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I'll preface this by saying that the last organization I worked for was a real 'poo' show. It was a essentially government-funded agency with a shoddy corporate culture at best, and a toxic culture at its worst. Lots of manipulation, back stabbing, and politics. I just happened to get a job in one of the least liked departments in the agency, as well as under some of the least liked managers within the agency. That carried over to how others, who didn't know us well, perceived us. Of course, those who did know me and my co workers liked us, and new that we were trying our best to right a sinking ship.
When a new, very young and inexperienced manager came in near the end of my tenure, it became very apparent that they were trying to "clean house" of anyone they considered a threat. If you didn't get with their program, you were going to be on the outside looking in. One of my last experiences with that manager was my annual performance review, all of which she oversaw maybe 2% of after she started. While the review was generally positive (or neutral rather), there were a good number of unfair and inaccurate assessments that did not portray me in the best light. It became apparent to me that I was considered one of the old manager's hires, and was not viewed in the most positive light, despite only being there for a couple of years. So I did what any sensical person would do, and I booked it.
At my new employer, the culture is a complete 180. My manager LOVES me. She is constantly showering me with praise and encouragement. After my first performance review, she indicated to me that she recommended me for the highest bonus rate and merit increase. My team mates are also supportive and always sending praise at a job well done. Ironically enough, I feel like I've yet to really prove myself at this organization, as I'm still learning a lot of new things. Meanwhile, I felt like I was overproducing for my role at the previous organization, but never felt an inkling of appreciation.
It is very interesting to me how you're treated and perceived can be so drastically different from one place to the next. I was an outsider with my former manager, i.e. the other guy's hire, while I've become the bee's knees with my new manager and team. I finally feel appreciated, in fact perhaps a little over appreciated at times. And honestly, after the toxic experiences at the old job, this is just what the doctor ordered for my recovery after being disregarded for nearly two years.
Have you ever encountered such a drastic change in culture and treatment from one employer to the next? Was it for the better, or for the worse?
Last edited by Sir Quotes A Lot; 12-11-2018 at 11:46 AM..
Yup. Has happened to me many times. And I was about to post a thread as well. I went from super star at my last job to “terrible” in the one I was just fired from. For a myriad of reasons you can do the same stuff and be completely right or completely wrong.
There is always room for improvement and reflection but it is not always you exclusively by any means.
I loved being the superstar. Hopefully it happens in my next gig. I found that plenty of my former colleagues and even mangers have felt I was under appreciated and utilized and are cheerleaders to make that happen for me.
Yup. Has happened to me many times. And I was about to post a thread as well. I went from super star at my last job to “terrible” in the one I was just fired from. For a myriad of reasons you can do the same stuff and be completely right or completely wrong.
There is always room for improvement and reflection but it is not always you exclusively by any means.
Valid and good point. We can always improve, but it's not always about what we are doing. Sometimes it's just politics, and unfortunately, sometimes it's just dirty politics.
It certainly makes you appreciate those environments where you are treated well. Not only does this make me want to work hard for my manager, it also makes me never want to leave this organization, or my manager, for as long as I am working for them.
Imagine that. Respecting your peers and subordinates and treating them with kindness and empathy has positive effects on morale, dedication, and loyalty.
Certainly. I've even had it in the same job where the only change was one manager left and a new manager came in. I've even felt like a yoyo as managers changed every couple years.
I was definitely a superstar at my last job - had built up a LOT of respect and kudos in my 8+ years there. It was tough to leave, but new management came in that didn't know my contributions and I could tell my position was being considered for budget cuts.
In my current job, I know that I'm appreciated and feel confident I'm doing a good job, but I'm not doing an EXCELLENT job in their eyes. I'm strictly meeting their expectations. And they have said that is perfectly fine for someone only a year into the job. But it was made clear that in 2019 I need to work a bit harder to learn more about the company and become a true expert in some areas if I want to grow (I do).
I did have a meeting last week with my boss so she could go over her desired career path for me, and it's a GREAT path. But it involves a lot of work, so 2019 will be a make or break year for me in that regard.
My last job was so awful at disengaging permatemp h#llhole that I was so highly motivated at my next job to excel and never end up back there or one of the similar low quality employers in my profession that I ended up being a superstar. Some places just don't appreciate, fail to develop, and fail to motivate talent.
It is very interesting to me how you're treated and perceived can be so drastically different from one place to the next. I was an outsider with my former manager, i.e. the other guy's hire, while I've become the bee's knees with my new manager and team. I finally feel appreciated, in fact perhaps a little over appreciated at times. And honestly, after the toxic experiences at the old job, this is just what the doctor ordered for my recovery after being disregarded for nearly two years.
At pretty much every employer I've been at. Favoritism is almost always a big factor in the corporate workplace.
Though I will say, I'm willing to work hard, long hours where most people are not. I'm still at work now, and this place is a graveyard. So, nobody would ever question my work ethic.
But a lot of people wouldn't hesitate to call me an idiot (behind my back of course).
The one thing I will say about favoritism in the workplace, is that people can only ever see their own predicament.
Maybe it sucked for you before and now you're at a place where the manager loves you and somebody else is being unfairly treated. It typically is the case.
So, it might be great for you, but not so great for somebody else...
At pretty much every employer I've been at. Favoritism is almost always a big factor in the corporate workplace.
Though I will say, I'm willing to work hard, long hours where most people are not. I'm still at work now, and this place is a graveyard. So, nobody would ever question my work ethic.
But a lot of people wouldn't hesitate to call me an idiot (behind my back of course).
The one thing I will say about favoritism in the workplace, is that people can only ever see their own predicament.
Maybe it sucked for you before and now you're at a place where the manager loves you and somebody else is being unfairly treated. It typically is the case.
So, it might be great for you, but not so great for somebody else...
I just find it baffling how you can be perceived completely differently by two different sets of people while not demonstrating different personality traits or work ethic. In fact, because we were such an understaffed, under funded agency, I was responsible for far more work before than I am in my current role. Additionally, I far exceeded my co-workers in terms of skills, experience, and technical output. Now, I feel like just middle of the pack average in my current role. Many of my co-workers are highly experienced in this particular area, and their skill sets are far more technical than mine. And yet, as you put it, my manager really appreciates me regardless. I'm still the same person I was at the other place; kind, considerate, good team player, , willing to go above and beyond to get the job done, etc. But I was treated like a leper during my last few months at company A. Now I'm treated with the utmost respect and appreciation.
I don't agree, however, that another co-worker is automatically being shafted or treated unfairly. I personally don't think it's in my current manager's DNA to act that way; she's just a very sweet person in general. One of the best people I've ever had the pleasure of working for.
Last edited by Sir Quotes A Lot; 12-11-2018 at 06:13 PM..
I just find it baffling how you can be perceived completely differently by two different sets of people while not demonstrating different personality traits or work ethic. In fact, because we were such an understaffed, under funded agency, I was responsible for far more work before than I am in my current role. Additionally, I far exceeded my co-workers in terms of skills, experience, and technical output. Now, I feel like just middle of the pack average in my current role. Many of my co-workers are highly experienced in this particular area, and their skill sets are far more technical than mine. And yet, as you put it, my manager really appreciates me regardless. I'm still the same person I was at the other place; kind, considerate, good team player, , willing to go above and beyond to get the job done, etc. But I was treated like a leper during my last few months at company A. Now I'm treated with the utmost respect and appreciation.
I don't agree, however, that another co-worker is automatically being shafted or treated unfairly. I personally don't think it's in my current manager's DNA to act that way; she's just a very sweet person in general. One of the best people I've ever had the pleasure of working for.
There's so many factors by which to judge workers that its a very complex process. Just as a few examples...
-You have people who work hard or long hours but are slower perhaps.
-You have people who do good work but have poor personal skills (or at least what their manager perceives to be so).
-You have people who are really smart, but have large egos.
-You have people who don't work very hard, and make just as many mistakes as everybody else, but because they have confident, domineering personalities, and portray themselves as 'anal, retentive', they get respect from a lot of people.
This is just a snapshot.
I have found that 1 out of 4 managers heavily favor other employees, and maybe 1 out 10 tries to be completely fair and base evaluation on the overall production and improvement post-criticism of a worker. And I say this as somebody who is also a manager.
The rest are somewhere in between.
Because there's so many different ways to judge employees, it's so easy to be unfair. And the majority of people are in fact ... unfair and favor employees.
I'll preface this by saying that the last organization I worked for was a real 'poo' show. It was a essentially government-funded agency with a shoddy corporate culture at best, and a toxic culture at its worst. Lots of manipulation, back stabbing, and politics. I just happened to get a job in one of the least liked departments in the agency, as well as under some of the least liked managers within the agency. That carried over to how others, who didn't know us well, perceived us. Of course, those who did know me and my co workers liked us, and new that we were trying our best to right a sinking ship.
(snip interesting details)
Have you ever encountered such a drastic change in culture and treatment from one employer to the next? Was it for the better, or for the worse?
Why, yes I have! Trying not to laugh out loud too much...stay long enough in business you'll see damn near everything, for good or ill.
I've worked for some of the tech major, household names here in Seattle as an employee. Why bother dropping names. Several, for years. At those one can be successful in one team, and not so much in another. That's a big company for you. Big companies drive me insane, which took me ten years to figure out, unless I'm on the periphery and can escape the political machinations.
I just spent a year and a half as a high-end hired gun, brought in as an end-run around BS policies post-dating a big layoff that blasted a hole in an organization that still had deadlines, still had standards to be upheld. What did I care, they paid me enough I'm thinking might be able to hit the big red 'eject' button a year earlier now (long-term).
It was a really enjoyable year, I was a rock star and rewarded as-such. It was work I am born to do and I made another couple key contacts, too. I'll never forget how fun, how cutting-edge much of that was (mostly Azure delivery, for the nerds) onsite sometimes at companies from Hoboken to San Diego, Tulsa to Chicago. I flew into O'Hare so many time past few years, not even funny.
Compare/contrast to working *for* said-tech major, couple years prior, where I consistently received mediocre praise for my output, despite literally working 2x as hard and 1.5x the hours. I simple could not get over the hump, and reached the point of resigning while still in everyone's good graces, with big severance and handshakes all around. I think they were glad I didn't sue them.
Point being, I'm still me, my skills have been ramping past five-ten years, but not that much to warrant night and day performance evaluations (and consummate hot coals poured on me, or freakin' huge bonus checks). Who knows? Get the hell out of a bad scene, when you can, and milk the good one for career advancement!
In fact, the latter rosy scenario is about to vault me into my next promotion outside the company, pretty sure...
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