The Company Man

"The Company Man", written by Ellen Goodman in the 1970's, was written to illustrate how a family can be damaged by a father doing the right things the wrong way. Ellen Goodman used the example of Phil, an over-weight married father of three and successful business man, to get her point across. To Phil, work came before anything else, including his family, his happiness, and his health. Phil died on a Sunday, which is ironic because that was his only day off. This essay shows that Ellen Goodman's idea about company men in general is that they neglect what is most important for something trivial like a promotion or a raise. Phil was so blinded by what he thought was important that he spent his entire life focused on work, never seeing the bigger picture and what mattered the most--his family.
With good intentions in mind to be a good father and provide for his family, Phil went overboard. This is shown on one instance when Goodman writes, "He worked six days a week, five of ...