Dreamt of a corporate meeting of upper executives that my boss asked/told me to tag along. I was supposed to keep my mouth shut as officially, I was there to be a token trophy for his boss [Grandboss].
During the presentation, there were a lot of feel-good reports about how well the upper levels of the company was doing, but I noted they all excluded any reports about non-managerial staff. I had a different perspective on workplace happiness, but I wasn’t there to start shit so I kept my mouth shut.
Grandboss, on the other hand, was starting all the shit for us. He asked questions about the reports, to include methodology and how questions were answered. He pointed out that because answers were tracked to ensure 100% employee participation, they could not be trusted because no employee felt safe to tell the truth.
Someone produced a chart of employee responses based on what information had been entered BEFORE the respondent “corrected” their entries for submission. In other words, everything entered into the survey form had been recorded. They called it “uncorrected data”
Grandboss called it “The Raw Truth” and snatched the chart. He looked it over before passing it not to my boss, but directly to me. Suddenly, everyone knew I was there and that I probably shouldn’t be. I calmly took the chart and studied it. I already knew what it implied.
If you excluded non-managerial staff from the report, the company employee base has never been more stable. The company is poised for growth and expansion. Execs deserve raises because of employee satisfaction. All is well and the party continues.
But once you add the excluded ranks, you have to break the lowest employee rank bar to make it fit on the paper. Extreme dissatisfaction. Utter lack of faith in the company and future employment. Severe concerns about liability and culpability. 8 out of 10 actively looking for work elsewhere.
Grandboss said to me, “You don’t have to say anything, you only need to understand what you are looking at. Ask me questions after the meeting.”
I handed the chart to my boss to hand back to him. I wanted to be polite. Grandboss reached over him and took it directly from me. Boss said nothing.
While Grandboss was having a “vigorous” discussion with the research team manager about how the data was collected and presented, I felt someone standing beside me. Another of the high execs had quietly left his seat to come beside me. He had a rough look on his face and I thought I was fired.
Quietly, he said to me, “You are good at reading symbols, I’m told. What you are looking at is not Carcer, but Amissio.”
Hearing him say the geomantic figure names snapped me into lucidity. I quickly glanced at my boss and realized he looked like my actual boss. Grandboss was different, though.
Everyone else in the room was indistinct. I realized they looked like stereotypes of Fortune 500 company execs. I looked back at the exec standing next to me. A sturdy man with a thick build, the only thing certain about him was the sharp black suit (with tie) that he was wearing.
He stood straight and cleared his throat. Everyone, Grandboss and all, quieted down and gave him their full attention. “As we have all become set in our ways, further discussion would not be productive. Then let us one and all depart in peace with what we have learned here tonight.”
I realized he was speaking a license to depart as he spoke the final word of the dream.
“Farewell.”
I woke immediately with the names of the geomantic figures echoing in my head.
Not Carcer, but Amissio.
Before I even began my coffee, I looked up the figures to be sure about what they meant in the context of the dream.
I knew my job situation was precarious and that my boss was doing all he could to shield the team.
But.
Noted.
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