Once upon a time, in a land far away, there lived two men by the name of Jeff and Bob. They weren’t close friends, and they didn’t show each other any more respect than was necessary for their job. One day, while at work, Jeff and Bob were having a conversation.
“Bob”, Jeff says. “I don’t like you very much, but that hasn’t gotten in the way of the job that I am doing.”
“Jeff”, Bob says. “I don’t like you either, and I don’t really care. Because our bosses like me more, and when it comes down to it, you’re fairly expendable.”
Jeff, not liking where the conversation was going, decided to try and change the subject.
“Well Bob”, he said. “I think we should just do our job.”
A few hours went by as they worked, and eventually, they came to a point where they could both take a break. The work was fairly easy – they weren’t rocket scientists, after-all – but a break was still something they both looked forward to at some point in the day.
“Jeff”, Bob says, looking up at the man. “you know I’m right.”
“About what?” Jeff inquired, remembering the conversation they had been having earlier.
“About you being expendable. All it would really take is for me to go straight to our boss and tell him just what a jerk you are and he’ll side with me – after-all, I am the most liked of the two of us. I’ve been here longer, and they respect me more than they respect you.”
“That may be true,” Jeff said. “but there’s something you don’t know about me.”
Jeff continued eating the sandwich he had been eating when they started their break while Bob just stared blankly at him. A few moments of silence passed.
“What’s that?” he asked.
“The thing you don’t know about me is – I don’t really care what you do. You may go to our boss and complain about what a jerk I am, or you may complain about how I don’t like you very much – which is true, by the way – and yes, it’s true that you may have their respect and admiration, hell – they may even think of you as some sort of Golden Child. But quite frankly, Bob – I don’t give a damn.”
They sat where they were, staring at each other from across the table they had both been sitting at.
“Oh, is that so?” Bob started, but was quickly interrupted by Jeff.
“And furthermore, Bob – you’re a dick.”
“I hardly think that’s professional…”
“No, it isn’t professional. It’s not professional to complain to your superiors when someone you work with doesn’t like you. It’s not professional to complain to your superiors when someone you work with isn’t doing every single thing you ask of them, when you aren’t the one who is signing their paychecks.” Jeff said, matter-of-factly. “And furthermore, Bob – the very atmosphere you bring to work with you is something I would be better without.”
“And what atmosphere is that?” Bob said, rather snobbishly.
“No, I get it – you’re good at what you do. But you bring an atmosphere of staleness with you. There is no room for growth – there is no room for thoughts other than your own – and there is no room to allow me to do my job. You are completely unaware of what I’m doing, and you purposefully sabotage me with every chance you get. You want to talk about professionalism? Maybe you should look up the very word, re-acquaint yourself with the meaning, and then come back to me when you have figured out just what professionalism really is. Not as it pertains to the people you work for, but as it pertains to those you are forced to work with. And then maybe, maybe, we can have a proper conversation about the matter at hand.”
Jeff finished his sandwich, got up and began to walk towards the door to leave.
“Oh, and Bob?” he said, turning. “Don’t forget to tell the boss everything in exact detail so that when they ambush me later on how I’m not doing my job, they can weigh out the fact that the quality of my job depends somewhat largely on the atmosphere of my co-workers.”
Bob mumbled something under his breath. As he walked out of the building, Jeff knew that the conversation Bob would have with their superiors would not be that of equal viewpoints – it would be of a stilted one-angle viewpoint meant only to damage his own reputation.
He smiled as he thought about it. He was just fine with it. He knew he wasn’t going to change anything, but he didn’t really care; because he knew what was right.
He knew the truth. And in the end, that’s all that mattered.