Monday, May 8, 2017

What Are They Getting Paid For?

From a friend of the author:

Son (over age 18) was raised old-fashioned. Always be early to work. Always be the last to leave. Cut the chit-chat and work hard. Etc.
Son was at a manual labor job in a warehouse. He kept to himself more and focused on the tasks at hand as opposed to much idle chit-chat. Most of the other employees chatted so much, it got in the way of their production. The young man was evidently making them look bad.

90 day review time comes. Excellent marks except a "zero" in communication. He didn't chat enough, he was told. He made the others look bad, he was told. So he was let go. Despite being their #1 widget maker ever since that plant had opened.

And we wonder why American manufacturing isn't what it used to be.

2 comments:

  1. Holy crap, this is me. Except I haven't been fired, thank goodness. A few years ago I was passed over for a promotion for this very reason. The boss called me into his office one afternoon to explain why I wasn't being selected. (At least he had the courtesy to tell me face-to-face.) In a nutshell, he explained that because I am so quiet and tend to keep to myself, it appeared as though I was often disengaged. Keep in mind, every single evaluation I have ever had, before or since this encounter, has been sterling. There's never been one negative brought up. I've always done what's required of me, plus a little more. Always. I would argue that even though I am quiet and may appear disengaged, I am often the most engaged because I'm not a source of constant chatter. There are times when I am literally the only person working because everyone around me is talking (loudly!) about things that aren't work-related. It's actually a drain on productivity, because sometimes I lose focus and cannot concentrate, so I'll physically leave my work area and go outside (or to the bathroom) and wait for the noise inside to die down so I can resume working. So my quietness actually cost me a better chance of promotion this time.

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  2. That really sucks. Can't say that plant has much hope of long term survival. Heart goes out to your son but sounds like he is tough and will win in the end. Don't let the b*st*rds get you down...

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