Miscellaneous > The Lounge

being "professional" (long rant about corps vs employees as individuals)

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hm_murdock:
This has always pissed me off. Call me a bohemian, rebel, or whatever, but it does.

The idea that there is a "professional look".

It seems to have become more pronounced in recent years as casual dress becomes more and more casual. It wasn't as big a deal 50 years ago when people wore suits all the time.

Take, for example... people that work in an office building. Who's going to see them, aside from the boss? So how is requiring cubicle dwellers to wear suit and tie "improving company image"?

It seems to me that it's more along the lines that the corporate world is just that out of touch with the real world. In their little dreamworld, everybody is like them, should be like them, and will be like them.

But nobody seems to see or care. And it might not seem like a big thing, but it's just another example of breeding sameness, "team" (herd) mentality, and mediocrity. The idea that when you're "on company time" that somehow you become part of a collective and no longer have an identity or individuality.

Now, here's an interesting question for you... my friend is an aspiring model. Let's say she makes it, and is able to make a living off of this occupation. Define "professional looking" for a model. Lingerie, swimsuits... a pretty smile and strategically placed shadows?

Also... the concept of "company time". Last time I checked... they were the ones that NEEDED YOU FOR THEIR EXISTANCE. That without you, the front-line worker, they'd crumble. They announce that they are hiring, they ASK YOU TO COME. You come, and then the roles change. It's not you coming to them so that they may survive, it's them compelling you to come because they now somehow own you, and that all that time you have with family and friends and for yourself... you're lucky to have it, so don't complain about getting too little time off, and don't let me hear you complain about not getting paid enough, you're lucky the CEO lets you have that, because it's making him wait another day or two to get a new Lexus... and you! Who the hell do you think you are wearing a turtleneck rather than a white shirt and black tie? We're the company, and we need you to work for us, otherwise we'll collapse, because we corporate types are above doing your job, and even if we weren't... we don't have a clue how to do it anyway, we just come up with halfwit ideas about how you should do what you already know how to do better, but it doesn't matter, even though we need you, we're the company and own you because all that stuff when you're not on the clock means nothing to us, and when you're on "our time" it doesn't mean anything to you, we're the only thing in existance, so forget your former life and former identity, you're now an employee, a white-collar worker and you don't have a union, because the CEO would have to pay you more and actually consider your opinions and think of you as a large group of human beings rather than just numbers on a payroll report, so get back to work, what are you all standing around listening to me for? You should have been pushing those papers WHILE I WAS TALKING! I'll send out a memo sometime next week and put it near the trash can in the executive break room that you can't go in because you're only the most important layer of the company, and not an executive who's descended from Zeus or someone like that. Oh, we're cutting everybody's pay because we didn't make our projected 500% increase in profits over last year. It has to be your fault, because God knows, the way you sit down here and do mundane tasks has everything to do with our profits! Profits not people! That's what's important! If people were important, we'd trade them on the stock market! But since we don't, profits are what matters! Profits for us, not you! What? you think you're entitled to getting something back from us when you actually do something to help us? No! If you did something like that, it's only because of our great leadership! We've trained you well. But if you mess up, it's your fault, and don't you forget it...............

Die corporate america.... DIE. shove your profits up your filthy assholes and get a clue. without "employees" you're just a bunch of clueless bastards with no purpose on this planet other than to SUCK IT

::breathes heavily, almost hyperventilating:: I'm...... okay.......

Pantso:
Wow! Calm down man! I don't want you to have a seizure or anything.   :D  

Your post says it all, so I don't have anything to add to that but I can see you're were a bit stressed out when you wrote it. Anyway, don't get upset! This kind of shit comes with the free market concept, so there's really nothing that you or I can do about it. I mean I'd love to be able to change the whole world and make it more human-oriented but I can't so I'll just stay romantic.  

DC:
Don't get this the wrong way or anything, but at first glance you seem insane.

But hey, you're right, and I can't blame you. There are numerous things that are so insane, but are percieved as normal, so sane men and women just look insane when talking about them. This is just one of them.

The more I live in this world, the more I detest the stuff that happens in it. Luckily for me, it is somewhat balanced by friends who don't play along, a will to battle it all and an awe of the natural world. Otherwise I'd long be insane myself.

Bazoukas:
What happened man and got you so upset?

 BTW i am with you on everything that you said.

hm_murdock:
well, first thing that got me pissed off is that I was turned down for a job because the clothes I wore to the interview didn't "look professional enough".

then, the thing that just threw it over the top was in a thread talking about Windows Longhorn, someone said it "looked more professional" (not knockin' whoever said that... it's just the statement pushed me over the top)

As for being insane... I have been, but we're much better now   :D  

Another thing that pisses me off his how the "corporate culture" is pushing itself into places it should not exist. One such area is education. My college has a Board of Regents, and a Board of Directors. The school distric I graduated from now has a Chief Financial Officer and CIO instead of having a Superintendent of Finance and an IT Director that they used to have. The new positions do the same job... but they're not directly in the chain of command. They're off to the side. A teacher cannot communicate with the office of the CFO without first going through the Superintendent's Office.

Now someone explain to me why some CEO in the 1960s said that without corporate leaders, we'd crumble...

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