Daily Dialogue — April 15, 2014

Peter Gibbons: The thing is, Bob, it’s not that I’m lazy, it’s that I just don’t care.
Bob Porter: Don’t… don’t care?
Peter Gibbons: It’s a problem of motivation, all right? Now if I work my ass off and Initech ships a few extra units, I don’t see another dime, so where’s the motivation? And here’s something else, Bob: I have eight different bosses right now.
Bob Slydell: I beg your pardon?
Peter Gibbons: Eight bosses.
Bob Slydell: Eight?
Peter Gibbons: Eight, Bob. So that means that when I make a mistake, I have eight different people coming by to tell me about it. That’s my only real motivation is not to be hassled, that and the fear of losing my job. But you know, Bob, that will only make someone work just hard enough not to get fired.

— Office Space (1999), screenplay by Mike Judge

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Job Interview, suggested by blueneumann. Today’s suggestion by @lisap1999.

Trivia: A square peg in a round hole is an idiomatic expression which describes the unusual individualist who could not fit into a niche of his or her society. The company, Initech, had a statue at the entrance of a square peg in a round hole.

Dialogue On Dialogue: This is a twist on a job interview, one where someone already employed is interviewed about his behavior by co-workers. Such a funny movie, happy to see it become a cult classic once it hit video.

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