| Topic Name: |
Advice needed |
| Message Name: |
Its epidemic... |
| Date Posted: |
04/04/2003 |
| In Reply To: |
I currently work for a software startup company.
The company is doing well overall in this slow economy.
However, there are several practices this company has that I find unethical.
1) We are in the middle of a product release and since fall of last year we have had a complete change in upper management including a new CEO and VP of engineering.
I have noticed that these new managers use acare tactics to 'motivate' employees. Both of them have mentioned that once the product is released they will lay people off.
2) They have imposed a strict
wage freeze.
3) They are aggressively hiring new software engineers as well as people in all other aspects of the company.
I have been there for less than six months and during this time, we have had many new people in management as well as in professional services.
Everyday I give 200%. Yet,
i feel that my best is not good enough.
Do you think management's practices are ethical?
Thanks,
Under Pressure
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| Message: |
Your experience is, IMHO, more and more common. I was laid off six months ago when our company (NOT high tech) got a new CEO. The concept of "ethics" is, in current management thought, archaic. There is no right/wrong or good/bad, just what makes money for the company and is legal. I'll skip the detail, but "GE grads" as I call them (current managers who worked under Jack Welch of GE) are now storming around, now heading other companies, and first thing they do is fire all those managers who they didn't hire. Does it give them a "clean slate" of some kind? Yes. It also throws all the institutional knowledge out the door. Worse, it actually penalizes you for being a hard working, loyal employee (as was my case and many others). My advice? Remember that to your particular company you are nothing more than a resource. If they can get more out of you for free, they'll do it. They'll push you to the wall, claim you're not doing enough, then (as in my case) will get new management who will come in an tell you that the vacation's over and its time to get serious. In 20 years of professional life, I've seen VERY few instances of putting in the extra effort actually pay off in any way. Take charge of your own life and leave if you need to. Staying just gets you more of the same. Get back to a normal worklife if you're willing to potentially get cut later. If you are, bet you're there along with a LOT of other people who have been putting in 200%. Sorry, but its gotten VERY mercenary out there, and the employers started it.
Good luck!
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