Slashdot Mirror
Beyond Pay?
An anonymous reader asks: "I was wondering if Slashdot readers have encountered harassment in the workplace, and how they have dealt with it. In particular, when working for
technology-based companies. Examples of this include the company forcing employees to put in extra (unpaid) hours, with the implicit/explicit threat of loosing the job if they don't, to actual personal harassment in the work place by management staff. My experience is that even in cases where the employee is completely right, it is impossible for her to win the case, given current employment law."
guy that was younger than me, with less experience and definintely less knowledge, got promoted to a position I applied for, but he looked much older than I did.
I don't know if you're male or female, but I'll assume you're male like most slashdotters.
Grow a beard/mustache and add some grey color to your temples. It makes you look older & more responsible.
Personally, I dislike facial hair. But it creates the impression of age, if that is your problem.
So you hate the place you work? Why are you still working there?
Look at it this way. You are the victim of a faulty syllogism:
Why do you have to be a software engineer? Is it because you like the job? Well, taken as a whole you don't appear to like your job.
Is it the pay? Well, do you have time to enjoy the pay?
I don't want to oversimplify this, because if you demand respect, you may end up with respect but no job. But if you start from the position that you need this job to survive then your prospects are grim.
On the other hand if you start from the attitude that you can survive without this job, and that every person has a right to dignity and a personal life, you can make a rational decision about where to draw the line. You have your line, your boss has his line, and the space in the middle is where you can negotiate changes without having to issue an ultimatum. If you're boss's line is behind your line, then you have to look for another job.
So, we've established that you should attempt to negotiate working condition improvements. How do you do it? There's no magic formula becuase it depends on your boss. Of course, if your boss is a narcissitic jerk, then there is no hope, and you have to pull the plug on the relationship. I'd suggest that you point out he can get more out of his employees if they are happy and willing. Appeal to his sense of leadership. A little fear now and then is a good thing, but a constant atmosphere of fear and powerlessness is poisonous to productivity.
I manage a highly productive development team. Any one of them would, if I asked, willingly put in an 80+ hour week. The key here is willing. My management problem is that I actually have to throttle them back so they don't repeatedly throw themselves into the breach. Today I have people taking an enforced four day weekend because they gave up their last weekend. I just tell other managers they can't keep going to the same well over and over without consequences in quality and productivity. I express sincere gratitude for efforts above and beyond, and find various little ways to reward and acknolewdge them. The result is we have a lot more fun, and in an emergency I can call any of them on 8PM on a Friday and they will gladly come in for the weekend. Respect and cameraderie are incredibly powerful management tools.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
You hit the beard/mustache thing on the head. I saw a guy go into a company, got promoted to management very quickly, and then people found out he was one of the youngest members of the staff. I saw a picture of him without the beard, and he looked like a kid.
Pretty decent manager though.... far better than the other ones around there.