What went wrong?
Once upon a time, long long ago, management was a cushy number. If you became a director of a decent company, you would be welcomed into the executive dining room, golf club, separate lift to your office, the tea lady replaced the coffee machine and anyone working beyond 6pm was seen to be incompetent rather than a model of hard work.
While the bosses bossed, the workers worked — long hours, little security, and health and safety did not exist as a concept.
Somehow, roles have been reversed. Managers are the ones who are paranoid about losing their jobs. They work all hours and have said goodbye to the golf club, dining room and tea lady.
Managers are very successfully making life harder for themselves. At which point, you have to ask what sort of manager makes life worse, not better for themselves?
The disappearance of the perks and privileges of position has been compensated with cash — benefits have been monetised into salaries, bonuses and stock options. We are all richer than our grand parents, but we have no time to enjoy our wealth until we get made redundant. Then we have plenty of time to feel even more paranoid. Our grandparents did not have the benefit of iPods, WiFi and lymphatic irrigation, but somehow they seemed to live better, if poorer.
Meanwhile, the workers have cashed in. Gone are the 12-hour days. The 35-hour working week is an interesting concept: many office workers would have to stay in the office 100 hours a week to achieve 35 hours of meaningful work. That, presumably, is not what the regulators intended. Somehow, they have landed up with more job security, fewer hours and better conditions than the bosses.
This year I might even have to get a real job… as a worker.
