The Paid Job Gets Counted

The Research Department has identified an interesting organizational problem.

For nearly twenty years, the building operated almost entirely on Maintenance.

Maintenance repaired systems.

Maintenance prevented catastrophic failures.

Maintenance ordered replacement parts.

Maintenance monitored structural integrity.

Maintenance responded to emergencies.

Maintenance worked weekends.

Maintenance worked holidays.

Maintenance rarely received recognition.

This arrangement appeared acceptable to everyone.

Then, the Revenue Department earned a part-time paycheck.

The building immediately became very interested.

Accounting arrived.

Compliance arrived.

Auditing arrived.

Risk Management requested documentation.

Several individuals carrying clipboards appeared without explanation.

The Research Department would like to point out that the Revenue Department has been employed for approximately five minutes.

Maintenance has been keeping the building standing for nearly two decades.

This distinction appears to have gone unnoticed.

The employee spent years rebuilding muscles.

Learning new ways to move.

Managing pain.

Attending appointments.

Researching treatments.

Experimenting with interventions.

Completing physical therapy.

Adapting daily activities.

Preventing additional damage.

Maintaining enough function to remain operational.

The Research Department calculated that this required thousands of hours.

The official payroll system classified these hours as…

“Personal.”

Interesting.

The Revenue Department then worked twenty-four paid hours.

The calculators emerged immediately.

Research Department finds this fascinating.

Apparently, rebuilding the building does not count as work.

Only collecting admission at the front door counts.

Maintenance Department would respectfully disagree.

Without Maintenance…

Revenue Department would have nowhere to report.

Research Department has therefore reached a revised conclusion.

Revenue never held the building together.

Maintenance did.

Revenue merely produced receipts.

Maintenance prevented collapse.

The Research Department recommends that future organizational charts reflect this distinction.

Administration has informed the Research Department that no revisions are planned.

Maintenance is continuing to deliver results with limited resources.

The Revenue Department has been instructed to keep accurate timecards.

Department 502 has filed a grievance on behalf of Maintenance.

The grievance is currently under review.

Maintenance, meanwhile, continues holding up the building.