I am "pushing the mill" in a state-owned enterprise

"I can finally relax", this is what I said to myself after signing a contract with this state-owned enterprise.

After my classmates learned about my signing, they all looked at me with envy and their praises were beyond words. If this competition can be compared to a siege, more than 700 people attacked the city, and in the end only 15 people walked through the city gate.

? After that, while I was preparing my thesis, I was happily imagining the situation after work. The working conditions in the future must be as leisurely, with good benefits and high remuneration as rumored by the outside world. Otherwise, why would there be so many people eager to get in, and most of the candidates competing for the position are masters and Ph.D.s.

After graduation, report and go to work.

The internship period for new employees is half a year, and the monthly salary is more than 2,000. I told myself: half a year is just half a year, it won’t be a blink of an eye, and things will get better after I become a full-time employee. In the past six months, our new employees have repeatedly inquired about the company's treatment. Of course, the result is that there is no result.

? At the beginning of the internship, overtime work began, and getting off work after ten o'clock was almost a routine. At first, we thought this was just temporary, and no one was willing to admit it. To be more precise, they were unwilling to face the fact that we were in a very busy and poor unit. As the internship deepened step by step, we gradually accepted with compassion that what was presented to us was the normal state of this company.

After half a year of poverty, I became a regular employee.

However, the salary did not increase much, and I could barely make up for the monthly expenses. Then continue to be poor.

We need to face heavy work and accept countless tasks every day.

Fortunately, through a period of observation and contact, I have learned about the status of people of different ages in the department. In fact, it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a portrayal of a person at different ages. I write here their biographies, using letters instead of names for convenience.

A, that is me, 27 years old, master's degree, working for nearly a year.

We are a technology-intensive company. However, after nearly a year in the company, I seem to be slowly abandoning my professionalism and technology. I take on different tasks every day, and all the tasks have no connection or continuity. The complicated tasks make people breathless every day.

Working overtime is normal. I walked through the streets at two o'clock in the morning and know what the old streets look like at four o'clock in the morning.

There are about thirty people in the department and ten middle-level or above leaders. The effective labor force is far from insufficient. Each grassroots employee accepts the dispatch of all leaders, that is, all leaders can directly assign tasks to any grassroots employee. All grassroots staff are struggling to cope with every leader, and behind the fatigue is helplessness.

I often take a call from leader 1, and leader 2’s WeChat message will come to me. Leader 3 will come over and pat you on the shoulder: Come and see me after answering the phone.

It is common to receive calls from leaders at 11 or 12 o'clock in the evening. At first, I was young and impulsive, and turned off my phone after get off work. Later, I was severely criticized and educated.

Leaders often have heart-to-heart talks with grassroots employees. To put it bluntly, they are trying to make a difference: young people have just arrived, work hard, and the world is yours. But looking at the state of the old employees around them, it seems like they have never owned the world.

? As a new employee, I don’t understand the unspoken rules and have inexplicably taken the blame for others several times. It’s scary to think about it.

I have been working for nearly a year. I am very confused and busy every day, but I can realize that my ability is still standing still. I have been paying attention to a lot of news in the outside world, especially the Internet field. I feel that many fields in the outside world are rich and colorful and can make people grow continuously. I marvel at the splendor of the outside world, sigh at the helplessness in front of me, and often feel that I am out of touch with the world.

Recent news reports that the founder of Mobike cashed out 1.5 billion and left the market. Are your peers abandoning you? In fact, my peers are indeed abandoning me. When I chat with those students who have entered private companies, what I feel is their optimism and continuous fighting spirit. They are making progress, but now I am already afraid of what else I can do after leaving this company.

Recently I heard that my colleague who joined the company together is resigning, and the returnee who joined us three years ago is also resigning. The Ph.D.s who were just one year older than us have already found their next job.

On your way to the third place, don’t know where to go next?

B, 33 years old, PhD, fifth year of work.

"After I graduated with a Ph.D., I thought I had escaped the boss's sword, but I didn't expect to find myself in another pit of fire," B said to me after drinking.

B told me that he entered the job excitedly and worked hard for almost five years. I have almost completely forgotten my professional knowledge. Now I am just a secretary, and my daily job is to code and make ppts. B also said that C came to work five years earlier than him and had a 985 degree. They both had similar tasks and similar salaries. B said that C no longer asked for a salary increase and just hoped that the work would not be so busy.

B is the first and only doctorate in the department. He said that the salary was low at the beginning and he thought it would increase later, but in the end it still did not. This money is a fraction of the income of his classmates. B informed me that I wanted a salary increase unless I became a leader.

B just got married at the end of last year. His wife earns more than him, and B can’t hold his head up at home. It is said that he was often complained by his wife before marriage, and he was almost divorced by his wife who was still his girlfriend at the time. When B talked about these things, he was full of helplessness, and then drank another glass of wine.

I said: Logically speaking, you are the first and only doctor, and you should be reused. B's answer: I am indeed very highly regarded. All tasks are assigned to me, and other preferential treatment and benefits - sorry, they will not be assigned to me.

B said that he was very scared. He was afraid that he would really become a donkey, and after being pushed around all his life, he would be "removed and killed as a donkey" in the end.

I reminded B that he is a doctor himself, so he will probably go out to work. B shook his head. He couldn't do anything outside. Who would hire a doctor as a secretary? I pursed my lips and didn't know what to say.

A while ago, I came back from training abroad, and B said that he had not rested for a month again, five plus two, white plus black. After finally getting through the Qingming Festival holiday, B wanted to have a good rest. Unexpectedly, on the first day of vacation, his boss made several phone calls and he went to work overtime again.

Yesterday, B said that he wanted to take out a loan for renovation. I was shocked. I was shocked by this doctor who had been working for nearly five years, and I was also shocked by whether I would be the same in five years.

In short, what B said the most was: It’s useless, it’s useless, it should have gone out and made a career.

B also said to me meaningfully: You are still young...

D, 40 years old, undergraduate, has been working for 17 years.

D is lucky. Last year, the department encountered a once-in-a-century opportunity and was promoted. The department gained a number of middle-level leadership positions. D caught up with this wave of dividends and mentioned cadres.

I heard B and C talk about this. They both said that the leadership positions of the department have not been changed at all for many years. If it were not for the department upgrade, these people who were promoted would still be there. At the grassroots level, stay here until you retire.

D said that the recruitment requirements of this company were not as demanding as they are now. In the past, you could get in with a bachelor's degree. He was born early and caught up with the good times. When the property market was in a downturn, D bought a house, and now the housing prices in that area lead the city. That said, D's fate is still very good, and good luck has caught up with him several times.

D’s focus is on his children. He has enrolled his children in many tutoring classes and tutors his children on homework every day after get off work. In the past, he worried about which elementary school his children would go to, but now he worries about which junior high school his children will go to.

D likes to smoke, and he often smokes one cigarette after another. His office is always filled with smoke. When I think of D, the image of a middle-aged man buried in tobacco appears in my mind.

D is responsible for taking over the tasks from the upper level and the lower level. D also knows the sufferings of the lower level employees. He takes over the tasks from the upper level and assigns them to the lower level employees every time. As for the grassroots employees, they can only continue the tasks honestly every time. This is a kind of "tacit understanding". No one dares to break the balance brought about by this "tacit understanding".

D is also pushing his grinder, but the material of his grinder is better.

D is afraid of signing. D said that if you sign, you will be responsible. Thinking about the blame I took, I have a deep understanding of D.

One time when I was riding in someone else’s car, I accidentally mentioned D. He said: Fortunately, the department has been upgraded, otherwise D would still be a small grassroots employee; but D would be like that, and it would be impossible to move up.

If that’s the case, what’s more about me?

E, 42 years old, undergraduate, working for 20 years.

Compared to D, E is a victim. E was not an employee of this department at first, but he was considered a resourceful person. He was transferred from another department and planned to be the head of this department. Unexpectedly, before he got too excited, someone with more resources was transferred. No, the top leader has not been appointed, and the grassroots employees are still there.

In fact, if E had been a few years younger, he would have been promoted to a middle-level leader in last year's department upgrade, but his age limited his imagination.

Chatting with E, it is obvious that E is a person who has an overall view and seems to be able to see through everything.

E said that when mid-level leaders were promoted last year, although D was also a person with resources, the first few to be promoted were all younger than D. D is also very depressed. He has worked hard and without complaint for so many years, but he has gained nothing. However, there was a twist in the matter. Otherwise, D would be lucky. Later, an additional department was added, so D was the only one with the right age.

E also said that D should stop at this level in his life. E also said that when these middle-level people retire and vacate their seats, the newcomers in the past few years will be over the age that can be imagined...

E once asked Do I have resources? What are the resources? I answered, no. E said, then go ahead and do whatever you need to do.

Although the salary for people in E's age group is not high, they are not as busy as us. E is now in love with photography and is still a member of the Photography Association. He often shows me the photos he took.

We always compare E and F. F is not as good as E. They are similar in age, but F looks many years older than E. When I first came here, I thought F was about to retire. Here, most people are actually like F.

At that time, E was only one step away, but now it is a thousand miles away.

I admire E. He is very open-minded and has taught me many things. Every time we have a meeting, E wears a suit and ties. I still haven't figured it out, and I haven't dared to ask him, whether he dresses so formally because he is a decent person, or because he is paying tribute to the person who was so close to him.

Speaking of E’s current focus, it should be children.

F, 45 years old, undergraduate, working for 23 years.

In state-owned enterprises, when a person reaches middle age, he has a clear view of his career. In the remaining twenty years, I should be aware of it.

F has been hidden for many years, which is why F looks older than E.

I have only heard sporadic rumors about why F was hidden. At that time, F was the most capable person in the department. At that time, E had not yet been transferred to the department. He was resolute and decisive, and was a graduate of the 985 University. He was deeply appreciated by the leaders. Later, I had a quarrel with the head of the unit over an incident, and from then on there was no F in the list of reserve cadres.

Although since then, the top leaders of the units have been changed again and again, and the leadership team has been changed one after another, F still has not been promoted.

Now F is still working hard every day. It is undeniable that F is indeed better than the current leader in guiding and arranging work.

Under state-owned enterprises, one careless move will lead to losing everything. If you don’t have the courage to jump out, it will be difficult to stand up.

Under leadership, obedience comes first and ability comes second.

G, 56 years old, undergraduate, about to retire.

G has been at the construction site for a while, and I just saw the photos he sent from the construction site.

Speaking of G, it’s really a bit weird. At this age, he can definitely live a semi-retired life, but he doesn't. He works very seriously all day long, and is willing to go to construction sites and work overtime on weekends. I have always been puzzled and asked others why, but no one gave me an answer.

? G is proud. His child is a smart student and is a graduate student in a prestigious foreign university. We heard that he will continue to study for a doctorate. We are all happy for G.

I was sorting out materials by chance and came across G’s information. G was a college student at that time and could be considered a group of people who had contributed to the development of the industry. Experienced several corporate reforms, splits, and mergers. G is probably the person in the department who is most qualified to say how ordinary he is. He has the characteristics of people of that era: simplicity, hard work, and dedication. It is not difficult to understand that he still insists on working at the age when he is about to retire.

I just don’t know if people in the future will still have G’s responsibility and responsibility when they reach G’s age?

G said that at his age, things will be finalized. Don’t worry about useless things. People should be happy.

G told me: Young people should work hard, otherwise the day will just pass like that. I think what he said makes sense, but I'm still afraid of becoming B, C, or F. After all, B, C, and F are the majority, and those who can survive as E are the minority, and those who can survive as D It's even rarer.

Not long ago, H posted a message in the WeChat group. In short, it was all about thanking everyone and wishing the department well. The message was very polite and unfamiliar - H has retired.

After posting this sentence, there are no traces left by H for us, and no trace left by the upper management for H.

Maybe, H can’t bear to face the hardship that he has put off for a lifetime;

Maybe, H is tired and wants to take a rest;

Maybe, H I handed the mill into A's hands and felt it was time to leave.

I am Shuofeng going south, and I am a little donkey working in a state-owned enterprise