One of the elder directors stood up and his eyes darted towards all the angry faces in the room.
"We're already so old, but we still have to come to the company to clock in? Isn't that too much?" His
gaze finally landed on Jacob. The man looked like he could already pass up as the boy's uncle.
After finishing his words, murmurs of agreement echoed throughout the room as the others nodded
their heads simultaneously. Since the meeting started to discuss issues that would affect their own
interests, they naturally did not underestimate it.
It was a difficult negotiation and both sides were almost evenly matched. Changing the whole rules in
such a short amount of time would be impossible. However, the directors couldn't remain as
comfortable and free as before as well.
"According to the national rule, one can retire at the age of sixty. Some of you are already about to
reach the retirement age. Regarding this case, why don't we make a compromise? Those who have
reached fifty eight years old will not need to clock in and they can work at home. The rest must come to
the company and clock in. How about that?"
Jacob placed his hands in front of him, acting as if he was considering everyone when he made the
suggestion.
Almost everyone wore a frown on their faces. There were only a few people in the room who had
reached that age. Obviously, the rest still needed to clock in.
"So, is there anyone who's going to question the CEO's decision?" With a serious look on his face,
James glanced at all the people present. It was now impossible for Jacob to back down since he had
already made a compromise.
The board members only looked at one another, their eyes filled with hatred met in silence before
lowering their heads. Although Jacob also acted cold and ruthless in the past, he still allowed room for
argument. This time was different. He was stricter now, and there was no room left for others to voice
out their opinions.
Not that one of them had dared to say anything. Everyone was too afraid that Jacob would reprimand
them.
"Since there is no objection, let's talk about other rules next." James nodded towards Jacob.
Everything was so far all going according to plan.
It looked like the color had drained out of everyone's faces. After all, the first rule had already taken
away part of their freedom. More rules would mean more suffering.
"If the director will not be able to achieve their goals in performance, their salary will be reduced by half
in the second year. This applied to the employees as well. Everyone will be paid not based on the
amount of hours but on the quality of their work. Those who will work harder will earn more. I
understand that it will be difficult to make a distinction between the different jobs, which is why we will
be taking these facts into consideration,"
James continued to say. He gave Jacob a glance. It wasn't him who originally thought about this rule
but his nephew. He couldn't help but admire the proposed idea. It could actually motivate a lot of the
employees to work harder.
"What? This is too much! What if none of us were able to achieve the goal? If we will not be able to get
what we want and deserve, who will still be left willing to work?" a young man exclaimed.
James squinted his eyes at the board in front him. They were all too noisy and full of complaints.
"That's right. Isn't it too subjective to distribute the money according to work? How can we know that
we have done enough work and how should the salary be distributed? How will you be able to clarify
this?"
"I agree. It's not easy to distribute the salaries equally. If it will be difficult to calculate, then it will be
even more difficult to implement it. No one has a single standard, therefore this is unreliable."
"State owned enterprises are the ones practicing this. Why are we doing this too?"
"This idea isn't reasonable. This will only seriously frustrate everyone. We shouldn't take such a
measure!"
"Yes, you are right! It will be bad if all of us will lose our motivation to work. We'll just end up being
worried over these rules all day long that we will not be able to work properly in the future."
As the members of the board voiced out their opinions one by one, the assistant couldn't help but
frown. These people in front of her were protesting when they clearly earned money without even
having to work. All they wanted was easy money. This was the main reason that it was very necessary
to enforce such a rule.
Jacob wore a stoic look on his face. He had already expected them to react like this as soon as the
terms were put forward. Still, his decision remains the same. There was nothing left to say at the
moment.
"Alright. I knew that most of you wouldn't agree which is why we can lower the standard for now. I will
be the one setting the minimum. What we'll do is we are going to choose the average performance in
your department during the previous years. This can go down by 5%. If you will not be able to achieve
that, then your salary will be reduced by half."
Jacob narrowed his eyes at everyone. The trick was not to show his trump card, lest anyone would still
dare to bargain. If the highest requirements were laid out from the beginning, then everyone would end
up being satisfied with the final result.
The atmosphere inside the room was tense. He could see everyone's dissatisfaction even if all of them
remained silent.
Furrowed eyebrows and pursed lips, obviously everyone wasn't happy about the decision of their CEO.
Even though there was clear hatred towards Jacob, he didn't care at all. The company was more
important. As long as it would be for the greater good, then everything would be worth it.
"Well, then. No one had any objection to the CEO's words, right? He is very kind that he always
considers all of you every time. If our directors had always prioritized the company's best interests,
then these rules wouldn't have been made in the first place. However, it's unfortunate that none of you
really cared about the company. This is the reason that all of you needed to be reminded."
A huge sigh then escaped from James's lips. Things wouldn't have been this difficult for everyone if
there were other ways. Right now, the company was facing a critical moment. If they didn't take such
measures, it was possible that it would collapse.
It still wasn't too late to fix things. This was the best long-term solution, yet no one from the directors
present in the room had seemed to take it seriously.
"All right.
Since everyone has no objection to the previous two rules... For the third, you must draw ten percent of
your bonus every year to invest in the company again to acquire a compound interest."
"What? Why is the company so short in funds now? Do you have to get such small amount from us
directors?" The man was shocked at the piece of news that he immediately sat upright with eyes wide
open. It seemed like Jacob was trying to take away what originally belonged to them.
If that was the case, it would be better not to give it to them directly.
"We have to rely on that bonus to support our family every year. As the prices of market goods go up
every year, it doesn't make a difference even if the bonus is increased as well. Now, you're taking part
of it away from us. Are you trying to make us broke?"
"Yes! It's not easy for us to raise a family. Although we have a place to live, we can't live in a small
house forever. I'm already tired of it. For me to be able to move to a bigger house, I will have to save up
the bonus for several years."
"I agree! You absolutely cannot deduct our bonus. All of us are counting on it to be able to get through
with our living expenses. Are you going to kill us?"
"Look at my clothes. I haven't even changed these for seven or eight years! Do you think that I didn't
want to change it? It's not easy for me to earn for a living. Now, you're making it even harder. Do you
still want me to have a life?"
As the group of people continued to protest, they soon realized that Jacob didn't summon them for a
board meeting. Instead, he summoned them for some punishment. The purpose of the meeting was to
make them earn less and work more.
Angry murmurs soon filled the room as the atmosphere continued to grow tense. If things continued
going down like this, someone would probably slap the table and get angry. In the end, no one still had
the courage to do so. Everyone held their breath and waited for Jacob to give in.
"I can understand your feelings, but you shouldn't get so excited. You should know that no matter which
company you work for, these are what you should do. This is why there is no reason for you to feel
wronged."
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