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

 

[nice95gle]

All,

I'm happy to say that my new assignment is almost like a dream (2 hr commute sux tho ). Everyone always has a smile, no one complains about the company and the moral is higher than I've seen in a while. I believe allot of it has to do with the fact that there are no layoffs coming, ample reserves in the budget, excellent project mangers and working on a trading floor there's a big incentive to do well. These things might not be the perfect equation needed to make a happy worker bee, but whatever upper management is doing seems to be working.

Cheers

Well Done is better than well said
- Ben Franklin

 

[SantaMufasa]

Congrats, Nice!

[tt]
,----------- A&W Root Beer
| ,--------- Barq's Root Beer
| | ,---- IBC Root Beer
| | | ,-- Hires Root Beer
V V V V [/tt]



Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I provide low-cost, remote Database Administration services: www.dasages.com]

 

[gbaughma]

Yes. I actually do like working with the AS/400.

I have an AS/400 in my basement. :-D

You and I should talk.



Just my 2¢
-Cole's Law: Shredded cabbage

--Greg

http://parallel.tzo.com

 

[CajunCenturion]

==> I have an AS/400 in my basement.

There is nothing wrong with the AS/400, but you have one in your basement?

I agree you should talk to someone.

(Just kidding)

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[flapeyre]

There are lots of AS/400s out there. Not nearly as many as with other platforms, of course, but it does work and keep on working (unless unplugged).

Anyway, back on topic....

. . .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.

An update: I quit today, and I'm going back to the PHC. Sarbanes isn't so bad. I found that I was trading 2 hours of stress commuting for 9 hours of stress working. Not a good trade.

Solum potestis prohibere ignes silvarum.

 

[AlexCuse]

Good Luck with the moves, everyone

[small]----signature below----[/small]
Now you can go where the people are one!
Now you can go where they get things done!

 

[aarenot]

flap.
I would consider not letting the PHC know you are unhappy at the new company. See if they will up the salary to get you back.

 

[flapeyre]

aarenot -

I don't want to get into too many details here on a public forum, so I'll just say that everything worked out fine.

Solum potestis prohibere ignes silvarum.

 

[jacktripper]

I am not sure how to quote someone within my post, but earlier a person said something about working for a family-run business is nice.

I have worked for 2 family-run companies (in large and small cities) and both experiences for me were miserable and I quit within about a year.

It sounds great going in if you've had a bad experience in a large corporation... maybe a layoff or slow promotions. The problem I had with the family-run businesses was (1) the owner/father, wife/VP, daughters/managers tended to fight a lot... In a way that really belongs in private, and not around employees who are not family members. And (2) Most important to me... the family members had preferential treatment, were WAY overpaid, lots of "free time" outside the office to do whatever they wanted, long vacations, etc... while the rest of us were held accountable to a strict 8-hour day, limited personal days, WAY underpaid (because they claim they just can't pay the wages of a corporation - bologne!), etc. I just couldn't tolerate the double-standard anymore. All I ended up doing was bitching about it and it was hurting my life outside work.

Now I work for a large company, make good corporate wages, and still like the people I work with. I never should have listened to the hype about corporate america being crappy.

So, my advice, be careful about smaller family-run businesses that talk about how wonderful it is to work for them. Maybe true... Maybe not.

 

[aarenot]

Everyone says it is not fair for owners to hire, promote, and overpay their own kids.

Everyone would also do the exact same thing if they had been the one to take, continue to take, or had the skills to take the risks themselves that it takes to own a business.

Well, let me qualify that, parents who love their kids is what I mean. BE REAL

 

[jacktripper]

So, you are basically regurgitating my idea that working for small family-run business is not a good choice? To expect bias and preferential treatment? Even though they claim the totally opposite point of view?

What do you mean by "BE REAL"? Sounds to me like any family-run company should be marked off my list of potential employers.

I'm very confused by your statement. Help me out and extrapolate a litte to your point?

 

[jacktripper]

Ah, now that I am re-reading your comments, I think I understand. So, everyone who has their own company would treat non-family like crap and treat natural-family with gentle gloves and allow anything. "Be Real, Its Expected"?

First, skill-set has nothing to do with my personal experience.

There were several family members that had zero or very little experience, but their opinions had more clout simply because they were family... No matter how much evidence I provided to the contrary. They didn't take opinions from outsiders.

I just think its wrong to have kids of the owner who have little knowledge of the company/industry and then give them an extreme measure of control. Its a waste of money; in the end it reverts itself. Mistakes get made due to lack of knowledge.

Also, I hated that the company's president's daughter made more cash than me... for doing a much easier job, essentially acting as window dressing. Again, family getting paid more for lesser tasks.

And that is common in many small family companies. I'm just posting a warning.

 

[aarenot]

if you had been a "franchise" player, you would have been most likely paid like one. "how come his dad does not give me a raise like he does his owN son, at the company he made with his own hands" is not going to really sound like a good argument in an annual performance review. Try another approach, and you should achieve some success.


fair, has nothing to do with whether or not you get preferential treatment, but if you get what you prove you are worth. No one who works a job for somoene else ever really has the worth of the one they work for since they create nothing, they only fill a role created by another.

Last thing, stop expecting things to be fair, it shows a lack of maturity. lIFE IS NOT FAIR, EXCPETING IT TO BE SHOWS A LACK OF JUDGEMENT.

 

[SQLSister]

I've worked for government agencies, large corporations and several family run businesses. I can tell you there are good and bad government agencies, good and bad large corporations and good and bad family owned businesses. The company I currently work for is one of the best I've ever worked for and it is privately held. The previous company was one of the worst and it was also privately held. It really comes down to the personality and professionalism of the owner in privately held companies.

"NOTHING is more important in a database than integrity." ESquared

 

[eyetry]

Right on SQLSister!!!

I've worked for family run companies where the kids are treated and paid like everyone else, maybe worse. They start at the bottom amd work their way up. Some of the kids I know were even told to work somewhere else for a while before comming to the family company.

I can name 3 very successfull business people off the top of my head that sold their businesses rather that let their kids run them.

Another owner (diagnosed with terminal cancer) of a large bank made one of his key employees promiss not to quit when the owner died. Not until the employee was sure the owner's children could successfully run the company on their own.

I know others that know they will be handing off the companies to their kids. The non-family employees need to keep it in perspective.

 

[aarenot]

If saying someone else is overpaid, or treated better than the employment contract requires is your best argument for compalining about your own treatment, learn to make a valid complaint based on you actually deserving something besides some sugar to help the taste of your sour grapes. I would hope everyone would attempt to earn something instead of saying "he got more ice cream than me!!!".

Chances are that the one complaining about the owners kid getting extra pay for no reason, and is also wanting extra pay for no reason themselves, and is the only one who asked for extra pay for no reason. Since the owners kid was probably given what their dad gave them not what their kid demanded, like the non kids seem to think they can demand when the owners kid did not demand it.