Is 'Undercover Boss' Too Exploitative of Employees?

By Mike Ryan Posted Feb 9th 2010 05:15PM

When you think about it, the corporate environment is kind of a weird place. Socially, it almost works like a miniature version of society as a whole. In other words: Anyone who is positioned in the upper levels of management hierarchy is, in that particular company, treated like a celebrity.

Let's say the head honcho's name is -- as in the case of Sunday night's premiere of 'Undercover Boss,' featuring the Waste Management CEO posing as a regular employee -- Larry O'Donnell. "Did you hear?" co-workers will gab, "Larry O'Donnell is visiting today," followed by a sense of excitement and anxiety. It's not just that it's their boss. No, it's mostly because it's the guy they've seen in those corporate videos explaining the new employee referral policy. And in the eyes of that particular company, a celebrity. But to us, the people not in that particular company, Larry O'Donnell is not a celebrity; no different than the guy on the corner selling hot dogs or the lady I spoke to today to dispute a credit card charge. Now, thanks to CBS's 'Undercover Boss,' that's no longer the case. Now these company big wigs are on network television ... and there's a lot not right about that.

Look, a lot of us have jobs that we do -- and many do very well -- that, well, we think of as "just a job." It pays the bills and, for the most part, we just want to go in, do our work, then go home. That's it. We certainly -- as in the case of the employees of Waste Management, the featured corporation on Sunday's episode -- wouldn't want to be filmed scrambling to our time clock after lunch so we're not docked two minutes for every minute late (a policy that, it appears, had been corrected by the end of the episode). Or, worse, urinating into a tin can during a daily garbage route because there's no women's restroom on the route. Watching people, you know, earn money so they can buy food. Hey, but it makes good television, right? No, no it doesn't. It's bad enough when your boss monitors your e-mails. Imagine having a bad day at work and it's broadcast on national television -- right after the most watched event of the year, the Super Bowl.

The worst part: The employees featured don't make a dime from their appearance. Sure, a couple of them received promotions, which included a nice little raise after Larry O'Donnell took notice of their performance. And I'm sure the ones who happened to do well that day -- assuming a few weren't tipped off; I'm not 100 percent convinced they weren't -- are thrilled about the exposure and increase in pay. Do you think they would still be as thrilled once they find out what one 30-second commercial slot costs on a post-Super Bowl broadcast? A post-Super Bowl broadcast in which they were the stars?

So, yeah, there does seem to be a sense that these people -- who are just trying to earn a living -- are being exploited on national television with no compensation. It's a time-honored tradition to complain about management at work. It can build rapport with co-workers. The United States military is based on this premise. Though, most do have a tendency to come off as buffoons on national television when they're complaining about "the man" to the new guy -- who just happens to be "the man." Oops.

Look, Larry O'Donnell came off as a nice enough guy. Though, he did have a tendency to overdo his requests of secrecy to colleges who knew about his ruse. "I don't want to blow my cover!" he would emphatically plea. Yes, "blow your cover" -- it appears he was watching too many Jason Bourne movies before this assignment. So, it's not O'Donnell that's at fault; it's just the premise of this show -- without paying its participants just, even in the world of Waste Management, smells rotten.

Tags: Undercover Boss

Comments

(486)

Thursday 11 February

By measab

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To the writer: Oh, please! Calm down and chill!

By Bobbb

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Mikey, grow up. You are making a mountain out of thin air.

By Michael J. ONeil

GREAT SHOW!!! JUST WHAT AMERICA NEEDS ,GOING TO SWITCH TO WASTE MANAGEMENT

Friday 12 February

By sjoyce

I enjoyed the show very much& can't wait until this weeks show.But lets face it...THE BIG MAN IS ALWAYS WATCHING IN EVERY JOB!!!EVERYONE KNOWS WHAT I MEAN!!

By v ictorj

You are Paranoid, great show

By mary

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How did he fix the restroom problem for the trash collector? Maybe he should just slap a port-a-potty on the side of it. lol
I wonder if he did anything.

By Laurie

Whats wrong with being docked for being late?...On the flip side of that..the average employee would be shrieking with rage if they had to stay 30 seconds longer and not be paid

By Ann

I agree with WOW. I thought this was a good show. Loved Larry. I wish more boss's would take the time to actually see what those who work for them do. Maybe then there really would be positive change in the workforce.

By gonzo1

i would dearly LOVE to see the c.e.o. of the conglomerant i work for do that . i'd be interested in seeing if he could keep up with the production requirements put on some of my co-workers and myself . i'd be interested to see how he would handle the favoritism shown to some people and have their responsibilities pushed on him while he has to handle his own , all the while watching the " favorite or favorites " walk around socializing or sitting on their asses watching HIM do their work . i'd really be interested what he would do about the department heads that allow this .

By Don

Chill out brotha. It's a TV show. I enjoyed it though.

By Vic

Sounds like you are a very sad person. I will pray for you.

By sophia

I was sure glad that the lady got to keep her house. What a dynamic employee she is!!! That was recognized and rewarded.

By Warrem

The guy / lady was dead on ,the writer of this article IS Jeleous,Extremely Insecure,and had Entitlement Issues.

By leon

Heck, if I was at work and saw a guy with a camera crew around him I would kind of wonder what was a miff. I guess some people think that a camera crew and lights is normal on the job.

By Bev M

Get over it, you have an issue. It's about time someone did this, many jobs go unnoticed, even by the public, never mind the corporate office. Would you prefer a reality tv show with half naked people, take issue with that.

By Dee

Dear writer of this article,
Please, please, please learn how to spell.
It's colleagues not colleges.

By donny g

They should have that undercover boss thingy at Home Depot,Corporate tells the stores weeks in advance of the "walks" to be made by "bigwigs"...store managers get all "primped",make it look good for themselves,after the"walks"..it goes back to the same ole routine,,corporate is so out of touch with ground level,,sad sad,,,

By Di

I enjoyed the show but truly, having spent more than 2 decades "talking trash", I can assure you the changes will not be long lasting. They can not be. While the COO has a good heart and would like to help implement good and sweeping changes to the work environment of his employees (now that he has walked in their shoes) the truth is, each of those employees has a manager who has been given a budget that is tied to a bonus. They WILL meet their budget or else THEIR manager will know the reason why. Because that manager also has a budget with a bonus tied to it. Reality strikes hard. None of those managers will give up their bonuses for one employee to get what they will term "preferential treatment". Either the employee will get with the accepted program, or the manager will find a reason to get rid of them. There's the reality of it. Enjoyed the show but reality television? No, it's not.

By Jess

HaHaHa! I agree with Connie February 11.

By Destiny

I am not a fan of reality TV, yet Undercover CEO grabbed my attention. From the minute I saw the COO with his family, and heard his intent of wanting to go out into the feild and work along side employees at all levels to see for himself how his policiess and procedures have a direct impact on employees - that was interesting. As Front-line manager, I know employees feel at times when new procedures are created at a corporate level before any consideration is taken into account or thought out on how it could impact direct staff. So to see a CEO step down and take the challenge of his own action/policies/procedures was interesting. I would love for our CEO/COO to take on that challenge. I hope he watch the show and took some pointers. :)

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