Have you ever poured your heart into something only to watch it all crumble?
Often we do walk into something that seems like cherry blossom, feels like the ultimate comfort, the best but it all fades away with time or a moment that triggers a this or that moment.
It's been almost a year since I joined my company. In the past, I had a phobia that I would never do a corporate job, maybe a remote one, anything apart from this and that's why I had chosen multiple paths and in the end, situations made me settle for a 9 to 5 corporate one in Bangladesh. Has lots of stories and key factors behind this decision that might be an another talk but I didn't regret joining as the environment was super friendly. Yeah, I am using “were” even though I am still here. So you might have guessed things got changed, I have started to feel like I was right with my old thoughts and all.
Actually things weren’t like that, a few times I have also shared a few tales, being satisfied and contempt with everything. I was jealous of myself, lol. Too much happiness didn't get digested in the stomach and now this pain.
We do prefer exceptions, they catch our eyes, our attention, and fill our hearts for good. We too fell for this, pretty badly and when things got changed, it was hard to accept and process the true scene, the reality.
It's being hard to figure out where to begin, like from which aspects to talk about. Okay, let's go with the most astonishing one. The person, sitting at the top position. We used to be like, "In spite of possessing so much wealth, position, and what not. He is dining with us, with all the employees, chit chatting on a regular basis, and won't even feel anyone is different than us.” That's what I used to be surprised of, used to praise about him, something exceptional that you won't notice usually. So this was the culture, flexibility was the go-to-go word for us. Every week we used to have game day, hangouts, dining out type recreational activities to keep up the motivation and bonding of the team.
But but but, all of a sudden, what happened?
Actually, things didn't change drastically, it was a continuous process, maybe we didn’t think like that earlier, used to forget and forgive thinking the positive sides.
As the company is growing, from a start-up towards organisation, there are new hiring at the top management, every newcomer comes with new rules and regulations, changes that would mark their presence that they did this “revolution” and that's what happened. In the name of compliance, requirements, and guidelines from the investors they kept pushing us in the corner, treating us like mere employees, cutting off the privileges we used to have, eradicating us from the flexibilities we used to cherish. And that's where the conflicts got triggered, and the war began. We lost our fellow colleagues, and they lost their respect from our end.
How? Wait a minute…
While the pile was growing and growing, we got late to realise that we needed to speak, and so when we did, surprisingly it hurt their ego. We too were equally surprised by their behaviour and way of dealing with us. They were never so vocal or hot toned with us. A few seniors were the spokesperson from our end, they got to face the rath. In the meantime, one of the seniors had to leave the company because we lost the war, they were stick to their decisions and didn't even consider our side with 1% and so we had to accept the reality that all are the same, no difference, just a mask they put on to pass the time they are bound to be.
What happens now?
Just like one walked out, rest have planned so as well. Not now, but soon. That senior had backup so he was able to stand for his ethics and is living well even after walking away from here. There are more to take him in and so he could afford this resignation. Not us, we don't have that backup or scope to shift just now, should have thought about such worst cases from the beginning. We must stay prepared for disasters no matter how smooth everything is going, you never know when the storm hits your den.
So yeah, we are back into reality, tasting the actual taste of corporate, getting ready for the battlefield that we should have started long ago. Sharpening our skills even more, at the end of the day, skills are what keeps us ahead of the storm. If hit by one, the other stays ready to shield.
In search of a new den but this time, with less expectations and more professional, I need to set priorities and expectations accordingly to not mess up again ... .learnt in the hard way!