Financial Workplace Survival Guide – CH 025

Chapter 25 ☆, New Officials’ First Three Fires.

Chen Lisha acted swiftly on the personnel changes. Xin Xin had just informed Mary of the news, and before they had time to discuss and analyze it together, the document was made public.

Clearly, Xixi was unaware of this matter. It was said that when she saw the document, she entered Chen Lisha’s office with a sullen face and did not emerge for a long time.

Mary happily took up her new position. She had never been interested in seeking a position; in her words, work was about money, not fame. But this time, although the salary increase wasn’t significant, she was content simply to disgust Xixi.

While Xin Xin was happy about Mary’s promotion, she also felt despair over Yang Rui’s.

This change resulted in three promotions: Yang Rui became Vice President, Jiang Ning, formerly Vice President of the Legal Department, became General Manager, and Mary became Vice President of the Risk Department. Xixi was transferred to the Compliance Department, retaining her rank but assigned the position of General Manager.

Xin Xin sighed with regret. If she had known Chen Lisha had promoted so many people, she should have given Zhang Qiao a push.

Before Lin Xiao left, the Personal Accounts Department had been lacking a Deputy Manager. Because the Personal Accounts Department also managed all the sales departments, Zhang Qiao had to compete not only with others of the same rank but also with the heads of other sales departments, putting immense pressure on him.

If she had been able to give Zhang Qiao a push, taking advantage of this favorable situation, it would have been a great thing. Xin Xin couldn’t help but feel regret for missing the opportunity and not being able to promote her own people.

But as the saying goes, a ruler’s heart is unpredictable. To this day, Xin Xin still couldn’t understand her boss’s personnel decisions.

Jiang Ning, who had been doing almost the entire department’s work, had previously been completely suppressed by Yang Rui. Now that he had his moment, his promotion was well-deserved, and it wasn’t hard to understand.

But Xin Xin truly couldn’t understand Yang Rui. What worthy qualifications did he have to become the company’s vice president?

Soon, this inner disdain turned into actual torture. Yang Rui became her immediate superior.

Yang Rui’s first major act was to focus on Xin Xin.

He wanted to take Xin Xin to visit all the relevant regulatory agencies. This was understandable, as all new leaders had to go through this process.

But Yang Rui made an absurd and unnecessary request of Xin Xin.

He personally prepared a highly detailed but unnecessary spreadsheet and asked Xin Xin to compile all of the department’s work and data from the past five years into a single volume. He wanted to review it in detail so he could make a lasting impression on the supervisory authorities when he presented his report.

Naturally, Xin Xin couldn’t refuse outright, so she politely advised, “Mr. Yang, we’ve submitted our annual reports to the regulators every year. This year’s data is actually sufficient. The main purpose is to introduce yourself. We’re familiar with the key departments you deal with…”

Before she could finish her words, Yang Rui glared at her. “Xin Xin, I think you’ve gotten a little carried away lately. Do whatever I tell you! I want the results next Monday.”

Xin Xin, unable to utter a single word, summoned the department’s key personnel that day and summarized these completely outdated and neglected data for Yang Rui. Even a subordinate like Zhang Qiao, a man of precise instructions who followed orders, couldn’t help but complain, “What’s the use of data from five years ago now? Does it take such a big fuss to supervise and identify individuals?”

Xin Xin smiled bitterly. Her life was tough, and life at the grassroots level was even tougher.

Yang Rui wasn’t looking for concrete results but rather for practical obedience.

Back when Zhao Xi was still in Haining, although Xin Xin held a low position, Yang Rui treated her as “Sister” and “Manager Xin.” Until recently, before becoming Vice President, Yang Rui had politely addressed her as “Boss.”

Now, with his promotion, he was already putting on his official airs before he’d even warmed up to the job.

“Boss Yang has probably been pent up for so many years. These three fires are going to take a while to burn out.” Rose walked in gracefully, offering Zhang Qiao and Xin Xin a cup of coffee each.

Rose was about the same age as Zhang Qiao, a typical “just the same” type of woman in the workplace, having spent years in the Personal Accounts Department.

The so-called “Miss Almost” was a common workplace survival tactic. Their philosophy was to do everything within their responsibilities and avoid anything beyond them.

When Lin Xiaogang left, Xin Xin wanted to cultivate Rose, hoping she could work hard and become Vice President of the Personal Account Department. Rose didn’t refuse, explaining, “Ms. Xin, you see, it’s not that I don’t support your work, but I really can’t leave my family. My husband works in construction all the time, and I take care of our children all by myself.” With that out of the way, Xin Xin had no choice but to poach Zhang Qiao.

Thankfully, Rose, while not very proactive at work, was capable of handling her own tasks with a “pretty good” approach. Plus, she had a gentle and easygoing personality, which Xin Xin liked quite a bit. She even agreed to let Rose bring her children to work when she needed to work overtime.

Rose’s daughter, Tangyuan, was fair-skinned and very well-behaved. She was currently drawing in the office.

Xin Xin thought for a moment and reminded Rose, “If you can get your mother-in-law to help you lately, don’t bring Tangyuan. I’m afraid Yang Rui will call for discipline once he takes office. Let’s not get caught.”

Rose curled her lips and said indignantly, “What a scoundrel who’s succeeded.”

Xin Xin smiled. She certainly couldn’t openly scold Yang Rui, but she couldn’t help but agree, “Great minds think alike.”

As Xin Xin had expected, a leader like Yang Rui, lacking the ability to lead major projects, would have to enforce discipline as soon as he took office to enhance his presence.

Yang Rui mandated a very strict attendance system for the office. Not only did it explicitly prohibit personal matters like picking up and dropping off children, but it also set detailed rules for when account managers could visit clients. Furthermore, there were detailed regulations such as no more than three documents allowed on desks, no more than one-third of trash in the trash can, and group exercise during breaks.

For a moment, the entire company was filled with criticism.

However, Yang Rui didn’t believe all this stemmed from his own irrational management practices. Instead, he viewed these actions as a game of power between his employees and himself. He firmly believed that if he couldn’t establish his authority over such trivial matters, he would never be able to command their obedience.

While the general public suffered, two individuals fared particularly badly.

One was Jiang Ning, a former subordinate of Yang Rui. Jiang Ning was a quiet but skilled and kindhearted man. Under Yang Rui’s leadership, he had suffered immensely from a leader who refused to take responsibility or concede any credit.

For years, the legal department’s achievements and responsibilities were entirely attributed to Yang Rui.

Now, with much difficulty, Yang Rui had been promoted, finally making his mark. However, Yang Rui regarded Jiang Ning’s promotion as his own, becoming increasingly bossy and demanding of Jiang Ning, blaming him for everything, both official and personal.

If he hadn’t maintained a certain level of dignity, he would have likely ordered Jiang Ning to work part-time at his home.

The other major victim was Xin Xin.

When Zhao Xi was at the company, he had looked down on Yang Rui. Back then, Yang Rui repeatedly extended olive branches to Xin Xin, but Xin Xin, disliking him and disliking his behavior, never accepted.

Now that he had risen to power, he often treated Xin Xin as a thorn in his side and would occasionally try to pull her down to highlight his own achievements.

Xin Xin complained bitterly, but there was nothing she could do but endure it silently.

During visits to various regulatory agencies, Yang Rui’s hatred for Xin Xin reached its peak.

Xin Xin had previously worked in the investment banking department and had worked on numerous IPO financing projects. Because most projects required regulatory filings or approvals, Xin Xin was constantly visiting the relevant government departments and regulatory bodies.

Furthermore, Xin Xin never looked down on anyone. She treated everyone equally, regardless of whether they were leaders or employees, and was courteous to them all.

She also had her own way of dealing with people: whenever she could, she’d lend a hand, believing they might one day be of use to each other. Therefore, in addition to the supervisory department heads who were familiar with Xin Xin, the staff from various departments also made a habit of chatting with her when they saw her.

Yang Rui hated others having more powerful connections than himself. In his world, personality compatibility and rapport were completely foreign; people were categorized solely based on their positions and backgrounds.

In the past, he believed that the favor others showed Xin Xin was due to Zhao Xi. Now that he held a higher position, he felt that Xin Xin was merely a lackey, and he couldn’t stand others treating her with more warmth than they gave him.

While he was visiting various regulatory departments with Xin Xin, a young woman came to fetch her some water and poured it for her first. This single incident became a thorn in his heart that day.

“Xin Xin, you’re amazing. I see you’re very familiar with the leaders of the regulatory agency.”

Xin Xin was most annoyed by Yang Rui’s sarcastic and petty nature in this matter, but she kept a smile on her face and said, “Mr. Yang, you hold a position. Everyone respects you. It’s not right to joke with you.”

Hearing Xin Xin’s words, Yang Rui’s expression softened slightly, but he still put on airs. “You’re the head of a department, after all. Being so frivolous isn’t a good thing. Be careful in the future. You’re lowering your status by being so polite to interns and temporary employees.”

Xin Xin ignored him and checked her watch. It was already time to leave.

This week, Yang Rui had been working her to death.

Yang Rui didn’t seem to want to let her go. “It’s late, Xin Xin. Are you going back to the office to work overtime? Why don’t we get something to eat and then go back together?”

Since becoming vice president, some people had indeed become more attentive to Yang Rui, inevitably offering him gifts and meals. Within a few days, Yang Rui had adjusted to his new role and considered the opportunity to have dinner with him a reward.

He disliked Xin Xin’s air of aloofness, but Xin Xin was gentle, well-spoken, and a good person, so he made an exception and gave her a break.

Xin Xin cursed inwardly and pushed back, “Mr. Yang, this is such a coincidence. Today is Friday, and I already have an appointment. You see, I’ve been so busy with work these days that I haven’t had time to focus on personal matters. I recently got introduced to someone, and I need to contact them.”

Yang Rui looked at her suspiciously, as if trying to find some fault in her words and seize the opportunity to punish her.

“Okay, when your blind date picks you up, please also take me to the subway.”

Xin Xin had never imagined someone could be so shameless. Just as she was about to flip through her address book to find someone to help her out, Gao Ling’s WeChat message popped up.

“Xinxin, are you still working overtime today? Let’s have dinner together sometime?”

T/N: OMG a boss from hell!!!!