what would you do

[tadpole3]

I am in a career for 16 years, love the work, co-workers, make decent money, and get good evaluations from the boss. The problem is how many others are being treated. A co-worker was recently forced into early retirement, and although she didn't pull her weight, she could've been utilized to benefit the office until her full retirement would kick in, in about a year.

Two other co-workers (hard working)are being harassed by the boss to the point they want to quit. We have another great worker leaving (quitting the boss, not the job); and today have heard of another co-worker being fired because he told his manager that he thought he was doing the job she was supposed to be doing, as the previous 2 managers had been doing.

A lot of us are talking about walking on principle; management is just unbelievably arbitrary. The atmosphere is constant chaos and fear. Again, I personally don't feel threatened, but I don't like how others are being treated at all.

Opinions? Would YOU look for another job?

[pl3asehelp]

I find most employers to be like this. Regarding work, I just look out for myself.

[mhowe]

If you are on target for a 20 year pension...I wouldn't walk out.

Letting someone coast for a year+ would have set a very poor precedent as was certainly warranted.

[RedDress]

In my opinion, if YOU are happy, you should go with that.

 

Every job I have ever been at has been like this. There are always people who are unhappy with management, there are always discussions about how "we should all leave". I dunno... maybe it's just the places that I work. The truth is... you don't know the whole truth. You don't know if the person taking early retirement prevented them from having to lay off someone else, or if they were warned about poor performance. Maybe the workers being "harrassed" aren't following their boss's requests or advice - so even if they are working hard - they may not be working the way their boss wants them to work so it's not efficient (I've known people like this). And the guy who was fired? Maybe he was disrespectful.

 

People will only tell you about the stuff that management is doing wrong. They won't tell you about how THEY are doing things wrong too. And it's confidential and unprofessional for management to "defend" themselves against these rumors.

 

Go with what you know. What you know is your own experience and your own experience is good.

 

Just my opinion.

[DancingFool]

I would mind my own business and not get caught up with the disgruntled bunch, despite the fact that they are usually loud and vocal. Avoid getting wrapped up in those kinds of politics like the plague.

 

I think you also need to realize that you have only half the information and have no clue how things look from management's side. You will never know that someone who was seemingly forced out or pushed to resign was in reality offered that in lieu of greater penalties because they had cost the company thousands for their mistakes, etc. The employer was actually kind to them given their long service. However, as correctly pointed out above, the management will never ever share that information with anyone. You are never seeing a complete picture and pretty much all workplaces, even the nicest ones will always have bad apples stirring the pot. If you know what's good for you, you commiserate with them and continue to do your job and mind your own business. There is a reason the management is not picking on you - because you are doing things right.

 

Also, given the job market, don't even think about quitting unless you have already signed a contract on a new position, especially if you are older. It's not pretty out there to say the least and you don't want to find yourself unemployed.

[ParisPaulette]

No, I'd probably rally them all together and try to form a union or go to the union. Oh wait, I did do that once. It got ugly, but after I left I hear others were treated better and my second career is so much nicer than the first. Win-win for all I suppose. But yes, if that's happening then sooner or later someone is likely to have a problem with you as more and more targets fall. If you have a union, ban together and go to them or find another place that will hire you in a hot minute and go there. After you leave and are secure in the new job send a letter to the owner of the company letting them know why you, a seasoned worker with valuable experience, chose to leave and go elsewhere. And what's going on.

 

It may not make a difference, but then again it might.

[solamente]

Good points already made here.

 

1 - Definitely not worth leaving if you have a pension plan.

 

2 - Even though you like your co-workers, they are not signing your paycheck. Stop listening to the griping and complaining from them and your experience will be even better than it is now.

 

3 - Almost every company will take actions that you do not agree with, only you can decide if it is truly worth leaving over said actions. Especially when the only person who will be affected is you. The company will go on without you and keep doing what they want/need to do to survive and make a profit.

 

Once there was a company I started at as a temp and almost everyone in the department told me stories of how awful the boss was. It made me really nervous and hesitant to accept a permanent position. Almost twelve years later and she is the best boss I have ever had. Never treated me badly and was actually quite generous to me. Yet, in all those years, there was always someone in my department continually b*tching about her. I don't think I would ever quit a job because of someone else's experience.

[tadpole3]

Thanks for all the GREAT advice. Some excellent points made...I will keep working at this job.

[blueidealist24]

Yeah, until YOU start getting treated badly, I'd stay. You can feel compassion for the other employees but in the end you have to protect your own financial status by staying at this job.. nowhere did I see you mention anything bad directly happening to you. As other posters pointed out, everything that the others are saying might be true, but it might not quite be. You don't really have the management's side of the story.