"War is Peace," "Freedom is Slavery," "Ignorance is Strength." (Welcome to 1984)

It hit me when I arrived at the main set of lights where I make the turn into the business park area in which the campus is location - I didn't want to make the turn. I wanted to carry on riding. Throw away the troubles of this job and just sign up to finish my training for another career path and start working as that as soon as I physically can.

But that's not what's expected or needed of me right now. What's needed and expected of me is to keep my head down, put on my headset and endure the contempt and disgust I have towards the people that work for this company. If you can call what they do work.

Just across from me as I sit and write this, outside one of the multiple on-campus cafes, 5 suited people (2 women and 3 gay guys) are making toasts with their cups of coffee and discussing the usual gossip type things. Just beyond that group is another, doing pretty much the same thing.

Where as, I am the invisible one. The "CFU", or Customer Facing Unit.

A "unit". A device or small increment of measurement. That's me. I allow these wankers to do nothing all day but drink coffee and drive lamborghinis (there was one in the carpark yesterday, and I saw a ferrari as I entered this afternoon).

My job, quite simply, is to cover up the company's bad network and procedures. I tell customers that, no, there's no-one else with that problem in the area. Even though there are about 60+ others. I'm the one that has to smile and say how great it is that an entire department is now responsible for making the workplace fun.

There's even a man with the title "Culture Executive" for fuck's sake.

Upon enquiring what his job was, I was told he was responsible for making the company happy. I then asked what happens if someone isn't happy, (like me, for example), and that person had become disillusioned with the company's focus and direction. Well, I was told, that's because you are "negative", and therefore can't be helped. It also means that if I'm happy, its all down to him. If I'm sad, its my fault and he can't be blamed.

But, I digress. Back to my point.. I hate my job. I feel dirty and grimy as I flex my bullshit gland on a daily basis. Smiling when I have to, and pretending to be excited when they tell me that Marketing are pulling on board 150,000 more customers onto a network that can't even handle its current workload. When I point this out, I'm met with the usual "don't say anything" or "don't be negative" responses. But I've had enough.

These people don't need to deal with the barrage of abuse I get dealt to me on an hourly basis from frustrated customers. They aren't told how many seconds I need to spend on calls on average. They don't have to have the same customers that shout at them then rate their interactions 24 hours later. And aren't then punished when the customers aren't happy. I hate being told that I can improve the "customer experience" by, basically, bullshitting our "valued customers" better and cracking jokes with them (how I'm meant to do this between them threatening my life over a crappy internet connection, I don't know).

I feel like I'm working in the Ministry Of Truth in George Orwell's 1984.

Remember the Party Truths:
"War is Peace"
"Freedom is Slavery"
"Ignorance is Strength."

God I need to go for a ride.

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