Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Tough Love

The only constant in life is change.

However that doesn't make significant life changes any easier to accept; from the exceptional events such as marriage and pregnancy to the more mundane monotonies such as transferring to a new place or finding a new job. Me, I've always hated change.

Seems I'm the only one since it invigorates some of my friends! For Kitty Kat, finding and getting the paid job was simple enough. Easy enough to pick up the reins of her working life after only a couple of years devoted to dutiful housewifery but it's not long before Kitty Kat realizes that the difficulty comes when she finds herself inevitably hedged by her terrifyingly idealistic young colleagues at work.

Or at least that's my take on the situation - but then I'm watching the entire tense work drama with the tired cynicism of someone running the miserable rat race for the past ten years. Even the way they painstakingly deal with each and every problematic work situation inevitably draws a wicked sneer to my lips. So much kinder than I would be of course.

Gosh have they never heard of the whip? 

Then again perhaps teachers have a more tolerant, sympathetic nature - when I would have flown into a towering rage. Many a time, they tend to have a more... passive response with tea and sympathy rather than my more caustic rejoinder. Otherwise why else would they all bother to molly-coddle a fellow colleague who finds himself unsuited to the job after a mere five days on the job?

Sophia : He doesn't feel suited to the job and wants to leave. So we have been offering counselling for the past few days. 
Paul : No doubt with a pot of calming tea? 
Sophia : Well yes. 
Paul : You shouldn't do that anymore. It's not helping, is it? 
Sophia : Not really. 
Paul : Try my way then. Scold him. Smack him. Wallop him. Make him cry. 
Sophia : Oh but what about his self esteem?
Paul : What do I care about his self esteem? I'm not his father or brother. And he's a grown man, for God's sakes.  
Sophia : But -
Paul : This is work. It's not play. And this whiny creature is threatening to quit after only a measly five days because he is not feeling it? If he were my intern, I would dropkick him off the fifth floor window. 

Not exactly the answer these wide-eyed idealists needed. In fact Sober Sophia looked pale enough that you'd think I'd just viciously strangled a helpless puppy in front of her! From the horrified look on their faces, I gathered tough love wouldn't be the answer for most of these hippie kumbaya Gen-Y folks. Even less the revolutionary idea of bringing back the cane.

Since I would love to have whipped the fellow.

And not in any kinky sadomasochistic manner. No Shades of Grey here.

But seriously. Five days. If that's all the time it takes to have them raise their weakling hands in apparent surrender, then I'm not surprised my fellow peers find it nigh impossible to hire anyone during interviews these days. I would have given them the boot right in their faces.

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