Dealing with insults
This is a true story told to me by a neighbour,
Hans, a gentle retired specialist in plant diseases. He once worked for a
multinational in insecticides. One of his bosses was a really bad piece of
work, one of those guys who can spoil the lives of many colleagues. Let's call him Tony. Once, Tony asked to play tennis with my friend,
as expats in tropical countries did. Tony was no good but bragged that since
he was younger, he would soon become better than Hans. So far, no news: many
managers live by this kind of one-upmanship. But Tony went much, much
further. He asked laboratories for research protocols to test pesticides and
when he had gotten their protocols he said thanks and goodbye - which gave
him a free protocol, something to brag about and a new enemy. He reputedly
even divorced his wife because she would not abide by the frequency of
intercourse fixed in the marriage contract.
One day, Tony went to speak to a French crop
specialist and colleague, whom he insulted in every possible manner in his
Paris office. What Tony did not know is that the Frenchman, Thierry, had been a professional boxer. What would you do
if you were Thierry? Thierry simply took Tony by the collar, deposed him
outside, and closed the door on him.
Morale: This is about honour. The French have a
saying: 'toute insulte ne déshonore que son auteur' - in this case Thierry
did not want to descend to Tony's level of dishonour.
Worker satisfaction
At my University, the Board has taken to administering worker
satisfaction questionnaires every two years. There has been quite some
organizational re-shuffling, and even some layoffs recently. On the whole
the personnel indicate that while they are happy with their job, they are
not satisfied with the management and with the bureaucracy. For a Dutch
organization in these circumstances, blame being shifted upwards, this is
what you'd expect from a worker satisfaction survey. Mind you, I feel the
same way myself. Unquestioning loyalty to the boss is not a Dutch specialty.
My Chinese colleague had read this result, and at coffee time he asked
me: "How can these people know that the Board are doing a bad job?" I
replied, "Good question". He then said "This year I saw many new students.
More than last year. So I think that they are doing a good job".
Lovely teachers
Exam time in December. I was correcting the work of the students who
had failed the first exam and who had had to re-sit (you always get
another chance, and another, in the Netherlands). Then one girl, a
Chinese, broke into my room with a Christmas card. It contained a poem in
which she declared her love for teachers "...because they are so
lovely...". A veiled declaration of love? Bribery? No, a way of saying "I
respect you and I'm nice to you, and could you please be nice in return by not failing me
again?" Happily, she just passed.
