Corporate World: Expectations Vs Reality

Corporate World. Many are familiar with this word but may not know its real meaning and being a part of a corporate world. Corporate or business sectors are part of the economy made up of companies. The corporate sector is a part of the private sector that operates for profit. In contrast, the private sector includes NGOs and other organizations that do not use them for profit. Corporate is usually related to large companies and their work. The word describes the entirety of a corporation, which includes CEOs, directors, companies they run, staff, the revenue they make, and the corporation’s culture.

The first thing that comes to mind when you hear about corporate life. It is a fabulous job that pays well and has flexible workdays. Most people expect they won’t face any problems and won’t be involved in office politics if they do their work flawlessly. The company will flourish. They would get good recognition. They can only work five days a week and party on the weekends, and rely on their boss to have answers to every problem the company faces. 

In reality, people who work in the corporate world always complain about how hard their lives are. How invisible they are and their struggles to people around them, including their seniors, and their corporate world’s expectations were all wrong. 

Expectations: The company will always be loyal and won’t fire you suddenly.

Reality: Corporations care about their economy more than they care about your career. So if they find a more suitable person for the job, they will drop you no matter what your position is.

Expectations: Colleagues are genuinely professional.

Reality: Colleagues and bosses can hold a grudge on a minor issue for a long time. Bosses can burden you with a heavy workload, and colleagues can turn on you to outshine you or steal the credit of your work to get a higher performance rating. In short, politics is everything. Even if you are comfortable working in your cubicle, gossip and rumors around you can still be heard. You might be hurt, making you feel unsafe.

Expectations: A smooth Workplace with HRs and managers giving you life lessons.

Reality: If you don’t fit in, no matter how many rounds of interviews you have cleared, you will get fired by your senior, and even your HR can’t help you. They would instead work with a mediocre person who fits in easily rather than work with someone who would disagree with the senior eventually. Honesty is not the best trick to have up your sleeve when working in the corporate sector.

Expectations: Work harder, and Promotion is yours.

Reality: Managers always say that you will get quickly promoted if you work hard. But it doesn’t matter if you work harder; if the manager can’t see it. Sometimes the manager wants to get work done, so they don’t mean what they say most of the time. Make sure your work is visible. And sometimes, due to personal recommendations, your colleagues get promoted before you do. 

Expectations: Company is consistent, and problems get solved quickly.

Reality: Departments and job roles are constantly merging and co-depending and reorganizing endlessly, without any development in solving the current problems in the company. Private Sector Banks whose majority of their stake is held by private corporations or individuals are the most significant example. They are constantly merging and relocating employees to solve the problems. Two or three banks merged into one big private bank, then merged into or handed over to other private corporations. It’s a pessimistic cycle with no end. 

Expectations: CEOs and Seniors know better, and they will protect the corporation or the project from crumbling. 

Reality: Although the top officials make big decisions, they are not always the right decisions. There have been times when large companies quickly crumbled, canceled projects halfway, and cut off employees due to bad decisions by the top officials. Sometimes, they might ask a regular employee’s opinion or professional analysis, but ultimately they won’t consider it. And even if you are a regular employee who knows the decision was wrong, there is nothing one can do except implementing the orders given.

Expectations: Constant Development of the Workforce

Reality: You will be given a lot of personality tests, which they claim will help you understand your character and help you increase your work efficiency, but most of the time, nothing changes. The corporation pretends to try to understand employees’ mental health struggles. And sometimes identify them or provide them with the necessary support. Still, they won’t care about the test results unless they want to cut you off. They do it to tickboxes more than they do to provide a better workplace with creative stimulation.

Expectations: Timely Fair Bonuses

Reality: Bonuses aren’t distributed fairly, and even if they are, they are often late. Even with an excellent performance rating, you might not get a bonus because your seniors are sharing it between them. Sometimes, directors and managers will give you hope about receiving a bonus if you work the way they want to, but it will disappoint you.

Expectations: Selling stocks help raise capital.

Reality: There are always risks related to selling and buying stock for the company and stockholders. Stockholding might turn into a hassle if the value of the stocks falls. Even though investors are affected when the stock price falls, companies might face a second effect. A company’s stock is also a currency. Other companies might buy your company as your company will be forced to sell additional shares when the stock prices fall. Sometimes a company might be forced to borrow, which can be pretty expensive.