Assignment is the process by which citizens of the Vuurstahl Empire are assigned a job within Graves-Meyer Steelworks in accordance to its needs. Roles are decided through a census kept by the Board of Directors. For the next three years after their Assignment, the new worker is trained in their future job, and once their training is complete, their bodies are physically and genetically modified to suit their new occupation. Once they have entered the workforce, they are bestowed a title befitting their new role. A title is akin to a second name, and is no less important for your identification.
One’s job isn’t quite set in stone. Anyone can apply for reassignment if they feel their talents are being wasted, pending review by the Board of Directors. A reassignment often requires ample proof that not only are you qualified for your job of choice, but that you are underperforming in your current job. The process can be long and arduous, with the Board often deliberating for months at a time. The likelihood of approval depends heavily on the current balance of jobs, though it’s also commonly known that being approved for a job in a higher class is a pipe dream. Even those who are approved for a higher class are often left with their modifications from their previous job, and sometimes may not even be given a new title, as if to cement that this is not their “true” role.
Class system
Jobs under GMS are assigned classes according to their role and perceived worth. Ones class determines the size of one's paycheck abd the benefits and rights they are given as members of society. Many have argued for the class system's retirement, as many jobs fit poorly within the system (for example, doctors are considered Intellectual-class citizens, but nurses are considered Service-class) but the Board argues for its continued utility in ensuring the most skilled members of society are compensated accordingly.
Classes of Assignment
- Intellectual-class: Scientists, doctors, engineers, economists, etc. If your job requires high education and working with complex data/information, you are an intellectual-class worker.
- Military-class: Soldiers, field medics, mech pilots, etc. This is the easiest class to be reassigned to, as the military is eager to fill any available position as quickly as possible, whether by volunteer or by draft.
- Athletic-class: Originally a subset of the Entertainment-class, Athletic-class has since become a class of its own after the rise in popularity of sports competitions worldwide. Athletic-class individuals are often augmented to a lesser extent than most other GMS employees if they're expected to compete on the world stage, in compliance with the regulations of the sport in question. Though ostensibly one of the highest and most well-paying classes in the hierarchy, Athletic-class is still widely known for a reputation for poor treatment. The athletes are often run ragged and forced to perform while recovering from debilitating injuries in the name of defending the honor of Vuurstahl against other nations, and it has the earliest average retirement age and transfer rate of any Assignment class as a result of being forced to leave the Athletic-class due to being unable to meet Imperial standards of performance.
- Service-class: Cashiers, waiters, chefs, etc. If your job is in service to those around you, particularly consumers, you are a service-class worker. Labor-class: Construction workers, miners, janitors, etc. If your job is defined by manual labor, you are a labor-class worker.
- Novelty-class: The bottom of the barrel, the novelty-class is never given in a normal assignment, but is rather a punishment for criminals or other dissidents who are deemed unusable in any way. Their bodies are often twisted and malformed for the sake of inane, pointless jobs. Novelty-class workers are near-universally looked down upon as less than human. The novelty-class has dwindled to near-irrelevance since the formation of the Tempestian Union, who intervened to put an end to this inhumane treatment.
The Entertainment class is an entirely voluntary role often seen as optional or unnecessary to society. Most Entertainment-class workers will have another "primary" class, though depending on their notoriety, they may have an Entertainment-class title rather than their original title. Entertainment-class workers include actors, artists, and novelists, and usually require few to no special augmentations. The Entertainment-class is not to be confused with Novelty-class workers who have been mutilated to perform an entertainment role, such as playing an instrument or dancing.