Taking Exception to Exceptionalism

One of the guys I work with is a loudmouth. "They must have their heads in their asses upstairs." That kind of thing. "Upstairs" refers to the management. His outbursts are generally greeted with silence, or, "Yeah, well, what are ya gonna do?"

The guy works lots of overtime. Yesterday, he came in early, at 5 a.m., driving all the way up from Willow Grove. He worked late, went home to have dinner, and then came back in worked from eight until eleven, and was back in the saddle at 6 a.m. this morning.

I've been that guy. I used to be that guy. Once, when I was working for a lawfirm in Philadelphia, I was the star. No one put in overtime like I did. And we didn't even get paid for it, oddly enough. But I thought that made me untouchable. So I could do what I want and say what I want. Once, when staff morale was alarmingly low (mostly due to my efforts), a meeting was convened with the managing partner of the firm. He asked what the problem was. There was silence all around. I piped up.

"Well, the salaries are ridiculously low. I could be making more as an assistant manager at Burger King. I mean, have you thought about hiring more high school students or retirees or a more readily exploitable group?"

Salaries were low. My starting salary was $15,000. The managing partner coolly responded that he was making every effort to get more money for raises for all of us. When raises were announced, I didn't get one. My review read 'Unsatisfactory.'

So you see, management would rather have a clockwatcher who is easy to work with than a pain in the ass.

I don't mean to be a pain in the ass. Around the coffee maker, everyone was saying the same things I was. But I thought that somehow the rules that applied to everyone else (getting to work on time, being appropriately dressed, not making personal phone calls...) didn't apply to me.

Well, they do. Exceptions aren't made.

Today, the loudmouth guy mentioned that among his complaints was the fact that he was supposed to have gotten a performance review in August but was still waiting.

That spoke volumes. I can hear them now. "Oh hell, I don't want to have to deal with that sarcastic asshole." And to the bottom of the pile he goes.

Nope. Not me. Not this time around. I'm Dutch. I do good work. I give it my all. I do my best. I'm a nice guy. The other guys I work with like me. When asked, I offer suggestions that I hope will be helpful to management. Because from me never is heard a discouraging word, when I do speak up--and it's rare--my opinions are taken very seriously. I let them know in subtle ways that I need the money. I'm not doing charity work here. I expect to be well compensated. I work hard and I expect to get paid for it.

Y'see, in between the law firm and now, I was a boss. I was, in fact, the top boss. And I had a loudmouth working on my staff. There was not a single decision I made that he didn't question, if not mock to my face. A few times, I wanted to fire him. But I didn't. In part because other members of the management team prevailed on me not to, but mostly due to the fact that some of what he had to say was valuable, and I saw so much of myself in him. But eventually I got rid of him. I let him know that there was no promotion, and no big salary increase coming his way. He got the message, and got out himself, heading out to Arizona to attend school to become a motorcycle mechanic. Was he good at his job? Excellent. And it was a really hard job. He was dedicated and devoted and cared a lot about the work we were doing. But you know what? He was replaced by someone who was dedicated and devoted and who cared a lot about the work we were doing, and who wasn't an asshole.

With age comes wisdom. You're not the exception to the rule, because there are no exceptions to the rule.

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