I've been a party pooper and ......

[Stanley Steamer]

sourpuss here lately.......I've let my work interfere with my "me" time and it's been a mental drain....

I SHOULD know better than that after what I've encountered in the last few years.....I've been at the same job for 16.5 yrs and got passed over on two promotions.....the second one was more my fault, but the first time was for reasons that I had no control over......reading the thread where the guys just got let go had me thinking about the work/worker relationship in this "modern" world......

I gave 110% right up until my first lost promotion..... my heart was ripped out of my chest and stomped flat  when I realized it's rarely a matter of how much education, honesty, integrity, very hard work, ethics, work ethic, LOYALTY, dedication, attendance, punctuality, etc, etc that a man can bring to the table.....especially in a local Govt. setting.....my Dad/Family had raised me to believe that those were the qualities that get a person ahead in this world.....boy...were WE wrong!!.....

I guess I made such a big stink about getting the shaft the first time around(98% of my co-workers admitted as much), that I didn't really have a shot the second go round...I can take comfort in the fact that THAT guy has made some serious blunders that has left some egg on some faces that hired him.....


I still give about 95%+ to my work and was told back the first go around that my 70% effort was better than MOST of the other guy's 100%'s.... .....

Currently.....things everywhere have been tough and belt tightening has been the new "norm".....the Commissioners have decided that they'd axe my second Groundskeeper position to make ends meet.....it wasn't their first choice, but hey, their priorities are with who squeaks the loudest come crunch time......I was told that it didn't mean that I'd have to work harder....they are going to reduce the time between maintenance intervals in the CBD...aka Downtown Business District(22+ blocks and several other sites).....I guess I'll have to live with that......like many other of you out there, we haven't had any raises in about 4 years either, and the health insurance costs  have continued to rise as well....

I really, really do appreciate that I have a decent job and that "nothing: is owed to me, but I have EARNED everything that I have gotten...no charity on their part.....I've busted my @ss for them mainly because it's just the way I'm "built".....and they can, and are, thankful that it means that I still give them a superior effort regardless of what is thrown my way......I sometimes wish my Dad had not instilled that kind of work ethic in me.....it'd be EASY then to just say "F"'it.....I guess others have been able to do that much better than I have..... ......

I'm going to try my best to put this work stuff in it's rightful place....what started out as a "career" has been relegated to just a "job" and everyone loses I guess......wish I had some comforting words for the guys from JC Penney who just got canned, but I guess that's the way the world "rolls" now........

[sidecarrick]

 Stanley, it's a sign of the times. No longer does dedication and hard work get you what you deserve. The 'baglickers' get the breaks and you become one of the masses. Soldier on, brother- you're doing your job better than most and that has to count for something at the end of the day, even of it's only to you.

[..]

Steamer, I got let go from Coke in 1999 and 2000. Not many who can tell you they got "let go" by the same company in 2 different centuries.

Pedantic readers can get over the math of the century. It's my story and that's the way I tell it.

Got "let go" again in 2008.

I despise the current HR dweebs who use scanning programs to look for the current buzz words on resumes without looking at a resume. I also despise the young MBA's who have as much common sense as a dead possum and feel that they have all the solutions.

The companies who know that many are job hungry and advertise for mid level managers whilst offering little more than minimum wage. Pay peanuts get monkeys.

It'sa  different USA than the one I set foot on in August of 1993 having made a decision to leave my own country to get away form the political idiocy that was steamrollering the population.

However I wouldn't change this country for any other. Many say we are the best at everything. Blatantly we are not BUT it would be difficult to find a  better country to live in on the surface of this blue marble.

I love it and dream that one day it will regain it's former glory.

[Russell Rice]

There was a time when I worried about everyone else at work, who gets promoted, who recived a raise, and who is doing what job, not anymore. I am a certified welder, CDL, and a licensed electrition. I am like Stanley, I bust my @ss at work everyday ( I am a sign guy) there 15 minutes earley everyday and never gripe about overtime or working on the weekends. We have "baglickers" that have no certifications at all that make a dollar an hour less than I do. I call them "most timmers" because there most of the time but not everyday. They come to work stoned, drunk or hung over for the most part. I stopped worring about them (unless I have to work with them) and just keep my head down and carry on. It has helped with my attitude at work. I am a retired Marine and it just kills me to see these guys draw a pay check and do half the work and have half the dedication that I do.


Like Stanley says, we are just built that way. Sometimes it sucks bad but being built that way.
23 years in the Marine Corps and 18 1/2 years in the IBEW. I enjoy doing the work I do and for the most part look foward to going to work each and every day.


When I turn right out of the parking lot at work, I leave work at work and hit my "me" time. Took me a few years to teach myself to do that. Best thing I ever taught myself to do.


Baglickers = S.W.A.T. Team
S= sh!t birds
W= worms
A= @ssholes
T= turds
 

[The Anvil]

***WARNING: There are a couple of colorful euphemisms sprinkled in here***



Yup, it's a "buyers market".

I can tell you that with rare exception the private sector is no different in that it's as much about about who you know and who you blow as it is your skills and dedication so don't feel like you're missing out. Even aviation is not immune to this. The only difference being that complete incompetence is usually weeded out before it gets that far. But man have I seen my share of minimally capable people promoted into positions that they didn't really earn...

At the end of the day can you look in the mirror and live with the person staring back at you? I have never compromised my ethics, morals or dignity for my work and it has definitely been to my overall career detriment. I do okay, don't get me wrong, but I know I could have gone further had I "cupped the balls". But I respect the person staring back at me. That's worth a lot more than money and a title to me.

[Chattanooga Mark]

Do your work heartily unto the Lord, not unto men...works everytime its tried.

All the best to you Stanley,

Mark

[cookiedough]

Been dealing with co-workers doing similar jobs in an office setting and trained many during the past 25 years doing similar jobs as myself.  What really pisses me off is the new hires (same pay grade level) are getting paid as much if not slightly more than me being at the same job 6+ years or more simply because the wage scale back then was like 2-3 bucks less than what it is now for starting pay new hires.  No way should someone doing a good job 6+ years or more get paid the same or even less than a new hire similar office job but is the case nowadays.  Have also trained 4 year degree bachelor degree office workers thru a temp agency me being employed full time and paying their temp agency seeing the invoice with the employee at the temp agency getting paid more than me and he/she is helping me/the office out and being trained by us full time workers. One temp worker even commented to me you do all of this for so little, are you kidding me!  I just brushed it off because she was lazy as all heck and didn't want to do the work which there lies the problem.  I have found younger right out of college workers (most, not all) want the big bucks right away and do not want to work to earn what they make.   Life sucks and is not fair but yet we trudge on being taken advantage of. 

[Black Dog]

I respect the person staring back at me. That's worth a lot more than money and a title to me.

The Anvil is right...  34 years on the job for me, and I couldn't even begin to list the number of Birthdays, Holidays, Baseball Games, Family Time, and on & on, that I've given up for the company... 

I, like you, have worked hard to get where I am.  That being said, I know full well that a white guy in his mid fifties is costing them way more than a couple of 20 somethings would.  My saving grace is the experience and knowledge I've picked up over those 34 years.  That is something those 20 year olds won't have for quite a while 

If you are able to look at the man in the mirror, and know he is a good, honest, hard worker, then you are doing what you need to do.

Stay strong Stan 

Black Dog

[fudgie]

Hang in there Steamer. 

My uncle got canned a month ago from a job, he was a month from either 20 or 25 yrs at. No warning at all. Timing was 'good' cause it was planting season, but still sux.

I figured I'd be out of my full time stop a few months ago. We work on a yearly contract with the county. In Ind at least, the county has to provide a EMS service. They went looking elsewhere for a better deal. There was no way ANYONE can give them a better deal then what we give them. They only give us $250,000 a yr, which is hundreds of thousands lower then anyone around. We were hoping the county would stick it to us and the 'Big' hospital we work for, just outta spite.  Our Health System sux for us employees.  But Kit told me our contract went thru.  I was hoping for a yr off! 

[MAD6Gun]

 I know how you feel Stan. I was with the same Dealership for 21 years. Getting a raise was REAL hard to do at this place. Loyalty is a one-way street at this dealer. When GM decided (with Obama's Help) that Pontiac was no longer a good idea the dealer lost its franchise. So I had two options. The first was to stay and "learn" to work on Honda's (The dealer had a separate Honda franchise on the same lot) OR leave and try to find another dealer. I did the latter because I have been a GM tech for almost 30 years and don't want to work on anything else if I can help it. When I left the Pontiac dealer the General Manager NEVER even came out and thanked me for 20 plus years of service. In fact I never even saw him the last week I was there. How is that for kick in the face.
  For the last year and a half I have been at a Chevy dealer. I no longer have to work Saturdays and I make more an hour. So I am better off. But the pay still suck compared to a GM factory worker. But I trudge on. I look at it this way. I have a job and it pays the bills.....

[solo1]

Stanley all that you can do is hang in there.  Don't try to think about what how incompetent others are with the same pay or more.  It will sour you and it will reflect on your work and stress.

I was given the duty one time to train a new cohort. He let it slip that he was making $5.00 more on the hour than I was but he was someone's favorite.  The company paid for his degree and as soon as he had it, he left.

Life never was fair and it's even more unfair today as mentioned here by others.  Try not to let it get to you as you will either end up with failing health  because of high stress levels or with no choice other than to quit your job.  Don't ask me how I know.

Ride the attitude adjuster, your Valkyrie, as much as possible. That really helps.

[bscrive]

I can sympathize with you Steamer,  I work for the federal gov't up here in Canada.  I have lost out on lots of good opportunities because I don't speak french.  Here in the gov't it seems that it is more important for you to speak french than it is to be qualified to do the job.  I am fortunate I got my current job over 12 years ago.  If I was going for the same job now, I would not qualify for it because you are now required to be bilingual.  Even though 99% of my job is done in English.  The problem is that Francophones (french speaking individuals) are now in the management positions, so, they will hire someone who is french for the position.  It would not matter if I learned french since the managers will hire a french person before they will hire an English speaking person who also speaks french.  This leads to a lot of idiots that cannot do the work but will get promoted ahead of me.

One job opportunity I missed out on was a 3 year assignment in Dallas, I thought that maybe you had to know Spanish to get the job but, no.  You had to be fluent in French.  What the heck do you need to know French for in Dallas Texas?  I guess to speak to the other French Canadians working for the gov't.

[Momz]

What happened to the AMERICAN DREAM that we were taught about when we were in school?

Seems it was just a ruse.

Veterans and aging boomers with experience, loyalty, and education,...well it doesn't matter when they can hire "wet behind the ears newbies" at half of what you were getting paid. It's sad and in my opinion "Unamerican", but that's our new world order.

[Stanley Steamer]

Thanks Guys.....I'm going to do my best to let it roll off my back....and I'm gonna try my best to get into this new "frame" of mind....might be a little harder for me......

[cookiedough]

We have all been there more for some than others.  Just have to grin and bear it and say what the F!!!!   If you are not in the IN crowd being the bosses little bitch or kiss ass more often than not you will get overlooked for a raise or promotion.  I know it is hard at times to do, but we all have been there unfortunately.  I guess the one thing that ticks me off more so than anything else is let's say you have 10-20 years in a job doing above average work and then they hire same grade level new hire 22 year old making the same if not more than you just starting off doing same or similar job.  That ticks me off more than anything else.

[..]

Getting involved in the "work politics" or the reality TV of the job place WILL bring you down.

Keep away from the negative people who like to overly moan and groan.

Keep away from those who think all managers should have their feet washed by the workers.

Find that middle ground and you to can grow up to be a grumpy old man and be in the company of some of the finest people on earth 

[Stanley Steamer]

We have all been there more for some than others.  Just have to grin and bear it and say what the F!!!!   If you are not in the IN crowd being the bosses little bitch or kiss ass more often than not you will get overlooked for a raise or promotion.  I know it is hard at times to do, but we all have been there unfortunately.  I guess the one thing that ticks me off more so than anything else is let's say you have 10-20 years in a job doing above average work and then they hire same grade level new hire 22 year old making the same if not more than you just starting off doing same or similar job.  That ticks me off more than anything else.

We have about 35 employees in my Division......I'm one of around 12 Crewleaders......and I was hired into a Crewleader position in March of 1996......at the 10 year mark, the year I lost that first promotion, I was the 3rd highest paid CL there.....the other two CL's who made more than me had been there twice as long......and one was one pay grade above the rest of us......he retired last year.....the other guy who'd been there ~20yrs only made $20 a year more than I did( I was privy to the budget since they had me in a pilot Succession  Training program).....

The CL they promoted ahead of me had been there 15 years, and I was making ~$3,000 more a year than he was......and that was even considering that his Supervisor was notorious for giving her ppl very generous performance reviews to the point that the Big Boss had to reign her in.......that told ME a lot about just how hard I had worked in that time to surpass the other guys in pay.......he was hired for 3-4 reasons that made it easier for the Big Guy(which he admitted to me that I had "hit it on the head" in a later meeting).....and he thought that MY Supervisor was going to be moving up to another position which would leave her job to promote me to......of course that never happened after what she saw was done to me.....and I was the one left holding the short end of the stick.....

I was VERY, VERY pissed off for months after that.....my work performance actually INCREASED since I was trying to take my mind off of it.....I had a couple of heart to hearts with the Big guy and my supervisor(she's always been my biggest supporter) about it....that didn't help me the second go round a few years later for the next Supervisor job that opened up.....

It really was NOT about the $$.....it would have only been about $5,000 more a year to supervise about 8-12 other guys + Inmates.....I'm not saying that the $$ isn't important, just not the most important thing......had they promoted me, it would have been the proof to me that they valued my hard work, honesty, dedication, and loyalty......pats on the back and $$ are not required to motivate me......doing the BEST job I can is what motivates ME and I cannot understand why in the hell an organization wouldn't WANT and jump at the chance to promote the Hard Chargers to set the example for the guys behind them...... .......??????.......

Oh well, I can look at myself in the mirror and KNOW that I have given my best........I've had Inmates tell me that they respect my work ethic and have never seen anyone so driven.....same thing from co-workers.....they KNOW the "score".......


 

[shooter64]

Wow, I was really lucky. I got laid off at 61 1/2 years old in '09. Drew unemployment for 99 weeks and started S.S. at 62. In S.C. ( and most other states) you can get S.S. and unemployment at the same time. So I was actually better off. With my retired National Guard income and insurance, rental property income and S.S. getting laid off was one of the best things to happen to me. Almost 3 years now. Just lucky timing. Course I had to work 45 years to make all of that come together.

[art]

I'm with you shooter 64 .I got laid off at 62 collected the rest of my savings and started ss and am happier than ever.No more 12-14 hour days an no more incompentant bosses.50 years as a machinist, in the aircraft ind. for ten before working for the LA dept of water and power at places like Hoover Dam and working my butt off for 8 years before I said goodby.13 yrs with the GE on jet engine repair .Very good job and good money.Cutbacks forced me to ask for a layoff with severance pay.All union jobs.I then went to work for other machine shops all nonunion and got screwed from every one of them jerks.I have said never again will I put up with there crap .too bad I couldn't retire 40 years ago

[alph]

there was a position available at my old employer that i wanted, and i believed i was qualified for.  i was taking night classes to learn the systems that i would have been selling, giving 110% and busting my you know what's.  then, after they hired some guy from 200 miles away, paid his moving expenses, got him a company car, etc, etc., my attitude fell in the toilet.  when i had my review my boss asks me, "gee al, your attitude has changed, what's wrong?" i asked him why did he go and hire out of the office for the sales? he said no one was qualified, then i asked him why wouldn't he consider training on of us, he then said, "none of you were worth it."  i waited two more months until i got my fresh batch of vacation hours, then gave my two week notice.  (he always hated paying out vacation pay!!) 

my whole attitude of work is, be courteous, collect paycheck.....  i don't ever plan on being promoted, why would i want to do the extra work.....

[Robert]

Thank you Stanley for the post it made me think.
  I have never had a job that I worked for a company for a long time. It seems that I have always made my own way in life. I think the real answer is I have worked for the Lord my whole life I just didn't know it in the beginning. He has always been good to me and always given me what I needed regardless of who I was in employment for. If you rely on the arm of man for your living then then these stories are mostly what you will get. I have never known a person that would not change their mind or change circumstances to suit their own or the companies personal needs. If you work for the company you are company property and subject to their whims. There is some that do have morals and conscience and do try to keep things as caring about the employee as possible but regardless you still work for the company and you as such are subject to what they need. We don't know what the supervisor is feeling, seeing or is dealing with in their own situation. Sometimes its a conflict of personality a addiction, a failing marriage a boss over them that they are trying to please or placate the reasons are so many. Although like most I have had my share of disappointments while working for people in the way of deserved raises or promotions or such it really made me only understand that I cannot trust those that I work for no matter how good they are. Their are situations out of their control that I may not be able to see that may be influencing their decisions. How good is your boss at managing their own life? Before I walked with the Lord I was bitter about a few situations but as time went on it really didn't matter and faded away. Since I have been in my own businesses I find that it is the way to go for me. I would say that some like you Steamer have talents that are marketable and could make the jump and maybe even earn more money and not have to put up with the bs. When we work for someone we get to confined in our thinking and don't see what lies beyond for us. These jobs are exactly that jobs they are not the only thing in our lives and sometimes limit the scope of our vision for our lives trading it for the supposed security of a paycheck. The Lord is our provider and with prayer will guide us into the proper position and tell us why we didn't get what we expected. He has never failed me even when I have failed Him. When the time has come to pass on what will you have spent the real currency of your life (TIME) on the worry and disappointment about a job or the peace knowing you provided for your family in such a way that it made you happy also. Don't work to die, work to provide and enjoy your life. Life turns on a dime and in a minute it can be gone men,jobs don't provide security only God does.

WTC 9/11 Tribute - A New York Minute	powered by Aeva

About 3000 people and a country expected it to be another day on the job but some didnt come home. Live the day as if it were your last enjoy everyday because its a gift love the ones around you because you cant take money or possessions with you only the memories. Dont be content with anything less than what you can be, for yourself no one else. when you get to the judgment seat He wont ask did they appreciate you, He already knows.