Lay-offs: the new paradigm

[gofaster]

Used to be that when you got let go from your job it was either because you weren't up to par and were being replaced, or because your job was going away and the company was shrinking.

Now there's a new wrinkle: you have to re-apply for your job and either get hired for it or it goes to somebody else.

In other words, the job you're doing right now is going up for auction and its up to you to ante up the qualifications to keep doing it, or they'll give it to somebody else.

Which then raises the question of corporate loyalty - company to employee and employee to company.

I can tell ya now, I haven't sacrificed a single personal event because the company wanted me to work overtime.  I knew full well the company would cut employees at the first inclination of trouble. There's just no reward for loyalty anymore.

But hey, I still got my job.

[Saurdaukar]

"There's no reward for loyalty anymore."

Nope.  And its been that way for 15 years.

Best advice I ever got: "Everyone's gonna get ****ed sooner or later.  Be sure youre in a position to **** them by time they come around to **** you."

Why dont you start 'auctioning' yourself off to other companies.  If one pays better and provides a better environment than where youre at now, change venues.

[capt. apathy]

And its been that way for 15 years

I've been in the job market for 20 and it was like that from the start.

my personal theory is that it's because of corperations and the basic lack of an owner who stands up and says 'this company is mine'.  everybody can pass the buck to somebody else and say their responsability is to the dollar.

I doubt there is anything to be done abot it though.  the best you can do is don't be fooled into thinking your company gives a damn about you (there are exceptions, mostly small companies with an owner who sees all his employees every day),  and make sure your kids don't have unreasonable expectations.

[cpxxx]

Never a truer word Capn' Apathy. Never be fooled that your company gives a damm about you.  You can turn up for work after 20 years in the job only to find yourself out the door three minutes later with a piece of paper and your manager's regrets. Happened to me once except they got one last days work out of me first.  It's funny though just as I was leaving the phone rang and I almost answered it.

Even my current employer who loves to boast that  they look after their employees managed to screw me and others around without actually firing many. Shft changes, money cuts, forced transfers, managers who know less than me and are incompetant  All the while telling you what a great company it is to work for and spouting on about teamwork.

I've come to the conclusion that teamwork means no one takes responsibility for anything. Managers fail to manage because the one and only way you can get into trouble is to do your work.

That's the corporate mentality these days.

[rpm]

Corporate Loyalty is an oxymoron.

[Animal]

The only loyalty is towards $

[ra]

Originally posted by Animal
The only loyalty is towards $

True, but it works both ways.  If another employer were to offer you significantly more $, would you stay "loyal" to your current employer?  Probably not, neither would I.  I've jumped ship for more money, and I would do it again.   With all the mergers, bankruptcies, and outsourcing of the last 15 years, people are only now realizing that working for one company for your whole career is the excecption, not the rule.  

ra

[Saurdaukar]

Originally posted by Animal
The only loyalty is towards $

And there is no one quite as loyal as one whose loyalty can be bought.  

[Animal]

Originally posted by Saurdaukar
And there is no one quite as loyal as one whose loyalty can be bought.  

touché.

[qts]

Aparently this wheeze is actually illegal in the UK. It doesn't stop them trying to do it, though.

[gofaster]

More about this new paradigm:

Apparently, the way its shaking out is that the position is being "downleveled", which means the guy doing the job today is automatically over-spec'd for the job - its like a captain leading a 5-man rifle squad, so to speak.  So, the consultants/managers doing the job re-evaluating makes the person doing the job prepare a resume' for evaluation and if the "applicant" gets to keep the job, he gets downgraded to the salary band level spec'd for the job.

Its a clever way to bust captains down to lieutenant ranks.

Fortunately, I'm way under-paid for my job (the company has been raping me for years) so its kind of an evil joy in watching the muckety mucks get their egos deflated.  I'm really having a hard time feeling sorry for people who have been making more money than me, and doing the same job.

[Frogm4n]

Corporations dont give a damn about their employees or their customers. Unless it hurts them finacially. All that matters is the bottom line.