I'm going to share something with you that happens regularly at my workplace. Actually it has happened everywhere I've ever worked, except the 6 or 7 years I worked as a freelance games-journalist. And I'm sure you'll recognize much of what I'm about to tell.
source: YouTube
My current job is the one I've held on to the longest, and it's the best example, or the worst, depending on your point of view, of what I'm discussing here; I've been working as a help-desk employee for our country's largest Internet Service Provider since 2006. I don't know if that counts as a "white collar" job, but basically I've been sitting at a desk staring at a computer screen and giving assistance over the phone. I like doing it, and I know that I'm one of only a relatively few who do like that job. At least for that long. But I do; it's still very satisfying to me when I manage to solve complicated problems and to hear the tone of relief in the customer's voice when they know they can use their internet, television and WiFi again, without having to wait for a mechanic to visit their home.
However, this job is one of the worst when it comes to the divide between working class and owner class. Me and my colleagues are constantly monitored, we receive statistics about our performance on a daily basis, and if you slack off in one of the KPI's (Key Performance Indicators), you're gone. The main problem is this: the company gets paid for the number of calls we collectively handle, so there's a set average time we're allowed to spend on each customer. That goes directly against the interests of me and my customers though; I want to take the time to do a proper analysis of the problem, and the customer doesn't want to feel rushed. So I've always ignored that particular KPI; 600 seconds is the target, I've always hovered around double that time.
So, how did I keep this job for so long? Well, it's verbal skills and a lot of experience with many other jobs and many other bosses and managers. If you're able to explain clearly why you do what you do, and if you can show that there are good reasons why you do it, you can get away with it. Of course I also excel in other KPI's, like problem solving and customer satisfaction. What I mean is this: all my customers leave the call with the feeling they've actually been helped by someone who cares about them, their problem and their family. When I'm helping someone I am, at that moment, the face of the company, so not only I, but the company also leaves a good impression with that customer, leading to good mouth-to-mouth advertising; even that's measured (we call it NPR, or Net Promoter Rating). But NPR stands in direct opposition to what's most important to the company, which is handling as much calls as possible (and making as much sales as possible, another KPI I tend to ignore ;-)).
But that's not even the topic of this post. My job also excels in the (surprise) visits from the higher-up bosses. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about; suddenly everyone sits up straight and acts really busy. All the minor rules that only get in the way of doing a good job are suddenly adhered to again. We have to make a good impression on the boss, don't we? The floor-manager even announces these visits and impresses upon us the significance of making a good impression, for his or her job's on the line too. I hate that. These bosses know nothing about the work that's being done. This has been the case in any job I've ever had, and the inspections from higher-up have never amounted to anything good, the actual work, production or performances have never improved because of it. These visits only amount to staged photo-ops, making workers feel uncomfortable and not trusted. And besides that, they cost time and production.
What I've just said goes for any job on any level, even up to the president; he or she is expected to act like the bosses I've just described, which I find remarkable. many American voters, for example, demand that the president visits the border or shows up at the train accident. That would be analogous to workers demanding that the boss inspects them more often, knowing that the boss and the president know nothing, can't do anything to improve the situation by simply showing up. Biden must visit the border... to do what exactly? Well, that's the question asked in the short video linked below.
Let's talk about when the boss shows up and photos....
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