Loveday Writing

Write about a war in which no-one dies**

The Overtime War

The war of the office hours is currently in its fifth day.

The soldiers of the floor and field fought hard on the remainder of their savings, determined not to back down. They worked hard, above and beyond their duty and told their Manager to tell their Commander that they should be rightly paid for it. Their Manager told their Commander or CEO, who refused and argued that they should be organised enough that they shouldn’t have to work overtime.

The Manager delivered this message to the soldiers and on that day, the war would start. They traded their equipment and office surroundings for signs and the great outdoors, so their voices would be truly heard. The Manager, the constant middleman and voice of reason for the Commander turned negotiator that day.  

By the end of the second day, business had decreased but the local media caught on and sent some correspondents. By the end of the third day, concerned citizens joined the fight with their own signs, voices, helping out with food and circulating change.org petitions. 

By COB yesterday the protests, now dubbed ‘The Overtime War’, went national and viral with the Fair Work Ombudsman investigating, the Commander knew the end was near. 

At 4pm today, the Commander sat in his office, Scotch in hand, wallowing over $3 million in lost profits, social media pages inundated in negative comments and threats, the growing number of protestors outside–he knew he had to surrender. He wrote down a number on a piece of paper and called the Manager in.

At 5pm he got word that the soldiers accepted the offer, they would be back on the floor and out in the field on Monday.

The war of the office hours or ‘The Overtime War’ ended on the fifth day. 

 

**Reference: Marsden J 1998, Everything I Know About Writing, Pan Macmillan, Australia.