Literally Me Today

- My teamlead is a fucking great guy. He doesn't get to make these decisions either, he just carries them out.
  Most of us are well aware at what rank our "enemies" reside and it's seldom on the same workfloor.
  
  This works out really well for upper management. They know full well that you know that your team lead doesn’t make the decision to understaff, which they hope will guilt their contributors into staying instead of piling more shit on the blameless boss’s plate when they leave.
- The employees on my team are, for the most part, not treated well by the company. Shitty practices like categorizing them as 'contractors' and consistently underpaying them. I do what I can, including commiserating with them and letting them know that I appreciate them. I also try to buy them lunch any chance I get - even though I get that it really isn't the same as true compensation. That said, most people on my team have been with the company for over 20 years... I've only been with the company for 6 months. I try, but sometimes find it hard to maintain sympathy when they refuse to seek better employment.

I see these, and think: Yes, you are valued, because you still work here even though you are underpayed and overworked. Imagine buisnesses would run out of employees like that! Pure Chaos!
- Exactly. You're valuable because you continue working for them without complaint even knowing that you earn them orders of magnitude more money than they have to pay you.