Bad employers

[SC Maintenance]

Can you differentiate between employer and boss?

First place I worked out of college was an awesome company. However after a few years management changed, and I ended up working for an idiot. He screwed a bunch of important things up royally and then tried to blame his staff. I ended up going way over his head - and I actually won that fight (surprisingly), which meant I knew I was dead man walking. I put in for a transfer however the boss I had previously worked for had left the company and convinced me to quit and come work for him. Mistake -but before that, later idiot boss went to be in charge somewhere else and called me trying to recruit me to the new place? I didn't know if he was really that stupid or just thinking he could screw me as payback or something?

Anyway, place number 2 was dysfunctional from top to bottom. My boss was great - why I went - but there was only so much he could do. We were a satellite office so eventually he got removed from the company, and I got a nice package to leave also. They eventually got rid of everyone he hired I am sure out of spite.

Job 3 Its a bit of both. The boss is awesome. But this is also a satellite office except corporate is overseas. The owners are all great people but those running corporate are idiots, hence the relationship between the us and them is always a disaster. Somehow the boss continues to juggle this, but it means were mediocre at best and always fighting problems we cause ourselves. I have however stayed here more than a decade - being private and knowing the owners makes it very stable. Still I think my days might be numbered. Now that my kids are almost done college the need for stability no longer has the allure it once did - so maybe something more challenging in a positive way?

 

[Skippy722]

My biggest gripe is my employer gives us night shifters a shift differential, but then turn around and give dayshift more hours. Our 5% in an absolute best case scenario is really 2.5% if we’re not super busy. Dayshift gets another 1-5 hours more than us, all overtime.

 

[brianl703]

Worst job I had was working as a contractor under ASM (accenture) for the Veteran's Administration. Miles of red tape, horrible government employees, and zero worker's right.

Working as a Federal contractor is all of the BS of being a Federal employee with none of the benefits or job security.

 

[SC Maintenance]

I see a thread about bad employers, not about what to do if you are employed by one.

I thought the what to do about it is self explanatory - leave?

 

[BAJA_05]

Problem is, you can make decent money now a days -- but everything is soo dang expensive anymore. Getting harder and harder to save money if you can even do that. I feel for the elderly that are on fixed incomes. I work hard for my money at work but my employer itself is a great company to work for.

 

[pghvolvo]

When I was a teenager I stumbled on a job at a local bakery basically as a cashier at least to start. Pay was cash for something "reasonable" at the time maybe $7/hour and minimum wage was $5.25/hour. But the owner basically told me the way taxes work she would be deducting something like $20 or $40 a week up front (regardless of hours worked) and then something like $1/hour...

Sounds like the games many of the independent contractors who deliver for Amazon play. Offer in the ad $19-$20 an hour, guaranteed 40 hours a week. Game one, actually they start at $18.25 an hour and then rip out a $1.00 for the first six weeks, so the new hires are actually taking home $17.25 and hour. If you make it through the whole six weeks they'll give you a check for the $1.00 an hour they held back. Then it starts all over again taking a dollar an hour out for the next six weeks and so on. Game two, the four ten hour days advertised don't exist in reality with new hires they are given one or two days a week or 10-20 hours a week for three to six months before the driver will maybe see full time. They have a hook that says if you get your route done early say in nine hours, we'll pay you for the whole ten hours. Again that doesn't apply to new hires most have to make it up to sixty days before that perk to kicks in. This is why I always say be extra nice to your, Amazon, FedEx and UPS drivers.

 

[Dave Hess]

How about owning equipment and trucks but only having one guy? I'm the lube tech, mobil mechanic,in shop mechanic,mobil welder etc!

Yesterday I was able to get a flatbed into the shop. I adjusted the brakes and greased the s- cams and slack adjusters before it was taken away from me. No time to check lights or tires .

I worked at a tire store that did not allow lunches and Saturdays you worked 8-12 free.

Worked at a muffler shop and was called every name in the book by the owner. He would send me upstairs to get a tailpipe. There was no organisation up there and if it took me more than 5 seconds to find it I got yelled at.

I worked at the radiator shop 18 years with no vacation whatsoever. I did get an extra day off for my wedding.

If you allow yourself to get crapped on then you have to kind of blame yourself for staying there.


18 years without a paid vacation ???? !!!!!!

Sorry but that is abusing an employee.

 

[wpod]

From my first job to my last job all have been top pay and benefits and great companies to work for.

 

[wpod]

Sounds like the games many of the independent contractors who deliver for Amazon play. Offer in the ad $19-$20 an hour, guaranteed 40 hours a week. Game one, actually they start at $18.25 an hour and then rip out a $1.00 for the first six weeks, so the new hires are actually taking home $17.25 and hour. If you make it through the whole six weeks they'll give you a check for the $1.00 an hour they held back. Then it starts all over again taking a dollar an hour out for the next six weeks and so on. Game two, the four ten hour days advertised don't exist in reality with new hires they are given one or two days a week or 10-20 hours a week for three to six months before the driver will maybe see full time. They have a hook that says if you get your route done early say in nine hours, we'll pay you for the whole ten hours. Again that doesn't apply to new hires most have to make it up to sixty days before that perk to kicks in. This is why I always say be extra nice to your, Amazon, FedEx and UPS drivers.

The companies run the snot out of their delivery drivers.

 

[dlundblad]

I’ve worked for great employers with terrible bosses and great bosses with terrible employers. It’s hard to point the finger at one or the other.

My recent career change had more to do with slowness and uncertainty than anything else. I couldn’t be happier though. Making more money and excellent benefits.

 

[AutoMechanic]

My company is rather large for our location at least. Family owned business. Great place to work but man I tell you the pay sucks. I’m struggling with the amount I make but I hang in there because I like it there. We had a racetrack that we sold to the county, we have a baseball field still have a race team. We have several franchise brands Subaru, Kia, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, a complete truck shop, dedicated used car shop, a separate used car location in a different county. 1,000+ employees and several positions. The owner knows each and every one of his employees. It’s the best job I’ve had. They really treat me well and find a place for me. I’m a tech/ technician trainee as well as in charge of our Toyota Express Lane those boys keep me on my feet all day but I appreciate what they do. I have to stay hourly because I’m not fast enough to do flat rate I believe in doing the job right no matter how long it takes. I really do want to get back over to Subaru soon though working for Toyota can get super boring. They do well at teaching me stuff though. And all of our shops are air conditioned which is great on these 90 and 100 degree days. They also give us all a Christmas bonus as well as a ham for Christmas and turkey at Thanksgiving and several paid holidays per year like Christmas, New Year’s, Fourth of July, Memorial Day. I just passed my 2 year mark in June. It’s a 30 mile drive each way but I like the scenic drive down US460/11 everyday.

But the benefits and retirement and PTO are some of the main things that keep me around. Really the only con is the pay. I’m going on vacation the 17th-21st and all of it is paid. Oh and sick days too granted I’ve never been sick and called in but if we want to take off if we get sick it’s required you use PTO there is no sick days. If you don’t have PTO then you just don’t get paid.

 

[atikovi]

Maybe if your only expense in life is housing...

If you were making $60-80K full time, you would be still making $20-30K 2 days a week. Plenty for all the other expenses.

Part-time work doesn't come with health care or retirement benefits in most cases.

1) If you're making $20-30K a year you qualify for an Obamacare plan for $100-$200 a month.
2) Buy some IRAs. Many full time jobs don't have retirement benefits.

 

[walterjay]

My company is rather large for our location at least. Family owned business. Great place to work but man I tell you the pay sucks. I’m struggling with the amount I make but I hang in there because I like it there. We had a racetrack that we sold to the county, we have a baseball field still have a race team. We have several franchise brands Subaru, Kia, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, a complete truck shop, dedicated used car shop, a separate used car location in a different county. 1,000+ employees and several positions. The owner knows each and every one of his employees. It’s the best job I’ve had. They really treat me well and find a place for me. I’m a tech/ technician trainee as well as in charge of our Toyota Express Lane those boys keep me on my feet all day but I appreciate what they do. I have to stay hourly because I’m not fast enough to do flat rate I believe in doing the job right no matter how long it takes. I really do want to get back over to Subaru soon though working for Toyota can get super boring. They do well at teaching me stuff though. And all of our shops are air conditioned which is great on these 90 and 100 degree days. They also give us all a Christmas bonus as well as a ham for Christmas and turkey at Thanksgiving and several paid holidays per year like Christmas, New Year’s, Fourth of July, Memorial Day. I just passed my 2 year mark in June. It’s a 30 mile drive each way but I like the scenic drive down US460/11 everyday.

But the benefits and retirement and PTO are some of the main things that keep me around. Really the only con is the pay. I’m going on vacation the 17th-21st and all of it is paid. Oh and sick days too granted I’ve never been sick and called in but if we want to take off if we get sick it’s required you use PTO there is no sick days. If you don’t have PTO then you just don’t get paid.

Will that company be around in 40 years to provide retirement for you? Just something to consider.

 

[AutoMechanic]

Will that company be around in 40 years to provide retirement for you? Just something to consider.

I hope so. They have been kicking since 1973 so I hope they will be there.

 

[tbm5690]

If you were making $60-80K full time, you would be still making $20-30K 2 days a week. Plenty for all the other expenses.

Many jobs pay higher hourly rates for full time than part time, so this likely wouldn't be true.

1) If you're making $20-30K a year you qualify for an Obamacare plan for $100-$200 a month.
2) Buy some IRAs. Many full time jobs don't have retirement benefits.

I could be wrong, but I doubt you would qualify the same way working only part-time on that income as opposed to full-time. Regardless, the plan itself I'm sure isn't great.

On the IRAs, no way someone making $20K a year is going to max out their contribution limit.

 

[tbm5690]

Will that company be around in 40 years to provide retirement for you? Just something to consider.

It doesn't matter, he probably is getting a 401K match. The company could close shop and his money doesn't go away.

 

[atikovi]

I could be wrong, but I doubt you would qualify the same way working only part-time on that income as opposed to full-time. Regardless, the plan itself I'm sure isn't great.

I'm paying $160 a month for a Blue Cross Silver plan and have $10 or $15 Dr visit copay and free prescriptions. An MRI cost me $50. Haven't had to cover anything serious but I think it's pretty good. What difference would part time or full time make? It's based on your total income.

 

[MrGraybeard]

In the mid '80s I spent about 3 1/2 years working at a family-owned business in a smaller town. The boss was a very nice guy -- too nice. He didn't have the heart to fire underperformers. Nobody worked very hard. One year I got a slightly disappointing annual raise, and I told the big guy I was disappointed. He said the raise was average for the industry, so I replied, "But I've always considered you an above-average employer." That got me another $20/wk.

After a couple years the slow-motion pace started to get to me, so I moved on. My next boss told me, "We're gonna work your b--ls off." He was true to his word, but with the workload came a great deal of professional growth. That put me in a position where I had the chops to land a "destination" job and excel in it. So I'm a lot more grateful to the taskmaster than the boss who put no demands on me.

 

[Chester11]

I see you're from Canada. Most members on this forum, including me, are from the USA. For whatever reason, I feel Americans would rather moan about their co-workers than their employer.

I'm a UPS Teamster and there's a chance I'll be on strike next month. I know there are people against unions, but the founder James Casey of UPS approached the Teamsters to organize his employees. UPS was started in Seattle over 100 years ago and James didn't want a radical union unionizing his company, so he wanted the then conservative Teamsters to represent his employees.

In the USA our benefits have been a race to the bottom. There's little reason to stay loyal and with the same employer for years if you're going to get screwed.

Does Canada guarantee vacation time? It seems like every modern country does other than the USA.

Hang in there my friend - I can't believe you roll in trucks without AC. If anyone deserved to get paid, it's you folks. My guy delivered liquor and wine during shutdown, and as far as I'm concerned he needs a brown cape.

Back in the day my folks used take me to the local terminal to drop off packages. Guys would let me roll packages down the metal conveyor into the truck. For a young kid, it was pretty cool.

 

[Exhaustgases]

One common thing with all the places I was employed at. No Boss ever was 100% truthful, meaning at some point they lied, not everyday but when the time came, the lie came. Especially when layoff time is close.