“Pride that dines on vanity sups on contempt”

“The Way to Wealth”: A Narrative  

 “Pride that dines on vanity sups on contempt”

            “Come on in, Phyllis”, beckoned the boss with an authoritative hand gesture and a deafening glare staring into his computer monitor rather than his employee. The boss was situated in a posh leather swivel chair behind his immense, yet desolate desk. There were no papers or work materials to be found, just the occasional chocolate the boss so intently enjoyed indulging on. Yet somehow he was able to keep up the façade that he was always busy.

            Phyllis, intimidated because he rarely got his boss’ attention, meekly stepped into the office in a pathetic scuttle. He eyed his boss briefly, and realized that his presence was barely being acknowledged. Reluctantly, Phyllis positioned himself onto the crude chair that was in front of his boss’ desk, feeling pain on his behind due to the poorly designed bolts on top.

            “I appreciate that you are willing to listen, sir” began Phyllis, as his boss’ eyes continued to stare blankly at the monitor screen that was apparently quite important.

            “Yeah, yeah”, retorted the boss, “Just get on with it.”

            “Sorry it’ll just be a moment, sir”, desperately implored Phyllis. “It’s just that a lot of employees here, myself included, wanted to file a slight complaint… I mean suggestion, about the work conditions of this company. You see, a lot of individuals here, myself included, have felt like the hours are too extensive and that the health-care benefits are lacking.”

            “Excuse me…” said the boss with disdain. “Are you trying to tell me you have a problem with this company’s exploitation of its employees?”

            “No, no, of course not…” whimpered the intimidated Phyllis.

            “Because you signed up for this job knowing that you would be exploited, used for profit, and deemed worthless when you full potential isn’t enough” roared the boss. “And if you have a problem with that, you can take your Marxist revolution out of this company! This is purely business. I earned this position of power, and can do what I please with it!”

            Phyllis, feeling as if his job was in jeopardy, quickly apologized to his benign employer and scrambled out of the office. Panting with exasperation from outside the door, he thought back to he’s boss’ words. Was change ever going to be possible, or would the fate of every worker continue to be exploited by someone higher up in the social hierarchy? No, this is America, he realized. Equity in the workplace was never an American ideal.

            With his head hanging low, Phyllis walked back to his tight cubicle with barely enough leg space and attempted to continue the same mundane task he was subject to under the company. He turnedd on his 1980’s desktop that took up half the space of his desk. But Phyllis realized he could not take this treatment any longer; he was not a usable commodity for his boss to exploit, and he did not deserve these awful working conditions simply because he was of a lower socio-economic status. Phyllis came to learn that wealth did not correlate with value as individual, and that he was not inferior to his boss simply because of his working class status.

            Defiantly, Phyllis stood up from his desk clutching his fists.

            “My fellow co-workers”, he declared, and glanced from side to side as he noticed he was getting the attention of the employees. “We don’t need to feel subjugated by our current fate. The workers can have fair conditions, but only if we express our voice and demand our rights. I’ve seen too many employees attempt to change our boss’ mind but they were too intimidated and walked out of his office with nothing. We don’t have to give up and accept the status quo; there can be change in numbers!”

            “That would never work”, voiced a skeptical employee. “He’s just too powerful and has no incentive to help those below him.”

            “But you are wrong”, replied Phyllis. “A fool would remain silent in this situation, and accept misery. In numbers our protest will have power…”

            Phyllis turned around when he noticed that people were looking at the opposite direction of him. In the corner he saw his boss, who momentarily came out of his office and eyed him with a menacing glare.

            “You’re fired”, he stated frankly. “If anyone else is feeling particularly heroic, you can join him.”

There was an awkward moment of silence, as the eyes of employees darted back and forth, in anticipation to see who would react first. But not a word was said, just nervous glances that resulted in nothing. Phyllis promptly put his head down in shame as he left the building. Reform would not come today.

But as Phyllis walked out the door he noticed that two others followed. Shortly after that, 5 others walked out. Finally, a crowd of workers formed outside the building.

“Did you guys get fired” Phyllis asked with genuine surprise.

“No,” replied one of the employees with a smirk. “We all quit.”

“I’m glad you guys took my message to heart, but we’re all unemployed now,” said Phyllis. “I didn’t want this to happen.”

            But as he said this, more and more people left the building.

            “The only one who will become unemployed today is the boss” said one of the workers defiantly. “Without workers, his company is nonexistent. We want you to oversee the company instead as our new CEO.”

                        Eventually without any employees the company went bankrupt, and the boss reluctantly resigned as the prospects of the company was hopeless in its current state. For the first time in the company’s history, it was the boss who held his head low as he walked past his former employees and walked out the door. Liberated from their oppressor, the employees went back to the company and once again offered Phyllis the role of as their CEO.  The shocked Phyllis was hesitant but took the job. He learned from his boss’ mistakes and never let his position of power overcome his humble character. Office conditions became bearable: the cubicles were expanded, Phyllis treated employees with respect, and the work place as a whole became much more egalitarian. Most importantly, he certainly did not allow his newfound wealth get to his head, and due to this he was never met with resentment from his workers.