Volatile Work Environment

[smartcookie]

I am currently working in a position that I thought was my "dream job" I am the manager of department in a well known firm. We were recently purchased by a very large company based in Europe (we are US based). After we were purchased it was found out our company made some very bad business decisions and we were bleeding money from a number of different projects within the company. Our new company fired the CEO and forced out the CFO as well as some of the tops in accounting. A new CEO came on board that managed to rape the company as well as sleep with an underling while keeping her in top position with a sizeable income. She was eventually forced to leave. Then the layoffs came. They started in February of 2008 with no warning and haven’t stopped since. The last work day of every month they have been laying people off and it hasn’t stopped since the first round. HR and executive management pretend that nothing is wrong and nothing is happening. People began to drop like flies. All of the good talent is leaving because the communication is nonexistent and they don’t want to be the next to go. I am not concerned about being laid off as I am concerned about the lack of communication and the money problems we are having. We are unable to pay bills and sometime pay $100 or a bill for over $2 Million because that’s all we can pay. Our parent company recently put out a statement that they will incur sizeable losses for last year and their stock dropped 50% in one day. All of the foreign CEOs are quitting and no one here will talk about what that means for us. However Project managers here spend money like it is going out of style, they rent cars and leave them in airport parking lots, they buy first class tickets, they fly home every weekend, and only come to work for half of the work week, and their boss doesn’t care. Our CEO recently quit and now we have a new CEO. Our CEO gets a comped new BMW and 2 houses paid for by the company while we bleed out and people are forced out. My question is how long can I expect to work in an environment that is this volatile? Even if I have been promised that I won’t be laid off? What is to say the CEO will come in and tell the people he wants to go to leave? I can’t sleep at night because I think of how crazy this company is and how long it can last. Our parent company has sunk more than 50 million into keeping us afloat but I don’t know how much longer they will do this because we don’t have any new jobs coming in. I like my boss but can’t talk to her about any of this because I am afraid she will mark me as a trouble maker and the next to go. Employee morale is gone and HR pretends everything is ok. I have asked several times for them to clarify things to employees but never get a reply. I even asked for an updated phone list as we have shrunk from 300 people to about 100 and never got a reply. It’s awful and I don’t know what to do. I get paid well and don’t know if I would get paid what I do now working in a different capacity at another job...Many people in my department have quit and my boss acts like it’s a personal jab specifically to her. It’s not but I don’t think she sees what the lower echelons see. Please help with any advice!!!

[avman]

My question is how long can I expect to work in an environment that is this volatile?

 

The answer is - until they run out of money to pay people.

 

Even if I have been promised that I won’t be laid off?

 

Unless you have a written contract that says this - it's an empty promise. There's no guarantees they won't come to you one day and say "Sorry, things changed."

 

I've worked in situations like this and my advice is to get out in the job market and find yourself another job. Your company is sinking and it doesn't seem that a turnaround is anywhere on the horizon.

[Coffee Talk]

I think the smartest thing to do, since you already know you're on a sinking ship, is to start looking for a job now-so you can leave on YOUR terms.

 

This gives you time to find a better job and a more enjoyable work environment.

[crosstownTraffic]

Welcome to the NEW U.S. economy.. Pathetic, isn't it? That what happens when corporate greed and negligence take over where honesty & integrity left off.

 

Start polishing your resume. They don't care about the American workers there obviously.

 

It's shameful how some people run a business now. Thanks for the insight into the gist of it all.

 

I'm sad this is happening to your co.

[smartcookie]

Thanks for all of the replies. I think I may go speak to my boss this afternoon about how I am feeling. At least I get it out into the open and I dont have it bundled up inside anymore. If I get insight into what is going on then that is great if I dont it will solidify what I am already thinking which is that I need to go out on the job-hunt again. I just dont see this company turning around again, we have lost too much money, too many good people, and morale is missing. I hope the meeting goes well and bodes well for me. My performace review is coming up in a few weeks and I hope it doesnt hurt it...

[avman]

I wouldn't go in with very high hopes for that meeting. You mentioned your boss takes it as a personal insult if people quit. Do you think he or she would really be receptive to talking about this?

 

Based on what you have described this is a much larger issue than just something going amiss in your department. It sounds like the company itself is on the edge of failing. Your boss may have been given instructions to "do whatever it takes" to stop people from quitting. In those cases, you have to take what they tell you with a healthy degree of skepticism. After all, if a boss comes right out and says to people "yeah, most of you will probably get laid off" then morale will get even worse and lots more people will quit. So even if that is the truth you aren't likely to hear it from your boss.