Video Game Lesson – The Cake is a Lie

Life lessons are all around. Here the life lesson is in the form of a game. In the game portal a sociopathic computer tests human-test-subjects with an obstacle course of death with the promise of completing the course being cake.  In the end there is no cake – the cake is a lie. The promised motivator is fictitious.

The life lesson is that without leverage, promises in the business world may be changed or falsified by the promissor with little to no repercussions.  Lately, I feel this applies to my husband. He was told on two occasions that he was going to get a promotion and to keep working hard. He would put in extra hours and do duties above and beyond his current job. The boss drug the promotions processes out over about a year then gave them to another applicant on two occasions.  The cake was a lie. Now he just wants out from under his boss one way or another and workplace motivation suffers.

I used to be like my husband when I was in engineering, but after being fucked over several times myself and watching the older engineers continuously fucked over and taking it because they needed the cash. I happily found a job where motivators cannot be fictitious because the motivators are all within contracts negotiated with the union. The union gives all the employees the leverage to remove bait and switch tactics some employers use. If the motivation will not be placed in writing then it should be thought of as a tentative at best motivator and at worst a lie. If they truly planned on offering a bonus then they should be willing to figure out when and to what degree the payout is so that when the goals are met you get money. Making a bonus discretionary based is as good as no promised bonus and should be a mark against the employer for clarity and truthfulness.

So what can you do when you suspect that the cake is a lie? You could position yourself where you have some leverage like I have. You could hope the cake is true and get burned or surprised. Or you could reject the cake and be happy with what you have.

I think if I were put back into the white-collar world of engineering, I would negotiate bonuses and pay better when I had leverage (critical points in a program and at hiring time) and make them formalize these in writing. If the employer was unwilling I would look for another job and tank my programs on the way out. Business is ruthless and playing a game with sociopathic lairs means ruthless measures should be taken.

When has the cake been a lie for you?

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