Ya know those movies--like romance films--where the writers and producers create the image of a *perfect* girl or a *perfect* guy? I'm sure we all know those movies by now. A movie of that form comes out practically each month.
The bad news is, is that before, when those movies were first being played on the Silver Screen, people really believed that the characters in the film were real--out there somewhere. For a long time, it created unrealistic expectations. I'm not saying I have the data or researched numbers behind this next assumption, but: It wouldn't surprise me if the spike in divorces over the last 20-30 years could have had to do, in part, to films creating the facade of a perfect person.
The good news, on the other hand, is that today more people are realizing that these films ARE hypnotic facades. Luckily, we, as a culture, have been able to snap ourselves out of it. (And it just so happens that the divorce rate isn't increasing anymore--coincidence?). As an aside: In a post I created a month or so ago, relationships are hard work, but sometimes people don't like to believe that work is needed for a relationship to work to its full potential. I digress...
There are also some movies and commercials that create different facades. One specific example is why I'm creating this article: The perfect intern.
You know what I'm talking about: The guy that runs down the opposite direction of an airport's moving walk-way in order to give coffee to his boss and others. The guy that is basically, and on most occasions, the corporate unpaid bitch. Executives everywhere who see commercials or movies like this take a big awhing sigh and think to themselves, "Yeah, that's the intern for me!" Isn't that just a fairy-tale!? Oh, to have slaves again...
There are movies like The Devil Wears Prada, where an assistant is basically a god-send of a human being. The assistant, played by Anne Hathaway, wants to rip her hair out during each scene of the movie, because her tasks from her boss, played by the incomparable Meryl Streep, get more and more ludicrous. Now, Anne Hathaway's character is NOT an intern, but she's basically Meryl Streep's corporate bitch. Throughout the movie I'm thinking to myself, "That poor poor human being." She mentions once or twice throughout the movie that she's definitely not getting paid enough to do the job she was hired to do. You never know what she's actually getting paid, but you could probably believe her by the tasks she's doing along with the stress of a boss whom doesn't even know what "extrinsic reward" means. In other words, Hathaway's character never received any gratitude (until the very near-end of the film).
With all this said, everyone, from top to bottom, has a hand in creating crazy cultures like this. For one, if the economy is so bad that it's hard to get a job from anywhere, then the crazier a boss can be to you, because you need that job so bad to put food and water on the table. Bosses everywhere know this. It's the "You need me more than I need you," mentality that has gradually grown and perpetuated over the years.
I would even argue that unpaid interns are a part of this cultural issue. How? Because they do the job anyway. Our culture basically says that a degree is useless anymore. If you don't have experience, then you can't get a job. There are those memes on social media that go around now and then that satarize this logic, "Can't get a job unless you have experience; can't have experience unless you get a job." It's hysterical when you read it, because it's so true. In this instance, you likely realize how absurd life is, but the added irony is that you, and everyone else, fuel that fire. It's exhausting.
It's tough to be in a position of power when we're just getting out of school (college, grad school, etc.), but I don't see why not? After all, the companies can only make money if they have enough workers to do the job they need done. Some companies have such an up-stuck culture that they think, "Oh, *everyone* wants to work here, so there's nothing you can say that will make me think I need you more than the shmuck who will do the same job for less."
Along those same lines, I've noticed a considerable increase in employee hours over the years. Remember when full-time was 35-40 hour work weeks? Nowadays, if you work 40 hours for a business, they will likely think about firing you. "Hey Bill, I notice that your car was only in the parking lot until 5pm, care to explain?"
"Uh, yeah, I worked 8 hours and I have a wife and kids."
"Wife and kids, eh? I don't think that's as important as this job you have. How about you stay till 6 or 7 for the next couple weeks, yeah? I don't think we're sucking away enough of your soul, yet. Oh, and uhh, start coming in at 8am, too."
"I already come in at 8."
"Oh, but you probably take an hour lunch, right? Thanks for reminding me. Start coming in at 7a. In fact, how about just bring a sleeping bag, and catch some zees here for a while."
Another one of my extreme examples at the end, there, but the point is, if enough people let corporations push them around like this, then this is what happens. Businesses tend to equate time to turnover. That's obviously bullshit for anyone who cares about that sort of thing. Corporations, like the New England Patriots, will manipulate the rules until a rule or law is put in place that makes sure businesses don't treat employees like shit. They also know that legislation for these kinds of things takes awhile even after someone whistleblows, so it's a risk they're happy to take.
Just the other day, Philadelphia put forth legislation that requires companies to give their employees a full work week (5 days) of sick leave. This is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. People keep commenting from Europe like, "Uhhh, what's the big deal? We get 2 months as soon as we get a job." Yes, Europe, that's because the US prides itself in being as antiquated as humanly possible. We're also not a country that really cares about our employees too much. If about 50% of the country is Republican and 50% of the country is Democrat, then about 50% of the country thinks that the wealthy can treat people however they want in order to make the most money for themselves.
There are businesses, however, that are trying really hard to break this trend. CostCo is one of the leaders in their bulk-market industry. Instead of treating their employees like shit--kinda like Walmart--they compensate them all very well. From the managers down to the baggers just about every single person in the company is happy with their position because of their wages and their benefits. This generally makes for a better work environment, because happy employees do better work, and at the end of the day they feel fulfilled instead of used inadequately.
This post is NOT to say, "Let's take down the man, man!" No. What I *am* saying is that if we all do our part to change the cultural perception of what it means to be important AND respected, then some of the current issues, even economic ones, might begin to go away.
Think about it.
- PatInTheHat
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