Black Men: Do You Agree “Play The Corporate Game” Or No?

[JT-Money]

I'm glad I don't have deal with this shyt being in IT. STEM employees aren't easily replaceable so we don't have to put up with this shyt. I'm an even bigger a$$hole at work than I am on the the Coli.

Good luck Supervisor breh's trying to replace my ass for refusing to play ball. I'll have another job in a couple of weeks.

 

[Rell Lauren]

I'm glad I don't have deal with this shyt being in IT. STEM employees aren't easily replaceable so we don't have to put up with this shyt. I'm an even bigger a$$hole at work than I am on the the Coli.

Good luck Supervisor breh's trying to replace my ass for refusing to play ball. I'll have another job in a couple of weeks.

They'll hire an Indian on a Visa like most firms are doing.

 

[Rell Lauren]

I was taught to dress for the job that you want, not the job that you have.

They moved my office to the corner end of the building away from the rest of my department. I'm the only one in my department on a separate floor than everyone else with an office to myself. They're on the 12th floor, I'm on the 14th. Like an adult corporate version of the time-out corner except with an office and a salary. Moved my black ass out to the wasteland.

Don't know - I probably do have a problem with authority and conformity. I need no meaningless interruptions and need to fully concentrate. So I think they figure, just let her be and do her thing, give her own space to be antisocial in. They know that I have a reputation for doing good work, efficiency and managing my own time but I've been here long enough that they know the personality clashes. I don't do all that officey poly-ing shyt either. Just got a promotion this month that I wasn't expecting, i'm the only black female in this position though but where I work is diverse so it's not like there's this heavy overlying racial element here - I can say that. Definitely not the only "face" in the room. There are black males at my job in good positions - mostly in finance and accounting, IT Support. I know for a fact one is a c00n but the rest are regular every day type of dudes who worked their way up. They just do their job and go home. No funny shyt.

Not so much conformity, but I was always told that appearance means a lot and is impactful. Regardless of how you feel on the inside, never let your outside reflect that. Do the best with the resources that you have and I don't play when it comes to having work standards for myself and have a strong work ethic. I'm cordial with them, but I think they know I don't play all those corporate games and networking b.s., Reached the point where I don't have the energy for it. Let me do my training, take whatever courses to keep updated, attend the meetings and let me do my work - no small talk or banter. My job is mostly researching and analyzing data anyway- I don't need to be a people person or be in a positon to interact with people on the daily.

I don't respond well to authority because people are stupid. I have well rounded experience due to working in different fields, but people with some power think they know everything and are immune to criticism or suggestions which in turn hurt everyone because the same processes are being stuck to.

 

[Field Marshall Bradley]

I'm glad I don't have deal with this shyt being in IT. STEM employees aren't easily replaceable so we don't have to put up with this shyt

You think you can’t be replaced easily because of your IT background?

 

[JT-Money]

They'll hire an Indian on a Visa like most firms are doing.

That's only Fortune 500 companies which I refuse to work for in the first place. And with Trump cracking down on H1b visas approvals my salary has went up 35K in just 3 years.

 

[JT-Money]

You think you can’t be replaced easily because of your IT background?

I can find another job faster than my employer can replace me. I work in cybersecurity and get contacted by recruiters every week. At my last employer the turnover rate for people in IT security was 70%.

 

[⠀X ⠀]

I didn’t watch this video, but I listened to a couple of his other videos on the topic, earlier this week. He isn’t wrong when it comes to having to conform to a certain image in order to advance.

On the other hand, I don’t blame those who don’t really care about being in management or corporate America at all. It’s great to be ambitious in your career, but being a VP or a director ain’t for everyone.

 

[BeeCityRoller]

You have to go to the original video that sparked this discussion. He's responding to a stream he saw earlier where brothas in the chat were calling the guest on the stream a c00n and sellout because he said Black men have to cut their hair if they want to move up in the corporate world. Kevin also was catching a lot of push back from brothas when he was giving his experience working in that environment and how a lot of Black men shoot themselves in the foot trying to play the rebel and how they foolishly believe they are actually winning in the end.

Technically he is right (as far as the long hair goes), the problem is Kevin has his own personal biases he weaves into factual data then hides behind "I have corporate clients" or moves the goalpost. I only saw parts of that livestream but he made blanket stereotypes of black men with locs so ignorant I would think someone from the RNC was saying it behind closed doors, and gave examples of other negatives that hinder workplace credibility had nothing to do with locs then tried to merge it into the topic.

Black men with long hair/tats/etc tell him they own their own business, he says that doesn't count and theres a ceiling for self-employed people. Black men tell him they work in STEM or a more progressive environment like mine, he says that's because we work "entry-level". Like I said, moving the goalpost. Kevin is one of those guys that thinks anything less than 6-figures annually is broke, but for a person who has played the Corporate game for 30 years and talks like he does, I would expect him to at least be pulling in 7-Figures annually, operating a multi-million-dollar business of his own, or at least have multiple black men on payroll paying 3x their age like he says we should be making. None of that has come to frutition because even if he gets a lineup twice a week, puts on frames, and rocks a 5-thousand dollar suit, his skin color is still going to hinder him more.

As for the corporate pushback from other brothers, I myself wasn't trying to get into the corporate environment but kind of landed in a good environment by chance. When I got in I did the work, but more importantly made the connections, played the social game, and recently when the person above me announced their resignation/transfer I was technically preselected for the next position from leadership before the interviews even started. But now its my opportunity to gain experience in this new position, invest this extra money on my own side business, and maybe move up to one more spot to division supervisor before I ultimately go self-employed. I'm not trying to climb to the top of someone else's corporate ladder where I can be kicked off at any moment, I'd rather build my own even if its a fraction of the size and you're seeing that mindset from alot more black men these days.

 

[Rell Lauren]

That's only Fortune 500 companies which I refuse to work for in the first place. And with Trump cracking down on H1b visas approvals my salary has went up 35K in just 3 years.

Good that you control your own fate.

 

[JT-Money]

Good that you control your own fate.

shyt won't last forever. But best believe I'm going to keep job hopping to maximize my earning potential.

Every time there is Major Data breach in the news I can't help but laugh all the way to bank.

 

[MaxPain]

shyt won't last forever. But best believe I'm going to keep job hopping to maximize my earning potential.

Every time there is Major Data breach in the news I can't help but laugh all the way to bank.

Im genuinely happy for you breh.

Keep up the good work but never get too comfortable always have a plan B.

 

[Crude Abolitionist]

Naw fukk all that ima stay in the field.

Not going back in the house.

 

[the bossman]

I'm glad I don't have deal with this shyt being in IT. STEM employees aren't easily replaceable so we don't have to put up with this shyt. I'm an even bigger a$$hole at work than I am on the the Coli.

Good luck Supervisor breh's trying to replace my ass for refusing to play ball. I'll have another job in a couple of weeks.

Props on having an in-demand skill set. Just make sure you keep up to date with your shyt. Tech changes fast

But everyone is replaceable. Apple did not skip a beat when Steve Jobs went. A company might have a rough couple weeks trying to get by.but come Monday morning it would definitely still be business as usual

 

[JT-Money]

Props on having an in-demand skill set. Just make sure you keep up to date with your shyt. Tech changes fast

But everyone is replaceable. Apple did not skip a beat when Steve Jobs went. A company might have a rough couple weeks trying to get by.but come Monday morning it would definitely still be business as usual

You can't just lump us 6 certs 6 figures 6 pawg's dudes in with everyone else in Corporate America.

We winning right now. And ain't trying to hear nothing about the inevitable down slide.

 

[Field Marshall Bradley]

And ain't trying to hear nothing about the inevitable down slide.

I hear ya... but as long as you’re preparing for that down slide(cause it’s coming) you should be good