4 August 2021, Somewhere in the Metaverse - UplandDood (@Just1Dood) 

An Employee's Perspective

I know those who are employees may want to blurt out that a boss is a certified @$$40le! Okay, let's not get there. I have been on both and I know both have valid viewpoints in getting something accomplished.

I mean we all have our own definition of what a boss is. Some think it's an animal, some think it's a money plant. But we all agree that when we set our prejudices aside, a boss is more than that. A boss is an animal-plant...like that of a venus fly trap! LOL. Got you there.

Alright, I've beaten that stupid sanguine (linked to an article for more details on what a sanguine is) side of me silly for telling stupid jokes. Let's be serious. We proceed to find the proper definition for "boss". Mr. Google comes to mind.

The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines "boss" as "a person who exercises control or authority".

Based on this definition, we can understand why so many mistakenly think that a boss is something other than a human. We don't like to be controlled or and we definitely don't like someone lording it over us. We want freedom! But guess, what? Freedom doesn't put bread on the table. Despite our desire to be free, we reluctantly let this boss lord it over us and control us for specified hours per day. Sometimes, to have more bread, we even allow the boss to keep us a few more hours extra per day.

A Boss' perspective

A boss is someone who shoulders all the financial risk in order to provide a stable income for employees. No business, no breads. It is a daily challenge managing cost, deadlines, risks, uncertainties, and where the next windfall will come from.

A boss is someone who keeps calm even though a storm has hit. Ensuring that the tight ship that he or she runs does not sink killing everyone on board. Crews being worked hard to keep the ship sailing and afloat doesn't earn the boss brownie points. Being liked and popular is far from the boss' mind. Survival is.

Nobody likes to work in rough seas. Particularly not for those with weak stomachs. But the boss isn't looking at the comfort of one individual, the least of which is his or her own comfort. When the ship sinks, no one is spared. A sunken ship does not affect only one person's 'comfort'. It has a devastating impact on all concerned.

A heavy responsibility to shoulder for an "animal-plant". Do you want to be a boss?

Do you want to be a boss?

It isn't that hard to be one. To be a successful one with the responsibility of feeding many mouths is something else.

You can be your own boss. It can be as simple as a freelance designer, writer, etc. You work for yourself. You are responsible for your own well-being. Your concern is limited to your own survival. There is no one else you need to be worried about in your business. Your hardship is then limited to finding enough for you to survive on.

However, if your business grows and you expand, you will soon find that that one mouth increases to two, then four, then 10, and if you're lucky, maybe 100 mouths.

It is a whole different ball game, one which I will not touch on because I have not gone through such an experience. But if you extrapolate from the experience of a one-man show boss to that of a 100 employee organization, you can make an intelligent guess that it is no easy task to run such a big ship.

Employee vs Boss

So, do you still want to be a boss? There is a trade-off. Being an employee has no mind cracking worries for own survival and the survival of those under his/her care. Just clock in, fulfill responsibilities and tasks at hand and, get paid at the end of the day or month.

We already know what the boss needs to go through to get through that same month. To borrow a phrase, we all think that "the grass is always greener" being the other person. It is not. View things from different perspectives. Put your feet in the other person's shoes. We'll very fast realize that it's not all smooth sailing. There is a cost involved. As an employee, your cost is your time and maybe your reluctance to carry out tasks assigned. As a boss, your cost is shouldering risks to cover all your commitments and hopefully still come out on top.

I can hear you and let me close by saying this: Yes, there are nasty bosses. But do you know that there are nasty employees too? Why? Cause we are humans. And because of that same reason, we also have exemplary bosses and employees.

Okay, enough about bosses.

I don't know about you, I just want to retire and write for fun. LOL.

Thank you for reading. Stay safe and see you in the next article.

Sources:

Header: Unsplash.com - Brooke Lark

Image 1: Unsplash.com - Annie Spratt

Image 2: Unsplash.com - Torsten Dederichs

Thank you again for dropping by. Have fun with English. Remember to share your experience in the comment section.

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