The White-Collar Blues
Bordom upon bordom.
Monotony upon monotony.
How did I ever do this day in and day out?
Alright, so maybe it's a little different, but my God!
Humans can't have been made to spend so many hours of mindless tedium on things that, in the grand scheme of things, are so completely worthless.
So many have been convinced to lead such a mind-numbingly dull existence.
To spend their days, their time, and consequently, their lives on such pointless tasks that, when retiring at 65, all there is to show for it is some carpal tunnel syndrome, an inflated behind from all the years of sitting on their ass in an ergonomically correct chair, and maybe an ulcer.
Corporations have grown so large that, while humans are still technically necessary to preform the day to day functions, the individual is such a small cog in the vast machine that it is impossible to feel any connection to any part that is actually making a difference in........well, anything.
I think that it's important for us as human beings to be able to understand that we matter, and why. We have to know that what we are doing with our time can in some way make an impact on either the world around us or the world as a whole.
Otherwise we shrivel up into hard little balls of people with barely a soul left.
I think that's a specific difference between stereotypical white-collar jobs and blue-collar jobs.
As a construction worker, you work for 8 hours and there is now a wall where there wasn't one before you started working.
If you're a plumber, when you've finished a job, there is a toilet that flushes now that didn't before you got there.
It's not even about having instant gratification, it's simply that there is a very distinct difference in the world that you are directly responsible for.
In contrast, I, for the last 3 days, have stuffed envelopes for 6 1/2 hours each day. And while I'm sure that it's important information that is being sent out, I am such a small part of the overall process that I have no ability to feel any sense of real accomplishment. I simply have to be content with assuming that somebody had a some great idea and now I'm helping get that information out to somebody else, and be grateful that one of those somebodies wanted to send out enough of that stuff that they had to bring in someone like me and now I get some extra money.
Wow, I'm not even sure if any of that made much sense at all, but I guess it's been a while since I had a good rant about something random.
Afterall, that's what having your own blog is all about, right?.
Monotony upon monotony.
How did I ever do this day in and day out?
Alright, so maybe it's a little different, but my God!
Humans can't have been made to spend so many hours of mindless tedium on things that, in the grand scheme of things, are so completely worthless.
So many have been convinced to lead such a mind-numbingly dull existence.
To spend their days, their time, and consequently, their lives on such pointless tasks that, when retiring at 65, all there is to show for it is some carpal tunnel syndrome, an inflated behind from all the years of sitting on their ass in an ergonomically correct chair, and maybe an ulcer.
Corporations have grown so large that, while humans are still technically necessary to preform the day to day functions, the individual is such a small cog in the vast machine that it is impossible to feel any connection to any part that is actually making a difference in........well, anything.
I think that it's important for us as human beings to be able to understand that we matter, and why. We have to know that what we are doing with our time can in some way make an impact on either the world around us or the world as a whole.
Otherwise we shrivel up into hard little balls of people with barely a soul left.
I think that's a specific difference between stereotypical white-collar jobs and blue-collar jobs.
As a construction worker, you work for 8 hours and there is now a wall where there wasn't one before you started working.
If you're a plumber, when you've finished a job, there is a toilet that flushes now that didn't before you got there.
It's not even about having instant gratification, it's simply that there is a very distinct difference in the world that you are directly responsible for.
In contrast, I, for the last 3 days, have stuffed envelopes for 6 1/2 hours each day. And while I'm sure that it's important information that is being sent out, I am such a small part of the overall process that I have no ability to feel any sense of real accomplishment. I simply have to be content with assuming that somebody had a some great idea and now I'm helping get that information out to somebody else, and be grateful that one of those somebodies wanted to send out enough of that stuff that they had to bring in someone like me and now I get some extra money.
Wow, I'm not even sure if any of that made much sense at all, but I guess it's been a while since I had a good rant about something random.
Afterall, that's what having your own blog is all about, right?.
posted by Bex5x5 at 9/14/2005 09:30:00 PM
3 Comments:
that is what having your own blog is about.
and i agree. i have never actually had to work somewhere that i couldn't make a direct difference, and i can't actually imagine how much this must be driving you insane. hats off to you for being able to do what it takes and not get lost in it. and maybe this whole coporate era is soon over, at least for you:)
nicely said mary:)
I hate corporations and I hate the stupid things you do on the lower levels. But,...you learn a lot. A whole lot. And it may not have anything to do with the job. Don't get me wrong, if you stay too long, you may very likely lose your soul. But to have an opinion of things, I think we must truly understand them,...and usually that means we must experience them.
You know what you want, because you have experienced what you don't want. Too many times we say we don't like something,...but how do we really know until we've tried it.
Definately a good point...I guess I now have a better idea of how I will set up my own company (whenever that happens) because I know how I don't want things to be. Now I just need to work for a company that has more aspects of how I DO want things to be.
Post a Comment
<< Home