Then do you feel that modern capitalism is working, in spite of what we are seeing now?
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Work sucks..
- Thread starter Relic
- Start date
Then do you feel that modern capitalism is working, in spite of what we are seeing now?
No - it was actually saving the company money as there was no office to pay for, etc. She's even stated that this is costing us MORE but she feels it will pay off in the end. Go figure. Now we're all stressed, full of abysmal morale, lower productivity and costing the company more to boot... she's either stupid or trying to justify outsourcing...
Or trying to justify her own job.
Change for change's sake and so it can be "her way" - whether or not that improves the bottom line is generally irrelevant.
I'm not sure what "modern" capitalism is. There is still capitalism in the modern world. I don't see where it has changed significantly. The issue and discussion of capitalism is very like politics in it's ways of viewing it. There are simply too many ways to see it and would become a never ending, un-winnable argument. With that I will bow out and leave the thread to the original topic at hand. A new boss, her new ways and what may or may not be motivating it.
Check out how much workers wages have increased over the last 20 years, then check out the bankers bonuses in a recession just as an example. Capitalism has turned into a self serving wrecking ball dude.
I dont know Ben, I was quite content for some time. Its time to move passed that now.
I found the best way to counter micro managers is to make sure they micro manage EVERYTHING! My latest boss is a micro manager and when she came on she was double checking everything and driving me nuts. So I started to flood her. Then after she would start checking stuff against reports that had nothing to do with my data, I would further suggest other reports that were also different. She was double checking stuff I was doing for a consultant that she really had no business looking at. So I gave her more. She was working overtime while I was leaving on time. She finally, and by finally I mean after a year or so, got tired of doing all the extra work. I still ask her if she wants to look stuff over, but she usually declines now.
I used a similar tactic to the boss before that. He took some of my work away from me, which I had been doing for 7 years, and would not delegate other stuff. I let him do that. Guy was working 70 hour weeks while I was doing 40. I let him keep all the work and made no effort to take any away from him. Dude left after 2 years. Sadly, I later had to spend a lot of time fixing stuff he screwed up, but the whole thing was rather funny.
Let micro managers micro manage. Flood them! Ask them to micro manage everything! Quietly get co-workers to do the same. You can really use their bad management against them!
I used a similar tactic to the boss before that. He took some of my work away from me, which I had been doing for 7 years, and would not delegate other stuff. I let him do that. Guy was working 70 hour weeks while I was doing 40. I let him keep all the work and made no effort to take any away from him. Dude left after 2 years. Sadly, I later had to spend a lot of time fixing stuff he screwed up, but the whole thing was rather funny.
Let micro managers micro manage. Flood them! Ask them to micro manage everything! Quietly get co-workers to do the same. You can really use their bad management against them!
Without getting into specifics, this same thing has happened at my last two jobs. Someone rocks the boat, either just because they can or because at a glance they decide the current methods aren't working, and they would rather have everyone adhere to their tried and true way of doing things as opposed to analyzing the current processes/procedures/etc and seeing what works and why, then coming up with a compromise that bets suits them and the department(s).
IME if this person fills a certain niche, has a lot of potential in a certain area, etc, and the company deems them more valuable (or harder to replace) than the individuals below them, nothing will be done. At my last job our entire department - approx 20 people (about 1/3 of the company) - had a meeting with execs and outlined a LONG list of documented complaints about a supervisor...some of which were clear HR violations. What happened? Those of us with the worst issues (biggest problem(s) with said supervisor) were moved over to the other supervisor of our dept. So basically they shifted people around, said our complaint was noted, and we were offered an apology for 2 particular incidents. Nothing changed...the supervisor stayed on and continued the behavior that prompted the meeting, tip-toeing on the edge so no clear policy violations occurred, and over the course of the next year everyone that complained and worked under her was let go for various reasons.
Not all companies are like this and it may very well go in your favor causing some things to change...but IME I've only ever seen it backfire on the employees reporting the demoralizing behavior. I'm not saying you should do nothing, but whatever you do, think it through and tread lightly...
I agree, ime quite a lot of them are, in fact if you appear to 'outshine' a little, that will get you the red dot as well.
I'd take your time Relic, see what happens in the near future with this.
Nice to see you back btw
How about an anonymous letter addressed to management (I'd make as many copies as there are bosses of hers within said company) detailing everything you mentioned here, stating that these radical changes are affecting productivity and morale?
Maybe *somebody* will eventually catch on and consider telling her to take her foot off the gas pedal.
Maybe *somebody* will eventually catch on and consider telling her to take her foot off the gas pedal.
Upper management created the position for a reason. Those reasons may or may not make sense to the ground level employee, but to upper managment, it was obviously something that they felt would help them save time, process or money.
Perhaps things weren't as rosey prior to her arrival then you think?
Either way, I really like the overload the micro-manager post above.
I would also consider having my resume up to date and ready to be circulated should more change come to your company/department. It never hurts to be prepared...
Fishheadjoe
Perhaps things weren't as rosey prior to her arrival then you think?
Either way, I really like the overload the micro-manager post above.
I would also consider having my resume up to date and ready to be circulated should more change come to your company/department. It never hurts to be prepared...
Fishheadjoe
Yup. Not sure if she is one, but "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" seems to be a foreign concept to many MBAs.
Maybe. An analogy would be that it's like the guys in the trenches during WW1. They are hyper aware of everything that goes on within their little stretch of trenchline as they spend month after month there in that same spot battling it out. They may be fully aware that in their sector, they're winning. No doubt about it. Yet the entire front may be about to collapse and they would be blissfully unaware - I get it, I really do.
I seriously doubt that things are worse than I thought, but I'll leave the door open for that. So that brings me to my original question - how is abysmal morale, poor performance and greatly increased stress helping? If anything, it again comes back to the manager in question for a complete lack of the ability to communicate and motivate, no?
