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Old 06-16-2015, 08:41 AM
 
Location: Florida
4,103 posts, read 5,397,060 times
Reputation: 10105

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When in the middle of my work they walked me and a few hundred other people right out the door and mailed us our stuff. Oh and gave us a 0 on our evaluation so that they didnt have to give us our bonus, even though some of us were top performers. I personally had just worked on a project to remediate some internal issues and received two awards for it. Gotta love office politics though, my manager hated me because I have a peener.
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Old 06-16-2015, 08:45 AM
 
2,294 posts, read 2,769,501 times
Reputation: 3852
"I'm a Cog"
"Everything revolves around me"

Both statements can easily be correct at the same time. Even the CEO is a "cog" in the machine called a company.
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Old 06-16-2015, 10:15 AM
 
16,715 posts, read 19,317,186 times
Reputation: 41481
Quote:
Originally Posted by Japanfan1986 View Post
I was at a newspaper job and had spent my whole life wanting to be a reporter. Then one day I was just fired. Unjustly so. I know this because I sought legal advice and was told I had a case. Of course I never went through with it because again, "insignificant cog." ~ EXCUSE
...
I went back to a former employer and am still there as well as working for another similar company with hours totaling about 70 per week. Neither are in journalism, which I don't think I'll ever get completely over, but I get by. I also have no real passion to ever try to get back into journalism or a desire to move to the middle of nowhere and make $20,000 a year without benefits just to try to "live the dream." ~ EXCUSES
I've never considered myself an insignificant cog in the wheel; I do my job to the best of my ability, and if it isn't noticed, I move on. Eventually I moved up. If you (meaning, anyone) settle for a job and stay there, that's not anyone's fault but your own. Motivation comes from inside; not from a paycheck or a pat on the back.
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Old 06-16-2015, 11:48 AM
 
Location: Southern MN
11,932 posts, read 8,260,020 times
Reputation: 44408
All of us are one mere individual in a world of 7.125 billion. OP, you are not alone.

All satisfaction in life comes less from our situation than how we chose to think and feel about our situation.

That's the good news.
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Old 06-16-2015, 11:53 AM
 
Location: Huntsville
6,009 posts, read 6,606,108 times
Reputation: 7036
Quote:
Originally Posted by Adrian71 View Post
See, that's the problem. We've been conditioned to think that's the case, but it's not. Companies have a social obligation to do more than just generate profits for their managers and shareholders. They have a responsibility to all the stakeholders that make their businesses functional and successful.

The fact that we've lost sight of this is a sign of how far off track things have gone. And it's why we now have the B-Corp movement, for companies that explicitly make social responsibility a part of their corporate charters.

In a capitalist country... such as ours..... you enter into an agreement with a company to provide your services at a certain level for an agreed upon wage. This is the trade. You need their money, they need your service. The only social obligation they have is to follow the law. No one is here to coddle anyone else or to get that warm and fuzzy feeling. It's a business relationship, not dating.

Why is that difficult? I think as a society we are getting soft. People want someone to hold their hand and tell them everything is going to be ok. It will be if you work hard and work smart. Trying to get a company to cater to someone's feelings just causes them to spend more money that could be paid to the employees who are working hard to earn it. Too many of us work extremely hard to get where we are and not many of us want to watch someone who is lackluster at best ride our coattails.
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Old 06-16-2015, 11:53 AM
 
Location: USA
30,561 posts, read 21,730,649 times
Reputation: 18838
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pitt Chick View Post
"When Did You Realize You Were an Insignificant Cog on the Unrelenting Machine that is the Work Force? "


No cog is insignificant. All have their purpose.
Yep, all Cogs matter. Hopefully you are a better paid Cog
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Old 06-16-2015, 12:04 PM
 
3,276 posts, read 7,823,259 times
Reputation: 8308
Not too long after starting my first office job, I drove by a ranch and saw some mules out in the field. It dawned on me that's what I was, just a mule pulling a plow, but in a cube farm rather than a field. All of my coworkers were a bunch of mules too, and the partners were the ranch owners.
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Old 06-16-2015, 12:13 PM
 
Location: Venice, FL
1,708 posts, read 1,625,532 times
Reputation: 2748
This first hit me when I got a different job in the same federal agency. In my old job, I worked very hard every day, doing work that I felt was important. I took pride in my work and enjoyed it.

When I went to my new job, I was shocked to see that my old vacancy was not filled for over 18 months, and then they gave it to a lady whose husband was an executive and she was transferring in with him. She had no computer skills and didn't do any of the things I had thought were important.

I got a new reminder of this when I retired. I was very dedicated to my job, and committed to doing it well. But I realized that the person who replaced me would manage the employees the way he wanted, focus on quality measures he thought were important, and basically just do it his way. All my work was in the past, and the good things I had done were not forgotten, but it was now a new day.

Just do your best while you are there and then move on.
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Old 06-16-2015, 02:14 PM
 
Location: Howard County, Maryland
16,357 posts, read 10,372,651 times
Reputation: 36128
When Did You Realize You Were an Insignificant Cog on the Unrelenting Machine that is the Work Force?

Congratulations, OP; your thread title wins the Debbie Downer Award for the day!

Actually, though, what you say is true -- and has always been thus. Very, very few people are remembered in history; and some of those who are, are remembered for less than flattering reasons. For most of us, we will spend our days toiling along, without recognition from anyone but, at best, those immediately around us. Most of us will never even appear in the daily newspaper, much less the history books.

Find your worth outside of your job. The Psalms have many passages about the importance that God places on each individual person, whether they are a general or a ditch-digger. Read them and feel inspired.
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Old 06-16-2015, 03:08 PM
 
Location: Washington state
6,972 posts, read 4,822,259 times
Reputation: 21742
I realized I was a cog the day I found a hobby I was interested in and I had to go to work instead of being able to work on what I liked.

Now, that's a pretty common thing, but in fact, I got interested in a while lot of things and realized that I wasn't really interested in becoming more than a cog in the machine. I didn't care about moving up the ladder, becoming a boss, or taking control of anything relating to working for a paycheck. Why?

Because I had a completely satisfying life outside work. I worked to live, to pay bills, and to have some sort of security. I never, ever, lived to work. If I could have afforded to retire at 21, I would have. By the same token, I can't understand people who retire and are bored. It's OK they like working that much, I just don't understand it is all.

Of course, I could have always used more money. But that comes with the territory. What ticks me off, though, are people who think I'm a loser, or unmotivated, or stupid, or anything else negative simply because I may not have held what they call a "real" job, or haven't moved up the corporate food chain, and/or put a million dollars in a bank account. These people have no idea of what I've done in my personal life, the obstacles I've overcome, the successes I've had, or what I've been able to do for other people. But again, that's also comes with the territory and so is realizing those people are very small and more insignificant that I am.
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