Employees Who Curry Favour With the Boss

In any organization, enterprise or work place there are two types of employees. One group tries to distance themselves from the powers that be, the boss. The employees in the other group try as much as they can to be recognized by the boss.

A nod or smile from the boss sends ripples of excitement and enthusiasm down their persons. They paste a woebegone sulk on their faces when not recognized or when something is not done about the suggestions they put across in the last meeting. When we talk of being recognized it is not just by any Tom, Dick and Harry but by, as they put it, ‘the ones who matter'. Employees of this strain and nature are so rife in our work places, in Africa and the world over. Their joy is full when they stand out in the crowd of employees and their names mentioned fondly over coffee by the bosses. That's where their efforts gravitate towards. Take for instance, in most organizations and workplaces there are eight stipulated working hours. Our do-gooders will put in an extra hour ‘finishing some piece of work' or ‘writing that report needed on the MD's desk by Friday evening' or something as far-fetched as, say, ‘photocopying all the documents in my department. Anything may happen, you know'. Their clever pretexts are camouflaged in ostentatious amounts of hard work. Their aim is nothing more than to show that they are hard workers. That's their trump card.

Read more from Richard Mbuthia here.