Favoritism & Stinky Breath
I rarely go this long without an update, but I've had a lot of drama to entertain me. Speaking of drama, recent news reminded me of the old adage that “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. You can see it in the infamous simulation study of the psychology of imprisonment conducted at Stanford University. You can see it in any gathering of people and the "mob mentality" takes over and people do things they might not normally do or say. It is frighteningly clear that when many normal people gain a measure of power over others they often cannot resist the urge to abuse it and treat those below them with cruelty, indignity and contempt. They turn from Dr.Jekyll to Mr.Hyde, but unfortunately the transformation is sometimes permanent. Even worse is when Mr.Hyde is hard to spot.
" …employees cite hypocrisy, favoritism and broken promises as top examples of employers' dishonesty. [...] For instance, some employees are held to different standards -- one punished for being late while another isn't -- or are offered preferential treatment, perhaps picked for new assignments."
There's a certain amount of fairness that should be employed, although I won't go so far as to insist there be some sort of Democracy, because, face it, the corporate world is not Democratic. The corporate world is more of a benevolent dictatorship, and even with empowerment someone always has more power than another. Thus there are certain rules, some unwritten. Take, for example, dating coworkers.
“If a personal relationship creates conflicts of interest, causes dissension, interrupts the work flow of the parties or other employees, or creates a negative work environment, one or both parties may be asked to resign from the company [or] transferred to another department or location.“
Isn’t that discriminatory? After all, one cannot discriminate against an employee because of marital status. True, but most relationships don't end in marriage and, the anti-nepotism policy is not against marital status, but against conflicts of interests or perceptions of favoritism. Sorry, but it is not protected as any kind of liberty, civil or otherwise. Well, how about a "don't ask, don't tell" philosophy? That’s not necessarily a good idea. Perhaps what fertilizes the grapevine fastest is the attempt to hide a relationship which, if open, might be accepted. Granted, the workplace is a place where we often meet significant others, but it’s always good to be discreet, just not deceitful, and accept that there may be consequences.
Speaking of the workplace, there is one fellow here, a soft spoken Asian man, who I have to work with. However, two things bother me. First of all, he hovers. After covering what I need to know he repeats himself and hovers about, pointing at the monitor or paper and basically getting in the way. It’s not malicious, but it is annoying when statements like, “I’ll ask so-and-so about it,” or “Okay, I’ll look that up. Thanks,” are my way of trying to end the conversation. Secondly, he has bad breath, and, because of his hovering problem, it’s hard to escape. I need a tin of mints on my desk!
I want to go home and play / write / draw / code / chat!!!
" …employees cite hypocrisy, favoritism and broken promises as top examples of employers' dishonesty. [...] For instance, some employees are held to different standards -- one punished for being late while another isn't -- or are offered preferential treatment, perhaps picked for new assignments."
There's a certain amount of fairness that should be employed, although I won't go so far as to insist there be some sort of Democracy, because, face it, the corporate world is not Democratic. The corporate world is more of a benevolent dictatorship, and even with empowerment someone always has more power than another. Thus there are certain rules, some unwritten. Take, for example, dating coworkers.
“If a personal relationship creates conflicts of interest, causes dissension, interrupts the work flow of the parties or other employees, or creates a negative work environment, one or both parties may be asked to resign from the company [or] transferred to another department or location.“
Isn’t that discriminatory? After all, one cannot discriminate against an employee because of marital status. True, but most relationships don't end in marriage and, the anti-nepotism policy is not against marital status, but against conflicts of interests or perceptions of favoritism. Sorry, but it is not protected as any kind of liberty, civil or otherwise. Well, how about a "don't ask, don't tell" philosophy? That’s not necessarily a good idea. Perhaps what fertilizes the grapevine fastest is the attempt to hide a relationship which, if open, might be accepted. Granted, the workplace is a place where we often meet significant others, but it’s always good to be discreet, just not deceitful, and accept that there may be consequences.
Speaking of the workplace, there is one fellow here, a soft spoken Asian man, who I have to work with. However, two things bother me. First of all, he hovers. After covering what I need to know he repeats himself and hovers about, pointing at the monitor or paper and basically getting in the way. It’s not malicious, but it is annoying when statements like, “I’ll ask so-and-so about it,” or “Okay, I’ll look that up. Thanks,” are my way of trying to end the conversation. Secondly, he has bad breath, and, because of his hovering problem, it’s hard to escape. I need a tin of mints on my desk!
I want to go home and play / write / draw / code / chat!!!