Evil.

[Scribbly]

One thing about the times we live in is that they are testing. You can't really doubt that; things are tough all round, and you don't really know the character of someone until they are tested, I think.

A friend of mine was distraught last night, and I spent hours trying to console her as best I could. She was upset, because she works for an insurance company, and her boss has decided that because they have such a backlog of claims, she is cancelling all leave over the holiday period. Not just that, actually. My friend is going to be working forced overtime from the day after boxing day, right through to and including new years eve.

It is her job to go over claims for any evidence of fraud. Now, claims do go up at Christmas, and some of the time they are fraud claims, no argument there.

However, rather than working through the backlog calmly, now the pressure is being piled on. It is being done to meet targets, rather than because there is a pressing concern the claims won't be handled swiftly enough, and the net result is that the entire team, when they should be relaxing with their families...

Will be staring into the face of human misery, terrible events brought about by fate, carelessness, stupidity or greed.

Their work won't be better quality.
They won't be more vigilant.
They won't be more motivated.

They will be miserable, tired, resentful for having been forced to come into a work at a time they were looking forward to having off. And even worse that it is being cancelled just three days before it was due to happen.

The manager who made this decision, of course, will not be coming in.

This is the kind of evil that we are faced with every day. The petty-minded, stupid person who decides that they are 'making the tough decision', when the decision they make doesn't effect them one iota. They do it because they can, and because they expect to be rewarded for doing so. Completely uncaring about the damage they inflict on their team and the misery they inflict on the people underneath them., if they are even self-aware enough to realize it to begin with.

[P3nT4gR4m]

So lemme get this straight - the manager who decided all the peons had to work is not going to be there to make sure his staff are going along with his retarded plan? Is there any reason why anyone would, yanno, actually bother turning up.

Personally I'd be looking to stay at home, lie through my teeth and collect the overtime?

Yeah, so it won't be that simple, right? Someone will have to clock in/out for everyone? They'll all have to take a couple of minutes to stamp "approved" on every claim? If I wasn't going to spend the time looking for a better job I'd still be loathe to spend it actually working on general principle.

[Scribbly]

So lemme get this straight - the manager who decided all the peons had to work is not going to be there to make sure his staff are going along with his retarded plan? Is there any reason why anyone would, yanno, actually bother turning up.

Personally I'd be looking to stay at home, lie through my teeth and collect the overtime?

Yeah, so it won't be that simple, right? Someone will have to clock in/out for everyone? They'll all have to take a couple of minutes to stamp "approved" on every claim? If I wasn't going to spend the time looking for a better job I'd still be loathe to spend it actually working on general principle.

I believe the problem is that insurance analysts are legally obliged to actually examine the claim and if they are found negligent can be charged with fraud.

And they expect to be able to see how many reports you've gone through in a day.

I have no idea how the manager justifies not working herself, I assume by being too stupid to be able to breathe and self-reflect at the same time.

[P3nT4gR4m]

In that case, fuck it, call in sick. Seriously. By actually turning up the staff are rewarding this asshole for her stupidity when it negative reinforcement that is required.

[Scribbly]

In that case, fuck it, call in sick. Seriously. By actually turning up the staff are rewarding this asshole for her stupidity when it negative reinforcement that is required.

Sick days have also been revoked; she's actually got a cold at the moment and has also been forcing herself in every week.

I fully agree that staff are ultimately enabling this behaviour, but choices are limited. It is not difficult to find new staff, it is difficult to find a new job.

[Luna]

In that case, fuck it, call in sick. Seriously. By actually turning up the staff are rewarding this asshole for her stupidity when it negative reinforcement that is required.

Sick days have also been revoked; she's actually got a cold at the moment and has also been forcing herself in every week.

I fully agree that staff are ultimately enabling this behaviour, but choices are limited. It is not difficult to find new staff, it is difficult to find a new job.

Puking on the manager's desk is, I've found, an excellent way to be given permission (if not instruction) to go home.

Otherwise, I'd be forced to find entertaining things to do to the manager's office/desk/personal property while there.  Taking a dump in a desk drawer springs to mind.

[P3nT4gR4m]

Sick days have been revoked? I have no idea what the fuck that ridiculous bullshit even means but I guess modern wage slavery has gotten at least as bad as the old fashioned non-wage kind of slavery that were outlawed all those years ago so I'll take your word for it.

Given that there's no legal recourse (unions, codes of practice etc...) are there illegal means? Maybe whacking a fire alarm enough times that they close the building, threatening the manager with ABH or something more subtle? Virusing the computer systems?

I can't imagine ever getting into that position but I'm pretty sure when they mentioned "sick days revoked" and 3 days notice to work the holidays that shit would get medieval pretty soon thereafter.

[AFK]

This is one of those things that really doesn't get a lot of press as related to this shitty economy.  We hear a lot about the people who lost jobs, can't find jobs, etc., and rightfully so because that is awful.

But, there is this other thing where people are trapped in shitty jobs out of fear of not being able to find a different job.  So they are stuck under fucked up bosses like this one.  My wife has been in and out of this situation where she works.  It sucks but what can you do?  People still have to eat, have shelter, etc. 

[Scribbly]

This is one of those things that really doesn't get a lot of press as related to this shitty economy.  We hear a lot about the people who lost jobs, can't find jobs, etc., and rightfully so because that is awful.

But, there is this other thing where people are trapped in shitty jobs out of fear of not being able to find a different job.  So they are stuck under fucked up bosses like this one.  My wife has been in and out of this situation where she works.  It sucks but what can you do?  People still have to eat, have shelter, etc. 

Exactly.

If she didn't have to contribute to the mortgage which costs more than the house, if she had savings, if she didn't have credit cards to pay off, if she could just walk into another job, she'd have just quit.

But we have to live in the real world. Her boss sees an opportunity to squeeze harder, and thinks that doing so will reward her more than having a team that actually want to work there.

I just hope she's wrong. Maybe she would be if the world was filled with more P3nts.

[AFK]

And that's the other piece.  If bosses see even the slightest bit of "efficiency" in this kind of thing, they are going to keep rolling with it.  If/when the economy truly gets rolling again, businesses will hire, but they certainly won't replace what they shed before this thing hit the iceberg.  You'll see the headlines every know and again when the reports on productivity come out.  And when it's up the markets go up.  But that's bad news for workers. 

[Luna]

Hrm...  mind if I ask where you are, DS?  Country and (if USA), state?

[LMNO]

I'm not sure, but I would think that "mandatory overtime" and "cancelling sick days" would violate some sort of labor law.  Especially if you signed a contract when you joined the company.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

It's definitely illegal to "cancel sick days" but it's funny... illegal doesn't seem to mean as much as it used to when it comes to employers.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

One thing about the times we live in is that they are testing. You can't really doubt that; things are tough all round, and you don't really know the character of someone until they are tested, I think.

A friend of mine was distraught last night, and I spent hours trying to console her as best I could. She was upset, because she works for an insurance company, and her boss has decided that because they have such a backlog of claims, she is cancelling all leave over the holiday period. Not just that, actually. My friend is going to be working forced overtime from the day after boxing day, right through to and including new years eve.

It is her job to go over claims for any evidence of fraud. Now, claims do go up at Christmas, and some of the time they are fraud claims, no argument there.

However, rather than working through the backlog calmly, now the pressure is being piled on. It is being done to meet targets, rather than because there is a pressing concern the claims won't be handled swiftly enough, and the net result is that the entire team, when they should be relaxing with their families...

Will be staring into the face of human misery, terrible events brought about by fate, carelessness, stupidity or greed.

Their work won't be better quality.
They won't be more vigilant.
They won't be more motivated.

They will be miserable, tired, resentful for having been forced to come into a work at a time they were looking forward to having off. And even worse that it is being cancelled just three days before it was due to happen.

The manager who made this decision, of course, will not be coming in.

This is the kind of evil that we are faced with every day. The petty-minded, stupid person who decides that they are 'making the tough decision', when the decision they make doesn't effect them one iota. They do it because they can, and because they expect to be rewarded for doing so. Completely uncaring about the damage they inflict on their team and the misery they inflict on the people underneath them., if they are even self-aware enough to realize it to begin with.

This will have the predictable effect:  Shoddy work, increased sick calls, and outright sabotage.

Which will cause management to clamp down.

Rinse, repeat.

LMNO's Axiom.  No exceptions.

[Luna]

I'm not sure, but I would think that "mandatory overtime" and "cancelling sick days" would violate some sort of labor law.  Especially if you signed a contract when you joined the company.

This is why I was wondering where they are.  I was gonna dig into that.