Corporate Culture Shock

Last week I ended my illustrious career as a flight attendant, and started my new job as a mobile phone specialist. The two companies have roughly the same number of employees, and I'd guess about the same number of different positions. The difference between the jobs is obvious; however, the difference between the companies is more than I would have ever thought.

I never thought anything about the airline or the way it functioned until I started my new job. On the first day of orientation I was told about all the different careers and ways to move up within the company. We saw a video about the CEO, who had once been a lowly hourly employee. It was odd for me to see something like this. When I started with the airline, as a flight attendant, I went through six weeks of intensive and intimidating training, during which there was never a mention of being anything more than a flight attendant.

In my two years as a flight attendant I was repeatedly told by my parents and grandparents that I had to work hard for the company. I never understood why this was a big deal. I was never going to be anything more than a flight attendant at the airline. It took me just a few months to figure out that no matter what I did I would not be noticed. So I didn't feel the need to drop everything and run to the phone every time the schedulers called to give me a flight. I knew that if I didn't answer the phone it didn't matter; I could call them back within an allotted amount of time and nothing would change. It didn't matter if I proactively called to ask for a flight, either – they wouldn't think any different of me. There was nothing I could do to make a difference in how management looked at me, short of punching someone or opening the aircraft door to reveal the escape slide.

Article Author: Brittany Linstrom

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