|
A Story I Remember*
The Four Cardinal Sins
I worked for the Northwestern Bell Telephone Company one summer when I was in college.
As a condition of employment I was required to sign an agreement that I would not violate any of four listed "cardinal sins" and that if I did violate one of them, I was agreeing in advance to being immediately terminated and being "blacklisted" on the job market throughout the entire telephone industry.
What were these four super, super critical no-no's?
| 1. |
Creating a safety hazard for the public, e.g., leaving a open manhole unmarked. |
| 2. |
(I don't remember, but probably something against divulging any customer conversation I might hear while working on the lines and equipment.) |
| 3. |
(I don't remember, but probably something about embezzling from the company.) |
| 4. |
I remember this one very well. It was a taboo against having any improper sexual relationship with another employee of the opposite sex. |
In the old days of the telephone company (when they truly were telephone companies), a common situation would be for a male lineman to stop by the local (as in small town) telephone office. There would typically be only a female switchboard operator in the office, particularly at night.
In order to prevent rumors and other local gossip from even getting started, the telephone companies established extremely strong policies against any such improprieties.
|
Recognize, of course, that as far as the company was concerned, I could go out and have an affair with everyone else in town - just as long as they did not also work for the telephone company.
|
|
|
-30-
|
