Missing Link

Over the past couple of years I have started to see a pattern emerge in the working world.   Ann has held a few jobs, and I’m now on my first job post-being a business owner,  and one thing has held true for both of us when working for other people.   We both have started out really enjoying our jobs, liking our co-workers and generally feeling pretty upbeat about things.  Then, for whatever reason,  things seem to get worse.

For Ann it has been the companies she works for making poor decisions that negatively affect employee morale.    For me it has been working for a fairly large company that just recently grew to this size – they’re still trying to operate like a small company,  and because of that are failing to understand some of the issues at stake.    Because of their lack of understanding,  the IT department is understaffed and underfunded,   and in the midst of all of that I am tasked with building a security program.   Needless to say, it’s been frustrating.

The longer I am here, the more frustrated I become.   I’ve been told numerous times “we don’t like policy here”,  which is unfortunate given that about 2/3 of a security program is policy and procedure.

Likewise with Ann, the longer she’s at a place, the more frustrated she becomes with their failed policies and horrible decisions.   And I’ve started to see why.

Companies don’t give a rats ass about their employees.   Sure they will SAY they do, because they want to pay lip service to their people in hopes of conning them into actually believing it,   but we all know it’s bullshit.   They care about maximizing their profits; whether it be by slashing benefits or trying to do everything the “cheap” way, instead of the correct way.   This is unfortunate.   It shows that, as a whole, our moral compass is not functioning properly.

Take for instance,   Sally (name changed to protect privacy), a family friend who worked for the company my Dad ran for years.   She was telling me that since my Dad left she’s become nothing more than a number (and she handily sounded off with her employee number).  She related how she’s not a person anymore, as she had been when my dad was running things,   and that largely the company doesn’t care about it’s people anymore.   That news really made me sad, as I know things were different there when my dad ran the show – he firmly believed that good leadership involved putting your people before yourself,  and making sure they were taken care of.   If you stand up for your people, give them what they need and deserve,     they will follow you anywhere and will work twice as hard for you.

Now, I understand companies are out to make money – that’s their purpose for existing, after all – but to what end?  It just feels like more and more, companies are out to make a profit at the expense of their employees, and that’s just not cool.