3 ms·

Let me tell you a short story. I worked at a company for almost 2 years. One day my manager calls me into his office. He asks me: "Do you like working here?" I

Let me tell you a short story. I worked at a company for almost 2 years. One day my manager calls me into his office. He asks me: "Do you like working here?" I pause for a moment, then respond "No. Not really." He then says "Alright then. You are fired." In my particular situation, I pretty much knew what was actually going on and why. I could have handed him a letter of my two week resignation instead of going through the ridiculous charade of "do you like working here?" There is good reason why people hand in resignations before asking for the details. The chance that you will get suddenly terminated for no apparent reason is very real. Was I fired for a valid reason from the company? Nope. My performance reviews etc were very high. The manager just didn't like me and the feeling was mutual. As another example, if one is not enough: Another place I worked at, also for almost 2 years. I work there through a consulting group. One day my consulting group handler comes to the office and says we need to talk and asks me to come to lunch. No notice before he showed up. After leaving the secure facility, he asks me for my access card and informs me I have been fired. I ask why. He says that no reason was given. I keep pestering the guy, who I know fairly well, to try to get some sort of explanation. Eventually he says that the only explanation he was given is that the company said I am too smart. He said it doesn't make any sense and he doesn't get it either. To this day I don't know why I was let go from that position. If I'm at a job and things look like they are going sour; it is time for hardball. I assume that I could be fired at any moment at all times, and I make sure I am prepared for it. You think "Two weeks is bullshit"? Two weeks is generous.

alexasmyths 9y ago
It should probably be 'one month' and it should go both ways. Also - if you've ever been a manager, you'd realize that what is 'bs' is that you think you can just 'do your job' in the terms that you think it exists. I literally have this problem right now with an Eng. who's decent, he technically moves the schedule forward roughly on time - but he's impossible to deal with, cynical at every turn, always negative, does not offer up flexible options when he should - and I hate having to speak to him, it ruins my day. So does he 'do his job' - he could argue that he does. I have only a few complaints about his ability - but working on a team goes quite a bit beyond that. I'm about to let him go and I will accept someone who is not quite as good in his wake if they are a better communicator -this person will be more valuable to the company - and my peace of mind is worth something. For professionals - if you 'don't like working somewhere' you should probably leave. Life is too short. It's probably worth taking a little bit of a pay cut to work where you get along.
- nanoscopic 9y ago
  I've found that many of the best engineers are quite terrible at interacting with other human beings. What matters to me is only if they deliver. If the bottom line is met and the work is getting done and done well, then it doesn't matter to me if the engineers are complete assholes. Feel free to drop me a pm of the engineer you are canning; I'd be happy to connect with him on LinkedIn. Your note of "If you don't like working somewhere you should leave" doesn't really work. You have to stay at companies for a specific amount of time or you will end up with too many different positions on your resume and be unemployable. It is better to stay suffering even at a place you hate to build your resume. Leaving when things aren't going well, or allowing them to get to the point where you need to leave is bad advice. I am living proof of this. I have worked at 8 different positions in the past 17 years. By all reasonable notions I should be employed at a Principal Engineer level. That said, I am unemployable. I am on unemployment and apply to the most reasonably suited positions I can ever week, for 5 months now. I have only been contacted back maybe 10 times in that entire period and made it to 1 in person interview. If you want to have a job, don't leave, even if it sucks, even if all you coworkers tell you "you can easily get another job". When you have an offer in hand; then feel free to quit. Otherwise stay put and try not to cause trouble.
  - mr_spothawk 9y ago
    > Otherwise stay put and try not to cause trouble. or figure out how to work for yourself. > I am living proof of this. I have worked at 8 different positions in the past 17 years. If you have 17 years of work history, consider applying to a place and only telling them about the last 5 years... see where that gets you.
- Jach 9y ago
  He'll probably be happy you're letting him go, it's not unlikely he's just disinterested but is cozy enough to avoid seeking someplace better. Maybe he likes some of the other engineers, just not management or the work in particular. I just hope you're this direct when he asks why, and that it's more than just you who is frustrated. I think 2 weeks is fine unless there's a lot of knowledge transfer to be done, but that implies another problem... One should do one's job in the way one's manager thinks it exists, no less, but the manager needs to make their expectations clear. I had a team member similar to the guy you describe though as an engineer I enjoyed working with him even though management thought he was a negative influence due to his cynicism, negativity, "lack of fire in the belly", etc. He was told as much and asked to change but he ended up leaving the company. From the engineering side management of that team was just bad, a few months later those of us remaining switched to different teams. Edit: also some people won't like their job no matter what it is if they aren't the ones defining it. They should start a startup, but before that it's not a bad idea to eat and build up a nest egg. Personal job satisfaction is overrated anyway.

alexasmyths 9y ago

It should probably be 'one month' and it should go both ways. Also - if you've ever been a manager, you'd realize that what is 'bs' is that you think you can just 'do your job' in the terms that you think it exists. I literally have this problem right now with an Eng. who's decent, he technically moves the schedule forward roughly on time - but he's impossible to deal with, cynical at every turn, always negative, does not offer up flexible options when he should - and I hate having to speak to him, it ruins my day. So does he 'do his job' - he could argue that he does. I have only a few complaints about his ability - but working on a team goes quite a bit beyond that. I'm about to let him go and I will accept someone who is not quite as good in his wake if they are a better communicator -this person will be more valuable to the company - and my peace of mind is worth something. For professionals - if you 'don't like working somewhere' you should probably leave. Life is too short. It's probably worth taking a little bit of a pay cut to work where you get along.

nanoscopic 9y ago
I've found that many of the best engineers are quite terrible at interacting with other human beings. What matters to me is only if they deliver. If the bottom line is met and the work is getting done and done well, then it doesn't matter to me if the engineers are complete assholes. Feel free to drop me a pm of the engineer you are canning; I'd be happy to connect with him on LinkedIn. Your note of "If you don't like working somewhere you should leave" doesn't really work. You have to stay at companies for a specific amount of time or you will end up with too many different positions on your resume and be unemployable. It is better to stay suffering even at a place you hate to build your resume. Leaving when things aren't going well, or allowing them to get to the point where you need to leave is bad advice. I am living proof of this. I have worked at 8 different positions in the past 17 years. By all reasonable notions I should be employed at a Principal Engineer level. That said, I am unemployable. I am on unemployment and apply to the most reasonably suited positions I can ever week, for 5 months now. I have only been contacted back maybe 10 times in that entire period and made it to 1 in person interview. If you want to have a job, don't leave, even if it sucks, even if all you coworkers tell you "you can easily get another job". When you have an offer in hand; then feel free to quit. Otherwise stay put and try not to cause trouble.
- mr_spothawk 9y ago
  > Otherwise stay put and try not to cause trouble. or figure out how to work for yourself. > I am living proof of this. I have worked at 8 different positions in the past 17 years. If you have 17 years of work history, consider applying to a place and only telling them about the last 5 years... see where that gets you.
Jach 9y ago
He'll probably be happy you're letting him go, it's not unlikely he's just disinterested but is cozy enough to avoid seeking someplace better. Maybe he likes some of the other engineers, just not management or the work in particular. I just hope you're this direct when he asks why, and that it's more than just you who is frustrated. I think 2 weeks is fine unless there's a lot of knowledge transfer to be done, but that implies another problem... One should do one's job in the way one's manager thinks it exists, no less, but the manager needs to make their expectations clear. I had a team member similar to the guy you describe though as an engineer I enjoyed working with him even though management thought he was a negative influence due to his cynicism, negativity, "lack of fire in the belly", etc. He was told as much and asked to change but he ended up leaving the company. From the engineering side management of that team was just bad, a few months later those of us remaining switched to different teams. Edit: also some people won't like their job no matter what it is if they aren't the ones defining it. They should start a startup, but before that it's not a bad idea to eat and build up a nest egg. Personal job satisfaction is overrated anyway.