Mike and Bob and Lisa and Tom all went through new employee orientation on the same day.
They were in the same group when they played the detective game that was designed to demonstrate how interdependent they had to be at the Big Corporation.
They agreed to get together for coffee every few weeks, even though they were in different departments.
When they did get together Mike and Bob and Lisa always had to rush. They knew they had a fifteen minute break but no one took more than five. Enough to gulp some coffee and go to the bathroom.
Tom didn't hurry.
``Screw them,'' he said. He took his full fifteen minutes and maybe then some.
When the Big Corporation's production workers were told they had to increase their productivity by three percent in the next pay period, Mike and Bob and Lisa all worked even harder.
Lisa had to wrap an Ace bandage round her wrist. Mike took methamphetamines to speed him up. Bob drank five Mountain Dews a shift.
Tom didn't do anything.
``Screw them,'' he said.
Tom got fired. He tried to sue the Big Corporation but his lawyer advised against it. He looked around for a new job and found one that paid twice as much and did not require him to play detective games at new employee orientation.
Back at the Big Corporation Mike and Bob and Lisa had upped their productivity by four and a half percent.
Mike was taking downers to counteract the uppers so he could sleep once in a while. Lisa had Ace bandages on both her wrists and Bob was paying a hundred a week for acupuncture which wasn't covered by his insurance.