I have a friend from college who was screwed over twice by employers who either strongly implied or outright promised (going so far as to allow him to purchase shares of their firm) to provide an opportunity for him to become a majority / controlling owner within their architecture firm(s). Shortly after the second promise was broken, I had lunch with him (he'd since left that firm), and from there, he proceeded to justify his previous partners behavior by citing their heritage (pedigree).
& no, I'm not kidding when I say that. It truly was an amazing attempt of him to save their face.
In the end, I knew it would take time for him to make peace with how he'd been screwed over (especially considering the fact that he & his wife had worked there for well over a decade).
-------------------------
I worked for almost ten years at a similarly sized architecture firm here in Jackson. Though I'd no desire to become an owner of my employer's firm, as a young intern / (& eventually) architect, I naturally wanted to be affirmed / nurtured by the ownership (there were four partners). For the most part, I worked for one of these men exclusively relative to the projects that he was positioned to "stamp" (seal), but I came to know another (temperament) in sort of a backdoor way (as you'll soon see).
When Angie and I eventually reproduced (after being married six years), she quit her job in order to rear our first daughter. As a result of the subsequent monetary hit, I took over the janitorial work at the aforementioned architecture firm I was employed at.
It was humiliating work, having to clean both the Jackson and Ridgeland office thrice a week, but I was thankful for it since it helped pay the bills. At this time, it's important to note that corporate email addresses were just beginning to become normalized. Hence both the primary (Jackson) and satellite (Ridgeland) offices had a dedicated email address (individual owners / employees did not). As such, everyone's email came to one distinct inbox for each firm, and it was the heading of the email itself that was used to differentiate intended recipients.
One winter evening, after cleaning the main office, I drove to the satellite branch in order to do the same. The "front desk" desktop PC was always left on within this office, and a handful of times, I'd snuck a peak at some gay porn therein. On this particular night though, I noticed within the SENT folder of the email client an opportunity to payback one of the former satellite employees (who'd been sent this particular email) for (asshole) antagonizing a co-worker (& good friend from college) to the point that he chose to quit his position.
-------------------------
A week or so later, I sensed that what I'd done had been easily uncovered and therein (to my unexpected surprise) corporately smoothed over. From there, I simply continued on with my janitorial routine, though never again even remotely considering sitting down at the satellite office's front desk PC.
I did have a short-lived run-in with one of the satellite office's employees relative to my stupidity (he'd been the author of the email that I had mischievously forwarded), but that curt exchange I dismissed with aplomb. From there, more time passed. As a result, I assumed I was in the free and clear.
I assumed wrong.
-------------------------
What eventually ended my side hustle was a merger of the two offices under one roof (within a newly purchased building). Therein, that anticipatory conglomerate was simply going to be too large for one man (Rob) to realistically clean. Plus, my wife had begun her own (at home) part-time work that was now bringing in enough $$$ to help us make ends meet.
In anticipation of my "retirement" from this 10-month janitorial position, I actually enjoyed the final month or so of after-hours cleaning. That is until I made that final trek to the satellite office in Ridgeland.
I failed to mention earlier that this office was located on the second floor of a very small office building which had no elevator. Within the lobby space on the first floor, there was a primary staircase in tandem with one outdoor stair that hugged the rear elevation of the building.
I vividly recall bounding up those lobby stairs in anticipation of completing my last HOPEFULLY FOREVER janitorial cleaning, but even before I reached the top riser, I could see my very own payback mocking me from the oversized upper landing.
Unbeknownst to me, the satellite office staff had been instructed by the Partner to aggressively dispose of everything possible in anticipation of the office merger. It was commonplace (this was around 2003-2004) for architecture firms to be busting at the seams with large-scale (24" x 36" or 30" x 42") drawings. Thousands and thousands of pages of these drawings, more often rolled-up like so many sawed-off cannons.
In preparation for this, the staff had been given drum-sized industrial-grade garbage bags, and as such had filled well over 50 of these with extremely heavy contents. There were so many bags of garbage that I could hardly walk from the top of the landing to the office door itself.
Once I did unlock the office door, yet again I was silently taunted by a plethora of oversized, filled to the brim garbage bags. They were seemingly everywhere I looked, other than within the private offices themselves. And each of these weighed well over 100-150 pounds apiece.
-------------------------
Forgiveness is not a default reaction of our humanity. Especially when we've powerlessly observed the pain and suffering of those we love / care about at the hands of those within mutual authority over us (or otherwise). Bullies, if you will, who indiscriminately antagonize both directly and indirectly.
I SHOULD HAVE NEVER ATTEMPTED TO PAYBACK A SERIES OF WRONGDOINGS TO MY FRIEND / COLLEAGUE IN ORDER TO PUNISH HIS PERPETRATOR VIA MY OWN HAND.
Yet, I stubbornly learned my lesson for attempting to do so. For what comes around goes around.
It took me well over an hour to manhandle all of that refuse downstairs and out to the curb that night. By the time I was halfway through, both of my arms felt as if they were going to snap off of my torso, and my lower back was screaming. The bags were mercilessly heavy and bulky. Though I don't remember any of them tearing open, due to my need to drag them individually from the front stoop of the office building across the pavement to the curb, I'm still surprised to this day that they did not.
Once I was done, the massive collective of super-sized garbage bags that I had organized adjacent to the street was astonishingly huge. There's was no doubt, whilst staring at that amassing, that I'd received zero grace from the powers that be.
And as we say here in the Deep South, at that point, I was completely give out. And ashamed. And feeling effectively discounted. To the point of abject mockery.
-------------------------
What might have happened differently - in reaction to - my stupidity that may very well have reflected better on the Partner in Charge of the satellite office?
It's easy to answer that, isn't it? Especially if you're a professing Christian.
But instead, he sought to look for the perfect opportunity to eviscerate me emotionally. All the while clearly relaying how pathetic I truly was (in his eyes).
I chalk up every bit of what little relational savviness I've come to muster over the years to observing the assholes and idiots I had the good fortune / ever present consternation to work / sit under. I do believe that oftentimes, contrast is the greatest teacher of all.
It's frightening to wonder how many young professionals eventually find their hopes vanquished via upper management / ownership's manipulated ploys / posturing. After enduring college, it's a tough row to hoe when one's work setting is silently punitive.
No comments:
Post a Comment