El Chuxter
12-20-2006, 02:58 PM
I've got issues at my job. I've told some of you about various things (like being way underpaid and underappreciated, or the rather amusing pathological liar I sit next to). And I'm already planning to leave after the holidays. But today, well, holy crap, this dump reached a new low.
A little tiny bit of background: this place started 52 years ago, and was family-owned until the 80s. Since then, it's been owned by a couple of different holding companies. (The current one, which has owned it since around 1996 or so, actually has a company policy that they are not to be referred to as a holding company by any employee. Hey, if it walks like a duck....) All the senior officers have been family members of the original owner, until about 18 months ago, when the VP of Human Resources left and was replaced by an eccentric chap with the distinctive experience of (not making this up, I swear) being captain of a fishing boat in Alaska. There've been some weird policies instituted, my favorite being "keep business calls to a minimum." (I can see personal calls, but, uh, aren't business calls sort of kind of the backbone of what a company does?)
Anyway, since the place was founded, it's been closed the week between Christmas and New Years. It's a bit of a double-edged sword, as only three of the five days are considered holidays, and we have the wonderful choice of using vacation or not being paid for the other days. But, it is a week off.
On Christmas Eve (or the Friday before), every year, the company has shut down at noon, and we have a mandatory Christmas "party." Again, it's kind of nuts that the party is required. But the good outweighs the bad on this one, since we're paid for a full day, get a big lunch, raffles, prizes, yadda yadda.
Until this year, that is. The senior management decided that this year, they'll have the party at noon as before. The only difference is, whether the employees leave or go back to work for a few hours is totally up to the discretion of the Human Resources VP. We've been told we should plan for a full 8-hour shift. And, knowing the guy, I have no doubt it will be a full shift.
"But EC," you ask, "what's the big deal? It's just a change in policy."
The big deal is that no one except the most senior managers, who keep to themselves in a metaphorical crystal tower, knew about this until late this morning. A memo was sent out on e-mail regarding this, and took even the middle managers totally by surprise.
Needless to say, given that no one had indicated this was even a possibility, the widespread assumption was that Friday was going to be a half-day. Most of the 150 or so people here have made plans. And, with Christmas falling on a Monday, many of those plans involve travel.
I'm still pretty flabbergasted by the whole thing. Even if I wasn't planning on leaving after the paid holidays, I'd certainly be looking around now. I mean, I've heard of ****ty managers before, but this is a level of total disregard for everyone here that seems more likely to show up in a Dickens novel than in even the lousiest workplaces in the real world.
A little tiny bit of background: this place started 52 years ago, and was family-owned until the 80s. Since then, it's been owned by a couple of different holding companies. (The current one, which has owned it since around 1996 or so, actually has a company policy that they are not to be referred to as a holding company by any employee. Hey, if it walks like a duck....) All the senior officers have been family members of the original owner, until about 18 months ago, when the VP of Human Resources left and was replaced by an eccentric chap with the distinctive experience of (not making this up, I swear) being captain of a fishing boat in Alaska. There've been some weird policies instituted, my favorite being "keep business calls to a minimum." (I can see personal calls, but, uh, aren't business calls sort of kind of the backbone of what a company does?)
Anyway, since the place was founded, it's been closed the week between Christmas and New Years. It's a bit of a double-edged sword, as only three of the five days are considered holidays, and we have the wonderful choice of using vacation or not being paid for the other days. But, it is a week off.
On Christmas Eve (or the Friday before), every year, the company has shut down at noon, and we have a mandatory Christmas "party." Again, it's kind of nuts that the party is required. But the good outweighs the bad on this one, since we're paid for a full day, get a big lunch, raffles, prizes, yadda yadda.
Until this year, that is. The senior management decided that this year, they'll have the party at noon as before. The only difference is, whether the employees leave or go back to work for a few hours is totally up to the discretion of the Human Resources VP. We've been told we should plan for a full 8-hour shift. And, knowing the guy, I have no doubt it will be a full shift.
"But EC," you ask, "what's the big deal? It's just a change in policy."
The big deal is that no one except the most senior managers, who keep to themselves in a metaphorical crystal tower, knew about this until late this morning. A memo was sent out on e-mail regarding this, and took even the middle managers totally by surprise.
Needless to say, given that no one had indicated this was even a possibility, the widespread assumption was that Friday was going to be a half-day. Most of the 150 or so people here have made plans. And, with Christmas falling on a Monday, many of those plans involve travel.
I'm still pretty flabbergasted by the whole thing. Even if I wasn't planning on leaving after the paid holidays, I'd certainly be looking around now. I mean, I've heard of ****ty managers before, but this is a level of total disregard for everyone here that seems more likely to show up in a Dickens novel than in even the lousiest workplaces in the real world.