Robert Melliard

My son has given up his job:
he survived for almost a year
but finished up stressed-out.

He worked fourteen hours a day
for 1,500 euros a month.
He is a land surveyor;
he studied for five years
to get his degree.
That was his first job
and he is disillusioned.

One night they kept him in the office till 5 a.m.
then he had to go to work again at 8 a.m.
and measure accurately all day.

If he made a mistake
the company would lose money
and he would be responsible.

Another night they had him measuring by lamplight:
the job had to be finished in time for elections
to please a local politician,
who had been expensively wined and dined
in order to get the contract.

They could of course have employed two surveyors
on bearable eight-hour shifts,
but that wouldn't have been cost-effective.