u/koreanjesus67

Growing up, I always believed that if you worked hard, stayed honest, and did your job well, you’d eventually be recognized. Then I watched my mom work at BDBL. For years, she’d come home exhausted, not because the work itself was difficult, but because she was constantly cleaning up after other people. Projects would land on her desk because she was known as someone who could actually get them done. She’d spend days or weeks making sure everything was completed properly.
Then, when it was time to present the work…
Suddenly it became, “I did this.” Funny how the “we” disappears when the credit arrives. Under the previous CEO, one incident still sticks with me. My mom and several others were on probation, meaning no salary increment and no promotion. Those were the rules. Except… apparently rules aren’t really rules when you know the right people. One employee, despite reportedly still having years left under the same probation, was promoted anyway.
So I guess probation is less of a policy and more of a suggestion. Fast forward to today. There’s a new CEO, and while things may be different, many employees still feel the culture hasn’t changed enough. Instead of fixing systemic problems, some of the most capable staff seem to end up carrying the heaviest workloads. My mom is now juggling multiple major projects at the same time. Maybe it’s poor planning. Maybe it’s simply the expectation that the reliable people will always pick up the slack.
Either way, when one person is expected to do the work of several, failure becomes much easier to manufacture than success. The saddest part is watching someone who has dedicated years of honest work slowly lose faith in the institution they serve. And before anyone says, “That’s just how offices work,” let’s stop normalizing it. Favoritism isn’t leadership. Taking credit for your team’s work isn’t leadership. Rewarding connections over competence isn’t leadership. Burning out your most dependable employees isn’t leadership. BDBL is an institution that many Bhutanese depend on. The people working there deserve a culture where integrity isn’t just a word in the mission statement.
Maybe my mom’s experience is an exception.
Or maybe there are many other families in Bhutan having the exact same conversations over dinner.
The part that saddens me the most is that my mom never had to sit me down and explain any of this.
I picked up on it as a kid. I saw the stress in her face when she came home. I saw the late nights. I heard the phone calls. I watched her spend weekends working because someone else’s responsibility had somehow become hers. Children notice more than adults think. I didn’t learn about office politics from the news or social media. I learned it by watching my own mother slowly become exhausted by a system that seemed to reward connections more readily than contribution. No child should grow up thinking that’s just how the working world is supposed to be.