A year ago, Mr. A was fired due to declining personal sales performance and complaints from his subordinates. He suffered a mental breakdown because he could not accept the cruel fact that even though he had been sacrificing time with his wife and children to contribute to the “big company family”, he only got betrayal and abandonment in exchange.
He once contemplated suicide, but fortunately, his social worker friend helped him get out of his mental predicament.
Can company workers really become a family? According to sociologist Allan G. Johnson in the book “The Forest and the Trees: Sociology as Life, Practice, and Promise”, there are important differences between family and work institutions: 1. For allocation of resources, Family resources (such as food) are not allocated based on level of ability, but in a company, senior management and those with higher performance are allocated a larger share of profits; 2. Families would not “fire” members in a difficult economy, but companies would lay off employees; 3. Family relationships are usually long-lasting, but the maintenance of occupational relationships generally depends on short-term employee performance and economic cycles; 4. Regarding goals and values, families focus on supporting and cultivating their members, while companies focus on productivity and profits.
Mr. A found a new job six months ago. He realized that he had mistakenly regarded his past company as a family, and forced his past colleagues to fall into the same ideological trap. Unknowingly, he deprived himself and his colleagues of their spare time. For example, after getting off work every day, he would still research how to improve his work and share many videos that he thought were inspirational and beneficial to his colleagues’ group. When his colleague’s response failed to meet his expectations, he felt heartache from their indifference.
He neglected his real family, and his guilt made him restless and irritable; he often lost his temper in the office and at home without realizing it.
Now, he clearly understands the difference between company and family, acts rationally and fairly at work, and maintains healthy boundaries with his superiors and subordinates. His work performance has improved. Mr. A spends more time with his wife and children, so the relationship between his family members has grown close, and he finally gets the long-awaited sense of security and belonging.
Written by: Dr. William Chui
Originally posted on: HKEJ Health
Translated by: Cheuk Long Chan
