The Eternal Workplace Catch 22
Incompetent people in general hire those like themselves. The obverse is also true. Of course in the second case, there's no immediate problem.
I myself don't work in the IT industry; in fact I don't work in ANY industry. In fact, I'm not working at all. But I'm a smart person who nevertheless went to an ordinary high school and had my spirit and talent squelched not only by many mediocre teachers but by all my first jobs. While I had them I felt diminished as a human being AND as a smart-person, and I think this damage was permanent, because even during and after college I never found my way in the work world again, on any level.
I think the modern educational system is a talent-squelching system by design. I think it selects only for the most conformist aspects in people and ignores and/or destroys anything that "sticks out or that can't be contained within its own processes. It despises and savages any unachievement, underachievement AND "other" achievement - equally. It PATRONIZES overachievement; does its best to isolate it and exploit it and use it as an example or as an instance of its own success.
And so this shows up in the workplace. I don't know a THING about what all of you on this chat-page, let alone in your workplaces, are talking about.. as related to the nuts and bolts of your jobs. But when I put the expression "incompetent employees" in my searchengine and got your page to read... I related perfectly. And there's only one reason why this is true. Our whole society follows the same dynamisms.
I feel very sorry for the incompetent employees cited in these chat-board examples, and also very sorry for their victims. It is part of the failure of the "system" itself to allow these two types to be constantly pitted against each other, like gladiators in an arena, to the detriment of the whole workforce and to the whole company mission.
The worst trouble is, that someone seeing the hopelessness of reforming the American (and prettymuch worldwide) business system in the way it operates -is almost looking at a blackhole in terms of alternatives.
So I say, if you're in this quandry, to just remember the ultimate basics of life... food, shelter, creating and trading useful things, keeping the house repaired, keeping the car in order, keeping supportive networks around you, and remembering that almost EVERY possibility has at least one practitioner somewhere... and you'll duck out and survive.
And thanks to all who can appreciate my 2 cents here. I know it's probably not worth much, but it's the best I've got. Thanks again.
