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An employee whose job was to be sacked (2010)

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Re: An employee whose job was to be sacked (2010)

#11
This reminds me of the jobs in China where you can get paid literally walk around being white. For example, being a white guy who cuts the ribbon of a factory opening and walks around shaking hands can make $1k/wk.

http://www.chinawhisper.com/the-5-weirdest-but-best-jobs-for...

Re: An employee whose job was to be sacked (2010)

#12
post #3

I had a boss that used to scold me in front of others to show that he was tough and impartial. It took two or three times to see the pattern (he expected me to see by myself). Too good I didn't overreact...

Urgh. That's such a basic leadership thing (scold in private) that it just infruiates me that someone wouldn't get that.

Hopefully your boss figured that out or was moved out of a leadership position.

It's roughly the equivalent of a developer that writes shit code with concurrency issues, basic code smells, etc...that would be drummed out in short order. For some reason, we don't hold leaders to the same standard.

Re: An employee whose job was to be sacked (2010)

#14

This reminds me of the jobs in China where you can get paid literally walk around being white. For example, being a white guy who cuts the ribbon of a factory opening and walks around shaking hands can make $1k/wk. http://www.chinawhisper.com/the-5-weirdest-but-best-jobs-for...

Apparently that's going to be a lot harder as the Party starts looking a lot closer at foreign work visas over the next few years.

Re: An employee whose job was to be sacked (2010)

#15
That's the beginning of the excellent book "au bonheur des ogres", where you learn that the hero's karma is to be a scapegoat. It's his job. It's his relationships.

Also when a bomb explodes, of course, all evidences point toward him even though is the very definition of innocence.

Wonderful work from the great Daniel Pennac, which can stand on it's own, but has follow up tomes that are just as nice.

And I just looked it up, it's been translated to english.

The title, is, well, "The scapegoat".

Re: An employee whose job was to be sacked (2010)

#16
post #12
post #3

I had a boss that used to scold me in front of others to show that he was tough and impartial. It took two or three times to see the pattern (he expected me to see by myself). Too good I didn't overreact...

Urgh. That's such a basic leadership thing (scold in private) that it just infruiates me that someone wouldn't get that. Hopefully your boss figured that out or was moved out of a leadership position. It's roughly the equivalent of a developer that writes shit code with concurrency issues, basic code smells, etc...that would be drummed out in short order. For some reason, we don't hold leaders to the same standard.

Well, they are leaders. They define the standard.

Re: An employee whose job was to be sacked (2010)

#17
post #12
post #3

I had a boss that used to scold me in front of others to show that he was tough and impartial. It took two or three times to see the pattern (he expected me to see by myself). Too good I didn't overreact...

Urgh. That's such a basic leadership thing (scold in private) that it just infruiates me that someone wouldn't get that. Hopefully your boss figured that out or was moved out of a leadership position. It's roughly the equivalent of a developer that writes shit code with concurrency issues, basic code smells, etc...that would be drummed out in short order. For some reason, we don't hold leaders to the same standard.

It's shocking how many people with poor leadership skills end up in positions of power.

Re: An employee whose job was to be sacked (2010)

#18
Yes, while working a telemarketing job for quick cash secretly I encountered just this sort of thing. I had spent all of my graduation gift money meant for my first apartment right after high school and had to take a night shift somewhere. I found this telemarketing place and they had a dead simple test they used for prospective hires. My friends told me they would hire anyone no matter what. Surprisingly, someone failed the test and left angrily. Later I found out that they hired someone specifically to stage this event night after night. The reason was because if a group of people witnesses somebody fail it makes them feel they need to hold onto the opportunity. I saw this work time and time again- every single person who showed up for the job took that job and didn't question it. They also did this because they cashed every last check of every employee that left and there were a lot of those. It was grueling and I would even leave on a bike and ride through the woods to get there just so my family wouldn't notice. Made my money back and then some then quit all in time for college. You see, I learned that fake employees are just a part of growing up and growing wiser.

Re: An employee whose job was to be sacked (2010)

#19
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Urgh. That's such a basic leadership thing (scold in private) that it just infruiates me that someone wouldn't get that. Hopefully your boss figured that out or was moved out of a leadership position. It's roughly the equivalent of a developer that writes shit code with concurrency issues, basic code smells, etc...that would be drummed out in short order. For some reason, we don't hold leaders to the same standard.

It's shocking how many people with poor leadership skills end up in positions of power.

It is. As a leader myself, it's honestly embarrassing for my profession. I really don't get why it happens. Personally, that kind of basic shit is dealt with swiftly in my company. Leadership isn't rocket science.
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