The Seat of Power One of the reasons that corporate structure here is so messed up is because we are one of many companies that are owned by a corporation in another state. The first day I started here I learned the names of the president, vice president and some other corporate information.

I've never met any of these guys, not once. I think the vice president may have breezed through the call center once without any fanfare. There has been a company wide wage freeze throughout all of the different divisions of the company for a long time, even though we see (what appears to us anyway) alot of investments in equipment and other things going on around us.

We also know that the corporate people keep track of our call numbers and relative sales and other numbers, even though we dont receive performance reviews. What worries me is that even though I get along with my direct supervisor, and I think they are satisfied with my work, I could lose my job if they want to trim the workforce again.

I have worked for other companies where I knew who owned the company. I brought them their mail, they handed me my Christmas Bonus, called me by name and wished me a Merry Christmas. I could go to their office and discuss things with them directly.

I guess what bothers me the most is the fact that people who have never met me or my coworkers can make decisions that affect us negatively will never have to look us in the eye. They can go blissfully on with their life and brag to their friends that the company went through a bad patch, but they were able to make the right decisions to keep it all profitable.

Look, I know that in order to keep a business running you have to make tough decisions sometime, but you should not have the right to lay off, fire, or otherwise hurt people but never have to face them. When you never see how your financial decisions affect others, you can say like Ebenezer Scrooge, "Are there no poorhouses, are there no prisons?"
  ¶ 1:23 AM