Today has been a good day

I am following my philosophy for this year to take more time out.  With an old friend in town on his way back to Australia after being in Rome for a conference for priests, I had a perfect opportunity to take a day off and relax and unwnd.   So out I went to the airport hotel, where he was for the day, to have lunch with my friend.  It was such good fun to catch up with someone whom I had not seen for over 10 years. 

It was a much appreciated time after facing two huge days of trying to be a manager in a Thai workplace.   Refreshing even!

Now, what were these two days?  In the midst of much work activity, I was involved in or observing the Thai process in my office for making a decision on staff salary increases for 2015.  What I saw I judged to be quite bizarre.  I would think it to be a delicate matter.  I would think that it could be dealt with by looking up pay scales but there is no such thing.  Then I would think one would proceed in a specifically chosen and planned way that respects the important and delicate nature of the task.  There was none of this.

What transpired was that the Thai employer, the bishop, entrusted senior Thai staff to run their process of assessing staff salaries and report to him.  They were part of the decision making that concerned both their peers and themselves.  I thought this a grossly unfair burden for them but one they took on with great gusto.  But then this was happening in a culture so strongly based on patronage, seniority and hierarchy where ones just accept, at least outwardly, what is presented to them by therir superiors.  So they were expected to act but for two reasons.  One because they were asked by the bishop.  The other was because they were senior in the workplace and so they themselves expected to act on this group task and as well they were expected by the group to act for them.   

So the 'gang of three' came up with their agreed recommendations which they presented to the bishop who guess what?  He did not approve, saying their increases were far too high.  He then took their list and declared his own acceptable level of pay for staff.  The three took the list back, agreed to the boss' recommendations of the now reduced increases and presented his list back to him for his approval. 

I would say then that it was a process that was not a process.  It was about the boss having control all the time under the guise of teamwork.  I believe this to be more than just a bizarre practice but to be unprofessional and questionable as it takes an integral and valued, employer responsibility of upholding justice for all staff and uses it to remind the staff who is in control.  All along, the boss set the agenda and was making the decision.  The boss' agenda was to give pay increases to staff but it was much more than that.  It was even about more than just work hard and getting paid for that.     

It was a strange experience for me as I tried to understand what was happening and assert as best I could all along my one principle to see that all staff were treated fairly and justly.  It was an experience of being here where you are included but you are not and where you see how the culture of position and status acts in its own way to protect its own interests.     

I was exhausted at the end of all this.  So my day off was a needed day, a day to take time away and out and be in a different place in life.