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Disengagement: we get emails saying how profitable we are, the directors drive super-nice cars ... but we get cost-of-living pay increases, no bonuses. Why shou

Disengagement: we get emails saying how profitable we are, the directors drive super-nice cars ... but we get cost-of-living pay increases, no bonuses. Why should we be 'engaged'? Feels like we're getting ripped off.

ravenstine 8y ago
And then we're told it's not enough to just show up and do the job that was initially asked of us. It's especially worse as a company continues to mature, which means that it gradually loses the benefits that once made working there worth it because reasons. I'm talking things like free snacks, paying auto detailers to show up at the parking lot to wash cars once a week, gym discounts, etc. And it's usually by the time they cut these corners that they start coming up with ideas like "employee engagement." Maybe buzzwords like that wouldn't be needed in the first place if your employees were simply happy to do their jobs; now this faux-philosophical mumbo jumbo has to be inserted and the job needs to mean something. No, screw employees being enthusiastic and committed to work because it benefits their lives outside of work... we need them to be enthusiastic and committed to work for the sake of it so we can pay them less. (is what it comes down to)
- mpweiher 8y ago
  Q.: What do you want to accomplish here? A.: Provide services in return for financial compensation. Q.: Where do you see yourself in 10 years time? A.: Providing services in return for financial compensation.
  - ravenstine 8y ago
    I take it there's a bit of tongue in cheek there. Heh. People should, ideally, have a level of passion for what they do. Employers looking for employees with passion can swing too far the other way. We shouldn't kid ourselves that money is almost always almost everything, and many of us would have entirely different occupations without financial dependence.
    - mpweiher 8y ago
      "Passion" tends to be a one-way street, and in many ways is the opposite of the more important attribute of professionalism. I am passionate about my work, my craft, etc. Companies tend to have exactly zero loyalty or "passion" towards/for people, by design and by necessity. If you are led to believe it is different, you are most likely being misled, for example in order to pay you less (as you pointed out before). I actually find this sort of "company culture" that demands your whole being to be creepy bordering on totalitarian.
      - aaaaaaaaaab 8y ago
        This. It’s not enough that you’re damn good at your job, you have to be “passionate”! Dear employers, most of your stuff is mundane and boring. But that’s perfectly fine! If you pay us we will do our jobs very well. However, if you want us to be passionate about integrating the n+1-th tracking library into a website, or writing that ETL script, then be prepared to be lied to.
  - sverige 8y ago
    All the while thinking about how you can figure out a way to make enough to sustain your family's life style while doing something that doesn't involve employee engagement surveys...
  - UncleSlacky 8y ago
    Reminds me of https://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=3454 https://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=3454
    - mpweiher 8y ago
      Looking at it, that‘s probably where I got it from, thanks for finding!
paulie_a 8y ago
You read work emails? I get so many that 99 percent get deleted in bulk. I've probably read 30 this year. Apparently if it's important someone will come ask if I got the email within 5 minutes anyways

ravenstine 8y ago

And then we're told it's not enough to just show up and do the job that was initially asked of us. It's especially worse as a company continues to mature, which means that it gradually loses the benefits that once made working there worth it because reasons. I'm talking things like free snacks, paying auto detailers to show up at the parking lot to wash cars once a week, gym discounts, etc. And it's usually by the time they cut these corners that they start coming up with ideas like "employee engagement." Maybe buzzwords like that wouldn't be needed in the first place if your employees were simply happy to do their jobs; now this faux-philosophical mumbo jumbo has to be inserted and the job needs to mean something. No, screw employees being enthusiastic and committed to work because it benefits their lives outside of work... we need them to be enthusiastic and committed to work for the sake of it so we can pay them less. (is what it comes down to)

mpweiher 8y ago
Q.: What do you want to accomplish here? A.: Provide services in return for financial compensation. Q.: Where do you see yourself in 10 years time? A.: Providing services in return for financial compensation.
- ravenstine 8y ago
  I take it there's a bit of tongue in cheek there. Heh. People should, ideally, have a level of passion for what they do. Employers looking for employees with passion can swing too far the other way. We shouldn't kid ourselves that money is almost always almost everything, and many of us would have entirely different occupations without financial dependence.
  - mpweiher 8y ago
    "Passion" tends to be a one-way street, and in many ways is the opposite of the more important attribute of professionalism. I am passionate about my work, my craft, etc. Companies tend to have exactly zero loyalty or "passion" towards/for people, by design and by necessity. If you are led to believe it is different, you are most likely being misled, for example in order to pay you less (as you pointed out before). I actually find this sort of "company culture" that demands your whole being to be creepy bordering on totalitarian.
    - aaaaaaaaaab 8y ago
      This. It’s not enough that you’re damn good at your job, you have to be “passionate”! Dear employers, most of your stuff is mundane and boring. But that’s perfectly fine! If you pay us we will do our jobs very well. However, if you want us to be passionate about integrating the n+1-th tracking library into a website, or writing that ETL script, then be prepared to be lied to.
- sverige 8y ago
  All the while thinking about how you can figure out a way to make enough to sustain your family's life style while doing something that doesn't involve employee engagement surveys...
- UncleSlacky 8y ago
  Reminds me of https://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=3454 https://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=3454
  - mpweiher 8y ago
    Looking at it, that‘s probably where I got it from, thanks for finding!

paulie_a 8y ago

You read work emails? I get so many that 99 percent get deleted in bulk. I've probably read 30 this year. Apparently if it's important someone will come ask if I got the email within 5 minutes anyways