We Are Numbers!

By Rolo B. Cena
Arabian Diaries
Dumaguete Star Informer
February 15, 2009


Businesses today, in response to the massive growth and development of technology and in the science of management, employ alpha-numeric codes for all transactions. This practice, which has become obviously popular nowadays, was catapulted by the dramatic advancements in the field of computer and programming and software development.

Take for instance the numerical assignment to every employee of the company as registry in the records that he now becomes “employee N.” This is a global practice especially among large and multi-national companies to facilitate and ease recording of transactions relating to employees and to easily plan and monitor the manpower requirement.

Whether you are in the Philippines, in the GCC-member countries, in the United States of America, in any part of Asia, Europe, or Africa, this practice is apparent today in response to the complexities of the business. Yes, we are digitally numbered for at least three to seven characters and, yes, we are tracked by the system. I am talking about the workers of any class.

The idea is obviously sound in relation to business norms, policies, and practices and for as long as the management knows their social and moral obligations to their employees and fulfills these without prejudice to the humane nature of works and the workers’ welfare.

However, for some obvious reasons, there are companies who seem to forget the fact that the human resource is the most valuable resource the company could ever have in running the affairs of the business. Noting this from experience, most have become greedy and harsh towards treating people in the organization. Most have in fact forgotten that these peoples are not raw materials but are wonderful creation of God.

Larry has been in one of the companies in the Kingdom as the ultimate finance man, a position of wit, integrity, and power. His professional license and academic achievements in the Philippines plus the lure of opportunities abroad drove him to the Kingdom more than fifteen years ago. He raised his family in this highly conservative Islam community without reservation despite the strong Christian devotion he had. Due to one procedural lapse, one day, the Human Resources Management Department, on the instruction of the top man, issued him a warning notice for sub-standard performance and gross negligence of duty.

It was a pronouncement, based on a minor lapse, he could handle but the Management did not listen and won’t dare to. Larry was computed with his end-of-service benefits and was paid accordingly. Soon, he would be leaving the Kingdom and the company he built along with three other top executives, and one of them was instrumental to his unannounced disengagement.

In another incident, a Filipino General Labor was advised to resign for not paying “tribute” to his department manager. Since his manager does not like him, his contract was not renewed on top of the no-tribute-no-salary-increase phenomenon. Worse, his manager is a fellow “kababayan.”

Adding fuel to the fire, an accountant was terminated for simply not informing the big boss that he would not spend overtime one night because he needs to send money to his home country. The big boss expects a report from him although the deadline is not yet due.

Cases like these, revealed or concealed, are truly happening in this work-and-obey-the-rules Kingdom in twenty-four-by-seven frequency.

The humane side of the stories behind the triggering factors of disengagement or termination was left unheard or unnoticed. The values, corporate or individual, are ignored.

These stories plus a lot more, remind me of Jacobo Benjamin, the Jew who was imprisoned in the post-war America for no reason at all. Benjamin, in one of his assertions, quipped that he was a “prisoner without a cell; cell without a number.”

In contrast, while most overseas workers call themselves “prisoners without a cell” due to their economically driven sojourn to the Mid-East, certainly, “we are numbers” that can be erased from the register or deleted from the system anytime.

Be careful!