please help me understand this

[BigBill]

On one of my last performance reviews I was told I had no raise in my salary+overtime. When I heard this I blurred out I'm here for the money nothing else. I got up and walked out of the review.
When a dog does tricks for you we give him a treat. No treat the dog catches on and does no tricks anymore. When asked to do anything out of my normal duties I refused, no raise no extras.
I was a thorn in the side the rest of my time there till I retired.
I was from a union steel workers back ground. I understand unions and why some workers need them.

What I don't understand is why they got so upset when I told them I was there for the money? I had three kids at home who eat like me. I had a dog to feed too. Food at the store isn't free

I just don't get it. I told them when I'm in the building I have to talk with them. Outside the building I can pick my friends. Working in a corporate white collar world being a blue collar worker sucked.

 

[BigBill]

On one of my last performance reviews I was told I had no raise in my salary+overtime. When I heard this I blurred out I'm here for the money nothing else. I got up and walked out of the review.
When a dog does tricks for you we give him a treat. No treat the dog catches on and does no tricks anymore. When asked to do anything out of my normal duties I refused, no raise no extras.
I was a thorn in the side the rest of my time there till I retired.
I was from a union steel workers back ground. I understand unions and why some workers need them.

What I don't understand is why they got so upset when I told them I was there for the money? I had three kids at home who eat like me. I had a dog to feed too. Food at the store isn't free

I just don't get it. I told them when I'm in the building I have to talk with them. Outside the building I can pick my friends. Working in a corporate white collar world being a blue collar worker sucked.

I never took no on the job **** from anyone not even the managers up to the vp' s and CEO' s. It is what is was I never sugar coated anything. Welcome to the real world you stuffed white shirts.

 

[BigBill]

I seen other companies break workers down into sheep I never broke and even pushed back when pushed. I kept my ethics and pride intact my whole working life. I was there best worker if they stayed out of my way. I told my last boss when he felt intimidated by me, you handle the corporate politics and I'll handle the work part of it rather than us two bumping heads. It's a game no matter how we look at it.
Some see it as power being a boss. I liked being in charge of my department but I worked too I like the hands on. I liked being able to still use my creativity and talents. I wasn't afraid to take anything on, after it all its the challenge part of my engineering job the Fed my interests and kept me going. I turned ideas into reality. We have lost that take a chance today in America. I think the powers to be in these big corporations are afraid of failure and making mistakes.

What if Horace Smith & Daniel Wesson stopped at each gun design and quit. What if they gave up at the concept because of the thought of failure. What if the volcanic never fired? We wouldn't have the Henry lever action. What if they stopped at the thoughts of the cartridge ammo? We'd still be firing percussion fire arms. S&W is to guns what Tesla is to electricity today. We need to know the little historic values to connect the dots to the big picture today.

For the engineers let your ideas fly no matter how they might not feel important today they could turn into something big tomorrow. Remember behind every successful design there is a R&D lab tech pointing the way to success. It's just not one person that makes the "team" successful. It's everybody's input.

Life's a game play it to win. Bigbill

 

[FishingPilot]

Companies owe you nothing but a wage for your work. Expecting/depending on raises and profit sharing is crazy. When you told them what you said about only being there for the money (regardless of how true it was), you basically told them that you are not interested in the success of the company. They took it as "why should they invest in you?" Just my opinion anyway.

 

[O2Guy]

I always tried my best to earn a wage increase, not just expect it to be handed to me.

But I don't think anyone is going to be able to explain it to you.

 

[diamonback68]

You said to them in simple terms "my loyalty is in money and nothing else" which really says "I don't care about your company, just leave me alone and give me money". Not surprised you didn't get a raise, they already knew what you were about long before your performance review.

 

[Aticus]

Bigbil, if you worked for me and had that attitude you would have never retired, at least from my company. You would have been fired long before your retirement. I don't say you have to kiss the boss on both cheeks but to be that combative, to have such an adversarial attitude bespeaks a definite lack of interest in the company you worked for. I'm surprised the company let you work to retirement.

Quick edit: it doesn't hurt and doesn't reduce your personal integrity to be polite when speaking to those with whom you work. Doesn't sound as though you know the meaning of that.


Mods, if this is too personal or combative just delete it. I got it off my chest now.

 

[sipowicz]

That's like telling your wife you only married her because she can cook.

 

[rags]

That's like telling your wife you only married her because she can cook.

Now you tell me!

 

[amazingflapjack]

I always tried to approach these things as if I was working for the Lord. Sometimes I didn't quite get there, but it helped if I "did what I did, heartily unto the Lord." He is a great boss, I have found.

 

[Faulkner]

Bigbil, if you worked for me and had that attitude you would have never retired, at least from my company. You would have been fired long before your retirement.

Just based on the orginal post, I agree.

Not every boss/supervisor/employer is worthy to be respected and considered a leader of people. Conversely, many employees are little more than laborers, what I call worker bees, and based on what is demonstrated by their attitudes there is little reason for a leader to invest in them.

As a young man I had someone I respected tell me, "when you think 'the man' is holding you down, take a good look in the mirror. THAT's the man that's probably holding you back the most."

 

[H Richard]

When I was in grade school I was taught "Any job worth doing is worth doing well". I tried to live by that all my life. If everyone had that kind of attitude there would be no reason for any kind of unions. Management wants and (in most cases) expects a good days work for a days pay. The more profitable you make your company the greater you will benefit. I started out as an aircraft mechanic, and with several job changes and hard work I retired in upper middle management of a fairly large multi-corp health care organization and part of the management team. I can still see some of the benefits of my work in the organization even 8 years after my retirement.

 

[pete-driver]

There is no I in team. If the company succeeds I succeed. I like my job. They know it, and they know I make money for them. In return I'm paid well.

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

Pecos nailed it.

Cop an attitude and take a combative approach to doing what needs to be done ... When asked to do anything out of my normal duties I refused... and that's it. You're getting walked out the door. It doesn't matter who you think is right or wrong.... It just doesn't work.

Earlier in my career I had jobs where I thought I could do better financially (and did beyond my expectations) but never acted like it to the current employer. Always gave 110% regardless. That was a measure of me, not the boss. And when it was time to move to that more rewarding opportunity, I did.

I found the world to be a small place. A boss I had today might just be someone I meet again or need ten or twenty years up the road...

 

[Hillbilly77]

That's like telling your wife you only married her because she can cook.

Mrs. Hillbilly couldn't cook worth a damn when we got married.
She has learned to cook second-to-none now.

I didn't originally marry her for her cooking, but it plays a part in why I keep her around now.

 

[BigBill]

Don't take it the wrong way I had the most awards out of everyone on the floor. I earned what I received. I work hard but when the retired my boss I was never part of the new click. I just didn't fit in anymore. Don't tell them the truth, tell them what they wanted to hear. I couldn't bend to there ways. I moved mountains for this company while most did nothing.
Your taking me the wrong way. Going from a five man crew down to one I couldn't do the work anymore most of the work was a two man job. I'm glad I'm out of there. I was trying to make more money towards my retirement. I retired at 52yo. And I make more money today than most who work till 65 but I invested everything I made and got lucky. The stocks did great.

 

[Airpark]

With your "Me First Attitude", It might pay attention to the old anonymus edict that says,

"iIt is better to remain silent and be thought a fool rather than opening one's mouth and removing all doubt."

Win, Lose or draw....as long as you work for someone else...you are subject to their rules, their pay scale, their hours, etc.

However you can improve upon all of them by putting the company and it's health and welfare ahead of lots of personal feelings and desires.

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

Your thread is titled Help Me Understand. Now you are telling those who replied that they don't understand. What's wrong with this picture?

 

[doublesharp]

one monkey don't stop the show

 

[LVSteve]

Plenty of blame to go around here. First, Bill needed to bite his tongue, no question.

However, the fact that he felt like that about the company is a symptom of the way business is run these days. Somebody mentioned worker bees, and that is just what the accountants want. Folk that grind away, allow them to produce nice straight utilization graphs through the year and don't mind taking it in the shorts when another 0.001% needs to be squeezed for the shareholders. The average American worker knows exactly how much interest the average company has in them, little to none, so they reciprocate.

There are no easy fixes, either. Want to be like a Japanese "salaryman"? No, neither do I. Nor do I agree with the way things are done in certain European countries where the workers turn up if they feel like it and the weather is bad.