The quiet girl

I used to supervise the end-of-the-night processing. It was a responsibility that would keep me here until 6:30 PM, and sometimes later.

Hypermanager likes to rotate that responsibility through each of the three seniors in the group. I left for vacation last week, and the processing shifted to Grace.

Grace is quiet. Very quiet. So quiet that we don’t usually know she’s here until she sends an email out to the group from two cubes away.

I’ve always admired her behavior at work. She comes in, doesn’t talk to anyone, does her job, and leaves at exactly six o’clock.

But, last night, she was pissed.

End-of-the-night processing has kept her here until six thirty everyday since she took over. “I am sick of being here so late.”

That’s the most she’s ever said out loud. It’s the angriest I’ve ever seen anyone here (except me). It seems like this job has been designed to beat intelligent people into submission, rewarding their loyalty to the company with overbearing management, vague project outlines, and near-constant criticism.

We need to stop believing what our parents told us, because it is most definitely not “what can you do for your company?” That philosophy died with the space program.

It’s not just me. I’m not crazy or biased, this job does suck. And it doesn’t’ get any better when you get to leave on time.
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