I have a teenager who is entry level in the world of working. She knows some of what her mother encountered at the hands of corporate bullies over her career spanning many years. However, I have always encouraged this young person to look at the world with fresh eyes and to be a person who can make a difference.
Yesterday she related to me a story that tells me that little has changed over the past several decades in the world of business. A "corporate lackey" speaking to new employees in condescending tones as if they were servants and not people. A CEO tells the lackey within earshot of everyone (not that it matters) to "Keep those people away from me." referring to the new hires.Reminds me of the time, while working at a major financial institution in the 1980s, the new very important executive, came to visit our department. We were working in our cubicles as this very important, or self-important, executive says to our department head within earshot of everyone, "Introduce me to your key people." As we chuckled under our breath about "who those people might be", our leader in his gruff, "I'm important voice" started taking him cubicle by cubicle to make introductions. It was pathetic then, and it's pathetic now.
I'm happy to say neither of those very important people amounted to much in that institution. Unfortunately they were replaced by equally self-important people because that's how they are taught to survive. And even more unfortunately they don't do much for the economy or the lives of people who are wanting to make an honest living.
