What are we doing to ourselves?

[Erin L]

I've really been riding the emotional roller coaster the past several days. Wednesday through Friday, I was at rock bottom, wondering how I was going to survive if I got fired (which is still a possibility); now things are looking better. All of it has gotten me really thinking about where we are as a nation and where we are going.

My boss decided to quit just before Christmas, because he was so upset about the direction our company was taking. We run a small compliance function (well, small in terms of people but very significant in terms of financial impact). Six years ago, we brought in a new CEO, who decided to change the corporate culture (warning, ladies - if any of you work in corporations and hear a new CEO use this phrase, polish up the ol' resume, because it isn't going to be pretty). Within a couple of years, hundreds of people had been sent packing, and vasy stores of institutional knowledge were lost.

Every time we thought the cuts were done, there were more cuts. Our little department managed to avoid the hatchet for quite some time, but last year, with yet another new CEO (who decided he had to be "tougher" than his predecessor) and a weak CFO, we finally came under the knife, losing 25% of our people. We made our case, explaining how ours is an area you really can't take chances with (those penalties, fines and interest can really mount up in a hurry), but it was to no avail.

Then they hit upon a new idea - outsourcing. We were going to outsource all the menial jobs to India, cut costs, and save all the juicy jobs for ourselves. Well, between the elevated risk (due to the cuts) for which we knew there would be no allowances made in the event of a mistake, the threat of outsourcing work we know can't be done overseas, and the added tidbit of deciding that no one was getting a raise this year, my boss decided that it was time to retire, and he did.

We heard all about how senior management was flabbergasted by this, how my boss had succeeded in "sending a message". So, on the off chance it might be true, I offered to take his place if they would allow me to replace him with a staff person so we could get the work done. "Of course," they said.

My first inkling of trouble was a month ago when I found out we weren't getting the new person. Then a problem came to light of certain missed filings from last year (these happened because we were shorthanded, and I was doing staff work instead of monitoring workloads, which fell to my boss). I was forthcoming about these to my new boss (my old boss' boss), and was somewhat concerned when he seemed to go into a panic (I should note that he came to his position without any meaningful job description being developed for him, and has been doing pretty much whatever he pleased for the past year or so; he also has no experience in the work we do; this doesn't prevent him from making about 3x what I make). Lacking appropriate experience, he began to panic.

That panic led to him having me investigated by our Internal Audit department. I have already documented how the staffing cuts left us shorthanded, resulting in filings to be missed. I've also proposed several changes to reduce the chances of similar occurrences in the future (many of which I had already begun to work on anyway). I found out about the investigation by accident, and when I confronted him on it, he did a very good imitation of Ralph Kramden - homina homina homina. Clearly, I can't trust him as far as I can throw him.

As soon as I learned of this, I called the recruiter who placed me at this company more than a decade ago and told her I had decided to get out. She was very sympathetic, and had heard some bad things about what was going on in our management. She told me that, although the job market is bad, there are opportunities for someone in my field and with my level of experience. I sent her my upated resume Wednesday night, and then on Thursday sent one to another recruiter I know.

On Friday, I tried to eat lunch but could hardly get it down. I went out for a walk (nice day, I seemed to notice) and wound up at a church a few blocks from our building - I go there periodically. I gave The Big Guy a piece of my mind, then went back to the office. In the lobby I ran into someone I know from a mid-sized accounting firm, and I told him that I had decided to leave my company. His eyes lit up and he asked me if I'd consider joining his firm. Just like that! I told him I'd certainly consider it, and he urged me to send him my resume. Friday night, I did.

I went upstairs and called another acquaintance, this one with a Big 4 accounting firm, and he urged me to send him my resume as well. He said I should consider an accouning firm or law firm if I didn't want to stay on the company side of things, but he also said he'd let any recruiters he spoke with know that I was looking.

This afternoon, I went on Career Builder and Monster.com and started looking at some jobs, finding a few that I might not fit perfectly, but could fill the bill. I sent applications for three, including my resume, and then turned off the PC and went out to dinner with my family. When we got home a couple of hours later, I checked my e-mail to see if I'd gotten confirmation on an order my wife placed earlier today, and instead found enthusiastic responses from two of the submissions of earlier today, both of whom want to talk to me first thing Monday. And for the first time I thought, even if they fire me this week, I'm probably going to be fine. I've got marketable experience. And tonight, for the first time in several days, I'm going to sleep well.

But before I do, I have to get something off my chest. If you read the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal too much, you get the idea that the only hope for this country is to allow business to operate however they like with complete impugnity. But lets take a look at my company as a case study.

When the real changes started talking place several years ago, executive compensation shot through the roof, while all across the organization, jobs were revalued and compensation levels lowered. One of my staff got a promotion, and the salary range of her new position was lower than that of her old position the year before! Using the financial crisis as an excuse, there were no raises this year for anyone making over $50,000, but there were plenty of bonuses (the accrual for the senior executive compensation pool, which we see at the end of the year, was something like 33% higher, while the general comp accrual was lower).

Intense pressure is being brought on us to outsource, and every time we lose someone (whether they leave voluntarily or are pushed out) we are barred from replacing them, so that pretty soon we will have no choice but to outsource. And the only options we are allowed to look at are offshore ones. The rationalization is that only menial tasks are to be outsourced, that we will continue to strategize and manage. Only, no one is thinking about what happens when the current strategizers and managers are gone - who will run these companies, then? See you in Mumbai!

For all the talk about the damage done by the Political class - and it has been substantial, especially those geniuses named Dodd and Frank - it's nothing compared to what the Business class has done to us. We have returned to those halcyon days of the late 1800s, and the ethic of "if you don't come in on Sunday, don't bother coming in on Monday". When I told my new boss that one of the reasons my old boss quit was that it killed him to tell people who had worked their socks off that there would be no raises, his response was that they should be grateful they have jobs. I guess I should be glad he didn't give a speech on the dignity of labor, because I'd have been ill.

I'm going to get out. I may get to go voluntarily, but even if I don't, I think I'll be all right. But my #2 is already getting nervous, knowing that the bulls eye could be on his back before you know it. And I'm guessing that at the same time I was submitting my resumes, he was polishing up his. And before I leave I plan to tell my whole department to do the same.

I used to love the old series, "Upstairs, Downstairs". In one episode, in the second season, Richard gives his chauffeur money to open his own business and marry one of the maids whom he (the chauffeur) has gotten pregnant. When the chauffeur asks him why he is doing it, Richard says, "When you take servants into your house, you take on a moral obligation to look out for their welfare." I've always thought that was equally true of a manager in business and her staff.

For the record, my department's record has been exemplary since I took over in December. We have missed no filings, gotten through three peak filing events and had all our year-end work verified on audit without comment. I was supposed to take the department to lunch this week, but couldn't because I thought I was about to be fired. I look at that, and I can only shake my head. We should be better than this, and until we are, this country is in very, very deep trouble.

Sorry for the rant girls. But I just had to.

[Leeza]

Erin, Although my situation is a little different I can understand yours.

When we made the dicision to move it was with the plans of finding a job in the new location. Now it looks as though I will have to continue to work at my old job which puts me commuting 70 miles one way instead of 45.

In my company there wa a wage freeze last year with a reduction in hours due to less work. Meanwhile it was rumored that the upper management made more money.

While I don't like political interference, I think that in both business and politics we have seen greed without consideration of the long term effects.

I have no problem with the person who is willing to take a chance on an investment of some sort and reaping the beniffit if the investment makes good, but I have a real problem with those who slash and burn the companies in order to make themselves look good for the short term without consideration for the long term.

Leeza

[Kimberly Kael]

It sounds like a really rough ride. I'm sorry you've had to suffer through it, but it sounds like you've got a very realistic perspective and will take the right steps to protect yourself.

One thing stuck out for me in an otherwise insightful post: If you read the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal too much, you get the idea that the only hope for this country is to allow business to operate however they like with complete impunity.

While I don't doubt that there are some people who think along those lines, I think the more common concern is that no amount of regulation guarantees a successful business with happy, motivated employees. A company that can't get its act straight should simply be allowed to crumble. If, as is often the case, the employees are where the real skill lies then they can leave to start a competitor long before the company itself becomes financially inviable.

There are very real dangers in over-regulation.

For one, it makes starting a new company much harder and thereby prevents employees from having realistic options when they're unhappy. After all, the hoops the government creates for companies to jump through tend to be heavily influenced by those in the industry who are looking out for their own interests. It creates a relatively small number of players in a given market and we've seen what happens when the economic well-being of the country is too tightly concentrated.

Another problem is that it takes time and energy to react to a changing business climate. When the rules change, companies make mistakes trying to adapt until they finally hit on a successful strategy. Well-meaning changes in regulation can lead to churn and instability until a new equilibrium is reached.

Now stir in the law of unintended consequences and it's hard to predict exactly what kind of churn you're going to cause with new regulation. The current trends in CEO behavior have a lot to do with the regulatory restrictions they're under - they tend to be spineless cowards who give into pressure from major shareholders and are only willing to do so for absurd rewards, in part because they are under the constant threat of legal action. A CEO can be held personally liable under Sarbanes-Oxley which is at least part of why nobody will take the job for a reasonable salary.

It's a mess and there's no simple solution in sight, but I would caution people against believing that the government can impose a solution from the top down. Given enough support they'll try exactly that - and I think we're better off with an uneasy tension between big business and politics. You don't have to imagine the damage they can do when they're comfortable allies!

[Anita]

Thanks for the post, Erin. I really enjoyed reading it, although it is certainly not a cheerful story. On the other hand, YOU'RE getting peace of mind, knowing that you have a market for your skills.

I've been self-employed in the trades for 30 years--the idea of going back to school is appealing, but the reality of working for others is not.

[Virginia]

Well, in a former life. that would have been me with different names. I did leave and was followed by most of the department personnel that I had worked with for some 25 years. Come to find out the "new" Dept. Director's wife, a secretary at another firm told her husband to fire and replace most of the staff with her friends from her company. For some it doubled and tripled their salaries. Funny thing, after ruining the lives of about 10 very hard working compentent, talented people, all with more than 10 years of service. Senior management decided this guy was actually the idiot that we all had known he was and he was fired after about six months.

Struggle on ladies! Jeannie is so lucky to have such a wonderful, sexy and understanding boss!

Virginia

[Absaroka]

Erin I'm glad things seem to be working out. These are some of the reasons I am glad to be self employed.

I get to see both sides of the regulations issues. Too much regulation can stifle things and not enough leads to absurd abuses.

I work in the building industry. We like to blame the building dept and the building code for a great many things. But the truth (and everyone in the field knows it) is that without them we would succumb to the pressure to cut corners put on us by others who were doing inadequate work for less money. So I am very greatful to them even as I blame them for everything.

Absaroka

[Potter]

Brilliant post eric!! youve got some great info on this site.

[Paula G]

When I hear of these kinds of situation I give thanks for being self emplyed. It si not just the US, in Europe too we find many of the same problems, I think a lot of these problems start when companies are run by "Bussinessmen" rather than people who are passionate about that particular busness. Car companies should be run by car enthusiats, food companies by foodies, the companies that should be run by accountants are accountancies.

I'm a gardener, I'm nervous of growing my business since I want to be a gardener not manageing a business, (I used to do that for other people, and stopped because it stopped being fun)

[Andrea Elise]

I work for a company that is running two ten hour shifts, six, sometimes seven, days per week.

We have been under a wage freeze for over two years. The excuse being that the other divisions are doing poorly. They "carried" our division when it was doing poorly (long before I signed on). So, we need to do the same for them.

We should be grateful that we have a job.

Management bonuses are a regular event.

Attendance 'GUIDLINES" have been toughened up to the point of insanity. Don't be late or you are terminated, even if you have called in. Unapproved absence is taboo.

All shifts on any and all days are mandatory and if you should miss any time, it must be covered by 'personal time of hours'. If you don't have enough of that to cover, you are terminated.

Unions have been on the way out for some time, but if this type of employer attitude continues, they will return. I'm not necessarily in favor of that, but how can you stand up for your self, other than quit, only to work for a worse employer? Walking away does not make it better for the coworkers you leave behind

I realize not every employer is like this, but they are becoming very scarce. It makes it much harder to rationalize when you see millions of dollars in product being shipped every day.

Andrea

[Davita]

I escaped a company just before they let a bunch of folks go. I would have been one of those folks. had I stayed around to get laid off, I would have gotten a free ride to the next job I had lined up. I would have collected unemployment. Something to think about.

For all the job changes I had made in my years, I had always had the new job before leaving the old one. Only once did that not happen. I pretty much had decide to be self employed as I had a chance to contract with an ex-client of a company I had worked for previously. Again, something to think about.

What are we doing to ourselves? The important question is, are you taking care of yourself while all h**l breaks loose? Are you saving up as best you can? Are you networking to keep options open?

And finally, do we have the best interview outfit ready when we need it?

[DonnaT]

http://www.dol.gov/compliance/guide/minwage.htm

[Anita]

Does anyone ever hear from Erin? I saw from other posts that she had found another job, but she hasn't been on here since January.