Recently they launched a "no complaining" initiative at work. The idea is that we are all supposed to think positive and be happy as an unhappy workplace is bad for morale. Well, that is true enough and very few people want to be around someone who is always negative, but I am a little suspicious about the timing. Is something dirty in the works? They say no more layoffs and things are looking well, but there is a trust issue here, and it's not just my company. Right now American companies have at least a 4-decade history of doing dirt to their employees, of not being honest with them, so that one can no longer know what to believe. I heard a pastor (a different one) tell his congregation that being cynical was a sin. Well, maybe it is, but where and how does cynicism develop, Pastor? Answer me this one.
So I have my suspicions about this new initiative, which, like so many other things in life, I have to keep my mouth shut and my true thoughts to myself. Also, be careful of my conversations with other workers, because one never, never knows. Is this truly an initiative to improve morale or is this simply something to look good? By doing this, are they hinting that they really don't want to hear about anything bad? They may not realize it but they "broke trust" with their employees when they had the series of layoffs right after the crash of 2008. It was not handled well and I think deep down they know that.
About a month ago at our annual training meeting regarding government regulations, the trainer discussed one of our competitors that got into deep trouble with a government agency for not following these regulations. Worse yet, they were caught falsifying results. Management claimed to the agency that they didn't know what was going on. The agency was not impressed and sent them to jail. This company is no longer in business. Said the trainer, "I don't believe that nobody knew what was going on. Someone had to know what was going on. How can management not know?"
Very easy. I am willing to believe that management did not know. That doesn't make them any less culpable, but I can see how they would not know. They did not know because they had insulated themselves from what was truly going on. Somehow they had communicated that certain things were more important than honesty (while giving lip service to honesty). I am not saying that they came out and said to their employees, "falsify these results." But I know how these things work. The employees were probably under great pressure to please a client. I am willing to bet that at least one person, maybe more, knew what was going on and approached management only to be brushed off. I see it all the time. Managers are often the last to know.
So I am a bit skeptical about this "no complaining" business.
So I have my suspicions about this new initiative, which, like so many other things in life, I have to keep my mouth shut and my true thoughts to myself. Also, be careful of my conversations with other workers, because one never, never knows. Is this truly an initiative to improve morale or is this simply something to look good? By doing this, are they hinting that they really don't want to hear about anything bad? They may not realize it but they "broke trust" with their employees when they had the series of layoffs right after the crash of 2008. It was not handled well and I think deep down they know that.
About a month ago at our annual training meeting regarding government regulations, the trainer discussed one of our competitors that got into deep trouble with a government agency for not following these regulations. Worse yet, they were caught falsifying results. Management claimed to the agency that they didn't know what was going on. The agency was not impressed and sent them to jail. This company is no longer in business. Said the trainer, "I don't believe that nobody knew what was going on. Someone had to know what was going on. How can management not know?"
Very easy. I am willing to believe that management did not know. That doesn't make them any less culpable, but I can see how they would not know. They did not know because they had insulated themselves from what was truly going on. Somehow they had communicated that certain things were more important than honesty (while giving lip service to honesty). I am not saying that they came out and said to their employees, "falsify these results." But I know how these things work. The employees were probably under great pressure to please a client. I am willing to bet that at least one person, maybe more, knew what was going on and approached management only to be brushed off. I see it all the time. Managers are often the last to know.
So I am a bit skeptical about this "no complaining" business.
