Tales From The Overworked

[The Masked Tulip]

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Economy/sto...7973&page=1

Kristina didn't sign up for this.

How to handle extra work at the office when co-workers have been laid off.The Oklahoma woman is the childcare director at her local YMCA. Lately, however, a staffing shortage at the chapter has forced Kristina to pitch in and help with other work, like advising members on how to use gym equipment.

"It's really tough," said the 28-year-old, who professed to having no interest in exercise. "It's like, 'OK, if you don't do it, who is going to do it?' and that just adds to your stress."

As recession-wary businesses continue to slash jobs and more Americans struggle with unemployment, those who are fortunate enough to stay employed are grappling with their own problems: fear, frustration and, of course, more work.

"Employees are faced with doing more with less. That's like the mantra when you survive the layoffs," said Jenny Schade, the president of JRS Consulting, a management and marketing consulting firm in Chicago. "The organization is often so focused on getting through the layoffs that they don't determine in advance how the remaining employees are going to do all the work that everybody was doing to begin with."

Schade, a trained therapist who has worked with more than 1,000 employees at companies undergoing layoffs, calls these remaining employees the "working wounded."

"What you have is employees who have a form of survivor's guilt -- they made it through the layoffs, they've seen their colleagues lose their jobs, they feel guilty about this, and they're faced with a huge workload," she said. "It's demoralizing."

"Survivor's guilt" and low morale may be especially prevalent within the auto industry, where thousands of layoffs have left remaining industry workers reeling.

[I want a house!]

This sounds a bit like my company during the good times. We still have not made on person redundant, perhaps the boss, though he is a muppet, knows something. I think he is into slave labour for a pittance but it has made us survive intact.

[Jessica Rabbit]

I'm experiencing this right now!

A 'restructure' has taken place for 'efficiency', however it doesn't seem very efficient to have huge numbers of functions/roles now completely unresourced and done on an ad hoc basis by people who have no qualifications or experience of performing that role, and that have another full time job!

I'm pretty demoralised i can tell you. If I wasn't such a wagehoare I'd be off...

[Badger]

Our boss has vowed to put the fun back into our workplace after making 50% of the workforce redundant, by turning a now-empty floor into a lounge with a bar, games, sofas, coffee machine etc etc.

No guilt here.

[Guest DissipatedYouthIsValuable]

And still, the people, they get older and iller.

But what can you do, Avi?

[HPC001]

So much for technology making life easier\allowing more leisure time.

[Johnny Storm]

A 'restructure' has taken place for 'efficiency', however it doesn't seem very efficient to have huge numbers of functions/roles now completely unresourced and done on an ad hoc basis by people who have no qualifications or experience of performing that role, and that have another full time job!

Thats exactly what my ex company is doing, its brilliant. Most of the people left are the **** lickers who were never that good at their own job either. Priceless

[Si1]

Thats exactly what my ex company is doing, its brilliant. Most of the people left are the **** lickers who were never that good at their own job either. Priceless

this recession has so many subtleties it's getting scary

[crashologist]

At first being made redundant is hard to take but sometimes it's just better to be out of a bad situation. You don't feel this way at first but over time you get over it.

[The Masked Tulip]

At first being made redundant is hard to take but sometimes it's just better to be out of a bad situation. You don't feel this way at first but over time you get over it.

Or marriage.

[Jessica Rabbit]

Thats exactly what my ex company is doing, its brilliant. Most of the people left are the **** lickers who were never that good at their own job either. Priceless

There's a lot of good people gone. I think it's because the people who do a good job, stand up for themselves and tell the management how they could do things better. they don't seem to like that. It just makes the good people targets and most of them have gone. They've left a few 'doers' such as myself to make sure it doesn't totally mess up, but most people left, are as you say, ****licking sycophants. It makes it so much more depressing to work there as well, surrounded by those people!

Edited July 2, 2009 by Jessica Rabbit

[Son of Fred]

The article reflects the situation at my former employer, Ford at the Southampton Transit plant.

I left with 550 people May 5th leaving 500 behind with the daily schedule reduced form 380 vans per day to 125.

Since we have left they have hit the 125 once only.

This performance is unsustainable.

When the redundancy programme was announced we were told anyone could apply, but key workers would be retained.

Having been forced to attend work for training related B.S while everyone else had been laid off on full pay, for weeks on end, ( on account of having been identified as a 'key worker' ) I was most surprised when my redundancy request was accepted along with that of all the other key workers in my area, both tradesmen and supervisors.

All the paintshop sprayers were also allowed to leave.

The plant is now struggling for survival with repairs and bottlenecks driving down their productivity.

The survivors cannot hit schedule and are being asked to work unpaid overtime to rectify all the faults and substandard paint jobs.

They have been told if they dont agree to work for nothing, they could all lose their jobs.

Morale is at rock bottom.

Crazy times.

[The Eagle]

That shows how artificial this whole recession is, it's all forced by the banks who withhold the money so companies don't have the cash flow anymore and have to reduce costs/staff.

It's all manipulated, first the boom then the bust.

It's about time the real economy get's rid of the bloodsucking parasites called banks.

Edited July 3, 2009 by wise_eagle

[MarkG]

So much for technology making life easier\allowing more leisure time.

Exactly: the people who've been laid off now have a lot more leisure time.

[wren]

They have been told if they dont agree to work for nothing, they could all lose their jobs.

Morale is at rock bottom.

Crazy times.

Sounds like a business that will be going out of business at that rate.

I would be glad to be out of such a sickly situation.

[gotoutintime]

The article reflects the situation at my former employer, Ford at the Southampton Transit plant.

I left with 550 people May 5th leaving 500 behind with the daily schedule reduced form 380 vans per day to 125.

Since we have left they have hit the 125 once only.

This performance is unsustainable.

When the redundancy programme was announced we were told anyone could apply, but key workers would be retained.

Having been forced to attend work for training related B.S while everyone else had been laid off on full pay, for weeks on end, ( on account of having been identified as a 'key worker' ) I was most surprised when my redundancy request was accepted along with that of all the other key workers in my area, both tradesmen and supervisors.

All the paintshop sprayers were also allowed to leave.

The plant is now struggling for survival with repairs and bottlenecks driving down their productivity.

The survivors cannot hit schedule and are being asked to work unpaid overtime to rectify all the faults and substandard paint jobs.

They have been told if they dont agree to work for nothing, they could all lose their jobs.

Morale is at rock bottom.

Crazy times.

After 4 years at Ford trucks in Langley I was given my first redundancy and to date have had 3 more, the last one being at 49 so we decided to Foxtrot Oscar from England and retire early to SE Asia.

Same for a lot of people these days I suppose, but the jobcentre only had jobs at £7 an hour and that couldn't pay the mortgage so it was time to go. Anyway we have had enough of paying ridiculous amounts of council tax, high fuel prices and all the stealth taxes that Brown brought in, shame really because we liked living in our last home

[Trampa501]

After 4 years at Ford trucks in Langley I was given my first redundancy and to date have had 3 more, the last one being at 49 so we decided to Foxtrot Oscar from England and retire early to SE Asia.

Same for a lot of people these days I suppose, but the jobcentre only had jobs at £7 an hour and that couldn't pay the mortgage so it was time to go. Anyway we have had enough of paying ridiculous amounts of council tax, high fuel prices and all the stealth taxes that Brown brought in, shame really because we liked living in our last home

It's a wonder the government hasn't already gone bankrupt (don't worry I know it probably will do soon). They seem to encourage the closing of factories and the laying-off of staff who pay regular taxes, do their best to stop IT contractors getting work and paying tax, yet seemingly are quite happy with outsourcing and casualisation of temporary staff (often with EE migrant labour) who pay little or no tax. Barmy. What's worse is we hear little or nothing from Dave's lot on this issue. It's almost as though the establishment has declared war on the working population of the UK, and are prepared to bankrupt the nation in the process.

[Johnny Storm]

There's a lot of good people gone. I think it's because the people who do a good job, stand up for themselves and tell the management how they could do things better. they don't seem to like that. It just makes the good people targets and most of them have gone. They've left a few 'doers' such as myself to make sure it doesn't totally mess up, but most people left, are as you say, ****licking sycophants. It makes it so much more depressing to work there as well, surrounded by those people!

Start looking for another job Jessica, theres no point living your life surrounded by people you despise. I did that for years and its just not worth it.

[Tonkers]

The parasite is killing the host.

[Tonkers]

Our boss has vowed to put the fun back into our workplace after making 50% of the workforce redundant, by turning a now-empty floor into a lounge with a bar, games, sofas, coffee machine etc etc.

No guilt here.

Holy cow, my twit of an MD bought a football table.

I bought a baseball bat.

Edited July 3, 2009 by Tonkers

[feed]

The article reflects the situation at my former employer, Ford at the Southampton Transit plant.

/snip

But you know Fleming wants to shut Southampton as soon as he can.

Those left are in a no win situation, they are going to lose their jobs anyway.

[Moley]

I just checked out my previous employer's website. The entire list of directors is made up of incompetent arselickers with one exception.

[xux42]

The survivors cannot hit schedule and are being asked to work unpaid overtime to rectify all the faults and substandard paint jobs.

So its official then. We are regressing 35 years to stagnation when goods and services were expensive and unreliable.

Smashing, so I now have to tell my bright, teenage lads who are not afraid of hard work, that if they stay in the UK they might be in their 30s before things look rosy and even with good degrees they may never get to work reasonable hours for very good money, like their degree-less dad.

That's really sh1t.

[Trampa501]

So its official then. We are regressing 35 years to stagnation when goods and services were expensive and unreliable.

Smashing, so I now have to tell my bright, teenage lads who are not afraid of hard work, that if they stay in the UK they might be in their 30s before things look rosy and even with good degrees they may never get to work reasonable hours for very good money, like their degree-less dad.

That's really sh1t.

Depressing isn't it? We've been closing down our factories for years. When an industry or supermarket needs staff they import cheap labour and then claim "our young people" don't want to work. The British establishment has waged war on its working population.