Boy, can I relate to this article. I wish I had had the cajones to only work my normal hours instead of the hours I put in, while being put down by management for not getting enough done, while doing twice (or more) than my coworkers. I still celebrate June 1st every year, if only in my heart and mind, the day I quit.
Great article, spot on. You would have written this at the height of my time in corporate hell. "Mediocracy" has always been my working philospophy. My time in the corporate world taught me so much - but not what my bosses thought I was learning. I remember when the monthly "campaign" posters went up; "Spanish Heritage Month" or whatever; and rolling my eyes. What the fresh hell does that have to do with my job?? The (New York based) massive corporation I worked for tried so hard to "uniformize" the work force - down to no open toed shoes. In Southern California. I was a top producer, (sales) but terrible employee. I used my job to free myself up to be there for my three kids. Maybe being a woman made it different for me, but work was a means to an end - paying bills. It made my manager angry. How did he respond? Punishment. Now, 27 years later, I consider, "what would things have been like if he had worked with me, not against me"? But that was not the culture. He, and the company, wanted maximum returns, not my well being. And I thank God I did not care. I paid the bills, sent my kids to private school, was there to cook a homemade meal, go to school and sports events and put them to bed. I look back at that petty little angry man and the company that drove me out and feel nothing but apathy. I am now a grandmother x 3 with kids who prioritize their families, thanks to the foundation I built. Priceless.
This is great to hear. I also worked in SoCal (San Diego) at that time and this article was a result of dealing with corporate culture (17 years for me). But like you very glad I made the decisions I did to be able to enjoy time with my son and wife. My bosses got so used to me saying "No," they just stopped asking. Thanks for this remembrance, important for those still dealing with it.
How unbelievably coincidental. I was a private mortgage banker for Chase Manhattan Bank, later J.P. Morgan Chase. I spent many days at the SoCal regional corporate office in Torrey Pines. My office was in Newport Beach. The competition was intense and the managers were trained to encourage that competitive spirit and then pit employees against each other. We most likely dealt with the exact same cultural environment. No wonder your article brought back such powerful memories. 😂😂
I was much farther down the corporate ladder than you, but it is interesting that we both dealt with the same B.S. I was a delivery driver for DHL for 17 years. Worked part-time and never tried to move up...never wanted to because of all the BS and what I knew would be longer hours. The culture changed fairly drastically during that time (1986 - 2003)....from decent, to bad, to worse, causing me to write an underground paper (The Inmate) that nearly got me fired.
Wow. Again. I started with Chase in 1996. By the time I left in 2003, it was not the same company. B.S. turbocharged between 2000 -2002. God it was awful. I had loved my job; it was perfect. It all changed - by the time I left, I hated it. After we merged with J.P. Morgan, there was no humanity left in the company. Well, at least I had almost three great years! And good for you chronicling the changes...I never even thought about that. 😊 But I can narrate and explain "The Big Short". Saw that coming in 2005.....divested my property in So.Cal nine months before the cracks started to show. Made a killing. My realtor hates me to this day! (I called him every week to lower the price by 10G until the place sold.)
Very true!! Those children are grown in “seconds” ! Don’t miss any of it! “The Cats In The Cradle….And the Silver Spoon…..Little Boy Blue & A Silver Spoon”
Excellent….just excellent!! This should be posted in every parenting forum on every social media platform.
Thank you, Sir!
Boy, can I relate to this article. I wish I had had the cajones to only work my normal hours instead of the hours I put in, while being put down by management for not getting enough done, while doing twice (or more) than my coworkers. I still celebrate June 1st every year, if only in my heart and mind, the day I quit.
Great article, spot on. You would have written this at the height of my time in corporate hell. "Mediocracy" has always been my working philospophy. My time in the corporate world taught me so much - but not what my bosses thought I was learning. I remember when the monthly "campaign" posters went up; "Spanish Heritage Month" or whatever; and rolling my eyes. What the fresh hell does that have to do with my job?? The (New York based) massive corporation I worked for tried so hard to "uniformize" the work force - down to no open toed shoes. In Southern California. I was a top producer, (sales) but terrible employee. I used my job to free myself up to be there for my three kids. Maybe being a woman made it different for me, but work was a means to an end - paying bills. It made my manager angry. How did he respond? Punishment. Now, 27 years later, I consider, "what would things have been like if he had worked with me, not against me"? But that was not the culture. He, and the company, wanted maximum returns, not my well being. And I thank God I did not care. I paid the bills, sent my kids to private school, was there to cook a homemade meal, go to school and sports events and put them to bed. I look back at that petty little angry man and the company that drove me out and feel nothing but apathy. I am now a grandmother x 3 with kids who prioritize their families, thanks to the foundation I built. Priceless.
This is great to hear. I also worked in SoCal (San Diego) at that time and this article was a result of dealing with corporate culture (17 years for me). But like you very glad I made the decisions I did to be able to enjoy time with my son and wife. My bosses got so used to me saying "No," they just stopped asking. Thanks for this remembrance, important for those still dealing with it.
How unbelievably coincidental. I was a private mortgage banker for Chase Manhattan Bank, later J.P. Morgan Chase. I spent many days at the SoCal regional corporate office in Torrey Pines. My office was in Newport Beach. The competition was intense and the managers were trained to encourage that competitive spirit and then pit employees against each other. We most likely dealt with the exact same cultural environment. No wonder your article brought back such powerful memories. 😂😂
I was much farther down the corporate ladder than you, but it is interesting that we both dealt with the same B.S. I was a delivery driver for DHL for 17 years. Worked part-time and never tried to move up...never wanted to because of all the BS and what I knew would be longer hours. The culture changed fairly drastically during that time (1986 - 2003)....from decent, to bad, to worse, causing me to write an underground paper (The Inmate) that nearly got me fired.
Wow. Again. I started with Chase in 1996. By the time I left in 2003, it was not the same company. B.S. turbocharged between 2000 -2002. God it was awful. I had loved my job; it was perfect. It all changed - by the time I left, I hated it. After we merged with J.P. Morgan, there was no humanity left in the company. Well, at least I had almost three great years! And good for you chronicling the changes...I never even thought about that. 😊 But I can narrate and explain "The Big Short". Saw that coming in 2005.....divested my property in So.Cal nine months before the cracks started to show. Made a killing. My realtor hates me to this day! (I called him every week to lower the price by 10G until the place sold.)
Very true!! Those children are grown in “seconds” ! Don’t miss any of it! “The Cats In The Cradle….And the Silver Spoon…..Little Boy Blue & A Silver Spoon”