A NeverEnding Story...

why money matters (not)

Flan tapped her beautifully manicured fingers on her laptop keypad. Beside her, D's eyes were glued to the football match in front of him. Flan cast a sideway glance at D, silently admiring his dark profile, and snickered wickedly when he let out a frustrated sigh. She typed, "Ha ha, silly boy is supporting his silly team again. And yes, they have just lost a golden opportunity to score, as always...what is new?...."

Flan stared at the paragraph that she had just typed. Uncertain about how her story should continue, she deleted the whole chunk, and started again,
"Ok, today, I am going to talk about 'Money'."

"Shhh.... can you turn down the volume? I need to concentrate on my story," Flan said. She furrowed her brows, and typed,
"Where was I? Yes, money! Somehow, bosses and companies tend to want to re-structure the organization and pay system the moment I leave! Company A promoted two colleagues and expanded the team. Clearly, the fact that there isn't much work, and that the decision-maker was making subtle threats to downsize the team vanished the moment I decide to leave.
Interestingly, the same decision-maker had also dropped me an sms to make sure that I knew about this promotion and expansion. Right, his point?
Company B hit the rocks the moment I joined. And when I left? Same deal - bonuses, promotions, big fat never-before increments...."

Flan paused, distracted for a moment. In a span of ten minutes, the opposing team had scored two goals. The layer of gloom that had descended the living room was so thick, Flan thought it was wiser not to comment.

Flan contemplated her work, "Now, how am I going to end this...hmm, what is my point...I don't know... Why money matters?! Oh, oh I remember now." She continued, typing furiously before she lost the thought again,
"Don't they get it? It's not about the money! Look, the colleague who got promoted in Company A had never felt more stressed-out or unhappy in her life. And look, people are still trying their utmost to find better working environments despite the 'big, fat never-before increments'...SO, it's not about the money."

At least not all the time, Flan thought aloud. But she didn't type that in, because she had a point to make, and she intended to make it.

posted by Flaneur @ 6:39 PM