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I started my working life in the mid 1990s and have noticed this as well. I have worked across a number of industries and three different countries (NZ, UK and Australia) and have sadly noticed this trend. My thoughts:
- I think the GFC has made people more fearful of their jobs and any social time within the working day is seen as unproductive
- the increasing use of email is overloading people's inboxes. I think that people tend to worry more about leaving people out of communications therefore we all seem to spend more and more time each day filtering through them all
- expectations seem to be higher and higher. As consumers we are demanding more and better product which puts the squeeze on companies to be more efficient
- I believe that people are more tied into debt cycles, paying off bigger and bigger loans and are therefore more fearful of jeopardising their positions and/or working longer hours. Australia in particular has seem enormous growth in house prices over the last 10-15 years. Grocery prices and utilities have risen at very high rates also
My working life started out terrifically. Admittedly it was for a Govt dept in NZ - generous breaks, hacy sac with work colleagues once or twice a day and socialisation after work and weekend trips away. That could have been more a reflection of my age, but those days have now gone.
Something that was news to me in 2013 is companies who have their employees on not only Outlook but also an extra instant messaging program, like they are policing employees and keeping them chained to their desks.
There was a time when employers valued their workers, spent money and time training them, and provided all sorts of benefits to keep them happy so they wouldn't leave.
Nowadays, employers don't train, they constantly remind their workers that they are easily replaceable, pay bottom dollar, and fire them for any little thing.
This hits the nail squarely on the head, you are exactly right.
There was a time when employers valued their workers, spent money and time training them, and provided all sorts of benefits to keep them happy so they wouldn't leave.
Nowadays, employers don't train, they constantly remind their workers that they are easily replaceable, pay bottom dollar, and fire them for any little thing.
I agree with this post as well. The mentality now from the employer is that the employee should be thankful just to have a job and a paycheck. While I can understand this up to a certain point, it is now widely abused to bring wages down.
My wife got backstabbed by a person who she considered a very close friend. This is what happened- The so called friend had somehow got told by management that the department wasn't moving fast enough so my wife got told this. " My was called into the office for a verbal warning" Management said her so called friend told management told them about my wife's speed. My wife told management to call the so called friend to the office and it was comfrumed. My wife just got back to work that week after having surgery. This job was in a grocery store recieving department so pushing and lifting was involved. I don't understand why my wife got slapped in the face like she did when she jumped through hoops for this person buy getting concert tickets for her and helping her with other things off work I thought they had a good friendship but I guess is wasn't to be.
I just saw this thread and I'm really enjoying it. A couple of things I want to add. People's experiences that are mention in this thread I've encountered in the last couple of years. At my first job out of college in 2012 everyone talked via skype. I was literally sitting next to a person as they believe in that open environment in which you share a table with several people, and he literally skyped me. I was no more then 5 feet away from him, and he skyped me. When you wanted to talk face to face, it's like a shock to these upper 20s and low 30s managers. God forbid you use your voice to communicate nowadays. I'm a young person, only 25, but I hate typing up everything in email and on skype. A simple question takes a good 5 to 20 minutes to get answered in an email when I can explain and get an answer in a minute if I talked face to face, but now that's considered rude by these managers as you are pestering them in their view.
I was let go from that job, and then at my last place I quit. There were a lot of reasons including me being unhappy with the position itself as it turned out to be a more cold sales position then an analytical and planning position I was hoping for, but the way they treated employees was ridiculous and made me realize I shouldn't stay there. My fellow co-worker, and the guy who was training me at the time, got fired one day. I found out he didn't meet my manager eye to eye on everything. Very shady stuff as he showed up early and left late everyday, and was always busy and didn't seem to slack off. Then when I ran into issues with a project I was working on, which my issues mostly consist of technical issues not working to an underestimate by me and my manager how long it would take, she did a 180 on me. All of a sudden her and my dotted line boss were snappy with me and not being helpful at all. Another example is I was responsible for creating a new report on cross selling performance. Now I had a deadline for a rough draft and a final report. I got my rough draft done several days early, but it took them over a week to get back to me. Then I asked, "When can we meet again so I can further input so I can make my deadline to get the final report done." She literally said, "My schedule doesn't reflect your deadlines." This report I was creating was her idea, and I needed input from her to make sure it is up to her standards, and somehow her schedule and willingness to not help or meet with me is my fault? Are you kidding me? Honestly that was the last straw, and there were other things about the role and place that made me uneasy and miserable.
I took a huge risk to leave without another job lined up, but fortunately I get financial help from family, and it helps that they know I'm honest and trustworthy as I like to explain everything that happens. I also have records, mostly printed emails and time stamps, showing how they were handling things to back up my claims and issues I brought up. That said, despite dealing with the job application process, I'm happier now then I have been in the last two years. Do I wish I was working, yes; however, I feel more dedicated and passionate trying to find something I want to do. I'm a young person, so my career is still in the early stages of development and I saw an opportunity to devote time to pursue a position I want. That said, it's a shame how awful the workplace has become. I've seen way too many people get fired for no good reason to management treating people like commodities. If the last place I worked at wasn't awful at treating people, I would probably still be there while trying to find a position I would want. For me the place and people made it so hard on me that I was losing sleep and not eating.
I know it's a job, but today's world and perceptions have made us to be consume by our work. They expect you know to be connected 24/7. They expect you to respond to that email inquiry no matter what time of the day is, even if you are eating dinner with family. They even get mad at you when you request time off for personal reasons like your kids birthday. I don't want to sound like a hippie, but life is too short to be miserable. Work is work, but there needs to be some enjoyment out of it. I think the enjoyment needs to come from the work itself. I feel like the environment should just be respectable in which you treat your employees as people. I'm not saying you need to be buddies with your boss, but understanding you might have an issue with a project and try to be there as your leader. Not use that as a reason to fire you. I don't expect parties and stuff in the workplace, but the fact I've seen environments in which managers scrutinize everybody, fire people who disagree with them, and continue to create an environment of fear is why morale is so low. No one can take a stand or speak out once a while anymore as the people in power are on an ego trip.
There was a time when employers valued their workers, spent money and time training them, and provided all sorts of benefits to keep them happy so they wouldn't leave.
Nowadays, employers don't train, they constantly remind their workers that they are easily replaceable, pay bottom dollar, and fire them for any little thing.
This is the god's honest truth. Sadly they, the employers, won't admit that, but they'll spout about how great the company's vision is and how they "care" about their people.
I think contracting out (beginning in the mid-eighties) brought out all the wrong things in the workplace.
Perhaps the attitude was already there, but I'd never, and never have, treated people the way people
have treated me.
It's almost like we've descended to the street skills of in the moment druggies. Hey, wait! We elected one as mayor of Toronto. The fat kid with lots of friends. Most of whom never grajiated.
Nothing beats phone calls or face to face conversations with nice people at work when you're having a rough day. It helps to cancel out other people's rudeness and you can also share some all-important humor and kind of recharge your mind.
I remember when my old job first began giving email to non-managers in the fall of 2001. It was a novelty and I remember thinking how great it was that you could communicate so precisely and easily using it. I thought: "Perfect - I don't have to worry about talking to someone unkind in person - I can use email and get the conversation over with quickly and painlessly". It seems like over the years some people have taken the basic convenience of email to extremes and now use it often as a way to bully and control others.
I think it's because companies don't think they really need us anymore. The American worker is getting phased out every so slowly. Think about it. Amazon wants to use drones to do their shipping, which means over time less people will get hired for shipping jobs-- drivers, package handlers, warehouse workers, etc. One small change like that creates waves changing the little things that affect us.
IMO, it'll just be a matter of years before there are hoards of unemployed workers with degrees and skills who will not be able to get ANYTHING because a robot, drone, or some other automated system has eliminated the job. It's all about saving a buck, and we human workers cost too much to pay.
You will still need technicians to fix the robots when they break, and mechanical things break, software malfunctions
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