I agree it's the reality for a majority if not the super majority of jobs. I also think it could be the ideal of hourly wage labor: which is to say that the company wants nothing more than what they can motivate you to do with money, and that you want nothing more from the company than their money.
Looking back, I see I made my comment in the context of Silicon Valley behemoths and startups: companies that can both pretend to, and potentially change some fundamental way of doing things.
I think the difference in my mind between "creative" companies and normal ones is the "potential", achievements outside of a strictly defined expectations of contract, for both the business and the employee. Maybe a great insight, a new tool... anything that greatly benefits both the business and the employee, especially if the employee uses the product(s) and believes in the mission.
When you take away that potential (by saying employees are just cogs in a machine), you might take with it the creative spark that these hopeful companies ostensibly rely on. In my mind, that "potential" is the real joy of a job, which is my reason for the (slightly snarky) comment that "cog in the machine" is only acceptable "if the company requires joylessness to turn a profit". If I could, I would edit that post to be more clear/to take into account businesses which do not require any specialness.
At least for my central point, "the more dishonest, the worst the culture"... I believe that stands, especially in circumstances where a person is (somehow) manufacturing toilet paper and their supervisor is telling them they are (somehow) on their way to curing cancer.
> If I could, I would edit that post to be more clear/to take into account businesses which do not require any specialness.
That I'm creative (amongst other things) is why they pay me well. My successful experiments have a record of adding value well above my pay even if aggregated with my many unsuccessful experiments, although I try my best not to keep it that way for long. I'm not sure I've had any technical job with completely "strictly defined expectations of contract", I think that's a red herring. It sounds nice that the most creative and innovative projects/companies give less of a shit about the bottom line; I personally think that the bottom line is the fuel for creativity (didn't have much money when I was younger.) Anybody can sell your product with unlimited money to spill, but doing it with the best profit margin possible is creativity.
Looking back, I see I made my comment in the context of Silicon Valley behemoths and startups: companies that can both pretend to, and potentially change some fundamental way of doing things.
I think the difference in my mind between "creative" companies and normal ones is the "potential", achievements outside of a strictly defined expectations of contract, for both the business and the employee. Maybe a great insight, a new tool... anything that greatly benefits both the business and the employee, especially if the employee uses the product(s) and believes in the mission.
When you take away that potential (by saying employees are just cogs in a machine), you might take with it the creative spark that these hopeful companies ostensibly rely on. In my mind, that "potential" is the real joy of a job, which is my reason for the (slightly snarky) comment that "cog in the machine" is only acceptable "if the company requires joylessness to turn a profit". If I could, I would edit that post to be more clear/to take into account businesses which do not require any specialness.
At least for my central point, "the more dishonest, the worst the culture"... I believe that stands, especially in circumstances where a person is (somehow) manufacturing toilet paper and their supervisor is telling them they are (somehow) on their way to curing cancer.