What did you do at work today?

[Dirtbag59]

My friend had a good point the other day. Some companies are going "lean" and having people work longer hours because it's necessary to stay afloat. Others are doing it because they love the savings and could easily afford more workers but would rather be cheap. What they don't realize is that this will bite them in the ass if the economy ever turns around and their top talent leaves in droves for companies that treat them the way they deserve to be treated.

[BleedBurgundy]

Originally Posted by Dirtbag59

My friend had a good point the other day. Some companies are going "lean" and having people work longer hours because it's necessary to stay afloat. Others are doing it because they love the savings and could easily afford more workers but would rather be cheap. What they don't realize is that this will bite them in the ass if the economy ever turns around and their top talent leaves in droves for companies that treat them the way they deserve to be treated.

Yeah, lean is code for "get rid of all redundancy, even that which is healthy/necessary." Seeing a lot of people burn themselves out trying to wear multiple hats.

[Dirtbag59]

Originally Posted by BleedBurgundy

Yeah, lean is code for "get rid of all redundancy, even that which is healthy/necessary." Seeing a lot of people burn themselves out trying to wear multiple hats.

My brother is doing that at his current company. In a normal economy he would be working a normal 40 hour work week at Cisco. In this economy he has to do the work of 2 or 3 people working 50 hours a week at another company which will remain nameless. Before he didn't have a problem with it because they were paying him on an hourly basis which meant overtime but then they switched him to salary. He's still a good solider but I have a hard time believing that he won't get better offers if/when the economy picks up.

This "you should be thankful you have a job" crap is getting old.
Study: Employers Used Recession As Excuse To Cut Even Deeper And Increase Profits. Why Is No One Talking About This? | Crooks and Liars

[BleedBurgundy]

Originally Posted by Dirtbag59

My brother is doing that at his current company. In a normal economy he would be working a normal 40 hour work week at Cisco. In this economy he has to do the work of 2 or 3 people working 50 hours a week at another company which will remain nameless. Before he didn't have a problem with it because they were paying him on an hourly basis which meant overtime but then they switched him to salary. He's still a good solider but I have a hard time believing that he won't get better offers if/when the economy picks up.

This "you should be thankful you have a job" crap is getting old.
Study: Employers Used Recession As Excuse To Cut Even Deeper And Increase Profits. Why Is No One Talking About This? | Crooks and Liars

yep, we see a lot of this at my co. It hits the hourly folks hardest, with a lot of work that has traditionally belonged to management being pushed down to them. and... like you say, we then pressure them to limit their overtime. The impact on morale is tangible.

[BleedBurgundy]

Originally Posted by Dirtbag59

This "you should be thankful you have a job" crap is getting old.
Study: Employers Used Recession As Excuse To Cut Even Deeper And Increase Profits. Why Is No One Talking About This? | Crooks and Liars

and to your link:

Originally Posted by someguythatdirtbaglinkedto

This was so frustrating, talking to the Tea Partiers at their rally the other day: When I brought up this report, they defended the employers. They said employers were too afraid to spend money because of Obama's unpredictable anti-business policies. Oy.

just reminds me of one of my favorite quotes:
"Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires." - Steinbeck

[MTK]

Originally Posted by Dirtbag59

My brother is doing that at his current company. In a normal economy he would be working a normal 40 hour work week at Cisco. In this economy he has to do the work of 2 or 3 people working 50 hours a week at another company which will remain nameless. Before he didn't have a problem with it because they were paying him on an hourly basis which meant overtime but then they switched him to salary. He's still a good solider but I have a hard time believing that he won't get better offers if/when the economy picks up.

This "you should be thankful you have a job" crap is getting old.
Study: Employers Used Recession As Excuse To Cut Even Deeper And Increase Profits. Why Is No One Talking About This? | Crooks and Liars

My company has always run lean with staffing, but right now it's so bad it's a joke. There's really no incentive to work hard, because you only get more work piled on you if you're a top performer. It's sad when everyone's goal is to just do enough to slide by. What's amazing is the company can't see or understand that this is the culture they have created and continue to perpetuate.

[BleedBurgundy]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

My company has always run lean with staffing, but right now it's so bad it's a joke. There's really no incentive to work hard, because you only get more work piled on you if you're a top performer. It's sad when everyone's goal is to just do enough to slide by. What's amazing is the company can't see or understand that this is the culture they have created and continue to perpetuate.

This is us right now. i'm an IT proj mgr and as of today have 5 different projects going at once, plus several other collateral duties thrown in. The more you show you can handle, the more they pile on.

[Alvin Walton]

Today I emailed an associate in China telling him that we had finally satisfied a customer in St. Louis.
After four attempts.
And this is because Chinese manufacturing suxxorz at basic quality manufacturing processes.
But I didn't mention that because I know they dont give a flying fox.