Protect Yourself from Being a Corporate Slave

In the era of increasing millennial generation in the workspace, we are used to hear the happening term of "corporate slave". What is actually this term mean? "Corporate slave" is usually referring to some people who are thinking they are being "forced/exploited" to work beyond their capability and job desc for the company. Hence they feel their contribution is far more than it should be and seems like treated as a slave. Does it mean that employees are not suggested to dedicate too much to their company? Well, it's certainly not. Because sometimes, this term happened depends on some factors. Even when somebody didn't contribute much, he/she might feel "exploited" because of unsupportive environment, boss that never appreciate and also the unequal compensation that they get. Let's focus how to avoid this trap for a better career life.

Clarify the Rules since Beginning

Even if you are just an entry level employee, it doesn't mean that you are not permitted to speak up your aspiration/thought. You can utilize the opportunity when conduct a routine presentation session about division updates where you can also talk about healthy working environment at the end. Just create one last slide about "Productivity Feedback" and discuss how to maximize the working result by having every person in the team to deliver their point of view. This will also help you and the entire team to avoid the wrong mindset of being trapped into 'slave working' situation.

Show That You Are Reliable at Work

You will never feel exploited if you are able to complete work well and on time. Show your best performance and ask for the employee rights that you are requesting such as taking a leave or compensation increase. Always show your capability first before you are asking too much.

Being Fair at Working Community

Generally, a negative mindset happened from a random conversation or persuasion from our closest community, for example our working community. Therefore, you must be realize and try to be objective as possible in assessing every conversation within the community. Don't let any random and unconfirmed opinion to shift your mindset yet worse is to reduce your working spirit. This will finally make you feel "abused" by the company even it's not actually. You should be objective in assessing how company appreciate your performance and what are the right standards of corporate working. If you think pressure or burden is too much or exceed the limit standard, then it might be better for you to talk with human resource division or talk directly with your supervisor, rather than gossiping inside your community that might lead to wider negativity perspective.

Initiate a Positive Working Atmosphere

You can also prevent the "corporate slave" mindset by create a positive working atmosphere. Especially if you are a leader in a division/company. This can be started from your action, such as implementing a work and life balance kind of culture (e.g. everybody should avoid overtime working culture) or regular appreciation token for team members that achieve targets (gift vouchers or anything else). A positive working atmosphere will certainly create a positive mindset that eventually frees yourself and all colleagues from 'corporate slaves' situation.

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Disclaimer: this article originated written in Bahasa and being translated using Google Translate hence please understand if there's any mistake of tenses and/or misunderstanding that occurred. Read the original version by switch this web to Bahasa version on upper right button. Thank you for reading!

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