Shark-infested work culture? (profit, temporary, employer, job)
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Have you ever worked at a job where it seems like people can't focus on their actual work because staying afloat requires so much time/energy put into things like
* building alliances
* building new skills instead of becoming an expert in your area, because you know that your area will soon become obsolete
* justifying business value of your project
* staying "visible" ("look at this shiny thing I did")
* trying to get insider knowledge of upcoming re-orgs/RIFs/etc.
* making sure you look good relative to your team members (fixing low-priority bug at 1 a.m. on Saturday)
BusinessManIT or High Altitude likely have a story or two about these situations since I believe both were in IT.
Concerning my field
* building alliances
* building new skills instead of becoming an expert in your area, because you know that your area will soon become obsolete
* justifying business value of your project
* staying "visible" ("look at this shiny thing I did")
* trying to get insider knowledge of upcoming re-orgs/RIFs/etc.
* making sure you look good relative to your team members (fixing low-priority bug at 1 a.m. on Saturday)
- Alliances are now key in any Corporate environment and if you don't align with the Big Boss at the end of the day you are gone no matter how productive and profitable you make the company. I have been let go twice in my career despite being the top performer in the department in a given quarter. This was because I inadvertently insulted the Big Boss's ego, and the 2nd time it didn't matter that the client liked me. The client actually dropped the agency in part because of the unprofessional manner in which I was dismissed. This contributed to the department at the agency getting shuttered because that client constituted 40-50% of new billings in the quarter.
- In tech fields you always have to be in a constant state of learning. Since my world revolves around tech (Martech) similarly I have to adapt to new products/services and how it fits into achieving our business objectives
- Before we can even start a project we have to form a business use case or rationale
- Staying visible is a part of every Corporate job no matter the industry. If you manage a mission critical task you may not need to focus on this so much.
- Water cooler talk is always necessary even when you work remote. Setup occasional 1:1s with other team members to get their take on things. What is funny is I work remote but due to the low bandwidth of everyone I am not the last to know about anything. Sometimes I ask on-site team members in one of our hubs about the latest and they have no idea. Everyone is stretched thin right now so no one is exactly 100% in-the-know or ahead of the game so to speak.
- This depends on how your department is structured. If you are an individual contributor with minimal teamwork required it's best not to brag too much. If at least 50% of deliverables are contingent upon immediate group team members that report to your direct manager (or his/her manager) then yes occasionally you'll need to "shine" to stand out. If you don't like this focus on a speciality that no one else wants to do that remains mission critical to the business and you'll "shine" by default.
BusinessManIT or High Altitude likely have a story or two about these situations since I believe both were in IT.
Concerning my field
* building alliances
* building new skills instead of becoming an expert in your area, because you know that your area will soon become obsolete
* justifying business value of your project
* staying "visible" ("look at this shiny thing I did")
* trying to get insider knowledge of upcoming re-orgs/RIFs/etc.
* making sure you look good relative to your team members (fixing low-priority bug at 1 a.m. on Saturday)
- Alliances are now key in any Corporate environment and if you don't align with the Big Boss at the end of the day you are gone no matter how productive and profitable you make the company. I have been let go twice in my career despite being the top performer in the department in a given quarter. This was because I inadvertently insulted the Big Boss's ego, and the 2nd time it didn't matter that the client liked me. The client actually dropped the agency in part because of the unprofessional manner in which I was dismissed. This contributed to the department at the agency getting shuttered because that client constituted 40-50% of new billings in the quarter.
- In tech fields you always have to be in a constant state of learning. Since my world revolves around tech (Martech) similarly I have to adapt to new products/services and how it fits into achieving our business objectives
- Before we can even start a project we have to form a business use case or rationale
- Staying visible is a part of every Corporate job no matter the industry. If you manage a mission critical task you may not need to focus on this so much.
- Water cooler talk is always necessary even when you work remote. Setup occasional 1:1s with other team members to get their take on things. What is funny is I work remote but due to the low bandwidth of everyone I am not the last to know about anything. Sometimes I ask on-site team members in one of our hubs about the latest and they have no idea. Everyone is stretched thin right now so no one is exactly 100% in-the-know or ahead of the game so to speak.
- This depends on how your department is structured. If you are an individual contributor with minimal teamwork required it's best not to brag too much. If at least 50% of deliverables are contingent upon immediate group team members that report to your direct manager (or his/her manager) then yes occasionally you'll need to "shine" to stand out. If you don't like this focus on a speciality that no one else wants to do that remains mission critical to the business and you'll "shine" by default.
Yes, I was in IT.
Building Alliances - not possible at the software developer level where I was or at the lower management level for a few rungs above me. We were basically marionettes controlled by upper management. You could develop friendships but your friends could not really help you and you could not help your friends. Upper management controlled us with an iron fist. The good news is that there was no favoritism and everyone was on a level playing field. But you had to follow orders without question and kowtow to everyone above you. Failure to do so risked dimissal. Management wanted to present a unified front to us. All managers acted the same and there were no deviations in the way they resolved problems or acted. They were like clones of one another. That is what management wanted.
Building New Skills vs. Becoming an Expert - It varied. Some people pursued one option, others the other. There was no clear preference that I could discern. There was no real fear of losing one's job by obsolescence. I was at my last company for 28 years and we had DEC VAC COBOL at first, but then went to mostly proprietary software. So if you tried to go to another company you were already obsolete.
Justifying Business Value for Your Project - No power over that. We were assigned projects and had to do them. Not much room for independent thinking outside of optimizing code, or designing a better program by using efficient techniques or procedures. If you had a project assigned to you, then it had value.
Staying Visible - Very important. But the only way to excel was to put in overtime, and lots of it. Doing quality work or creating the shiny object had no value to it unless it was accompanied by an exorbitant amount of overtime hours. Lots of "suffering" had to be involved in missed sleep, working every weekend, missing time with family. The perception or work ethic of putting in overtime hours was sancrosact. Everything revolved around overtime work. It was everything and the only thing. I'm sure that management's attitude was when we are all on our deathbeds, we will wish that we had spent more time working rather than with our families or doing other "mindless" pursuits.
Trying to get Inside Knowledge - Yes, there was a lot of gossip always going around about that. I could write a book about it.
Making Sure You Look Good - Absolutely important. Again, the only way to look good was to put in copious amounts of overtime hours, and then more on top of that. I cannot overemphasise how important overtime is valued by this company. Above competence, above excellence, above producing quality, top notch work. Overtime, overtime, and more overtime.
Making Sure You Look Good - Absolutely important. Again, the only way to look good was to put in copious amounts of overtime hours, and then more on top of that. I cannot overemphasise how important overtime is valued by this company. Above competence, above excellence, above producing quality, top notch work. Overtime, overtime, and more overtime.
I am curious, I've seen you say this a lot, how many hours was expected of overtime? Assuming a 40 hour week, was 50 hours expected? 80? Just curious.
I am curious, I've seen you say this a lot, how many hours was expected of overtime? Assuming a 40 hour week, was 50 hours expected? 80? Just curious.
50 hours was not considered overtime by my former company. 80 hours was considered rather weak. Management always wanted more and more. You were made to feel guilty no matter how many hours you put in.
But they did spell it out in the company newsletter one time. I had to read and reread it a couple of times to let it sink in. Monday through Friday, 20 hours per day for a total of 100 hours. But then 12 hours on Saturday and 12 hours on Sunday. That meant 124 hours per week.
I don't know who worked those kind of hours at my company. I certainly did not. Working those kind of hours for weeks and months would tear the human body apart both mentally and physically. One of my immediate managers came close. He did work 20 hour days during the week, but was not able to put in 12 hour days on the weekends. Just a few hours here and there. He did that for a few years and then before cracking up, he transferred to a trainer position, where he was able to work more civilized hours.
After relating these and other adventures from my company to my mother, she would always say that whoever was running my company was mentally ill. I would always laugh at that. It never got old. But I was paid very well and I stayed in that "mental institution" for 28 years. Now that I am retired and look back at it, I don't know how I survived.
50 hours was not considered overtime by my former company. 80 hours was considered rather weak. Management always wanted more and more. You were made to feel guilty no matter how many hours you put in.
But they did spell it out in the company newsletter one time. I had to read and reread it a couple of times to let it sink in. Monday through Friday, 20 hours per day for a total of 100 hours. But then 12 hours on Saturday and 12 hours on Sunday. That meant 124 hours per week.
I don't know who worked those kind of hours at my company. I certainly did not. Working those kind of hours for weeks and months would tear the human body apart both mentally and physically. One of my immediate managers came close. He did work 20 hour days during the week, but was not able to put in 12 hour days on the weekends. Just a few hours here and there. He did that for a few years and then before cracking up, he transferred to a trainer position, where he was able to work more civilized hours.
After relating these and other adventures from my company to my mother, she would always say that whoever was running my company was mentally ill. I would always laugh at that. It never got old. But I was paid very well and I stayed in that "mental institution" for 28 years. Now that I am retired and look back at it, I don't know how I survived.
Did anyone actually work those kind of hours, or was it just stories told? Did you see someone working 20 hour days, or hear rumors?
What was the normal schedule for a normal employee? How many hours were specified in the agreement you signed when hired?
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