【Petroleum Sector】The “popular” aspects of the petrochemical industry + Changes that keep people talking (Motivational 002)

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When I first started working as an operator in the workshop, my salary wasn’t high, and the work was quite demanding. The three-shift system left me feeling exhausted every day... There was a female statistician in the workshop; though she was called a statistician, she was actually a relative of the management. Her job mainly involved simple statistical tasks, and in her free time she would knit sweaters or chat with others. But she had one bad habit: she was always nagging. She constantly criticized us frontline workers. Sometimes, when I went to get something from her, she would ignore me or even get angry and start shouting at me... We all found her annoying and tried to avoid dealing with her as much as possible. That’s how things are in state-owned enterprises – there are those who work hard but don’t get good pay, those who are good at flattering others, and those who like to file reports and be petty. It’s quite chaotic... Once, provincial leaders came to inspect the company, and the management took this very seriously. So everyone in the workshop cleaned thoroughly, making sure every corner was clean, and signs and welcome messages were hung everywhere. This nagging statistician was given a simple task: hanging up the promotional signs. The problem was that no one in the workshops wanted to help with this task. So the workshop assigned me to do it... Out of courtesy, I agreed to help her hang the signs and flags. It was windy that day; she was wearing a clean uniform, while my clothes were covered in greasy stains that couldn’t be washed out. She deliberately didn’t want to work with me... Anyway, I just wanted to finish the task. When we reached the top of the stabilizer tower, she placed the sign on the ground and told me to hang it there. I took the wire and went up to the third floor to hang it, while she directed me from below to make sure it was hung properly. Due to the strong wind, I couldn’t hear what she said, and she couldn’t hear me either. So she climbed up the ladder beside the platform and said angrily, “I’m telling you, it’s too high on the left side! Are you deaf? How can you work like an idiot?” She also muttered some rude things under her breath. I didn’t say anything and simply adjusted the sign so that it was lower, then tied it down. “There’s only ten minutes left before work ends. If we’re late, we won’t catch the bus. Let’s each take one of these flags and go up and plant them on the tower,” I said. “Hmph, you’re still young but already underestimate others. Let me show you how to do it properly.” With that, she picked up one flag and left, still muttering under her breath... I picked up the other flag and climbed up the vertical ladder straight to the top of the stabilizer tower. She went up to the tops of the absorber and distillation towers using a sloping ladder. The wind was strong, and the towers swayed heavily, but since we were used to climbing up and down, it took me less than ten minutes to finish the task and come back down. When I got back down, I didn’t see her anywhere, nor was there any flag planted on the top of the absorber tower. I wondered if she had left... I decided to go up and check, so I rushed up the sloping ladder. She was up there, with the flag lying aside. She squatted on the platform, holding a pipe tightly with both hands; her eyes were red. I asked, “What’s wrong? Are you injured or something?” At first she didn’t say anything; after turning around for a moment, she said in a soft voice, “It’s so high… I’m scared.” I didn’t say anything else; I quickly picked up the flag and attached it to the top of the tower. When coming down, she was still shaking... Come on, I stretched out my hand... She must have been really scared; she hurriedly grabbed my hand. And just like that, dragging along a drunk person, it took us 10 minutes to reach the platform that usually takes only 3 minutes to reach. What seems like a platform 40 meters high isn’t anything special to us, but that time it caused this proud and talkative statistician to undergo a 180-degree change in attitude. The next day at work, she came to me on her own and thanked me! I said that I hadn’t realized before just how tough the work you do is... Over time, she began to get closer to us and gradually stopped her habit of talking non-stop; instead, she started telling others how hard and demanding our work is. In fact, sometimes even if someone tells you something a hundred times, you might not believe it, but once you experience it firsthand, you’ll never forget it... I hope those who haven’t experienced this work firsthand will refrain from making reckless statements without thinking... I also hope more people will show understanding for the hardships faced by workers on the front line! Life isn’t easy; we should cherish it as we go through it, right?