"your value to the group is your ability to entertain"

Koala head toy mash-up on my work desk ^ constructed by Grateful-J

 "your value to the group is your ability to entertain"

That's one of the Hidden Rules of Class I posted yesterday––from the side of People Who Grew Up in Generational Poverty*, which includes a lot of my coworkers whose families were poor from way back.
And before that, some of them, enslaved.
So they've got a lot of adaptations for dealing with being stuck in stupid and unfair situations over which you have no power.

Some of the adaptations are great.
An upside of working with people who value entertainment over efficiency is, my workplace is a lot of fun, despite so many things working against that. (Like, the inefficiency. I mean, I agree with AM, it's terrible.)

There's a lot of joshing about stuff that would be "inappropriate" at other places I've worked.
Every once in a while, someone will holler "HR". It's a joke. We have no Human Resources department.

Mr Furniture, for instance, ribs me about how I don't shave my legs. That would be considered harassment at the publisher where I once worked. Though really, such ribbing would've been inconceivable there: no one would've ever said such a thing.

Because the rules are hidden, it's taken me a long time to suss them out--I'm still figuring some out, and stumbling into others.

Mr Linens has had to quit because of poor health.
("I smoked cigarettes, and now I'm paying for it.")
I liked him a lot, and I miss how he used to explain stuff to me, like he was my guide.

For example, he teased me once in a way that made me think he was genuinely angry at me.
Maybe he was, but when I checked, he said, "I was just playing! If I didn't like you, I wouldn't say anything to you."
A good coping skill for when you work closely (or live) with people you don't like but can't get away from.

He also said, "If you don't like what I say, I'm joking. If you're okay with it, I meant it."

Yesterday I talked to Ass't Man about the Hidden Rules chart I'd emailed him. The main point I'd wanted to get across is that people don't all have, nor should they have, HIS goals.
AM replied that he'd been thinking about that and sees that he is applying his standards unfairly.
(I'm hard on him, and then he surprises me with some insight.)

"But," he said, "my problem is, how can a manager introduce more efficient ways for the good of all?"

Good question.
As assistant manager, he's got an uphill battle because his ability to entertain is not that high, and our coworkers value that ability highly.
(Also, he doesn't see how inefficient he is, himself, with his untreated ADHD. Everyone sees it--like how he constantly loses his coffee mug, which doesn't inspire confidence.)

As AM & I were talking, Manageress came up and told me I was printing too many price labels at one time.
I print enough for the week, I said, so I don't have to go back to the printing station over and over, which is a waste of time.

Ass't Man said, "Big Boss wants us to print only twenty labels at a time".

"But that's STUPID," I said with scorn.

AM came back later in the day and told me he was shocked I'd said "stupid."
I apologized for being so reactive. "But that is inefficient, you've gotta admit."

He agreed, but, it turns out, he was taken aback at how harsh I'd sounded: "And you were just talking about being understanding."
I had to laugh. Yeah, I definitely took the bait there--my frustration at inefficiency can be as high as his! I present myself as being Kindness and Light... until I am super annoyed.
And then I can be as High and Mighty Judgmental as they come.

The inanity about the new pricing system is a perfect example of why my coworkers don't bother to TRY to change anything--why they tolerate stupid systems and don't take it personally.
The stupidity appears to be intractable, and endless.
Better to ignore it and joke around with your coworkers.

I love the Zen of that.
Let it go.
BUT... it also means nothing ever changes.

Always, I do better to focus relentlessy on my own areas.
GO BOOK's & TOYS!
_____________

* Generational poverty, or, a cycle of poverty or poverty trap, is caused by self-reinforcing mechanisms that cause poverty, once it exists, to persist unless there is outside intervention.
It can persist across generations, and when applied to developing countries, is also known as a development trap.
--Wikipedia