Wonderful question! @mea05key, GQ for you.
The truths of my workplace:
– Quality is given lip service, but really all they care about is speed of delivery.
– Honest, challenging questions are viewed as troublemaking.
– It is more important to look like you’re doing something than to think through a workable plan.
– They ask you to think outside the box, but as someone said, “the pay is inside the box.”
– No matter what you’re doing and how creative your efforts are, your contribution isn’t real unless you can sum it up in PowerPoint slides.
– No matter what you aren’t doing, you can get credit for significant contributions if you can sum it up in PowerPoint slides.
– This year’s solutions are going to be next year’s problems listed out on a PowerPoint slide, and nobody cares if you can go back and match this year’s problems to last year’s solutions on a PowerPoint slide. Everything is about “going forward.”
– The biggest rewards go to those who, after due study and analysis, recommend the solution that the boss wanted in the first place.
– Company-stated values look glorious to the stockholders and the press but are not really honored at the worker level.
– Despite multiple assurances, our jobs really are going to India.
In sum, the truth of my workplace is hypocrisy. And I work for a company that is consistently listed in the top 100 companies to work for in the U.S.
The other truth: this is no time to be trying to change jobs. Hang onto what you’ve got if you can stand it.
I have never been asked to do anything dishonest or illegal, and my self-respect is not dependent on my employment, so I put up with it, but part of me is looking forward to the inevitable layoff.