Not Just For Prima Donnas

February 16, 2015

I have a friend who is getting run ragged by his job. I keep thinking, “If he’s the only one who can do this work, he’s more valuable, not less, so why aren’t they treating him better?”

I think he needs an agent. And why not? Movie stars and writers have them, and they presumably know the ropes by the time they make the big time. So why do they need agents? Shouldn’t they just be able to say, “You need me, you pay me what I want.” But they have people who do the negotiating for them.

Regular people, on the other hand, are supposed to not only do their jobs well, but be good at negotiating their salaries and benefits. If they're not, they're viewed as having weaker business skills, no matter how good they are at their jobs.

Why? Why can’t we have agents, too?

I would volunteer to be an agent, but the only time I ever won a negotiation was a time when I had PMS and wasn’t taking any guff from anybody. So right now he and his family are at the top of my prayer list instead.

No offense to the Good Lord, but having an agent sounds way cooler.