So, I've been looking at my arm yesterday and this evening. I can't tell if I'm getting a bruise, or if it is more of a rope burn type of thing. I can see some swelling, also. In looking at my arm I noticed something even more unusual. A harder, darker patch of skin on the back of my right wrist/the bottom of the palm of my hand. This little square of skin looks different and feels different. I started wondering how it got there - Did this happen from the steering wheel, too? I hadn't thought my hand was even in the right spot to get hurt. Then I started wondering if I had some sort of skin problem, or other problem that effected skin. I know that skin doesn't just turn colors and textures on its own. I decided to stop worry, and went back to whatever I had been doing on the computer at that time. I only had my hand on the mouse for about 3 seconds when I realized what had been happening. Because of the less-than-ideal chair/desk combination I have at work, my keyboard and mouse have to be right at the edge of the desk, nearly falling off. When I use my mouse, that corner of my wrist rests right on the edge of the desk. This happens for hours each day.
It was then that I came to the sad realization of how largely my job effects my life. Last week I was sick to my stomach with worry, this week I'm injuring myself. I took a call at 8:00pm from my boss on Tuesday. Two weeks ago I worked for seven hours on Sunday. I go home and feel entirely drained. I'm not saying that extenuating circumstances don't come up that have to be dealt with. Part of being a salaried employee is dealing with these things. I also believe that part of being an employee means that you are not a slave, or work horse. If I am working extra entire days, dealing with unprofessional business situations and all the other time consuming, stressful things that happen, I believe that I should be compensated in some way for that.
I watched a documentary the other day on the Bank of America/Merril Lynch merger/sale that happened this past fall, and they have the opposite problem. Billions and billions of dollars of Merril Lynch's income is allotted to bonuses each year. Instead of putting money back into the failing bank to rescue it, the CEOs keep the money for themselves. The average salary of a Merril Lynch employee, who also receives a large bonus each year, is $240,000. The average salary of a Bank of America employee, who does not receive a bonus is $75,000. Of course, Bank of America is the bank that is thriving and bought out Merril Lynch.
The point I am trying to make is that correct compensation for work is extremely important for a business to succeed . In the case of the employee who puts in a lot of effort, and just receives enough to live on, the employee ends up over tired, injured, unhappy, and frustrated - and is not very useful to the business in that state. In the case of the employee who earns a large salary, and is automatically given large bonuses, the best interest of the business is not in mind there, either. In the case of Merril Lynch, the bank was so far in the hole that the federal government basically ordered them to be bought out.
I believe there is a happy medium out there. I believe that employers and companies who can find that will find success for themselves, as well.
