Executive (a thousand words)

A couple of days back I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to have a taste of a lifestyle that is so common to those who go by titles such as managing director. The facility maintenance company and the student housing company to whom we work for had a training and enhancing cooperation day for the lot of us from the 2 companies who work in and with the Linnanmaa and Synimaa areas. There were 15 people, one was the managing director of PSOAS, the student housing company of Northern Finland. I ended up chatting with him most of the time for my Finnish is lousy at best while he was the only one confident in English.
We were expected to work a shortened and therefore hard shift in the morning before shuttled out to this spot in the middle of nowhere, an executive hideout. I of course skipped my shift but forgot to mention it to my boss. I am not so much into 15 hours work days. Tobi came out with me so while I was very modest in the drinking, not wanting to get tipsy and start bashing on capitalism to the managing director Tobi could have my share of the cider. I didn’t say no to the aperitif before dinner which by the way was wild boar sauce on uniquely special only grown in the region potatoes. The aperitif was also very uniquely special particularly Finnish drink made of potatoes in process that exactly resembles how vodka is made. But it wasn’t vodka. Hm.
Lots of exciting activities and tasks making us all feel special and challenged, important and cared for by our companies and bosses. One these days can so easily see through it all yet I am sure it still had some of the desired effects. After the programme, before dinner, we had sauna with wood burning stows. Regular Sauna first, then smoke sauna, then a comfy dip in the hot water pool under the stars, back to the sauna and cool down standing outside in the minus ten. I loved it but modestly took my time reasonably short for not everyone engaged with the sauna activity and dinner was waiting and home with bed after that. Managing director and other big boss took their time. We were all waiting and waiting. Scuffed our food helping ourselves to a second serving thinking of taking a nap in the bus especially that the moment the last crumb of the dessert was finished by everyone the bus driver popped his head in wondering if we were ready to go. Ready but…
Managing Director and Area Manager had to sum up the wonderful day’s events and outcomes and trade a couple of inspirational speeches before we could go. The other 13faces spent that 25 minutes with trying to hide ‘Just shut the hell up!’ from their faces and praying that nobody would ask a question or throw a comment. It could have been a nice afternoon but the ending just threw it all out. Of course Managing Directors and Area Managers have their priorities right. No worries apparently of getting home to the kids and wife, getting up next day fresh relatively enough. It seems it is all about the company. Money. My money really, for who pays for this kind of stuff anyway?
The people who are the frontline of production are the ones who create what then is sold as service or product to the costumer. They are, we are the lowest paid. The money that we don’t get paid pays for office staff, fair I guess, someone has to organise work and supply. For management, sort of fair, every company needs a head but the wages there start running away. And the feeling of fairness is further eroded thinking that Managing Director and Area Manager will have more than one a year of these executive style work camps for their staff. There ought to be at least ten or so of such areas in Northern Finland like Synimaa and Linnanma and they all should get their enhancing cooperation days.
In the bus home with Tobi we discussed that probably the ordinary worker would find it far more motivational if some of the hard worked for money instead of being spent on such events, paying for cushioned life for such otherwise nice and friendly people would be given back to us. I would find it more motivational. In fact this whole day demotivated me further.
One more thing Tobi and I agree on here. Smoke sauna is not an easy matter. It is hard to make a good one. In the executive hideout it wasn’t good. Made my eyes not so nice. It felt smoky. The last one before that I took was far better. It was prepared by a friend who has never done it before and I remember she spent an hour or so on the phone to her granddad trying to avoid blowing it up, burning it down or accidentally killing us all with poisonous gas when we went inside. She managed and it will always be a defining experience for me of Finland.
Tobi told me with a wink he decided if he wins the lottery he won’t live on big foot and will give all the money to the poor. Thanks. Lili is slightly annoyed because she just spent the money she saved up in her piggy bank and now she will have to wait buying something else till it’s full again. She keeps asking me for more change. I taught my daughter to beg?
By the way, I am Uncle Gabor from now on
No, Tobi didn’t win. Neither did I. 21 Days left, or maybe less. They did say ‘at latest’. But spring but spring maybe later. In Budapest they are already counting days before it’s spring. We are still counting in weeks at best. Or maybe months.