Was having a conversation…

I commented on another WordPress post

The original poster on Army Vet Chic was talking about office politics and that they’d been told, based on their social media that perhaps they weren’t the right person for the job.

I suggested that perhaps social media could be used to make people wonder and thereby figure out who could and could not be trusted.

The original poster said they’d normally do just that but they’d already figured out the lay of the land and that they were going to just keep their head down and do their job.

As I wrote my response (below) I thought it might make an interesting post. So without further preamble here it is.

Got ya, and in times past I’d say that’s a great option.

I work in a company that is basically “Romper Room” too. What I’ve encountered is that from HR & upper management down, everyone is looking for something to hold over someone else’s head.

The environment is not about doing good job or rewarding a job well done. It’s about punishment.

Everyone is repeatedly punished for the “sins” of a few. I think this is because the company is terrified of appearing to be “unfair” to those that are taking advantage, so rather than address issues with the select individuals they make the entire department pay.

I’ve found that keeping my head down and doing my job well isn’t the way to promotion, it’s the way to be ignored.

At the same time when you’ve been maintenance free for a while, and then have any kind of issue it’s treated as a much bigger deal than it should be, or actually is.

Because I don’t post my life on every social media platform 24/7 it presents a problem, because my word isn’t good enough.

This new business model seems to expect your employer to be able to research your social media to verify that you’re actually taking time off to attend to family matters, they expect to see a timeline of posts that you or your loved ones have been diagnosed with some disease.

Only then will they be reasonable about letting you have time off without penalty. Which is why I have over 100 hours of vacation time and can’t get permission to take a few days off for personal reasons.

“Business Needs” are always cited.

I said to my supervisor, “So you’re telling me that the company would rather lose the investment they’ve made in my understanding of the product over the past few years, and have to pay out all my vacation time and current pay period, than let me take a few days off?“

My supervisors response floored me. The answer was, “Yes“.

I think it’s about to change, as companies and poor management come to realize that with a dropping unemployment rate they’re going to have to stop thinking of their employees as replaceable machines.

After I’d posted the comment I thought to myself, “This is why so many companies are in trouble.” This may also speak to why interviews have become “interview by committee” and have the same feel as becoming prom king or queen instead of being about whether you and the hiring manager can work together. 

A department that an employee will never interact with, should have zero say in another manager’s hiring decision.

And yet interviews have become popularity contests and about checking off irrelevant boxes instead of looking at what the potential employee can actually do.

I really miss the good old days when you sat down with the person you were going to work for and actually discussed the freakin job.

Social media may in fact be the worst idea ever. I have nothing to hide, but I also see no reason to stand naked on my front porch.

No-one is perfect and everyone needs privacy.