Pick Me, Pick Me

With five new employees working for the City, the race is on as to who can "outshine" the other. It's an unspoken thing, really. Five new employees, each trying to fit in and do their thing. Who is going to be the one to adhere to the policies, rules and procedures? Who is going to be the one to "kiss ass" and try to make the quick move up? Who is going to be the one to shine?

Pick me, pick me! That is the unspoken mantra. Get me out of the records department. Get me out of doing all the grunt work and "filing hell".

The smart employee will know that it is the hard worker that gets the prize. But the crafty one, the one who can adhere to the bureaucratic ways, will also get the prize. That crafty one will speak to the other employees and see how it's "done". He / she will figure out what hoops to jump through and work effectively----not necessarily efficiently--- but just enough to look competent. The hard worker, on the other hand, will work and do the assigned tasks and then some. That hard worker may not look for recognition but, instead, find satisfaction in having a job that pays well and is pretty much stable.

Sad that it happens that way. That's life. Probably happens in the private industry too but since the public has no "bottom line" then there really is no way to gauge employee progress or even workload. A lot of people in the public sector can really "fake it" and look like they are productive in an eight hour day (at least from my experience). Everyone knows who those people are. That's reality and it is made real by those who remain silent.

The new employee, if not from the public sector, is in for a real treat.

Hopefully, he /she does not adhere to the public servant stereotype...well, at least not for another year or so.