Did you start your career with an unpaid internship? Did you feel that you were treated like a dog? Or maybe the opposite - have you met with sympathy and understanding from your new boss? Be careful. If you answered yes, you have a lot in common with slaves from 2000 years ago.
The thesis that working in a corporation is actually a modern form of slavery is fashionable today. People stay in this treadmill from morning to evening and submit their whole lives to it. Of course, the daily life of workers at different levels differs, as did the life of a serving slave in his master's mansion and a slave laboring all day in the mine. Nevertheless, from the boss's perspective, the management mechanisms have remained… disturbingly similar for millennia. This is shown by Marek Sydoniusz Semp *. Roman patrician, and above all:the owner of an entire army of people deprived of human rights. And the author of the ancient tutorial "Train Your Slaves".
Where to get the slave?
Let's look at it from the same perspective as Mark Sidonius Semp. That is on the part of the employer. When your workload begins to exceed the capabilities of the laborers who work for you, it's time to hire some backup. Today it is best to open the browser, then go to the website with advertisements, type in a few sentences of requirements and wait for the flood of applications. You can also call the Human Resources department and ask them to recruit.
Today, the employee sends the CV by e-mail or delivers it in person. And in the past? Formerly a slave hung them around his neck.
A man from Mark Sidonius Semp's time made his way to the slave market. There, he could choose the offer of individual traders at will. The "product" was of course properly displayed. In his work, the author of the guide "Train your slaves" describes exactly this ancient job exchange:
[…] slaves usually stand on an elevated platform for potential buyers to get a good look at. Those freshly imported have their feet bleached with chalk. Other information about their place of birth and personal characteristics can be found on a plate hung around the neck.
You don't have to buy a slave, however. Sometimes you can also grow one. Even the tutor of Emperor Nero, Seneca the Younger, believed that the best slaves were brought up at home.
Also, one of Cicero's friends claimed that the slave brought up at home is much more loyal to his master and does not hold a grudge against him for his enslavement. What's the moral of that? Dear employer! You want to raise a slave - hire an intern. The ancients would have advised you not to feed him too generously. So translating for today - preferably a free internship.
How to choose a slave?
There is a lot of talk about excluding from the labor market and recruiting people who are not of their first youth. This is not a new practice at all. The ancient Romans also preferred the young and the strong. Marek Sydoniusz Semp noted:
[…] a young slave is like wet clay - you can shape it freely as requested by the lord. Slaves like puppies can be quickly trained to carry out their ministries in a certain way, instead of educating them for many years to achieve the same result.
Healthy, strong and young. The perfect slave.
Our ancient counselor does not stop there. He recommends avoiding depressed slaves. He does not hide the fact that these components of his wealth have feelings:
Indeed, one of the problems with owning a slave is that we have to rely on creatures that often burst into tears or even attempt suicide [quoted after:Marek Sydoniusz Semp, "Train your slaves", Znak Horyzont 2015].
How to deal with the new slave
At the beginning, it is worth showing the new employee a little indulgence by introducing a trial and protection period. Before you, dear boss, start waking your subordinates out of their sleep in the middle of the night, or calling for work on Sunday mornings, get them used to the new conditions.
Everything uncovered. On the right, left, front and side there are no defects at first glance.
Exactly the same philosophy of dealing with slaves was recommended by our reliable Roman towards the newly purchased wards.
We should show him leniency and even sympathy during this initial period. For how can we not feel sorry for someone who is trying to hold on to the remnants of his former status and is not enthusiastic about the vile work that we entrust him with? Don't punish him too severely […] if he is not used to being on full alert all day, waiting for the call of the master, and falling asleep .
Finally, good advice. Though the ancient management methods seem strangely familiar today, you better be careful, dear boss. Marcus Sidonius Semp foresaw a minor problem. A slave that is pressed too hard can kill his master in his sleep. So you have to be moderate in everything.
Source:
Marek Sidoniusz Semp, Train your slaves ... or the ancient art of management , Znak Horyzont, Krakow 2015.
* Mark Sidonius Semp is in fact the British historian Dr. Jerry Toner - playing the role of an ancient slave owner and writing a stylized guide based on a wide database of authentic sources from the period.