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It may be true that at the top of any corporation is a lot of financial engineering and games. But at the bottom is the actual work, and when the leaders neglec

It may be true that at the top of any corporation is a lot of financial engineering and games. But at the bottom is the actual work, and when the leaders neglect the bottom is when the vultures swoop in to remind everyone. There is a sick game in the world. The cause is not the workers, it’s the elites. However cold water washes away the crabs.

carlosjobim 3y ago
That actual work is in many cases just for keeping up appearances. The company owners and leadership know that the product or whatever their staff is working on is doomed to fail from the beginning, but need something to show to /with bankers and politicians to increase borrowing. Just think about how many truly awful competitors there are in any market or product sector. If you noticed, don't you think they've noticed?
lazide 3y ago
Both hands are required to clap, and frankly workers play their own games too. The vast majority of folks have no issues enabling terrible situations for a paycheck, and pretending to work isn’t exactly new either.
- CapstanRoller 3y ago
  >The vast majority of folks have no issues enabling terrible situations for a paycheck Is it really "enabling" when there's a metaphorical (and often literal, in the case of police) gun to one's head? Most of us can't opt out of this arrangement, and that's by design. There isn't even a "run away into the forest" option, because all the forests are already owned by someone. Being homeless is effectively illegal. Being dispossessed in general is illegal, even though the system is predicated on dispossessing the populace to enrich those at the top. It's less like a dysfunctional relationship and more like a hostage situation. Don't blame the hostages, please.
  - lazide 3y ago
    If the hostages are also usually the ones holding the guns, it’s an apt comparison. If labor never walks, it has no power.
    - CapstanRoller 3y ago
      >If labor never walks, it has no power. Agreed, the power we have must be exercised. Use it or lose it. There are more of us than there are of them, but getting started is the hard part. It's a tall order to ask someone to stick their neck out first. I'll stop here as HN is not the place to plan a revolution :)
      - lazide 3y ago
        If someone won’t take any risk - they get the corresponding reward. Law of the jungle and all.
- AvocadoPanic 3y ago
  They pretend to pay us, we pretend to work. What's my incentive to take the considerable effort, burn what political capital I may have, and use my little spare energy to overcome the enertia of the terrible situation? I save the company 400k by eleminating unnecessary services. Great a challenge coin. I'll remember this next time you ask for savings opportunities or volunteers.
  - lazide 3y ago
    Yup. And in many places that’s ‘the deal’. It may be worth considering overlap with burnout, and how staying (without really considering other options or addressing the underlying things going on personally) ends up damaging the person who stays.

carlosjobim 3y ago

That actual work is in many cases just for keeping up appearances. The company owners and leadership know that the product or whatever their staff is working on is doomed to fail from the beginning, but need something to show to /with bankers and politicians to increase borrowing. Just think about how many truly awful competitors there are in any market or product sector. If you noticed, don't you think they've noticed?

lazide 3y ago

Both hands are required to clap, and frankly workers play their own games too. The vast majority of folks have no issues enabling terrible situations for a paycheck, and pretending to work isn’t exactly new either.

CapstanRoller 3y ago
>The vast majority of folks have no issues enabling terrible situations for a paycheck Is it really "enabling" when there's a metaphorical (and often literal, in the case of police) gun to one's head? Most of us can't opt out of this arrangement, and that's by design. There isn't even a "run away into the forest" option, because all the forests are already owned by someone. Being homeless is effectively illegal. Being dispossessed in general is illegal, even though the system is predicated on dispossessing the populace to enrich those at the top. It's less like a dysfunctional relationship and more like a hostage situation. Don't blame the hostages, please.
- lazide 3y ago
  If the hostages are also usually the ones holding the guns, it’s an apt comparison. If labor never walks, it has no power.
  - CapstanRoller 3y ago
    >If labor never walks, it has no power. Agreed, the power we have must be exercised. Use it or lose it. There are more of us than there are of them, but getting started is the hard part. It's a tall order to ask someone to stick their neck out first. I'll stop here as HN is not the place to plan a revolution :)
    - lazide 3y ago
      If someone won’t take any risk - they get the corresponding reward. Law of the jungle and all.
AvocadoPanic 3y ago
They pretend to pay us, we pretend to work. What's my incentive to take the considerable effort, burn what political capital I may have, and use my little spare energy to overcome the enertia of the terrible situation? I save the company 400k by eleminating unnecessary services. Great a challenge coin. I'll remember this next time you ask for savings opportunities or volunteers.
- lazide 3y ago
  Yup. And in many places that’s ‘the deal’. It may be worth considering overlap with burnout, and how staying (without really considering other options or addressing the underlying things going on personally) ends up damaging the person who stays.