Job ponderings

[GhostSixFour]

I technically am a health systems monitoring and evaluation specialist, currently in charge of the research data for a rather large health research project. I'm not an IT guy, if that helps. I have a masters in Psychology, with a specialization in Health Promotion and Communication

That's why you're sitting here pondering about your job....... Wait, that's philosophy

 

[Ancalagon]

I think the truth is somewhere in the middle and it might depend on your experiences.

I've never had these ruthless bosses that some posters describe. My bosses have generally been good, and interested in my development. They have generally been pretty fair, and none of them have been vindictive or nasty. I've worked for a boss who didn't have a clue what he was doing, but he wasn't a bad person, just useless and pretentious.

That is why, I think these days it makes sense to have loyalty to people, not companies. You don't screw people over - which goes for either direction. However, I think loyalty to a company makes absolutely no sense, especially larger companies. With a smaller company, the distinction between company and person gets much smaller.

 

[F1ve_Claw]

My boss is the owner, which makes it a little awkward. She isn't that bad to be honest, but you definitely know that you are not seen as an asset, more as a commodity

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

My boss is the owner, which makes it a little awkward. She isn't that bad to be honest, but you definitely know that you are not seen as an asset, more as a commodity

Im Sure I'm gonna get roasted alive for this but here goes......... :-D

that makes sense then, these days the bosses calculate you according to a tool, like an air conditioner, or a pencil, and replace you at will almost like a broken pencil or a worn out air con
you should see what accountants and HR people look at at the end of the day, the bottom line and using that cold inhuman aspect they decide your fate.

I blame accountants and other people who "measure" every little thing you give,
not like it was in the previous generation where you were "measured" differently according to the human worth you brought that business, which is really hard sometimes to "measure"

let me give you an example:
say you develop a way to make life easier for your fellow employees, ie: instead of phone calls to check on drivers delivering you institute a way to use PPT on cellphones, Vodacom has an offering like this.

you set it up initially and then what happens?

its your baby, ANYTHING that goes wrong with it, its your problem, anything that dont work with it, Its your problem.
and surprise surprise,come bonus or raise time?

big fat ZERO........

this is what im saying people are not "measured" the way they used to be, in the previous generation for making a system more efficient you would get a bonus, a holiday, maybe even a nice plaque, and nobody would make it your problem to fix it everybody would work together to make it work.

now im sure I am generalizing to a GREAT degree here, but from the places I have seen so far nobody rewards people like they used to, its all about the bottom line these days as a previous poster mentioned, no more looking after employees.

or as Richard Branson once said:

"train people well enough to leave, treat them well so they wont want to" .

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

I had a specific CEO that enjoyed being a di$k. He saw it as being "driven" seen as he built up his company from scratch.

I warned the IT Director and my Manager that they need to allow the staff to grow and learn from some of their mistakes and not be so harsh, seen as the team was relatively new, +/- 6 months average length of service at the company at the time.

Eventually I said a solid FU to them and promptly found another position and every month following that(the entire team of 16 is gone) - they've lost at least 1-2 employees in the development team there. It culminated in the IT Director eventually falling on his sword and leaving that place as well.

So I went past there during that final month to deliver a solid - I told you so.

this is exactly what I mean, could have made it better for everybody, could have made a REAL difference to people around him.
but what did he get? a giant FU and made it 10 times worse for everybody else.

story of the corporate world ladies and gents, his is exactly why the world of work these days is killing people,
id hate to see where this is all leading to? what will the landscape look like in 20 years, when many people would like to retire.

soon we will get "karoshi" in ZA , or suicides from office blocks, already happening in China, why not here.

 

[aigle2am]

I had a specific CEO that enjoyed being a di$k. He saw it as being "driven" seen as he built up his company from scratch.

I warned the IT Director and my Manager that they need to allow the staff to grow and learn from some of their mistakes and not be so harsh, seen as the team was relatively new, +/- 6 months average length of service at the company at the time.

Eventually I said a solid FU to them and promptly found another position and every month following that(the entire team of 16 is gone) - they've lost at least 1-2 employees in the development team there. It culminated in the IT Director eventually falling on his sword and leaving that place as well.

So I went past there during that final month to deliver a solid - I told you so.

I had warned the senior management at my previous company as well. We were a team of 4, in 3 months only the manager was left all alone. He tried to bring me back offering just R2000 more than my current salary. I told him to fly a kite.

My observation is that managers do not seem to know how to manage developers or people in the IT sector. Most companies depend heavily on the IT department and loosing them can have serious consequence. My previous employers CEO lost his post as a result of it all. They contact me to do freelance work for them, which I turned down flatly.

 

[oober]

Being loyal won't get you far, stay a year, if you don't get the money you want say 15-20% increase, after asking nicely leave. I've tried the loyal route, doesn't work unless you get a company that look after their employees.

Better yet when you have the experience start doing contracting if you can.

 

[CamiKaze]

My observation is that managers do not seem to know how to manage developers or people in the IT sector.

This.

 

[TelkomUseless]

I had warned the senior management at my previous company as well. We were a team of 4, in 3 months only the manager was left all alone. He tried to bring me back offering just R2000 more than my current salary. I told him to fly a kite.

My observation is that managers do not seem to know how to manage developers or people in the IT sector. Most companies depend heavily on the IT department and loosing them can have serious consequence. My previous employers CEO lost his post as a result of it all. They contact me to do freelance work for them, which I turned down flatly.

Yea, I had the same. Company got new CTO.. big whoo waa, he just saw all the devs as replace-by-cheap-labour-now. He thought anyone (read cheap labour) can do the work (lots of business logic, financials in the app). People left and the new cheap labour product burned money and created huge new problems...

But he was clever, he saw the trouble coming so he jumped shipped... left the company with almost no devs, no maintenance people for the financial system. He basically left them high and dry.

Yea.. so much for "good" management..

 

[Sonic2k]

Being loyal won't get you far, stay a year, if you don't get the money you want say 15-20% increase, after asking nicely leave. I've tried the loyal route, doesn't work unless you get a company that look after their employees.

Better yet when you have the experience start doing contracting if you can.

Best advice ever.... read what this forum member is saying!
He speaks the truth! I kid you not!

But he was clever, he saw the trouble coming so he jumped shipped... left the company with almost no devs, no maintenance people for the financial system. He basically left them high and dry.

This is what they do yes, have seen it happen in my lifetime, in front of me.

 

[Ancalagon]

Yea, I had the same. Company got new CTO.. big whoo waa, he just saw all the devs as replace-by-cheap-labour-now. He thought anyone (read cheap labour) can do the work (lots of business logic, financials in the app). People left and the new cheap labour product burned money and created huge new problems...

But he was clever, he saw the trouble coming so he jumped shipped... left the company with almost no devs, no maintenance people for the financial system. He basically left them high and dry.

Yea.. so much for "good" management..

Lots of people jump ship. The interesting thing is that, if you asked him what went wrong at that company, I sincerely believe that he would not see his own fault. He would think that the developers were lazy. Or he would blame the CEO. He would be incapable of seeing that he was wrong.

 

[Sonic2k]

Lots of people jump ship. The interesting thing is that, if you asked him what went wrong at that company, I sincerely believe that he would not see his own fault. He would think that the developers were lazy. Or he would blame the CEO. He would be incapable of seeing that he was wrong.

Indeed.
These kinds of managers, got into the hot seat by smooth-talking their way in, or creative means. They are so out of their depth, they usually screw up each company they go to.