that i can get here on time and not you?!"
of course the management didn't face such problems. they lived in expensive properties near the central district where the company was and they had free cars to use while the staff had to squeeze on the train or bus.
many of the old staff were unhappy at the current situation. the new staff were oblivious because this is how it has always been for them. some of the old staff approached the management and boss regarding their unhappiness, but soon after they were mysteriously fired for 'underperforming' and replaced with new workers.
the old staff now knew that their positions in the company were expendable. after all, they were a toll on the company's resources, since their pay scale and benefits were more than those of the new staff, plus the new staff didn't have complaints about the company.
the management often reminded them that they should be thankful to be working in such an illustrious company, and how this expansion has brought so much profits and recognition to the company.
"what the fuck?" my friend said, "what in the fuck kind of logic is this? why should we be thankful when we are the ones working our asses off only for them to get all the bonuses? and seriously why in the fuck would we care about the company's profits when we don't even get to smell it?"
my friend is usually a very chill guy, and this was the first time i've seen him get so worked up. very stupidly, i asked him why don't they just leave if they find it so hard there?
"young man, you think it's so easy to leave? most of us are so old, you think any company would want us? they can easily hire a new worker for so much cheaper, just like what my company is doing now!"
so now they have no choice but to stay there, each day getting more and more unhappy as the management's squeeze gets tighter and crazier, waiting for the inevitable end where he too gets replaced.
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