Take This Job...

Are you a team player? Do you know what a team player is? I was taught if you played the game well, according to the rules, encouraged your teammates and above all played your best, you were a team player.

My friend Kay called to tell me about her new job. It is one that requires her, among other things, to be a team player.

She is a very congenial person, and gives 100% in all she does. She tries to please regardless of what is required of her.

Catching on quickly, and even making suggestions that the company implemented, Kay has done well in her new position. But is she a team player?

Kay was hired for a specific position but was subsequently moved into a “temporary position.” One that she soon discovered no one else wanted.

Twice she was asked to pull a14 hour shift. She did not mind as she welcomed this overtime. But, she was told that she needn’t return to work for the rest of the week. She realized that she would not qualify for overtime, as she would not be working over 40 hours. She felt taken advantage of.

Because she was doing so well they have added more responsibilities to her job description. After completing one of her long shifts, Kay was pulled into the office for not discovering a mistake by a co-worker. She was told that a team player is responsible not only for her work but for that of the other team players as well. Ultimately the buck stopped with her.

It is only fair to say that management expresses concern for the team’s morale by periodically handing out a movie ticket to a few team players. This one movie ticket is considered a reward for having played the game so well.

Kay is now looking for a new job. My advise to her, if she sees an add for a company looking for a team player, she had best make sure it isn’t the 20 mule team looking for a new ass.