Company Culture and Philosophy

"What expectations do you have for me as a trainer? What can I do to make this experience better for you? You tell me your preferences, and I will also tell you what I expect from you."

I was so happy be asked such a pointed question that I almost could not answer! Imagine that, a perfect stranger wanting to make our time together pleasant and without conflict.

My response was something like, "Just be reasonable. We're all human beings and you can expect that I will do some very human being like things, like stretching and yawning. I mean no disrespect if my attention drifts elsewhere for a moment."

Apparently my feedback was appreciated, because "BE REASONABLE!" was written first on white-board for our class's list of preferences. It also made an appearance on the list of what was expected of me and the other trainees.

Remember the old Socratic formula?

Reason = Virtue = Happiness

Words like respect, integrity, and ethics are being heavily emphasized. Having not yet encountered evidence to the contrary, I will enthusiastically conclude that I have thrown in my lot with a terrific group of human beings.

Impressions of my new job

Within the first hour of my first day, the training manager said, "We're all adults here. We respect each other." I could not stop smiling, because I could never imagine someone from DialAmerica saying that. If they had, I would have shat myself from laughing. Then I probably would have been sent home without pay. Needless to say, being able to attend to my body's needs (stretching, urinating, caffeinating) without having to get permission is a basic degree of mutual respect that has been sorely lacking in my professional life.

The first day was spent discussing the expectations and benefits, and what I'm hearing is like a beautiful dream: paid time off, two on-site fitness centers (with full weight sets), two on-site cafeterias (with fresh and healthy dining options), a huge ass-paycheck (hyphen placement pending), etc. Of course, I am expected to be 100% on time and competent in order to maintain my position. Not a problem. I'm loving the environment. I'm not frowned upon for engaging in typical modern human behaviors like using my phone, reading a book, trying to find happiness in the moment, etc. You know, reasonable stuff.

Reasonable!

That word came up so many times today. Examples:

"Being honest at work should not present a problem. Remember, our standard is whether or not a reasonable person would consider what you are saying to be offensive."

"Don't be afraid to professionally voice your opinion. We don't want you to always blindly do everything we say. That's not reasonable. If we did that, how could things ever get better?"

Pretty neat, eh?

Of course, there is the standard workplace banter about churches, voting, and whose sports teams have the larger genitalia. C'est la vie. I've decided to keep my positions to myself unless bluntly asked. I've worked hard for the truth and there is no value to it if I pass it out like the New Testament or Book of Mormon (or a pocket Constitution). But perhaps that is simply a way to shroud in terms of virtue my selfish urge to not get fired. I'll figure that one out before too long.

Aside from the normal detritus of culture bubbling up in water cooler conversation, I've no complaints about my cohorts. The people are genuinely nice, non-violent, ethical (at least in terms of professional integrity), and happy to be alive. I am sometimes genuinely amazed that such perfect strangers can come together for 8 hours a day, happily coexist, and competently manage the voluntary (and yes, contractual) flow of billions of dollars to and from trusting and non-violent customers. I guess I was under the impression that we needed armed thugs to tell us how to play nice with each other.

FYI, Macon sucks.