The Temp Who Thought He Was Permanent

Once there was a temporary worker who thought he was permanent. He was given a short-term assignment of only two weeks, in a big, name-brand, national corporation. He arrived the first day bright and early. His suit; fresh from the cleaners, his hair; neatly combed and styled. He greeted everyone with a polite smile and a firm handshake while his new supervisor introduced him to the office.

For his two-weeks he was very professional, handling all his tasks diligently and with calm demeanor. He coordinated with his fellow employees and met all his deadlines. He took his temporary job very seriously and was actually glad to be here.

At the end of his two week assignment, his boss called him in and offered to extend the assignment for another month.

“I must be doing a good job,” thought the temp. He was proud, felt good, and gladly accepted the extension. As the weeks went by, he continued working diligently, always being pleasant with the other employees, and really enjoyed working here. His supervisor, and soon all the other supervisors, saw he was very capable and started handing him more assignments. The assignments also became more difficult and involved. But the temp welcomed new challenges and took pride in proving he could take-on more.

He started working quicker and harder. His days became faster paced. The supervisors became very impressed with the temp’s performance and soon allowed all the non-management employees to hand him their extra workloads. The temp became very busy, but he did his best and did not mind this. He felt part of the company, just like a regular employee.

At the end of the month his supervisor called him in again and said management was so impressed with him they decided to once again extend his contract but this time for six months.

“Hmmm,” thought the temp. This sounded like good news but something didn’t feel right about it. “Is there a chance of me being made permanent?” he asked. His supervisor told him that “management” was considering this, but it was too soon to tell. The temp saw this as an opportunity and became optimistic. He gladly agreed to the six-month extension as the future may hold some promise. He continued to work hard the next six months. The employees liked him. He was invited to go on breaks with them, and he almost always had someone to have lunch with.

The six months flew by fast. The temp had celebrated two holidays with the office, and several birthday lunches. Finally, he sat with his supervisor and asked about the permanent position. His supervisor, an honest fellow, reluctantly told him his position would not become permanent. However, he was free to stay here on a week-to-week contract since they could still use him.

The temp’s jaw dropped and his eyes grew wide-open. Time seemed to stand still as so many thoughts raced through his head. How could he stay motivated now? He wanted to put his foot down and leave but he had no other job lined-up. He could quit and find another job, a real one. But how long would that take? He thought of his bills, his rent, his car payments. He soon arrived at a decision, and told his boss he’d stay, but would look for other positions in this huge company. His supervisor also recommended he do this. It sounded like a good plan, and the temp was once again motivated to work hard and with a smile.

Over the next few months, which flew by like days, he applied for several positions within the company. He was selective in what he applied for, since he did not know what every position entailed.

After every application, the temp would hear nothing for the longest time. Then he began receiving letters in the mail. Excitedly, he would open them only to find the shortest, coldest message stating that he did not have enough “years” of experience in specific areas of each position. A cold, dark feeling hit his gut as he knew he had to change his strategy. But things were different now. He still worked hard in his fast-paced days but his longtime smile was not there.

The months flew by like weeks and soon the temp found himself there one year. “How time flies!” he thought. He took a minute from his workload and reflected upon the fact another year had passed and he hadn’t taken a vacation. He couldn’t afford to. He didn’t have vacation days like the regular employees did. He hadn’t taken a day off. He couldn’t afford to take a day without pay. His bills would not forgive him. And he never took a sick day off. Heaven forbid if he ever got sick. He was snapped out of his thoughts by a call from his supervisor, and he got right back to work.

Only a week went by of much thinking and he came up with a great idea. He would meet with the Director of Human Resources and explain his situation. Maybe she could help him out. She had the power, and human resources was seen as sympathetic and supportive of the employees.

After a little research, he found out who the Director of Human Resources was. He planned his next day carefully, and then that day, made his move. He opened the elegant wooden door to HR and confidently approached the receptionist. Once there, he asked to meet with the HR Director. With a stroke of luck, she was available to meet with him right away. And so it started….

“I’ve been a temp here for a year now. I do like the company and would like a permanent position….” He went on about his department dragging their feet about making his position permanent. About their promises they wouldn’t keep. That he was educated and had extensive work experience in many areas. And that he had applied to several positions within the company but either received no response, or got the usual “thank you but no thank you letter” because of his lack of years of specific experience, or who knows what.

The Director of Human Resources sputtered out in a sterile corporate smile, “I’m sorry, our policy prohibits us from accepting unsolicited resumes.” The temp was taken aback. The lady looked like a human, but how could she not even hear him and utter out a pre-recorded message? So he tried again.

“No, no. I’ve been a temp here in this company for a year…” And again in unchanged expression came out, “I’m sorry, our policy prohibits us from.…”

“Unsolicited resumes!?,” he thought. He wasn’t unsolicited! Now he became angry. Angry on the inside but smart enough to stay calm and collected on the outside. So with his best fake-professional smile, he thanked the HR Director for her answer and time, and walked away demoralized.

Back at his desk he stared into his computer monitor and became more frustrated. “What have I done?” he thought. “What did I do wrong? Didn’t I work my hardest? Didn’t I finish all my assignments on time? Wasn’t I always professional? Didn’t I spend every minute of my working day for this company? Should I have looked for another job on company time? That never would have occurred to me. Why didn’t it? I never dreamed this would….”

And with that last thought he dropped his face into his hands and grimaced in defeat. He got up and handed his security badge to his supervisor, leaving him dumbfounded. The temp walked away down the quiet hallway, never wanting another temp job again.