Another reason being white-collar sucks
by ::G @ 2004-11-21 23:51
Sunday afternoon I spent entirely too long on the phone with my Dad trying to hash out plans for my vacation and our mini-family gathering. We spent entirely too long talking about working life, the stupid people we have to put up with, and the sad state of the world today. One salient point that came up was that white-collar workers deal with information, and that information is typically confidential in nature. In the case of my Dad, it's bona fide confidential since he's got government security clearance; yet in the cut-throat corporate world, my clearance is probably just as important!
The implications of having one's job deal with confidential materials are that the desk jockey can't talk about one's job with one's friends, unless they also work for the same company. (Well, one could but it wouldn't be ethical.) So if one would like to discuss issues they deal with everyday in anything but very vague terms, they have to discuss it with their co-workers. This takes extra time out of the day, and makes one stay even later. Not only does is the white-collar worker expected to put in more hours being a "professional", but the conscientious employee has to put in even more time just to talk to someone about the issues stressing him or her out—a vicious cycle.
Sometimes I think some of the people here like to have me around because I'll listen to their work problems and am sympathetic. It's good for me to keep my "ear to the ground", so to speak, letting me stay current on issues that no one in the U.S. would see until it blows up. On the other hand, that means I just have to stay at work even later.
Every once in a while, I think about going blue-collar, like Peter at the end of Office Space. Except for one problem: I like my white-collar salary *grin* On the other hand, I get that salary by paying for it with pieces of my soul! Well, my mental and physical health, anyway. Blue-collar workers might say that white-collar workers are dying for an honest day's work, but until they see the other side of the coin, they won't understand that many office denizens work even harder than they do. On the other hand, blue-collar workers have to deal with more exploitation, work hazards, etc., than the typical white-collar worker. Well, livin' ain't easy....
The implications of having one's job deal with confidential materials are that the desk jockey can't talk about one's job with one's friends, unless they also work for the same company. (Well, one could but it wouldn't be ethical.) So if one would like to discuss issues they deal with everyday in anything but very vague terms, they have to discuss it with their co-workers. This takes extra time out of the day, and makes one stay even later. Not only does is the white-collar worker expected to put in more hours being a "professional", but the conscientious employee has to put in even more time just to talk to someone about the issues stressing him or her out—a vicious cycle.
Sometimes I think some of the people here like to have me around because I'll listen to their work problems and am sympathetic. It's good for me to keep my "ear to the ground", so to speak, letting me stay current on issues that no one in the U.S. would see until it blows up. On the other hand, that means I just have to stay at work even later.
Every once in a while, I think about going blue-collar, like Peter at the end of Office Space. Except for one problem: I like my white-collar salary *grin* On the other hand, I get that salary by paying for it with pieces of my soul! Well, my mental and physical health, anyway. Blue-collar workers might say that white-collar workers are dying for an honest day's work, but until they see the other side of the coin, they won't understand that many office denizens work even harder than they do. On the other hand, blue-collar workers have to deal with more exploitation, work hazards, etc., than the typical white-collar worker. Well, livin' ain't easy....
Leave a comment