Hatred in the Office

You will not see this discussed very much - the most important dynamic in many people's lives - what goes on in the office they work in.

When did the Office (with a capital O) begin? It must have begun in the many business activities created by the Industrial Revolution. All these had to be managed properly, to maximize their profitability. This was the essence of Capitalism - people working to make more money (capital) that could be used hire more people.

But also a hierarchical power structure, where those at the top of structure benefited the most. Those at the very top, the Industrialists, became extremely wealthy.

Meanwhile (sometime in the 19th Century) the Office appeared. And developed its own peculiar social institutions - similar to those of Slavery. This affected many people, but they were not aware of it.

The Office created its own kind of people - who accepted its terms without question, and without thinking about it. The more ruthless of these, were determined to rise through the ranks - and became managers of the other workers - and made more money.

When I became an Electronic Engineer in 1959, the Office was well-established - and an unavoidable fact of life. But one I was very uncomfortable with. I could not be an Office person.

I have a cousin who also had this problem. He graduated as a Social Worker, tried to work in Ohio, found he could not work in an office, and was out of a job. His wife left him in disgust, taking their children with her. Fortunately, he had a sister, living in the DC area (in Northern Virginia). She and her husband invited him to live with them, while he sorted out his problems. He took Adult Education courses, that included tests, to see what kind of work he was suited for. He became an Surveyor, where he did not have to work in an office. Became a success at that - and remarried.

But I return to my personal history. My father had been a small businessman - he could never work for anyone else. These were common in the Forties, and they included the family farmer. In the Fifties, these started to disappear - much to my amazement, but to no one else's.

One fundamental instruction affected all of them - they were not to notice what was going on! And so they didn't.

What I noticed was bizarre, and is probably not entirely accurate - but it was this. Society developed into superhumans, and subhumans. And the superhumans treated the subhumans very badly. This has been true throughout history, it is a fact of human nature. But in this case, this social difference was unconscious. and not noticed!

The Unconscious, one of our greatest discoveries - was being ignored, and ignored completely!