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 Peg's
Polemic
Every
month, philosopher Peg Tittle casts off the calm, measured and qualified
style of her profession to deliver her opinionated and impassioned
column, exclusively for the TPM philosophy café...
Number
20. Seniority
At
my workplace we have a little ceremony each year honouring employees
who have worked here for five, ten, or fifteen years. I used to
go. (There was free pizza.) But I don't anymore. (Now that I've
had a job for three years in a row, I can afford my own pizza.)
It's
a curious thing, this esteem we have for longevity. Why is an anniversary
cause for celebration? I can see it in some Purple Heart sense--congratulations
for surviving--but that doesn't seem to be the spirit in which such
celebrations are intended. (Then again, maybe it is.)
What's
the big deal about being married to the same person, or working
for the same company, for so many years? Is it supposed to be some
expression of loyalty, which is then rewarded? What's loyalty? And
why is it good? Is it trust? In a person, or company, no matter
what they do? Excuse me, but the day my partner or my employer starts
making weapons or selling unsafe products, I'm outta there.
Let's
admit it, 'seniority' rewards quantity rather than quality. I mean,
what if it were a shitty marriage? Why applaud someone for staying
in it, for staying at it? (Do you really want fries with that?)
And
what if the person's a mediocre employee? We give them a raise every
year just because they've been there one more year. But we don't
give a raise to the guy who's doing a good job. Is it any wonder
then that so many employees develop a clock-punching mentality,
that they figure just being there, just putting in time, is enough?
Because apparently, it is. If they put in enough time, they get
extra holidays, a wage increase, a little gold-plated pin.
Granted,
sometimes there's a connection between quantity and quality: the
longer you work at it, the better you get, the more you know. Sometimes.
But unless you get moved to a different position, the level of mastery
is often achieved before five years, certainly usually before ten
or fifteen years. So after a certain point, seniority means stagnation,
complacency. It could also mean cowardice, fear of trying something
new. And of course, if one hangs on because of the rewards,
it means self-interestedness.
My
guess is that after a certain point, performance declines,
rather than inclines with seniority. You know you can't be
easily fired, you feel secure, you feel comfortable. So you don't
try as hard, you get a little lazy. And you get a little bored,
you get a little dull.
So
seniority should not be rewarded. And rather than penalizing the
person who's changed jobs every few years, we should be recruiting
them.
.
Peg's
Polemic will next be updated early-Setember 2002
Previous
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