Raising a follow on ... You can’t do enough for a good company! 04.01.13

The last rant I completed was “The Fine Line”.  Whilst I was writing it, I almost dipped into a related, but different set of thoughts.  In my line of work, when one job is finished but has brought up a related issue, you “Raise a follow on”.  So this is my follow on thought.

When working overtime with a colleague the other night – No, that isn’t a euphemism; she’s female and... No! – A shift worker walked into our office, collected a box and parted on this comment:

“You can’t do enough for a good company.”  The sentence itself was riddled with sarcasm; that much was evident.

When I was thinking about the difference between walking and crossing the line, I started to wander down the thought of what is the difference between a good and bad company to work for?  Is there even a difference, or does it really just depend who you are and much you are willing to put up with in the capitalist workplace?  I think you can tell from the tone of the question where my loyalty lies on that one:  it’s the age old question of ‘how much is too much?’  Some people can just put up and shut up and others just cannot/will not do that; they fight and object.

There is a lot to be said for the age old difference and political persuasion of those willing to put up with difficulties within their business and those who aren’t; sweeping generalisation from my personal experience to follow.  Brace yourself:

·         If you’re a working class, Labour supporting man, you’re going to put up with less than the below…

·         A middle class, Conservative female.

That is based on personal observations in the workplace.  The middle aged men voting Labour are ALL members of a trade union and fight for their rights as workers for better conditions.  The conditions the trade unionists find themselves in were caused by the likes of the second bullet point above.  Need I say more?

But when debating the ‘less is more’ when it comes to good will betwixt employee and employer, where is the line?  When does your employer ask for you to work outside of your job specification to fulfil “demands of the business” and when are they just extracting the urine?  Worth pointing out the sarcastic-comment-making-shift-worker I mentioned earlier fits the category 1 employee.

Sadly, the point I’m going to make here doesn’t change really from the “parent” rant.  It all comes down to the individual and what they are prepared to tolerate.   However, in the workplace setting, whilst I do believe in good will, there is no limitation on it; it must be kept in check by the employees to ensure there is no abuse from anyone.  And when you perceive an imbalance, the company needs to be reminded. Just an opinon here, dear reader and entirely personal.