What Was Your Worst Employment Nightmare?
Too?often a new job doesn’t live up to the the expectations described at the job interview. All too often when people are sacked or leave a job early it’s generally assumed that they were at fault. But is this true?
We are?interested to discover?how companies “welcome and manage new hires”, how people cope with the Company politics, the new boss and colleagues and the actions that each?group can undertake to make starting a new job more difficult.
For instance:
- What parts of the job were different to those described at the interview?
- What actions did boss undertake that made job difficult?
- Was the boss difficult to understand?
- What stupid rules did the company have?
- How did colleagues behave towards you?
- What actions did you take to resolve the situation?
(Please note that blogs containing named individuals and companies may be edited or not posted)
Too Many Boss’s assume that they have all the answers and are not prepared to consider that other people may have a valid contribution to make
Some years ago I observed a business consultant who changed careers to become a Sales Director and join a well-established company. The company promoted itself as a ?Specialist? in its sector. The culture was warm, paternalistic and many staff had been with the company for up to thirty or more years.
All started well. He announced a regeneration of the business with new products and more efficient processes. Then he began to force through changes. He began to criticise almost every aspect of the organisation and predicted demise for the company if his changes were not immediately adopted. Those that disagreed with him were marginalised and those that agreed became “Court favourites”.
The company was experiencing a new leadership style. One that harshly rejected the companies past successes and the paternalistic culture and wished to replace it by a less tolerant and less feelings oriented style. In addition he would gossip behind people’s backs.
The staff began to view the future with concern. The fear of being criticised resulted in people avoiding decisions that in the past would have been routine. Internal political manoeuvrings began to be adopted by people in order to make them ?look good?.
As the organisation was restructured there developed an attitude of conflict and competition between various departments in an effort to please various masters. Then came a twelve-month period of redundancies with jobs being created for the Sales Director?s old cronies. Morale dropped through the floor.
As morale fell, sales fell and costs increased. After two years of disasterous results the Sales Director was forced to resign and a few months later the company was looking for a business partner to rescue it.
Received from:
Darrel Whitten
Managing Director
Investor Networks Inc.
Managing Director
Whit Consulting, LLC
http://www.japaninvestor.com/
Having worked for three global investment banks in Japan since 1980, my experience is that many people made redundant or were sacked en mass became that way because of a failed management strategy. Companies moved into Japan with high hopes of generating nice profits, recruited people on the assurance that they were in Japan “for the long-term”, but then packed it in (i.e., withdrew from Japan) or drastically downsized their operations when short-term profit concerns compelled them to stem losses.
The people that believed the management pitch were left to fend for themselves, often with no notice period whatsoever, i.e., management calls everyone together for an “important” announcement, and then lines everyone up except for a few people needed to clean up the mess, and shoots the whole lot. The people who survive this experience of course seek employment elsewhere ASAP, while the vast majority of the people who were shot eventually find other employment in the industry.
For comparison, my first position in investment banking in Japan lasted 14 years, which was a period during which the market consistently expanded and therefore the industry was expanding. Once the market and the industry began to shrink, however, it became an issue of moving on before the ship sank, hopefully to a “surviving” firm.
When market conditions improved, these same firms that previously withdrew/downsized were scrambling to get back in the market and paying premium prices to attract qualified employees–at inflated prices of course. It is no wonder that employee turnover at such places is high. Employees basically become mercenaries with no firm loyalty whatsoever, moving to the highest bidder, and playing the game as long as it appears budgets are still adequate. Employees hoewver continued to migrate to the “surviving” companies, which continued to expand and deepen their business roots, even as the marginal companies continued to repeat the same mistakes. In my experience in the industry, it never ceasd to amaze me how some very highly educated people and successful in their home markets could continue making the same dumb mistakes in Japan.
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Darrel Whitten
Managing Director
Investor Networks Inc.
Managing Director
Whit Consulting, LLC
“Uncommon Commitment to Quality”
owner and publisher of;
The Japan Investor
Received from Philip Townsend:
To be sacked months after being employee of the month and just after the company announced there may be some redundancies make you very suspicious.
I was employed as a very expensive consultant for XXXX recovery, when one night I forgot to take my pager to bed with me and missed a call, this I might add was the very first time it had happened (missed a call that is) there was no “don’t let it happen again” or “this is your final warning” I was out asked to resign or be fired.
But as I say I am glad it happened and have been much happier and healthier since then.
Regards
Phil
http://www.allpersonalgifts.co.uk
by Alison McVey on 20-Sep-06 3:36pm
I never succeeded in any way shape of form, except the morning paper round as a teenager.
Got dismissed from my first Saturday job in a shoe shop because I wasn’t reaching my ‘sales target’. Sales target – for a Saturday job! I was obviously in the wrong place… and I don’t like being told what to do and what to think either.
Alison McVey ~ Life Coaching and Personal Development for Improved Health and Well Being
The Personal Foundation Programme ~CPD for Complementary Therapists and Alternative Health Practitioners
fast cash…
Like what you have to say. Your blog makes good since to me….
Thanks a lot for what You are doing!Information, that I managed to find here
is extremely useful and essential for me!With the best regards!
Frank
mt worst nightmare was a boss that refused to meet with me because he was too busy. As a result I didn’t know what I should be doing and eventually had to leave.
I think that part of the problem was that he was too shy. (very good at his job but couldn’t connect with people)