Do you work in corporate America? Rant...

It's long and probably not interesting if you haven't experienced it before... Just a bit cathartic for me to let it out.

I've been working for a Fortune 100 company for over 20 years, so you think I'd be used to it by now. But I'm not. I should be thankful that the B.S. hasn't changed me to accept it as normal and start talking and thinking like this myself.

What I'm talking about is the doublespeak, obfuscation, greed and non-answers to clear, simple questions. It's truly amazing that they think this is normal and ok. It happens on a daily basis.

We often have to do training modules on a wide range of subjects, most have nothing to do with what we do. Recently we did one on Media Relations; what you can and can't say regarding the company and how to say it. I kid you not, they explicitly said "don't answer the question they ask, answer the question you wanted them to ask". This is the mentality they have for internal employees who ask questions as well.

We had a companywide all employee call and they had people submit questions prior to the call. But they also had a Chat window open, and people were asking questions in real time. This is where the BS speak from the C suite really shines.

A bit of background - Due to Covid our travel has been severely curtailed. As restrictions have eased, they decided they liked not having the expense for the travel and instituted polices to keep travel minimal. At the same time, more office people had been working from home. So much so, they are closing many office buildings, consolidating workspace, and having more people continue to work from home. The amount of money they have saved in rent, utilities, travel, etc. is significant. All of those are great, however they continue to whittle away at reimbursements for things like internet and cell phones. It's a paltry amount ($40/month for internet), even for such a large number of employees, yet the C-Suite continues to get obscene bonuses and pay for doing this.

Anyway, during the call someone asked about the home office reimbursements, reminding them that they pride themselves on being competitive in the market, and will they reinstate the things they cut since they are saving a ton of money and asking more people to work from home? This is the answer; "We are making sure everyone has the right tech to be effective and productive. We are also benchmarking externally as well as other considerations. Thank you for your question." This is the crap we see and hear daily.

I can't imagine what it would be like if they just spoke plainly and honestly. It would be shocking. Kind of like that Jim Carrey movie Liar Liar. It would go like this - "All of our competitors reimburse employees for using their home internet for work, will you go back to doing that now that you're saving all this money"? "Yeah, we aren't going to reinstate your $40/month reimbursement for using your home internet for business because I am counting on that 2-million-dollar bonus I get, because we continue to nickel-and-dime you, to remodel my Hamptons house, and I won't get that if our revenue is $3.49 billion rather than $3.5 billion". Bastardos.

Ah, that felt good to get out. Rant over. If you've read this far and can identify with the above, you have my sympathy.

 

Took a $5/hour pay cut last April to say goodbye to a large company, no regrets!

 

I love my job. We are nimble, lean, and fun. We make doing business with us, more fun, and easier than our corporate competitors. Tell them to keep it up, people hate them.

 

Boss makes a dollar while I make a dime...

 

I've given up expectations.

Once you accept what you can't control, it's gravy all the way.

Just sticking it out until it's time to go.

 

I feel like we work for the same company.

 

I've worked in very large corporate environments since I left the Army in 1988 and entered the I.T. world after I graduated form College in '93. I've worked for companies of at least 50,000 employees or larger. My first 18 years were with Intel, the big computer chip maker (at their Folsom, CA location). Intel was always very strict on their policies about any employee talking to any media outlet, the rule was basically always "do not say anything, direct them to contact our Media Relations office at (800) 123-4567". Also, they were adamant that no one got to work from home, because the corporate mentality was "if we can't see you sitting at your desk, we have no trust that you are actually working". Pretty poor way to treat very highly trained professionals. Almost everyone at Intel had at least a bachelors degree, and most were in technical/science areas. I still have many friends at Intel, and I am told that now, due to the pandemic lockdowns, their new policy is basically "if your Manager is cool with you working from home, then you can work from home, come in to an office as needed".

After I got laid off from Intel, I worked for Bank of America for a few years. At that time (2011 - 2014) BofA policy was "if your job can be done form home, and we don't need to keep leasing/building offices, great!" so I worked from home. They bought me ergonomic office chair and desk, printer, shredder, etc., and also reimbursed me 100% for my home internet costs. I left that job to go to school and continue my education. Shortly after I left, one of my former coworkers told me BofA had reversed their policy, and were then requiring ANY employee who lived within 50 miles of a BofA office facility to start working from an office, no more work from home.

Unfortunately, my educational endeavor didn't workout as I had hoped, sue to financial issues, and I had to return to the I.T. arena. I ended up working for a very, very large U.S. health insurance company, working from an Office location. Late last year, after having all of us working from home since March 2020, the company had been telling us in no uncertain terms "ALL employees will begin returning to company offices in October 2021". Just a few weeks later, they did a complete 180* and the CEO issued a new company wide email saying "after careful evaluation, we have determined that the trend of allowing employees to work remotely has become a widespread practice in many fields, and we do not want to risk losing quality employees to other companies that will allow them to continue working remotely, so we are evaluating remote work for all employees whose work functions do not otherwise require them to be in a company office." They didn't provide any home office furniture,, but have been reimbursing us a flat $50/month to offset out mobile phone and/or internet costs each month. Based on my 5 years at this company, I still expect them to eventually rescind their work remote policy, and demand most employees return to company office buildings. That, and other factors, lead me to start looking for external jobs that 1) paid a lot more; and 2) guaranteed a permanent work from home/anywhere position. It took me several months, but I recently got an offer for the perfect position for what I have been looking for over the last 10++ years. I am scheduled to start on March 28th. It will be a permanent work remote position, and making a lot more than I make at my current position. Plus, I am finally getting the chance to move up from grunt to a Manager position. This is a mid sized company, around 25K employees, so the smallest I've yet worked for. Don't know what sort of corporate nonsense I may run into, but I'll deal with it as I encounter it.

 

Corporate America here... Fortune 500
Thankfully I do not see those issues. Been with this company 23 years and have 36 in the industry. Really enjoy what I do.

 

That's why I poop on company time...

 

‘Yes men’ are in high demand, as this thread and responses have shown.
I am brutally honest. You ask me a question, it gets a short and ‘sweet’ (honest) answer. I have been verbally disciplined for these answers. My response to this, you asked!
I’m 53, I don’t care if you don’t like the answer.

 

I saw a now hiring sign at Dairy Queen.

You have to keep in mind that those corporate bonuses don't go as far in today's economy.

 

Lol. How proud of yourself you are and how judgmental of others. There is a difference between direct and honest and just being an asshole.

FYI - that was direct and honest.

 

Corporations have changed and don't see any need to be responsible to their employees anymore. They are only responsible to their shareholders now. This one change has made the majority of corporations shit places to work.

 

Well when I have an issue at work such as you described, I handle it at work.
I certainly don’t complain about it online to a bunch of pseudo people who can do absolutely NOTHING about it.
I’m glad you venting on TW for some reason satisfied you?!?
Just by your response to me proves you’re just like the co workers you dislike.
Certainly ‘speaking plainly and honestly’ is something you don’t want.

 

This is a fucking forum, you know, a place where people can come and discuss all sorts of topics. If someone wants to vent, see what others are seeing and get opinions that is their prerogative. If you've been "verbally disciplined" at work for your answers then you aren't "straight forward" you're just an ass who doesn't understand that people working together also need to get along and you can't communicate like a normal human being.

But hell, if it makes you feel righteous and superior have at it.

 

Can you raid the offices for the needed supplies? What home consumables are you using? Working from home has saved me $0.00, but it has also cost me $0.00. In the grand scheme working from home is a lot more costly. I think I have spent $23K on my home office/workshop, but my company provided me with a $300 printer.

 

How’s the new job working out?

 

3 years ago, I retired from my second Fortune 500 company and at 59.5 began working part time for a small R&D company associated with a local university. I ran the shipping and receiving docks for the larger companies but never got the satisfaction I do now with a small company with less than 50 employees. I do everything and anything that needs done and all of the things I always wanted to do I can do here so it is rewarding. I don't make the big money anymore, but the owner treats his employees extremely well and is very generous with bonus's. He just passed out $3000 checks to all of the employees to help with the rising costs of inflation. I wish I would have found this place 20 years ago. I plan to stay for another 1.5 years because the health insurance only costs me $27 every 2 weeks for the upgrade. It was free otherwise. We get the university benefits there.
I don't miss all the lies and false promises and them expecting you to die for them when they would cut you in a heartbeat to save a dime. All those years satisfaction was the paycheck I earned and what I could learn. When I left my last Fortune 500 company, I documented some things and took a couple people out that made my life and others miserable there. My one boss thought it was funny placing "fag" signs on the back of one of my coworkers' chairs who was gay. Camara phones are nice to have sometimes. The other was guilty of ordering things for himself on the company's dime. He doesn't do that anymore. I dont miss any of it. Life is so much better.

 

The days of working for a company for 20+ years and collecting a fancy retirement are gone. It’s a business, and employees are also treated like a business. Very few companies these days will take care of you like you’d expect. If you’re not happy with the company you work for, interview elsewhere and negotiate for what you want. Rinse and repeat. Build up your investments and make your own retirement. Take responsibility for your current position and your future. Stop whining about how this company does this or that, it’s out of your control and will only lead to a stressful and unhealthy work life.