jobs siggity suck
May 8th, 2007
NOTE: This post is an old post from MySpace copy/pasted into this one to add content. It is raw and unedited for content or formatting. Love it.
It’s high time I post my theory about the current workforce culture. Or at least a summary of my theory.
First, you should know that I’m not made of the stuff it takes to work for someone. And by “work for someone”, I’m not talking about my relationship with my clients. I mean being an employee. Frankly, it’s also a flaw, but I just can’t do it. I feel it’s only fair to say this since, well, there may be some cynicism peppered into what I’m about to say. Can anyone be truly objective?
Oh, and this little blurb relates to western culture.
So, keeping that in mind…
I believe that it’s time for the culture of the workforce to change. It will have to be a slow process, but it needs to start with a reform of the employee/employer relationship.
See, it’s my observation that we have residual effects from work as it has been over the last few centuries. Starting with the serf system (or maybe even slavery) and continuing through events as recent as the Second World War, having a job has been a privilege. The employer is your benevolent ruler; you the lowly recipient of his good graces.
Having a job and indeed living in a country where you can work at all is still a privilege; one we should never take for granted. But the idea that my employer is somehow higher than me in the social food chain and I owe him or her something is antiquated and ridiculous. In the 21st century - hell, as early as the 80’s - the employer/employee relationship should be a partnership. I owe my employer hard work and he or she owes me money. We BOTH owe each other professional respect.
So why is it that employers still feel that they have to be our leaders? Should we be judged as having problems with authority if we don’t want our boss’s input into our personal lives? Or even our professional lives. Especially if we were hired as the expert in a particular field.
This also creates an issue with term commitments. I live in a state that doesn’t allow for a legally binding agreement between employers/employees regarding the length of time the relationship will last; At Will Employment. Basically, the employer can fire me for any reason, without explanation (as long as discrimination is not involved), and likewise, I may terminate employment at any time without explanation.
If I agree to work for an employer for 2 years, he is also agreeing to give me a job for 2 years. However, if I perform poorly, or I wasn’t forthright with information about myself in the interview process that the employer becomes aware of, I would most likely be flipping fired. Regardless, if I quit, I’m judged as not keeping my word or fulfilling my commitment.
Well what if my employer doesn’t perform to my expectations? Or what if the company or work environment was painted differently in the interview process? Do not have just as much right to “fire” my boss?
Whew…that was a tirade. Enough for today; my insanity goes on forever. Basically, I’m very dissatisfied with how unbalanced the relationship is. That’s why I work for myself. It’s pure. If a client hires me, I work hard to make that client happy. If they aren’t happy, they fire me. And vise verse.
It’s liberating. You should try it.
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May 8th, 2007 at 19:27
[...] for those of you who read my Jobs Siggity Suck post, I recently read an article on Kathy Sierra’s Passionate Users blog that articulates [...]