Thoughts #1-I like to dislike the corporate mindset, do you?

Do you work for a big corporation and feel completely out of place because of the corporate mindset? If so, you might want to ease the bad feelings by reading this rant.

Menu of the day:

• Introduction.
• The benefits.
• The trap of the corporate mindset.
• The lack of transparency.
• Silly meetings.

This essay was originally published on Substack, where you can also Listen to It. The audio version can also be found on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Youtube Podcasts.

Don’t forget, ENGAGING with the content is FREE and it can be undone at any time.

SHARE, COMMENT, SUBSCRIBE.

Introduction.

Ok, listen, I really don’t want to waste your time.

So, the important point I want to make with this essay is how toxic the corporate mindset is and how much I dislike it. If you don’t agree with this, well, surely LinkedIn might be a better place for you.

You know, what really wound me up is the way in which the corporate mindset works. It is based on deep dedication. Without dedicated corporate employees, corporations would never work as they do. At the foundation of the corporate mindset there is the hard work of a few dedicated employees. You know, those who have a questionable sense of working, who sometimes might seem like they care more about their jobs than about their lives. We have all had experience with this type of really hard-working individuals. Haven’t we?

Of course, companies are literally exploiting these corporate employees, using their dedication to give back as little as they can.

And, bear in mind that there are not many dedicated corporate employees out there. Especially during a wild job market, it is difficult for companies to find loyal employees. They don’t have labels. So, it becomes a game of chance: the more employees a company hires, the greater the possibility of hiring a corporate one. The one that eventually might come out with a good idea to improve some aspects of the company. This is why the entire structure of these types of jobs is crafted around what corporate employees are most likely attracted to.

The benefits.

The workplace is important as well as the benefits, but are they really that important if the salary doesn’t grow as fast as the cost of living?

I have a theory.

Everyone loves benefits. I mean, all these extra perks offered are always welcome. But, I honestly couldn’t care less about the great majority of benefits, if not for all of them, if I had a high enough salary to be able to own a house, pay all the bills and save some money to afford what I really need. And, although I have no data to back this up, I’m sure, I can’t be the only one thinking this.

However, I’m also sure that the majority of those dedicated corporate employees feel glad, perhaps lucky to have benefits, and they wouldn’t even think of the possibility to trade them in for a higher salary, unless it would be directly offered to them.

Just bear in mind that the majority of companies’ benefits are given not because the company cares about employees, but as a way for them to escape taxes. This is why I personally don’t see the benefits and the workplace as a reward for employees’ good work or as a sign of corporate kindness, just as a win-win situation for both.

With this being said, you can see why I said that the entire structure of corporate jobs is crafted around what corporate employees most commonly enjoy and need. Because, it is mostly, if not entirely done for them.

The trap of the corporate mindset.

When employees are feeling comfortable and secure with their jobs, all these extra perks play a sort of psychological game, where employees might feel as if they were in debt to the employer. They might feel signs of the “impostor syndrome” kicking in. So, eventually they might feel as if they need to do more, to really show off how much they deserve what the employer offered to them, going “above and beyond” as they say.

Of course, when you think about it, it sounds silly.

I mean, in any job, regardless of what the employer has to offer, the working relationship is an exchange of time for money. So, all employees by simply performing their duties are already in a position to deserve whatever the company is giving to them. No employee should go “above and beyond” without getting something extra out of it. But, of course, the corporate mindset creates a relationship based on dedication and not about work. This is why, the main and only reason why you have to work, which is to get paid, apparently is not a good reason to have a job anymore.

Dedication means that employees have to like, if not love their jobs, and especially their workplaces. They must take part in the company’s life. They must use their facilities, hang out with colleagues and participate in the events regularly organised by the company. And, most importantly, they have to accept the company’s help to personally and professionally grow. Because, apparently, we are all dysfunctional adults.

Basically they have to live and breathe the company they are working for, and the PDP, personal development plan, is the demonstration of this. I mean, if you think about it, what would even be the point of the PDP if everyone were judged only on what they were hired for? Why would employees need to do more, to go above and beyond their tasks and duties? How entitled are companies to think that employees need help to personally and professionally grow? When did going to work only to earn enough money to pay the bills become unacceptable?

This is just one of the greatest corporate shenanigans.

Before going on with the conversation, I just want to make one point really clear to avoid any misunderstanding. My principle at work is really simple: regardless of whether someone likes their job or not (because nobody should feel forced to like their job) they always have to do it as best as they can, especially if other people’s jobs depend on their own.

So, I’m not against work, only against the corporate mindset.

The lack of transparency.

Now, there is something companies do that I really can’t wrap my head around. You know, for example, when companies are described as family-friendly, supportive of a work-life balance, flexible with the needs of employees, or when they claim to offer the opportunity to grow.

At this point, we should all be aware that this is just plain marketing at its finest. They offer these extra perks alongside questionable benefits and fancy workplaces.

However, in this situation what makes me think is why they do it. Because it doesn’t really matter what companies say, any self proclamation or claim can easily be dismissed by the one issue that all companies have: the lack of transparency.

Now, to be extremely fair, it is understandable. Public companies could never be transparent with their employees because of investors, even private companies couldn’t be transparent anyway because they have to protect their interests. I mean, imagine if companies were transparent, how could they share in advance the news of lower than expected profits, without expecting a reaction from investors, or sharing the news of a round of redundancies, making it sound fair in front of all employees?

I believe that all these concepts are deeply misleading. Ultimately, companies can’t be trustworthy because of the lack of transparency.

How could you trust a company self-proclaimed family-friendly and flexible, when their policies could change at any time, almost without notice? Anything related to employees’ families should be based on stability, on trust. If an employee needs to pick their children up at school, every day at the same time, it must be done regardless of anything that could ever happen to the company. Lack of transparency means that stability can’t exist.

How could you trust a company that claims to offer a work-life balance when employees were forced back to the office, spending more time commuting than living their lives? And this happened for a lack of transparency on what future plans will be like.

How could you trust a company that offers the possibility to grow to all employees, when there are just so many roles and so many vacancies to fill up? And, if this were true, if there really was the possibility to grow for all employees, it would simply be a huge red flag, since it would probably mean that the company expects to have a high enough turnover to always have vacancies. Not really a trustable sign, if you ask me, since it would also mean that employees are literally pushed to leave one way or another.

As you can imagine, if companies were really transparent, they would carefully mention all these concepts, without advertising them as a sort of “exclusive” of the company.

Silly meetings.

How could I end this rant on corporations without talking about what probably is the main driver of low productivity: the never ending silly meetings.

And, there are many. Probably, too many.

How often do the conversations behind a job take longer than the actual job? I mean, I appreciate that sometimes it might happen, with so many processes and so many people involved in a job, I can see how conversations might be longer. But this shouldn’t happen too often. I mean, so much talking and so little work can’t really take productivity and companies far. Don’t you think? I believe the power of meetings is way overused especially in the overspecialised society we are living in, where there is a role for each step of the process.

But then, there are also other meetings that are absolutely unrelated to anyone’s job. You know, those meetings I enjoy calling “corporate advertisement”, where some VIP of the company shares information that nobody really cares about, besides the other VIPs directly involved. Basically, VIPs that are praising other VIPs’ jobs.

Or even these other meetings about business updates where they supposedly share really important news about whatever is going on with the company.

I mean, without transparency? Why?

Or meetings for random celebrations or events that are absolutely not related to anything that people should be doing at work.

Seriously, what’s the point?

Why would someone at work even care about anything that is not strictly related to their job? Especially after knowing how companies can’t be transparent.

And with this, I’m finally out. Enjoy your day and keep your eyes open.

Marcello.

This essay was originally published on Substack, where you can also Listen to It. The audio version can also be found on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Youtube Podcasts.

Don’t forget, ENGAGING with the content is FREE and it can be undone at any time.

SHARE, COMMENT, SUBSCRIBE.