TargaDave said:
I am always amazed at the # of people who go to work for megacorp or the gov and then spend a career complaining about backstabbing, incompetence and absurd game playing. It's like an art history graduate complaining about the lack of 6 figure job offers. If you hate it then be your own boss (god knows this country is the place to do it).
With my company I have never done a performance review, haven't worn a suit in ages, and the closest thing we have to team building sessions involves sneaking in a couple of six packs on Friday afternoons.
I agree 100%. Instead of complaining about your life, just do something about it to make it better. If you hate your job, then get another job, or better yet, start your own business.
I only had one of those corporate reviews in my life, so I'm no expert. But during that review I remember the reviewer telling me about something I had been doing to her dislike for the last 6 months. Being new to this "review" thing, I said, "Well, why didn't you tell me 6 months ago or any of the 120 business days prior to today, so I could have done my job differently so it would have been done the way you wanted it to be done for 6 months?" The review said, "Well, that's why we are having a 6 month review." I remember leaving the "review" room shaking my head and laughing on the inside about how stupid that process was.
Then I remember during the holidays they were handing out year-end bonuses at our final "weekly cluster meeting" of the year, calling each member of our "team" and giving them a check. I had only been with the company for 4 months at the time, but I was the only one not called and left standing there without a "bonus" check in my hand. The excuse was that everyone else had completed a full 12 months there. I was told by some of them that they hadn't received a bonus check either the year before when they had less than 12 months with the company. I guess you wern't a member of the team unless you gave them at least 12 months of your life. Again, I remember walking out of there thinking how foolish that made the company look. It wasn't about the money, it was about the gesture.
After a few months with that company, I realized corporate life wasn't for me. I felt too much like a part of a machine that did parts of things while being told what to do and how to do it. Plus, I hated the idea that someone thought they were able to give me commands and I had to follow them, or else. I'm not a good follower, I guess.
When I went off on my own, I flourished. Yes, at first I worked more hours, but I did it for myself. More hours just translated to more money anyway, and it was a great feeling to be at the top and do things my way.
I feel bad for people who feel like they are "stuck" at a company and feel like their purpose in life is to make their "boss" happy even if they aren't doing something to make themselves happy.