Trying Too Hard

In my school, T-Rex is the one in charge of students' movements in and out of the school. Any change in the movement, and the first thing that T-Rex should do is to inform the committee handling data - specifically, the students' exit needs to be recorded in the official APDM system and now that attendance for online classes is keyed in online as well, the teacher managing the sPDPR system needs to be informed as well. 

At least, that is what I will do if I am in T-Rex's position. It will be my job to notify so that my enrolment is up-to-date. 

T-Rex, however, does not bother to inform the data people. Or perhaps T-Rex thinks that this job is too lowly for it. Instead, T-Rex instructs us teachers to do it. 

I had students who left school for other institutions. And so, I had to text the APDM manager and the sPDPR manager to remove these students from the system. The APDM manager acknowledged my text message and proceeded to do the removal.

The sPDPR manager also acknowledged my text message, removed the students, and took a photo of the newly-updated system and sent the photo back to me as evidence that it had been done. 

It felt a bit funny. The sPDPR manager did not have to prove himself to me. Who was I anyway? I was a mere minion, an underling. Who was I to accuse him of not doing his job? Even if he did not do his job, who was I to care? I was not his superior, anyway.

It would be different if it was T-Rex who had instructed him to get it done in the first place. If it was T-Rex who had asked, then yes, the sPDPR manager would have to send T-Rex that photo to say that he had done the job promptly. Because that photo would have sent the message to T-Rex that it had a prompt and efficient worker there. 

Such is the environment of my workplace. People are motivated by fear. People fear that the dinosaurs do not know that they are doing their work. Hence, they have to try very hard to prove themselves to those dinosaurs. Many of the times, people are not interested in many of the work. But they do it because it is forced upon them. They are not in the position to turn down the dinosaurs. Otherwise, they will be accused of being a rebel or being difficult or being lazy. They do it not because they want to, but because they fear the all-powerful dinosaurs. 

Stegosaurus in particular has a very negative way of insinuating this idea, that if one wants to be promoted, one has better do his or her job well. Recently, Stegosaurus wanted some of us to volunteer to become judges for the state-wide co-academic competitions. So Stegosaurus wrote a message to 'those who are due for promotion in 2022 and are in desperate need of something to write as a contribution to their jobs'. 

I got upset reading it. I was due for my time-based promotion next year. But if I did not volunteer for this task, did it mean that I was not good enough for promotion? Did I have to do it just to please Stegosaurus, because it had a say in whether or not I would receive my promotion next year? And what if I was not due for promotion, did it mean that I need not volunteer myself? What logic was Stegosaurus thinking? Was it even professional to suggest that people volunteer because they needed it for their promotions? 

With the likes of T-Rex and Stegosaurus, my joy for my work had slowly but surely diminished. But thankfully, that is all over now. I have escaped their claws.