Story of a Corporate Employee

You get a job and want to feel you're part of the company and that you're contributing to its success. You want to believe there is a culture in place that you agree with. You want to believe that the HR department has compassion for their human resources; you want to respect what they do. You want to believe that people know who you are and what you do.

You work hard and try to learn new skills on your own; to negotiate and manage on your own. You don't always hit the mark but you keep on. It's a fact, that the company doesn't teach their human resources new skills. But they do appraise you yearly. They judge you. It's supposed to be about your job performance, but it always ends up as you. Your job performance is 'this' because you are 'this.' They tell you what you're good or bad at. And that's the final word for the year. You can't be too good, because then there's no room for improvement, so the bad is emphasized. You're scored and your raise is based on that number.

Years go by. Some years, you're on fire and can do no wrong. Other years, you're just in the background. It's usually a little mixed up. If the year comes that you're out of favor with the ever revolving upper management, it's only a matter of time before you're reading up on Cobra.

You stick it out the best you can because you need the paycheck and benefits. You begin the process of reclaiming your self back from the corporation; you wonder how and why you allowed it to happen at all. On any given day you're ignored, condescended to or micro-managed by your manager or your team. It feels like high school, 30 years later and in reverse. The sloppy overweight women who chase the free food around the building, straighten their hair at their desk each morning or come back from lunch red eyed with slack smiles, are on top, and you are not. You try and talk about it, using various approaches; your eyes aren't even met when you speak. It's ok, don't worry about it, you hear. And then, doors are shut with you trapped inside forcing you to listen to people who don't know you say terrible strange things about you. You're not going nowhere in this company, you're going straight down and then out.

Re-organization. Upper management draws up a new org chart, with all the geometrical shapes you recognize, although you can name only a few. Your job is taken away and divided among three people; you're given an entry level job doing something that will be outsourced in four to six months. It's announced in a departmental meeting as if it's good news. And you just have to sit there.

You rework your budget and plan for every contingency. Your true friends are wise, funny, inspirational and they help you see the big picture. You don't quit, which surprises upper management. You stick it out, you suck it up, you work, you smile, you collect your pay and catch up on all your doctor appointments. You stay extremely healthy. You have fun with your friends, do your entry level work and leave every day after exactly eight hours have passed. As yearend approaches, you begin taking personal items home, so when it's time to go, you can git. And when that blow is delivered, you're poised, you're present, a calm Mona Lisa half smirk half smile on your lips. Later that night, of the day you were fired, you have a real smile on your face. The road is wide open and you're on it.

Where will you go? How will you travel? You know more now about what to avoid and what to seek and cherish. You know that faith is a bridge between imagination and manifestation. Bon voyage.