An Obit for the Working World
Honest and integrity in the workplace died this week after a long and courageous fight with middle and upper management, and the encroaching influence of talent-less and myopic hackery in corporate culture. It was an indeterminate age and hard to pin down. Its last gasp was felt sometime between 9 am and Noon today, and witnessed by a large number of working people around the world.
Professional integrity's most noteworthy legacy was that it was sought after passionately by many people of all ages and professions, for many years. Its existence meant that the undervalued, overworked and under appreciated working professionals had a chance to be counted, included, and respected. It will be missed.
It was always known as a loner, often emerging only in environments where micro-management and bloated executive culture had not yet run its course, but was always appreciated where it could be found. It was often said that the very existence of professional transparency and honestly, wherever it could be found, was a fount for basic human decency.
Professional integrity was born in a small town, and as with any entrepreneurial spirit, strove to keep the fires of human dignity and autonomy burning. It's existence guaranteed the chance that one or more of the following basic rules could be counted on:
*Vital members of the team were kept in the loop about important company reorganization
*Transparent and compassionate handling of corporate restructuring was always a priority
*People at the very bottom of the totem pole were sometimes given an opportunity to advance or contribute their own ideas to advance the overall success of the company.
*Middle management's task was to coalesce and implement ideas culled together from people who actually do the work. One huge disappointment in integrity's life, as it grew older, was that it witnessed the tragedy of middle management evolving into an entity making decisions with no actual bearing on the needs of the company or those who service it.
Honesty and Integrity in the workplace has been survived by an important and noteworthy collection of phenomenal human beings, who all mourn its loss. Among the survivors:
Teachers
Firefighters
Artists / Graphic Designers / Production Artists
Mine Workers
Secretaries
Service Staff
Sanitation Workers
...and many others.
Most of these mourners are said to be inconsolable. Integrity's legacy can be summed up by its impact in fostering goodwill between the social classes, welcoming ideas from all stations, no matter the status in the professional hierarchy, and keeping the wheels of industry well oiled, innovative and constantly evolving.
Additionally, a form letter has arrived from a collection of the world's managers, executives, sales teams, stockbrokers, 'big idea' department heads and CEOs, none of whom could never be bothered to reach out to or get input from anyone making less than a certain salary. It read:
"We were saddened to hear about the loss of our good friend, professional integrity. As you are all aware, we were not always on the best terms with the deceased, but we knew its existence kept a lot of our underpaid wage slaves hopeful that it might come into their lives at some point. This primal hope on behalf of many of our services staff and production workers prevented us from having to dump our budget into keeping them happy with with meaningless team building seminars, higher salaries, or unnecessary 'communication' meetings. We regret to inform that we will be unable to attend the service, as we are attending vital sales seminars in Aspen, New York, and Paris, and after that, conducting a series of circle jerks that may go on for quite some time. Yours truly, Management."
Professional integrity's most noteworthy legacy was that it was sought after passionately by many people of all ages and professions, for many years. Its existence meant that the undervalued, overworked and under appreciated working professionals had a chance to be counted, included, and respected. It will be missed.
It was always known as a loner, often emerging only in environments where micro-management and bloated executive culture had not yet run its course, but was always appreciated where it could be found. It was often said that the very existence of professional transparency and honestly, wherever it could be found, was a fount for basic human decency.
Professional integrity was born in a small town, and as with any entrepreneurial spirit, strove to keep the fires of human dignity and autonomy burning. It's existence guaranteed the chance that one or more of the following basic rules could be counted on:
*Vital members of the team were kept in the loop about important company reorganization
*Transparent and compassionate handling of corporate restructuring was always a priority
*People at the very bottom of the totem pole were sometimes given an opportunity to advance or contribute their own ideas to advance the overall success of the company.
*Middle management's task was to coalesce and implement ideas culled together from people who actually do the work. One huge disappointment in integrity's life, as it grew older, was that it witnessed the tragedy of middle management evolving into an entity making decisions with no actual bearing on the needs of the company or those who service it.
Honesty and Integrity in the workplace has been survived by an important and noteworthy collection of phenomenal human beings, who all mourn its loss. Among the survivors:
Teachers
Firefighters
Artists / Graphic Designers / Production Artists
Mine Workers
Secretaries
Service Staff
Sanitation Workers
...and many others.
Most of these mourners are said to be inconsolable. Integrity's legacy can be summed up by its impact in fostering goodwill between the social classes, welcoming ideas from all stations, no matter the status in the professional hierarchy, and keeping the wheels of industry well oiled, innovative and constantly evolving.
Additionally, a form letter has arrived from a collection of the world's managers, executives, sales teams, stockbrokers, 'big idea' department heads and CEOs, none of whom could never be bothered to reach out to or get input from anyone making less than a certain salary. It read:
"We were saddened to hear about the loss of our good friend, professional integrity. As you are all aware, we were not always on the best terms with the deceased, but we knew its existence kept a lot of our underpaid wage slaves hopeful that it might come into their lives at some point. This primal hope on behalf of many of our services staff and production workers prevented us from having to dump our budget into keeping them happy with with meaningless team building seminars, higher salaries, or unnecessary 'communication' meetings. We regret to inform that we will be unable to attend the service, as we are attending vital sales seminars in Aspen, New York, and Paris, and after that, conducting a series of circle jerks that may go on for quite some time. Yours truly, Management."
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