Try me!

Finally, came the day my bottom-line is being tested.

I joined this company about 2 years ago and this is the longest employment I have ever had so far. I intend to stay longer for one reason – a stress-free and friendly working environment is just like a dinosaur in this investment industry. But this thought is likely to steer away.

In January, I was asked to play a role in a drama for the upcoming annual dinner by one of the department heads that is about a videoconference between us and the chairman in Kuala Lumpur in the monthly meeting. In this show, I am going to play an IT colleague who is always called up by the investment committee (us) to fix the problems with the VC box, and I have 3 lines in the play with some tools on hand that helps me to look like a real technician.

I voluntarily accepted.

Because the scriptwriter and other actors think my role is too plain and dull, over-sized repairing tools are suggested to replace the ordinary hammer and spanner.

Shortly later, my role is re-designed that became a gangster carrying a baseball bat instead of an IT engineer carrying tools as in the original script, and I also need to walk and talk like an offensive gangster, for that, I compromised because only minor changes are needed apparently.

Later again, someone wanted to add more ingredients to my still-dull-role to drive the audience crazy with the use of my body-language. His idea at today’s rehearsal is I toss the baseball bat away in the middle of the stage and start posing those body-builders moves that could be seen in the Mr.Olympia competitions to show my muscles in front of my some 300 colleagues and the chairman from KL as well, this quickly gained the support from the rest of the acting group without hesitation.

Thank them for their applauds on my body figure, but acting these poses before a bunch of colleagues is totally against my will and my personality at all time. I clearly know the reaction from the audience when they see me pose on the stage in tight shirt, they would surely go crazy by this scene no matter the actor is a skinny or a muscular guy, only people with vision disability would remain silent.

I will be acting on the stage on Saturday, 2 days from now and I don’t have much time to consider. The harder I refuse, the harder they push. Someone even talked to me privately saying that they will be disappointed if I am not going to follow the idea, and I will be seen differently in their eyes from next week. Most probably I shall lose their respect for being a coward since everybody on the stage will need to sacrifice more or less. My argument is I will no longer make fun of the IT colleague but will make fun of myself instead. I may gain their respect but may lose the respect of the audience too. Everything they have tried today were absolutely no motivating, rather they were forcing me to do something happened to be against my will.

A simple example can perfectly express my situation: a girl with gigantic breast is asked to perform rope skipping before many people. Who will be entertained and who will be embarrassed?

There are various styles and personalities out there which makes every individual so unique from others.

If they insist to cross my bottom-line, I have no choice but quit.

People are not considerate anymore.