WHY is it that the less work you do, the more money you make??? I fucking HATE it when all the precious “bosses” come around with their 6 figure salaries and sit on their fat asses and tell us what we’re doing wrong. News flash ass holes — if you just ONCE told us we were doing a good job, we may be a more productive and happier team. AND maybe, just MAYBE, we’d like you just a little bit. Not likely, but maybe. Oh, and news flash — you are in no way, shape or form, better than I am. I work my ass off for every cent I make rather than sit on it and have it handed to me for doing nothing. Enjoy it while it lasts. Idiots.
This article appears in Jul 10-16, 2008.
They wouldn’t last a week doing the job that retail workers do. I’d really love to see that happen.
As if you wouldn’t take a raise to do “less work”.In most places, the bosses are responsible for a lot more of the company’s money than joe worker. The consequences of their decisions are a little more dire and the ability to make those important decisions effectively takes more training, more experience and often more education. They invest in their future, why shouldn’t they reap the financial rewards? However, there is no reason to treat your employees like shit, or take an attitude of superiority that’s just being dickish.
Honestly, I love my job THAT much that no, I wouldn’t take a raise to do less work, especially their jobs. Not a chance in hell. I’m a doer, not a talker. There are still a few of us around that it just isn’t about the money, its about being happy in what you do. I’ve turned down raises to stay in places where I’m happy. Just keep the asshole “suits” away!!!!Yes, I totally agree they have some sort of training and education and should get paid more, but these particular ones I’m talking about have NO say in the finances of the company (the BIG boys are in Toronto). All they do is travel around locally, pick at everything they see they think your doing wrong (down to “your name tag isn’t completely straight — forget about saving the lady going into diabetic coma” basically!) And by getting paid more, I don’t mean 6 figures either. For what THESE particular guys do, no fucking CHANCE I would do it. I can’t stand it when I know they’re coming. They’re even too good to say hello to you. A few are too busy booking their hotels so they can cheat on their spouse (yes, I know this for sure). Even though I’m in a profession that saves lives doesn’t mean I can snark my nose down at the girl that serves me my burger at MacDonald’s. Everyone has their role — no one is better than the other. I’m glad you added in the last line there, Miles…its VERY dickish to be that way to someone else.
I tried my hand at management and I can honestly say it is harder than it looks. I know from experience though that the job is easiest when you spend the time to tell employees what they’re doing well. I don’t see the importance of a perfectly level nametag really.I’ve gone back to the world of blue-collar, and I’m happier here.
“I wouldn’t take a raise to do less work…”You are absolutely lying!!!! Only a minuscule percentage of people work for the love of the work and not for the need of money. These include starving musicians, artists, volunteers and parishioners. The rest of us prefer to eat. If we can earn money doing something we enjoy that’s a bonus but to refuse more money to do that same job… you talk out of your ass!”I’ve turned down raises to stay in places where I’m happy”Now, this I believe but your stated motivations are garbage. You stay in that position and do not advance for fear of the Peter Principle, reaching your level of incompetence. Best you just stay where you are but don’t have us believe you’re not interested in more money! Pffft!What is not addressed anywhere in this thread are the motives of the entrepreneur. The people I know who own a small business are no different than those at the casino rolling the dice and, yes, they sink everything into it too: reinvesting profits, investing every ounce of energy and all waking moments into the business, etc. Is it a wonder such a boss would expect the same of you? Now, straighten your name tag and do the job right.
what really gets me is managers so out of touch they don’t realize what their workers are doing, and how they are living. in my current job, I work scads of unpaid hours, and am making just on the poverty line. for a professional job, that requires a car, and a university degree. everyone in my office busts their asses to do our jobs well, but when management comes in all they see is my jeans with the hole in the knee and make a fuss. do I tell them I can’t afford to replace said jeans? and when they again make a fuss about the ‘image’ I’m projecting for the company if I were to take a second job to make ends meet, as they are currently not paying me enough to stay out of ever increasing debt, and someone I interact with on a proffsional level sees me waiting table, i have to wonder if they really need to earn what they do. why can’t these managerial types make a little less so those of us who do the work can earn a little more, and everyone can come out somewhere in the middle? I think the problem isn’t so much managerial types being dickheads as just being so totally up their own asses they ahve no clue what their employees are doing, or how they’re doing it, and how much the world costs these days.
hedgyhog, if you worked in a professional environment for me I’d send you home to change if (a) you wore your jeans to work and (b) they were ratty and if you whined about it I’d fire your ass for incompetance. Even a Tim Horton’s employee buys their own uniform.
um, yeah Kay? my job requires me to spend a lot of time and out and about, you never know where you’re going or what you’ll be doing, and a lot of the time it involves getting dirty or contorting yourself- things that really aren’t conducive to dress-pants and blouses. I know. I’ve tried. Jeans are de rigeour, they’re the most practical, and we’re allowed to wear them- my immediate boss does all the time, and I’ve worked same field different offices all over the palce and that’s the norm everywhere. do I carry a change of clothes with me if I knwo I’ll be doing somethign a bit more formal? sure. but for the most part, my job is a casual atmosphere.as far as ratty goes: I’d patched the hole, and done my best to make it look like it was ‘meant’ to be there (some sort of weird fashion maybe?). the point of bringing it up was that I do not get paid enough at my full time job to allow me to buy a new pair of pants when mine rip, and still eat that week and afford gas for my car to go do my job. what burned me up there was management, who do not spend every day in my office, but visit occasionally, and has no clue what I do out inthe field every day or how tight for cash we are, being so inconsiderate as to deny us cost of living raises, then bitch when there is a downslide in certain aspects of our persons. you just demonstrated exactly my point: management wants a certain level of professionalism from their employees. they want us clean, neat, with nice clothes, well-maintained hair etc. they do not want us distracted from our jobs because once again we’re down to 32 cents in the ol bank account and have no food in our fridges. and they certainly don’t want us saying ‘no’ to work because we can;’t afford the gas to get us there. but instead of looking at the whole problem, and realziing that their employees are trying as hard as they can, they simply get out the ol pink slips. which makes them seem like dicks. when really, they’re just hideously out of touch with reality. Personally I think all managers should have to live on what their lowest paid or average worker makes, even just for a week or so, to see how it is- I can guarentee you we’d all make more if they knew how hard they made it for us, and how much they expected from us for so very very little.
btw what’s your beef with tim hortons? you bring up their employees a lot.also, what about my comment made me seem incompetent? I’m very good at my job, actually. it’s not incompetence on the employees part if they cannot make ends meet- that’s incompetence on the side of management.
Show up at a Timmy’s job in your jeans instead of your uniform for lack of laundry money and see how fast you see the ol’ pink slip. I refer to Timmy’s over and over again as a dead-end, minimum wage job like any other job at a fast food restaurant (and most retailers). I don’t see many educated degree holders (professionals) workin’ fast food for primary income. Do you?The incompetence reference was made about the ‘Peter Principle’
Oh THAT reference to incompetence. Maybe that wasn’t the right word. I’d fire you for breaking policy on dress code if you pushed me over a simple and obvious requirement of your job.
and my whole point, using my own experience as an educated professional in a professional field as an example (in no way am I part time, casual, or ‘dead end’) was the lunacy of some managers who are so out of touch that their employees cannot meet the minimum requirements of their jobs, because manangement hasn’t done their job of properly compensating and managing their workforce.if managers actually knew how to manage, people in my office, and many others, wouldn’t have as many different job descriptions downloaded to them, work as much unpaid overtime, or struggle as hard as we do to make ends meet.
~sigh~ First of all, kay, I make a modest living where I live comfortably and don’t NEED more money. I work in the health care profession, and I’m not a “starving musician, artist, volunteer or parishioner”. I get my satisfaction in knowing I am actually HELPING people feel better or in some cases, keep them alive. I guess that reason should be added to the miniscule reasons people work for less money. The situations I have turned down raises is when I have left one place for another to advance myself in my profession and my previous employers are begging me to stay, with of course, more money they say they didn’t have before. And I have said to them, and there have been just 2, that sometime you have to do what you feel is right for you and it isn’t about money. And it isn’t, or I would have stayed and taken the raises. And being offered more money to stay to me is the exact opposite of being incompetent. I’m DAMN good at what I do. So please, don’t call me a liar, kay. You don’t know me. I may have already helped you or someone you love feel better or saved your life. And still would. Cause I LOVE what I do. Are my motives a little more clear to you now, kay??Hedgy, you got the point of my post. And I’ve said it several times after these “visits”: if they for just spent ONE DAY in our shoes, they’d realize what we do, and maybe our name tag is a bit crooked because we helped and elderly lady sit comfortably after feeling faint and maybe it got jostled a little. I am not saying I wouldn’t accept a raise, of course I would, who wouldn’t?? But I don’t want the exact same raise as the moron that calls in sick all the time or does a half-assed job when they DO show up. It should be based on PERFORMANCE. The half hour visits from the “higher-ups” every 3 or 4 months don’t show any of that, and it isn’t fair. I know exactly where you’re coming from, hedgy. I have a crisp white shirt as part of my uniform, and sometimes I have to go out to the dirty storage room to dig up some old dirty thing, and then the suits show up and all they see is your shirt is a little dirty. Always perfectly timed. I guess we’re both incompetent since we don’t have a change of clothes with us at all times. Of well….I don’t know about you, but it isn’t going to make me work any less hard, cause its what we do.
Pay based on performance = employees who work hard and give 100%.Unions = fucking corrupt, useless organizations that effectively killed (a significant potion of) the collective work ethic of generations of Maritimers. Goddamn shame.
AMEN to that.Damn shame indeed. While I’m not currently in a full time union, I just started casually in one, and holy shit, can I see it already. Since this is a first for me and if this “I don’t give a shit about other people — I’m UNIONIZED and they can’t touch me anyway” attitude becomes too prevalent, I’ll be outta there too. And yeah, it’s WAY more money, but I don’t fucking care if this is what I have to work with. I CARE about other people. Don’t get me started on unions. That is SO another bitch. Oy vey.
I think that the attitude of : “Straighten your name-tag and get back to work, PEON!” is a little old-school. Current trends are showing that the newest generation of workers ARE choosing job satisfaction over a fat paycheck. We’ve seen our parents choose stability over doing what they really want…and in most cases, they’re none the better for it.OP, my husband is a health care professional as well, and it’s no wonder the system is in such dire straights. Not only do we not pay people what they deserve for such an important job, but we expect them to put up with all the shit and abuse with a smile. So what if your shirt is a little wrinkled?Most of us wouldn’t turn down a raise…duh! But it’s kinda like choosing to back-pack across Europe vs. taking a luxury tour bus. The bus might be cushy, but you really miss out on a lot.
If pay were based on performance women would be paid at least as well as men. It’s getting better in that we perform in the same way we’re just not paid in the same way still. Unbelievable.
I have to sort-of disagree with the anti-union stance. Yes, sometimes they can get severly out of hand (take a good hard look at teachers unions, particularly in ontario) but, at least in my industry, I’m seeing a real need for them.I think we are seeing a shift from how our parents worked. younger workers now are coming into a workforce with more education, increasingly heavy debt, with more responsibility and aspects to their job expected of them, but less pay, benefits, and stability. because young workers ARE loooking predominantly for fullfillment out of their jobs as opposed to being governed strictly by wages, there’s this big ‘oh crap I’ll lose my job if I refuse to work unpaid overtime/ do things outside my job description/ work for less money etc’.so what happens? you get this workforce desparate for jobs, and management that sees that hey, they can pay whatever theyw ant, and delegate as much as they want- meaning lowered expenses and thus increased profits for them. what you also get is people at 23 burning out and developing ulcers (yup I was only out of school and in the field a year before I burnt out. took me some time to get back into it). if there were more unions, at least in my field, that worked the way unions are supposed to- i.e makign sure workers get a fair, equitable shake from employers, and at the same time guarenteeing that in return workers would do their best and everything would be rainbows and puppies, this WOULDN’T HAPPEN. new workers could make a livable wage in accordance with my performance, skills, and training, work only hours they were paid for, and stay within their job descriptionw ithout killing themselves with stress over the million other little tasks that have been downloaded. I’ve seen union shops in my industry and they function far far better than non union. in non union environments, to my experience in my field, workers become disgruntled and frustrated with the catch-22 they find themselves in (unable to afford to do the job they love), but their only recourse is to quit. management then perpetually cycles in green employees, who can be paid less, often at a part time basis, without benefits and who won’t make a fuss as they don’t know they can/ don;t think they’ve got the experience to back them up. the end result? the product suffers.
I think unions served a purpose at one point, and may well again, but regions with heavy union activity seem to stagnate economically and employees tend to become very disgruntled, while regions where performance-based pay is the normal flourish, and employees are generally happier. I was in a union for the first 5-8 years I worked, and I felt very afraid to leave that safety net, but now that I’m in a world of performance-based bonuses and negotiable salary, I’ll never go back. It makes a huge difference when you KNOW if you work hard, it will literally pay off.
hedgyhog, I’ll bet you work in IT. Yes?
Please don’t get me wrong — I’m not anti-union….I agree if its run the way it should be it is a wonderful thing. As I said, its new to me, but all I’m hearing so far is “Its hard to get in, because once you’re there, you’re there, because you basically have to murder someone to get fired”. And I’m seeing students who are still in the party phase, already have their asses in the door, and are saying “It doesn’t matter if I show up, you can’t get fired anyway — union baby!” I’m thinking “WTF??” Seriously? I really like the thoughts of union stability, because I’m in no way going to work any less hard than I would normally anyway, but it really ticks me off they get away with that kind of behaviour without repercussions.Kay, I know we have a long way to go to get to where women are the same as men, but we’re getting there. I think by the time we’re old, we’ll see it. And Tasha, your hubby and I will still continue to work with a smile in our health professions, because it’s what we do, and we know these people have a lot worse things going on in their lives than we do, and they or their loved ones may be sick or dying. It’s not a fake smile I plaster on specifically for the “big boys”. Its because I know this, and THEY are my #1 priority, not the bosses. I’m sorry, but without a patient or customer, they are a big fat ZERO.And eventually, unions will be what they are for — to protect the worker who protects “THEIR” investments. Though in my profession, “their” investments are mine too — my family and their health. That’s what keeps me going. 🙂
no kay, I am not in IT. nor do I work a ‘dead end job’. I’m a salaried employee in a neccessary industry that requires creativity, independant thought, loads of responsibility, and an education. I’d simply prefer not to say specifically where, as you know, this IS the internet and all ;)qwerty, I think you nailed it: Unions are still needed where there is NOT a performanced-based system. I think we’ve all come so far away from unions, because yeah, in the recent past they did tend to shelter the unmotivated etc etc, that we’ve gone right the other direction. Do I think all workplaces in my field, or all companies for that matter, should be unionized? no. but a few more would give people options, and push companies to actually take care of their employees, particularly their new or younger ones, so that unions weren’t needed.if the company watches your back you don’t need a union. but more and more it seems like employees are disposable, so many identical widgets that can be easily replaced if they become tiresome. and that line that you put your time in and eventually will reap benefits? total bullshit. we’re seeing a generation of incredibly indebted grads, highly educated, trained people who want to work, who end up working call centres and folding sweaters for a lviing because theyc annot afford to live on the wages their fields offer them. new employees can get a foot in the door, sure, there are lots of entry level poisitions- but I know many many people who can’t continue to live at that level long enough to get to that mecca of seniority, if those positions are ever offered (filled as they are with aging baby boomers).a union would sort this problem out, allow new workers to learn and grow in their fields and actually stay in the neccessary industries we need them, and their education for. without them, companies are taking advantage, but alas, they’re only taking advantage of the mid-20’s set, meaning the people in political power could care less as they’re all secure in their 45 plus management positions. what will we end up with? a generation of people who see no point in getting a university education when they can get a better paying job with a college degree (already seeing that happen- and yes, there is nothing wrong with college, but what about the pursuit of knowledge for knowledge’s sake, which happens more often in the less-applied university curriculum? what about teaching people to learn, rather than simply do, which will make them better citizens in the long run?). a generation of epople who don’t even bother to go to college, or even finish high school, when they know they can hoof it out west and make a mint working the oil rigs, doing menial labour? we’re dumbing down society by creating this catch 22.young workers have the drive to do things- unfortunatly, the rewards just don’t exist for them. that’s where unions come in.
I love you Blue Collar and Happy. It’s about time I finally read a thread where someone actually cares for others than their-selves.Bravo!
their-selves? LOVE IT. must use it from now on.also dum dum dum du dum (wedding march)……i hear the sound of romance in the air….but Alison…blue collars a girl………….du du dUH!