There was once an ant working in a company. Every day, it would enter the office at 9 a.m., and without wasting any time talking to others, it would immediately start working.
The amount of work the ant did greatly increased the company’s productivity, and as a result, it lived a happy life.
The CEO of the office, a lion, was surprised to see that the ant was doing so much work without any supervision. The lion thought, “If this ant is supervised by someone, it might do even more work.”
Within a few days, the lion appointed a cockroach as the ant’s supervisor. The cockroach had many years of experience as a supervisor and was great at writing reports.
The cockroach first decided that the office needed an attendance system.
Soon after, the cockroach felt the need for a secretary to help with report writing. So, it hired a spider for the task—to monitor phone calls and keep records.
The lion was very pleased to see that the cockroach was submitting daily reports and analyzing them through graphs. This made it easier to understand production trends, and the lion proudly presented them in board meetings and received applause.
Within a few days, the cockroach requested a computer and a laser printer and created an IT department to manage them. A fly was hired as the IT expert.
Our hardworking ant, who used to joyfully sing and return home after a productive day, was now drowning in paperwork and attending meetings four days a week.
Because of all these new complications, productivity dropped, and the ant became frustrated.
The lion then decided that it was time to declare the ant’s division as a separate department and appoint a department head.
The lion appointed a cricket as the head of the new department. On the first day, the cricket ordered a luxurious carpet and chair for its office.
Soon, the cricket also needed a computer and a personal assistant to prepare strategic plans. Although a new computer was purchased, the assistant was someone from the cricket’s former office.
The workspace where the ant once worked joyfully now turned gloomy. No one laughed or talked. Everyone seemed depressed.
To improve the situation, the cricket convinced the lion that a study on “workplace environment” was urgently needed.
After reviewing everything, the lion noticed that the ant’s department’s productivity had dropped significantly.
So, the lion hired a renowned consultant—an owl—to prepare an audit report and suggest ways to increase productivity.
The owl monitored the ant’s department for three months and interviewed everyone one-on-one. Then it submitted a thick report to the lion.
The summary of the report was: “This office has more employees than necessary. Downsizing is recommended.”
The following week, several employees were laid off. Guess who was the first to lose their job?
That unfortunate ant.
Because the owl’s report stated:
“This employee shows a severe lack of motivation and always exhibits negative behavior, which is harmful to the office environment.”
Moral of the Story:
Too much management, unnecessary meetings, and excessive paperwork destroy true productivity. If the real workers are not valued, the company suffers.
And eventually, the scapegoat becomes the loyal worker—who was once the true driving force behind the office.