Employee Morale Downer

[BeepBeepRR]

I have never put up with bullshit bosses. I have always lived by the rule. I was looking for a job when I found this one and I'll be looking for one when I leave. Thankfully I stayed at my old employer until the company had to call it quits due to his wife's illness. So I had a good 25 years with an awesome boss. We had our times when he didn't like me very much. But I also didn't like him too much either. But in the end he liquidated the assets and gave me my 2005 Silverado and all the equipment in it. I guess that was my bonus for sticking it out 25 years.

 

[joe smith]

In the early 90's I had worked for the best company I have ever worked for, for 8 years.. Of those 8 years, for the last 4 I had been the #1 outside salesman...
Of course the company was so successful that a POS company called JELDWEN purchased us.. Within 60 days the two GREAT managers we had ( two manufacturing facilities) quit...... OH OH, thats a really bad sign..

Sure enough within 6 months I was called in to see the new manager who cut my pay in half, yep 50% pay cut for being the best....

When I asked the guy to " Motivate me some more", he didnt think I was very funny... Walked out of his office, went to a vacant cubicle, made 3 phone calls and had a new job...
When I walked back to his office and gave my resignation, he didn't even give a ****.....
The moral of this story is being retired is best... No A$$ hole bosses, NO whiney employees, No jerk customers.....

 

[joe smith]

I was working evenings as a Border Patrol Agent in plain clothes for a four-month period interviewing suspected illegal aliens in jail for criminal offenses. I needed a record for someone under investigation

I see this guy and the 200 relatives he has chain migrated here daily at Home Depot

 

[Sahara]

I’m in a union, and I appreciate it. I come from a union family, and my dad was of the generation where union enforcers carried clubs. But here’s my thoughts...
My first union job was at a mine, in the late ‘70’s. A very powerful union. One night the bus driver that drove the crew to the mine site did LSD on the job and drove the bus into a building. He was fired, fought it for a year, and was reinstated. They had to pay him the year back wages while he fought it.
At my and my wife’s jobs (different unions) there is “dead wood” that is nearly impossible to remove. It’s theoretically possible, but a paperwork and legal nightmare.
I do very much appreciate the benefits and wages that my union job got me. But I very much resent the way that the union cultivates an “us against them” attitude between us and our management. We like and respect our bosses. They are good guys.

 

[Ron H]

Yeah – good and shithole bosses; could write a book like a lot of us. When I became a boss the memories of the good ones I kept and used – but – I did find the other side of da story too: Good and shithole employees. I was overly tolerant for a good while…too long, putting trust in a few that I figured would pick their own asses up after some heart to heart chatting. Mixed results; but those I had to can were a nightmare with employment laws, EEO, and developing a list (documentation) for corporate HR that they were unsatisfied with more than satisfied. Then one of my shithole bosses (#1 on my list) would ride my *** asking why I hadn’t fired someone yet. He and I later would have a severe problem leading to my departure, thankfully on my terms. Longer story; but when I started my biz there was one absolute – I’d have NO employees. If I got more than I could handle I had a few contractors I’d use…and they did the same helping them out.

 

[demonram]

I never worked through the union. I could have joined in 78, I think it was $750.00. What I saw was when the weather was nice someone was on strike and the other union people couldn’t cross. Of course in the winter we sometimes couldn’t work because of weather. I only had a couple jobs before I went out on my own. I actually hired quite a few past union guys because they got tired of the BS they went through. I remember one told me if the opportunity came he would go back, good worker etc.. I was doing a big job in Door county Wi.. Every Monday he would call and talk to his BA, every time the first question he was asked was are your dues paid. Yes was his response, sorry don’t have anything. After about a month, he said **** them and never looked back. He said he worried about his retirement and what he had already paid in dues. He worked with me for a little over five years. Unfortunately he died from cancer at much to early an age. I remember also when Chrysler bought AMC, the union wouldn’t budge from their old contract. Chrysler quit building cars in Kenosha and just built engines. The final engine was the 4.0, and if I recall there were only about 2-3000 workers when they closed up shop. I knew quite a few guys who worked there, even old timers. It put a huge hurt on Kenosha for a while. I’m not against unions, don’t get me wrong. They have made the country what it is today. It is a business, and the bottom line is still the bottom line. I do know this, when the workers are on strike, the guys in the union office still make what they made during the strike. What I paid was equal to what they made less dues, give or take. If someone wasn’t worth what someone else was, they didn’t make the same. I’ve only been in Arizona going on five years. I do know this, as a whole the workmanship and work ethic is not the same here as in the Midwest. I also know in Illinois, the unions have the politicians in there back pocket, Democrats and Republicans.

 

[Ron H]

I never worked through the union. I could have joined in 78, I think it was $750.00. What I saw was when the weather was nice someone was on strike and the other union people couldn’t cross. Of course in the winter we sometimes couldn’t work because of weather. I only had a couple jobs before I went out on my own. I actually hired quite a few past union guys because they got tired of the BS they went through. I remember one told me if the opportunity came he would go back, good worker etc.. I was doing a big job in Door county Wi.. Every Monday he would call and talk to his BA, every time the first question he was asked was are your dues paid. Yes was his response, sorry don’t have anything. After about a month, he said **** them and never looked back. He said he worried about his retirement and what he had already paid in dues. He worked with me for a little over five years. Unfortunately he died from cancer at much to early an age. I remember also when Chrysler bought AMC, the union wouldn’t budge from their old contract. Chrysler quit building cars in Kenosha and just built engines. The final engine was the 4.0, and if I recall there were only about 2-3000 workers when they closed up shop. I knew quite a few guys who worked there, even old timers. It put a huge hurt on Kenosha for a while. I’m not against unions, don’t get me wrong. They have made the country what it is today. It is a business, and the bottom line is still the bottom line. I do know this, when the workers are on strike, the guys in the union office still make what they made during the strike. What I paid was equal to what they made less dues, give or take. If someone wasn’t worth what someone else was, they didn’t make the same. I’ve only been in Arizona going on five years. I do know this, as a whole the workmanship and work ethic is not the same here as in the Midwest. I also know in Illinois, the unions have the politicians in there back pocket, Democrats and Republicans.

You make some great points. It is a long story I’m trying to abbreviate; but there was a time when unions brought a lot of people out of a bucket of **** and they (unions/workers) had their glory years contributing to a booming economy….birth of a middle class and weekends. Recall the labor fights of the 19-teens through the 30’s. I had to do a ton of study on this in college for my degree and also grew up hearing my folks bicker back & forth (my dad was senior management at a large can company and my mother was a union steward at Briggs & Stratton). It WAS educational. But, as time went on…unions started crippling companies – experienced this firsthand when the Japanese were crushing us in the early late 70’s early 80’s. I was with a large machine tool mfg (salaried employee) and got ‘volunteered’ to assist the labor VP determining who would get laid-off and who would keep their job. It was due to the horrendous number of workers to get sliced out. What a nightmare hey. This stuff wasn’t computerized yet, so had this weird ‘slot’ device I had to use pulling employees out of job classifications and moving them to others based on their seniority and adding how long they were in a particular job (those considered essential and otherwise). Based on this **** – it determined who had to walk and who could stay. Well – a small part of a larger story…corrupt or miss-managed unions coming back to bite them in their asses, especially cuz American companies weren’t confronting a war within anymore…it became foreign competition…such as Japan, and of course all the others fast behind them…

 

[sam dupont]

I hope you quit! That guy sounds like a real bastard.

He was a nice guy, but did what was in his opinion, best for the business. I quit, but first, I went to a trade school at night and learned to weld. I got certified in a few different types of welds. I applied to a Steamfitters Union, got hired and never looked back. Living wage, training, health and welfare, vacation, retirement with a pension plan that can't be touched by the Union or anyone else. Never had to kiss *** again. I had to travel sometimes, but that paid better yet. Only dead weight I've seen were the relatives of company owners.

 

[Cojohnso1]

Big reason I've been self-employed for half my career.

I've done the self employment thing. Customers can be worse than co-workers. In the end? We all whore ourselves at some point? I'm 1 1/2 year from my first retirement window. So I better hurry and figure out this "Independently Wealthy" thing?

 

[1 Wild R/T]

I've done the self employment thing. Customers can be worse than co-workers. In the end? We all whore ourselves at some point? I'm 1 1/2 year from my first retirement window. So I better hurry and figure out this "Independently Wealthy" thing?

When you figure it out I could use a clue on how to get there....

 

[Cojohnso1]

When you figure it out I could use a clue on how to get there....

Oh, it's worse than that? I had an early retirement fantasy about towing a car or maybe two? Around the US visiting most drag racing sites as possible. I crunched the numbers? I barely had 1/10 that in liquid assets. If I sold everything but cars and racing support assets? I would be financially devastated after just one year. Well over $1 million in cost. Mostly support and travel costs. Needless to say? My family and banker/advisor hates that idea? Lol.

 

[Charged440]

One time I go in to give my two weeks notice and this particular place had a policy that if you were leaving the industry you worked your two weeks, if you were going to a competitor, you were out right then. I was doing neither as I was starting my own thing. Now, if they had just let me work the two weeks they would not have had to pay unemployment I knew this and was ok with it. When I refused to give them a company name, they fired me on the spot and now had to pay unemployment. Absolutely had no plan on it going that way but that's the way they wanted it.

 

[Duckmanreno]

Three things that really kill employee morale.

A useless coworker who does almost no work and somehow is protected.

Coworkers who constantly miss work and you have to cover for them.

Lack of promotional opportunities.

I have worked 37 years in the private sector and now 3 as a local government employee. Have seen a few things. It can be hard to get rid of dead weight for some reason. Don’t know why.
Something I observed in a large corporation. One bad boss can drive out a lot of employee’s. And there too stupid to figure out that it’s the supervisor that’s the problem.

 

[Budnicks]

A friend posted this on Facebook:

"Nothing will destroy a great employee faster than watching your employer tolerate and reward the bad ones."

View attachment 1143684

Bingo !!!

& it will help to destroy our nation too

 

[Richard Cranium]

Recall the labor fights of the 19-teens through the 30’s

Man, you are old!

 

[68BabyBlue]

I've done the self employment thing. Customers can be worse than co-workers. In the end? We all whore ourselves at some point? I'm 1 1/2 year from my first retirement window. So I better hurry and figure out this "Independently Wealthy" thing?

Well said. I got past my first window, and my wife let me have the Hemi GTX as a bonus for pushing on to the second. Currently in the self employment mode, finally reached a point where the customers I have are great, but still have my moments with the company I lease my truck to. The cars keep me motivated.

 

[Cojohnso1]

One time I go in to give my two weeks notice and this particular place had a policy that if you were leaving the industry you worked your two weeks, if you were going to a competitor, you were out right then. I was doing neither as I was starting my own thing. Now, if they had just let me work the two weeks they would not have had to pay unemployment I knew this and was ok with it. When I refused to give them a company name, they fired me on the spot and now had to pay unemployment. Absolutely had no plan on it going that way but that's the way they wanted it.

It was the hand they dealt? They can contest? But they will lose.

 

[joe smith]

I worked for 3 different companies in the same area, same customers.. Funny how the slow pay people were slow pay to everyone..
One was always a problem, calling in orders late, always having to reload trucks for them at the last moment which caused the drivers to be late to everyone else..

I finally talked the boss into raising their prices so high they went to the competition.. I honestly believe our problems went down by over 50%... I mean the daily headaches just seemed to go away.....
Then the competition closed down and they came back..... LOL

 

[Cojohnso1]

Well said. I got past my first window, and my wife let me have the Hemi GTX as a bonus for pushing on to the second. Currently in the self employment mode, finally reached a point where the customers I have are great, but still have my moments with the company I lease my truck to. The cars keep me motivated.

It will be tough for me to pass up the "62 year old" window? Logic does dictate the next window at 65. I'm guessing the next year will really make the decision for me? My young heart wants to expand. My old bod wants to contract and downsize. One deciding issue is this crazy housing market?

 

[moparedtn]

You work 45 years, you got stories. I sure do...
In my chosen profession (although I've often said it was a black hole - once in, there was no
escaping it ), as with most any trade I suppose, there's good ones and bad ones out there
and I've worked for plenty of the latter - and honestly, a couple of the good ones, too.

Way too many stories...
but you know what has never changed? The way I conduct myself and my business.
Fire protection, especially in this neck of the woods, is a true "small world" - lots of folks know
one another and most companies know of me (or know me directly) as a result.
I have the reputation of a)"doing it right", b)integrity and c)raising hell when it ain't right.
That "c" one will get you in trouble sometimes; I don't care if it does...

Unions? Great assets to the working class 100 years ago - even up to 50 years ago in my field.
Many of the improvements fought hard for by unions over those years are now law of the land
and for that, they are to be lauded.
I've had to carry a card myself (paid for each week, of course) for gigs in the past, too...
and it made zero difference in what or how we did the work, truth be known.
They had their time to be valid, needed, helpful. That time has long since passed....
all I got out of it was $50 a week lighter in the pocket, every week (this was mid-80's).

All my experience, training, "apprenticeship" came from outside the union, honestly - and I witnessed
the laziest of the bunch get gigs same as the rest of us, often at the expense of better men,
who had to ride the pine, wait their turn for their next assignment while the system-players
benefitted.
After all, in the union - we all were equal! Yeah, not so much...equally protected, maybe.

Once I relocated to TN in '95, I entered a "right to work" state - don't need a card to work here.
I've made the most money in my life down here; I've suffered at the hands of evil, deceptive
owners here. All ends of the spectrum for sure.
Yeah, 62 is looming - and as little as the benefit pays at that age, it sure looks tempting, especially
for someone who has fought the wars and survived all the cancers and dying and all that ****.
Simply put - I'm worn the hell out.
It might be time...