October 15, 2003
Survey says
Depending on who you listening to, the company I'm currently working for may or may not be in terminal decline. Optimism and pessimism do battle on a daily basis and peoples opinions and moods shift accordingly. I'm in the fortunate position that I don't really care. Actually that's not true - I do care insofar as the company's fate is entwined with that of goodly number of people I work with, most of whom I'd much rather envision a happier ending for. Still, from my own perspective, I have my own plans for the next year which will most definitely see me moving elsewhere.
However, that's not to say that I won't comment on the company's current predicament. You see, a few days ago we were given what I consider one of the first signs of the impending apocalypse: the staff survey.
Perhaps it's just cynicism setting in in my advancing years, but I couldn't help but look at the document and think "deckchairs on the Titanic". Most people remaining with the company have done so by surving numerous rounds of redundancies over the last couple of years, and whilst the company does make an small effort to boost morale everyonce in a while, the simple truth is that nothing save some guaranteed job stability is going to make people feel better (as opposed to the Princess Bride-like "Oh, and I may fire you in the morning" axe that dangles above all our heads).
The survey itself was pretty banal, just a number a of statements with checkboxes ranging from "agree strongly" to "strongly disagree". Only a few gave me pause for any thought: "I have a best friend at work", which cheered me up when I got to tick agree strongly, but it still seemed a slightly odd question to ask. Then "I have a better job than my five best friends" which again was a strange thing to ask (I mean really, what are they going to do if I tick disagree? Hunt down my five best friends and make their lives miserable?). Given that several of my best friends are probably reading this, I won't tell you how I commented, other than to say that if you think I have a better job than you now, it won't last - I have every confidence that the best is yet to be for you.
Oh there was was one final statement - "More football related perks would improve your working life." I had to invent another checkbox for that one: "Dear god, no, have mercy please!"
Thank goodness for anonymous surveys.
Thought iMark at October 15, 2003 09:55 PM | TrackBackHmm, advisability of posting ones employment intentions to a site which may be reviewed by anyone in your current workplace is probably kinda low. But now that the moggy is out the bag... :-)
You guys get a survey, we get a meeting notice. My last layoff (at my current place of work, different dept): a list of 18 of us received an email inviting us to an improptu meeting, 20 mins notice, with senior management, in the biggest, nicest, wood-panelled (used to be CEO's office) room in the building, no details. On the way over there, we discuss what it could be about. A senior manager steps out the loo and we jokingly say "Hey, you've got us worried. Are we gonna get our pink slips or something? Ha ha!" Manager pales a little and remains silent. 7 mins later, we've been laid off.
Then this week, an email went out to my new dept, inviting a bunch of us to an impropmtu meeting with the dept head, no details. Within 60 seconds, various managers throughout the dept were tackled, pinned and otherwise assaulted with demands to know if were being fired ;-) Apparently not (this time), it was just a poorly worded meeting invite.
I have to say, living under the axe is horrible. My father did it for almost 15 years, and I don't understand how he survived it. Of course, having been laid off 3 times in 3 years myself, I now just assume that I'm under the axe permanently regardless of the actual situation. I tend to duck instinctively when I stand up these days...
As for your having a better job than me now, and that not lasting... uh-huh. I work Customer Service for US lawyers. Don't even try to beat that. This guy has more integrity than I do: http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20030728&mode=classic
And finally, as for anonimity... your addition of that box, with that wording, may have precluded that particular aspect of the survey :-)
Kevin
Posted by: Kevin at October 15, 2003 11:50 PMHmm. I guess, in some ways, I've been laid off [counts on fingers] ooh, about three-dozen or so times, something like that. I think I had twelve contracts last year alone.
Sure, it doesn't sound so bad when it's called 'Freelancing,' but so far as I can make out, these days it's pretty much the same thing only without the severance package. Or, I guess, the looming dread hand of fate, since one knows one is not long for this office.
Posted by: Jonathan Sanderson at October 16, 2003 12:34 AM