How I rid myself of the ‘employee’s blindspot’

Ask yourself these questions if you're stuck too.

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS A SUBSTACK-EXCLUSIVE ARTICLE BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE WOKE SALARYMAN.

A couple of years ago, I worked in a small creative independent firm.

I made an observation: The owners and CEO would leave every day on the dot at 5pm, experiencing the pinnacle of worklife balance.

But we — the employees — would grind through the night, sometimes staying past midnight. (Though realistically, 8-10pm was more of the norm.)

At the same time, we were working on projects that would bring in millions for the company. How could this be allowed?

Eventually, I grew resentful. Why were we doing all the work while the owners ‘shake leg’, or in colloquial terms, Tiao3 Ka1 (shake leg in Hokkien).

It seemed inherently unfair, maybe even exploitative.

With the benefit of hindsight, I see that I was afflicted with what I call the ‘employee’s blindspot’.

This is an affliction that mostly affects people at the junior level; they’re unable to see how upper management or business owners bring value.

In my defence, these sentiments are ubiquitous. Surf internet forums and you’ll see that they are echoed in numerous industries like accounting, law, F&B — the list is long.

With that in mind, I wanted to write an article that would help a younger version of myself get out of the employee’s blindspot.

The first step? Asking the right questions.

Question 1: Who brings in the business?

It’s a common sentiment among employees, especially at the junior levels, to feel underpaid relative to the work they do.

In my case, I was earning $4,000 a month, but I worked on multiple projects that were between $30,000 and $100,000. At first glance, it might seem unfair.

I thought: “I’m doing the heavy lifting, shouldn’t I be earning more?”

But would I have landed those projects on my own? It’s extremely unlikely.

Clients were willing to pay that amount because of my bosses’ network, reputation, branding, and track record.

And because they — not me — would take responsibility if things went south.

Question 2: Who organises and manages things?

Think about the work that you do.

Would you and your current colleagues — without intervention — get together to assign roles and effectively work on tasks? Would you have the same output?

For most people, the answer is no. Which brings us to our next point — getting people with otherwise no business being together to work on a common goal is work in itself.

In a creative agency, you have all sorts of professionals, each one a specialist.

There were copywriters like myself. Graphic designers and animators that did graphics. Account managers that dealt with clients. Finance folks that handled payroll.

My bosses’ role here was to be like a conductor of an orchestra. They ensured the whole was greater than the sum of its parts, creating an ecosystem for the different specialists to work together.

Bosses manage conflicts that might arise. Make sure people get paid on time, regardless of how the business performs.

This organisation and management of people has intrinsic value in itself.

Question 3: Who provides the capital?

Last but not least, consider the tools of your trade — would you reasonably be able to conduct your work without the capital that a business provides?

Some examples:

• If no one paid to have a factory built and filled with expensive equipment, nothing would be manufactured.

• If no one bought a Boeing 787, no pilot would be able to fly passengers around.

• If no one hired your co-workers, and provided laptops, office space, electricity, and business software – would you be able to do your work?

Salaries, land, machines, equipment — and other stuff that cost money — are collectively known as capital.

These contributions can be as — or more — important than workers’ input. Especially for businesses that cost a lot of money to run. Classic example: factories that need millions of dollars’ worth of equipment, land, construction, etc.

As an employee, you are also considered capital; that is, human capital. The salary you are paid is the business’ expense to retain your labour (whether or not you think you are being compensated fairly is a separate question).

But unlike machines and equipment, you have the mind and ability to walk away if you think you can find better opportunities elsewhere. For most of us at least.

Why does the employee blindspot happen?

Here’s a theory:

At the junior levels, work tends to be more tangible and visible with clear outputs.

Drafting reports, editing a deck of slides, fixing a piece of code, cleaning a toilet; stuff that would fit into a stock photo. They’re also highly visible, labour-intensive, and tedious.

To the layman, these are symbols of what ‘work’ looks like. It’s natural to assume that employees who perform these tasks add the most value, and contribute the most.

But here’s the thing, the higher up you go in any organisation, the less tangible your contribution becomes. Things like providing capital, taking responsibility, managing risks, and creating a system or ecosystem that can run without you mean output is less clear, visible, and obvious.

The good news?

Most people eventually rid themselves of the employee’s blindspot. Some through experience and perspective. Others by getting into more senior positions.

Managers, directors, and supervisors may not provide capital to a business, but they take responsibility and maintain systems to some degree.

Final thoughts

If this article makes you uncomfortable, I completely understand. Not too long ago, I was in a similar position. All I can say is that getting upset and bitter about things definitely didn’t help me.

But do you know what did?

Taking a step back and getting some perspective.

Stay woke, salaryman.

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