Unhappy workers 11

[nice95gle]

I've been consulting for a while now. I'm a little tired of the constant job hunt every year when an assignment is completed. I was thinking of going back into the full-time work force but with a little hesitation; because I can’t remember the last place I worked where the employees were happy. The motivation and moral in today’s workplace seems to be non-existent. Am I so disconnected from the FTE’s that I can’t understand the day to day obstacles they must hurdle? Or are people just fed-up with the everyday hustle, which shows in their workplace performance?

Please post your thoughts.

Well Done is better than well said
- Ben Franklin

 

[Crowley16]

I think it all depends on the company

I've been in a company where everyone I've met seemed happy, but also been at places like you described.

there was even a time when I started in a company and everyone was happy, but after a couple of years, a lot of people were grumbling, which is when I left...

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Procrastinate Now!

 

[JCreamerII]

nice95gle,

It's the nature of the work place today. Everybody wants more for less, Companies, Employees, Vendors, Customers, and it's the employees that end up taking the hit. Finding that one gem of a place to work is the problem, if you get the money you get overworked, if you don't get the money, your still overworked. You have to kiss a lot of frogs to find a princess/prince. If you find one grap it.

Jim C.

 

[wlemery]

I work for an excellent company that treats the employees very well, but I had to search a long time before I found my position. You may have to relocate, but the rewards are worth it.

 

[eyetry]

Maybe you all hang with the wrong people!

Obviously there are some bad work places, bad managers and bad employees. To a great degree you control how you will react to each. MOST companies aren't that bad. Keep work in perspective and don't let the downer people drag you down with them.

I can't believe every company you've consulted for is a bad place to work or has employees with bad attitudes. You can always try becoming an FTE. If you don't like it go back to consulting.

When work is bad, do your job to the best of your ability and focus your life on something more fulfilling. When your not looking you might find work turned fun again (or that you don't care anymore because you've got it in perspective)

 

[AndrewTait]

Perhaps the reason the people you are working with are so unhappy is because the company brought in a contractor to do things that they think they should be doing.

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You may think if it isn't broke, don't fix it. Engineers think that if it isn't broke, it doesn't have enough features yet!
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[flapeyre]

Do your research. I just changed jobs at the beginning of this month. I wasn't "unhappy", per se, with my old job (which I had been at for 11+ years), however, upper mgt (not in IS) was shaking things up and making what I would consider bad business decisions (making us impement new financial package on an impossible timetable). Predictably, it was a fiasco.

The new company is:

- rated one of the best places to work for in the state;
- is only 8 miles from home (vs. 35); and
- is committed to the type of system I am familiar with (IBM System i, better known as the AS/400). The previous employer was going to migrate to Wintel servers.

The point is, I knew all of the above before my first interview. That made it far easier to switch.

Ask other people you know how the work environment is (for FT employees) before you decide.

Solum potestis prohibere ignes silvarum.

 

[grande]

flapeyre: Eee

http://wwww,

you like working with AS/400

nice95gle: If everywhere you go has a bad environment, maybe the problem isn't the place?

-------------------------
Matt Grande
C# Master.
Ruby on Rails Admirer.
ActionScript Student.
JavaScript Hate-Monger.

 

[flapeyre]

Grande,

Yes. I actually do like working with the AS/400. People knock the green-screen interface, but then, it's much more efficient than a GUI, especially for high-speed data entry. But that's neither here nor there.

Solum potestis prohibere ignes silvarum.

 

[nice95gle]

>> If everywhere you go has a bad environment, maybe the problem isn't the place?

Please don't get it confused. This is not something I pulled of a hat. I've seen the pattern job after job after job. I posted this question to get different opinions about different work environments in my decision to continue consulting or transitioning to full time. So please don't use this as an opportunity to bash me. Have you ever considered that it might be the companies that I have worked for, or people might have problems they are trying to work through? Or maybe a round of layoffs may be on the horizon. Those are some of the things I've considered but I wanted to get a fresh point of view about the topic. So thank you to everyone who has posted thus far. I really appreciate it.

Here are two brief articles that discuss the topic.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/sto...spx?guid=7841B7C5-1536-46EE-A7F2-D74BC674582C

http://www.livescience.com/health/070226_hate_jobs.html

Here is an article from 2000 that discuss the opposite

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/polls/wat/archive/wat090400.htm

So it might be the current economy that causing people to dislike their jobs, because companies might be cutting back on bonuses and salaries. Who knows.

Well Done is better than well said
- Ben Franklin

 

[AlexCuse]

Every place I've ever worked (only 5 places mind you) seemed set on squeezing every last drop of life out of there employees, so much that to go 'above and beyond' is expected, if not required. In IT departments, it seems especially bad. Needless to say, this made for unhappy workers, in places where the money was good and places where it was not so good.

Where I work now is no different, but the upper management once in a while will take the time to thank <person> for doing <whatever>. The fact that people seem to at least recognize and appreciate that we're doing more than we should have to makes for a much more pleasant environment (IMO).

Unfortunately, hard to identify a company like that without working for them.

Good Luck in making your decision,

Alex

[small]----signature below----[/small]
With all due respect, Don Bot, I don't think we should rely on an accident happening. Let's kill him ourselves.

Ignorance of certain subjects is a great part of wisdom

 

[stubnski]

I feel sorry for you Alex. I've only had one bad work place and I quit there after a few years. I've found that most places that are great to work in are in a smaller town and are family oriented. I don't make as much as I would in a big city but I look forward to going to work now and I like the people I work with.


Stubnski

 

[flapeyre]

Stubinski, I have to concur. I traded my long commute at a publicly-held company with 5K+ employees for a job at a local, smaller company (~350 employees). I'm a lot busier, but that's OK. At least we are not subject to Sarbanes, so more things can get done more quickly.

Solum potestis prohibere ignes silvarum.

 

[eyetry]

Hey, don't get me wrong. I've transitioned a lot (part of that was consulting). I've seen a lot of bad environments. I've even been one of those bad attitude people from time to time (maybe even right now). But I've always made the decision to change opportunities not because of the people or company alone.

I support you in whatever decision you make. May it work out well for you.

 

[nice95gle]

Thanks everyone who give them input. I decided to consult a little longer due to the fact I just received a job offer I can't refuse. So maybe we will have this discussion again when this assignment is over.

Well Done is better than well said
- Ben Franklin

 

[aarenot]

Unless a comnpany had the lack of judgement, and wisdom to hire someone who had a horrible attitude in the first place, the company probably had something to do with creating the attitude, and that attitude may be situationally appropriate.

 

[LNBruno]

Am I the only one who thinks "Dilbert" isn't funny, but a sad commentary on the state of business management?

;-)

< M!ke >
[small]"Oops" is never a good thing.[/small]

 

[aarenot]

Hey, don't rip on management, I am management! Well, I run my own show, does that make me management? The worst part of working for yourself is that I work for an arsehole.

 

[eyetry]

that explains the attitude ;-)

 

[rolm9751]

LNBruno: Dilbert is funny because it IS true. And if you can't laugh about it.....you'll cry.