Know your place

Until today, I felt that it was completely annoying to provide all this special treatment to executives who work for the company.  I mean, the overrides and extended deadlines, the calling the medical vendors for them, when they could simply call customer service themselves.  Not to mention, the company cars (I'm talking high end, not your typical Ford Explorer), country club and gym memberships, executive compensation (so they can be rich forever), additional life insurance and the list goes on! 

While I know 9 out of 10 executives deserve all the perks they are getting for leading companies, developing strategies, saving millions and making millions, it can get under your skin and irk you a little bit, the same way growing up, your parents irked you when they told you to get them a glass of water, or any other asinine task they could have done themselves, but instead, asked you to do it because you are their child and they are your parent!  I digress....

Today, however, it appears that the Director of Human Resources (of all employees) grew irritated over yet another perk.  The assigned covered parking, which is coveted by many (not me though, if I had my choice of perks, it would not be a parking spot) apparently was the straw that broke the camels back.  Long story short, the Director of HR parked in the CFO's parking spot while he was at lunch, only for him to return and find someone in his parking spot.  This is where it gets good - the CFO fights back by parking horizontally behind the Director of HR, blocking her in, retreating to his office and patiently awaiting her request to be unblocked when the workday concludes.  But, that is not what happens.  At 4:30pm, the Director of HR attempts to duck out early only to find her car is blocked in.  What happened next?  Well, the Director of HR asks another employee to go to the CFO, let him know she is trying to get out.  This employee does that, but the CFO is not having it.  He requests that the Director of HR come see him directly - but guess what, she poos poos that request and maneuvers her way out of the parking spot, leaving the CFO's car parked on the street and looking crazy!

The moral of the story is that:

1) I don't need to say that the Director of HR was out of line and while she may not think it was a big deal, it showed an overwhelming sense of immaturity and entitlement and blatant disrespect towards the CFO. 




2)  It's really not that serious.  Please don't risk your credibility and reputation over a parking spot that is 10 steps closer than the one you are allowed to park in. 

3) Don't mess with the hierarchy, totem pole, pecking order, whatever you want to call it, in the workplace.  Know your place, if you want a covered parking spot (which is not all that if you ask me) work for it, and if that means you have to work until you are 50, than that's what you have to do.  Hopefully, you can find more rewarding things in life to make you happy than a parking spot that really is probably detrimental to your health, because the closer you are to the door, the less exercise you are getting.  I know this is a stretch...but you probably get my sarcasm.