To continue our character series, this week we introduce The Traitor:
The Traitor - An engineer who is just as mistreated and unhappy as everyone else at work, but will never speak up to correct the situation. He pretends that he is happy with his work situation only because he is afraid of getting fired. Even in anonymous surveys, he answers that he is very happy and that there is no need for any improvement. Only if someone else rocks the boat, will he will eventually chime in, but only when it is clear that it is safe to do so. There are often many traitors within an organization.
For example, let's say the engineers all have horrible chairs that give them back pain. Then one day, management sends out a anonymous survey asking if engineers are happy with their chairs. On this anonymous survey, the Traitorswill vote "Yes, I am very happy with my chair." At the next all-hands meeting, the results of the survey are presented, surprisingly showing that most of the engineers are happy with their chairs. The one engineer who voted that he is "unhappy" with his chair speaks up and explains that he constantly gets back pain. Suddenly, a few other engineers speak up and confirm this. Despite voting that he is "very happy" with his chair, the Traitor will eventually speak up and say that they also get back pain from the chair, but only when several other engineers have spoken up first.
Because this person is nothing but a traitor who simply goes along with the crowd, I throw rocks at him.
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