BNET blogger Jessica Stillman discusses stupid management practices in the United States. In response, I wanted to share some of the worst experiences I and friends have had as employees at various places in different parts of the world since graduating college in 2002:
- When I was hired, my boss said that I would be given raises of specific amounts after specific periods of time. I neglected to get this in writing. Needless to say, the raises never happened.
- A friend asked a new employer to write an employment contract. The boss laughed and said it was not necessary since they were a small, mom-and-pop operation. Of course, the boss did not do what was said in the interview. Rumor also had it that the company would not hire anyone who demanded a contract.
- In London, a gypsy swindled me out of 50 pounds when I was working as a bartender. The boss took all my future tips during the time that I worked there.
- When I was between jobs, I had scheduled a doctor's appointment and other errands since I had the time. I found a position, and the appointment was scheduled for the second day of work. When I told my boss, he said, "This will not be a regular appointment, right?" God forbid that someone have an illness. (It was indeed a one-time thing.)
- Two employers said in interviews that it would not be a problem to pursue my MBA studies part-time in the evenings as long as I was able to arrange my schedule and do my work. Weeks later, they changed their minds and fired me even though they said my work performance was fine.
- My boss said that my compensation would be a low base-salary and a high commission of my department's sales. The contract he offered mentioned only the base salary; he said there would be a second contract "later" for the commission. Of course, it never appeared.
- The boss at a company routinely fired people just before they would start receiving a higher salary after three months -- or he would fire people just before their one-year anniversary just so he would not need to pay a severance package.
- I was laid off from a company in Israel in September, and I was due to receive my salary for that month in October plus another month's salary as severance under my contract. It is now three months later, I have not seen a shekel of the NIS 15,000 ($3,750) that the company owes me. My old boss says they have a "cash-flow problem" and that they will pay when they can. (Since this is Israel and the company is still in business, he is lying.) I have a court date coming up.
As hard as these experiences were, they proved one thing: in a recession, employers hold all the cards. When there are dozens of people for every available position, bosses can do whatever they want.
Have your own stories? Feel free to share in the comments.
Related: Why My Generation is Pissed Off
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I had been working two part-time jobs before and I was offered a full-time position. I gave up my part-time jobs and took it.
The first warning sign was that the job was not really full-time as I had been told.
Then an unlikely occurrence happened: I got erysipelas on my leg during trial period. It is deadly if untreated. I waited until I was very ill and took a sick leave as doctor ordered. The doc was even hesitant to let me out of the hospital. The boss was assuring that it was OK.
When I returned back to work I was fired. Stacy(Quote)
Stacy, that’s a horrible story as well. Did you not sue or anything? Sam Scott(Quote)