Are there still employers who reward hard work?

frequentflier

happy to be living
I was getting great reviews, feedback from customer, letters to management on my performance...and not once got a decent rasie. Four years of raises were taken away when they did paycuts. I was brought down to less than what I started at. The bonuses that I used to get...went away. Just got gift cards to be used at the company stores buying junk that I didn't like. It was a total slap in the face.

I have the talent, education and skills to move around. I stayed because I liked my customer but getting the paycut was just to much. I found a new job down in Charleston, SC that appreciates my skills, education, talent, and background. It took 4 interviews and patience.

Leaving Pax was the best decision I have made in a long time. My goal is to get into the private sector doing IT in the medical field.

Congrats, HeavyChevy. Wondered why I hadn't seen you and your pup in awhile!
 

MarieB

New Member
I was reading an article recently about promotions and how sometimes people who do very well in their current position are promoted as a means of reward, and sometimes they aren't really suited for that new position at all.

I'm not saying that applies to this situation, but i think maybe companies are thinking about that more.

And

Unfortunately, it seems like many people in especially middle management are more concerned about how to make themselves look good instead of making others aware how well the worker bees are doing their jobs. I don't know how some of them got into those positions (or maybe I do), but it's certainly ####ty for morale. Just my experience over the past few years.
 

HeavyChevy75

Podunk FL
Congrats, HeavyChevy. Wondered why I hadn't seen you and your pup in awhile!

Yeah I left the last weekend of May. I was up last weekend to get horse and the dog. I will be back up at the end of July to finalize the divorce and wrap up lease. Spoiled rotten dog loves it down here. Many squirrels to chase. Since he dislikes water I don't worry to much about the gators.
 

Ken King

A little rusty but not crusty
PREMO Member
bad bad attitude :(
How so?

An employer hires a person to do a job and rewards them for doing said job with a paycheck. Want a better reward (paycheck), increase your skills/worth to your current employer or move on to greener pastures finding a job that has career progression clearly laid out so you know what it is you are working towards.
 

inkah

Active Member
How so?

An employer hires a person to do a job and rewards them for doing said job with a paycheck. Want a better reward (paycheck), increase your skills/worth to your current employer or move on to greener pastures finding a job that has career progression clearly laid out so you know what it is you are working towards.

When you go to Food Lion and buy a gallon of milk, would you say you are rewarding the cashier when you pay for the milk?

My paycheck is not my reward.
 

Restless

New Member
I'm the original poster...

I can't go into too much detail because my hubby has decided to take the matter to his union. Having said that, let me give you a little background on my husband:

He has never been reprimanded. His co-workers like him a lot. He did 10 years active duty, 10 years reserves. He retired as an AMS CPO. We were stationed at NAS Oceana when he decided to get out. At the time, he was quite happy to get the job with this company.

In his current position he has moved from much of the mechanical side of things to logistics stuff. He also maintains technical publications of some sort. He loves what he does but is tired of not being appreciated. His company has never given bonuses. As a matter of fact, the head boss man will stand outside on Christmas Eve and hand out mini-candy canes. Not even full-size ones! The company has never given raises unless mandated by the government. They went union a few years ago which has helped tremendously. I have a love/hate relationship with unions, but in this case it's love.

He has looked for jobs elsewhere but after awhile gave up. He knows that in this nasty economy, jobs are hard to come by.

If anyone knows of a company that may be interested in him, please PM me, and I can send you a resume to look over or find out who you would suggest to contact. I feel so badly for him. He has lost some confidence because he just feels beaten down as do most of the others where he works. He really is a great guy.

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for all your input!
 
When you go to Food Lion and buy a gallon of milk, would you say you are rewarding the cashier when you pay for the milk?

My paycheck is not my reward.
They cashier was hired to cash out customers. The cashier should not expect a reward for doing just that... are you implying that someone who shows up for work and does the job they were hired to do should be rewarded beyond their promised paycheck for doing it...:confused:
 

Sparx

New Member
:offtopic:

Why haven't contractors provided their employees 30 days written notice (WARN Act) in regards to the impending furloughs that will be hitting their employees as well as the DoD civilians?

Is your workplace unionized? If not, how would I know? It is the law so ask the company.
In union shops reductions in force and the manner in which they are handled are almost always covered in the contract.
 

acommondisaster

Active Member
A lot of good answers and advice for your husband from all these posters. Your husband has to stop thinking like he's in the military and they (the company) will take care of him the way the military did. And actually, if your husband made chief, he knew what boxes he needed to have checked to advance; showing up for work and doing a great job wasn't enough then, either.

Is he pursuing more education? Different layers in most companies require certain levels of education. Has he gotten any job related certifications? Has he looked within the company for job openings with more responsibility and applied? The corporate world works differently, sometimes. Your husband's slot is filled and they're getting paid well for it - more than likely, as someone said, your husband lowballed his salary and they're making a nice bit of money off his slot that they might not make if they had to replace him with someone who asked for more money. When there are openings above him, they recruit and advertise for that slot rather than moving people from within. And sometimes, the customer (government) has something to say about it - they may not approve your husband in a different slot (not enough education/experience/dont like him/whatever) or they may not want him moved. The customer sometimes does play a role, if they have in the contract that they must approve people for positions.

No one is going to just move your husband "up"...he's going to have to pursue that himself. The navy took care of your husband; the corporate world, you have to take care of yourself. Sometimes it means moving to another company or another contract; he has to be prepared to do that. Takes awhile to get out of the military mindset; I know it took me a little while to adapt.
 

Gilligan

#*! boat!
PREMO Member
They cashier was hired to cash out customers. The cashier should not expect a reward for doing just that... are you implying that someone who shows up for work and does the job they were hired to do should be rewarded beyond their promised paycheck for doing it...:confused:

Well put. I can recall many, many positions that are, or were, held by people who did a fantastic job. A superlative job even. However, those jobs were static; the economic value of the job, however well done, did not change over time and/or there was no value whatsoever to the company to be gained from removing the employee that was executing those job duties so well.

No amount of union coercion or economic sleight of hand changes the bottom line in cases like that. It was many years ago now, but being stuck in a position where I knew I was doing a good job but also knew I would never be promoted or otherwise rewarded financially (except for the regularly scheduled, even-the-living-dead-get-them annual step increase) was the main reason I left the civil service after barely two years.
 

DooDoo1402

The fear of Smell
How so?

An employer hires a person to do a job and rewards them for doing said job with a paycheck. Want a better reward (paycheck), increase your skills/worth to your current employer or move on to greener pastures finding a job that has career progression clearly laid out so you know what it is you are working towards.

Why you must be military officer or federal govt management! Your paycheck is your reward? rotf! Do you feel nullified as you drive home from your kingdom each workday that you show up?

It is up to the employER to lay out the expectation plan, NOT the employee butt head! And in this day and age, reality proves that the more a hard working and resourceful employee puts out, the more they are expected... for the same wage. The OP was referring to private contractor...

within the GS ranks it gets even more cloudy and miserable because most cases, supervisors don't have any power to promote. There are many GS-09-11's that have been stagnate for decades because of management thinking like you! After 10 years of that crap... it's not surprising why many older employees have attitudes!
 

RoseRed

American Beauty
PREMO Member
Why you must be military officer or federal govt management! Your paycheck is your reward? rotf! Do you feel nullified as you drive home from your kingdom each workday that you show up?

It is up to the employER to lay out the expectation plan, NOT the employee butt head! And in this day and age, reality proves that the more a hard working and resourceful employee puts out, the more they are expected... for the same wage. The OP was referring to private contractor...

within the GS ranks it gets even more cloudy and miserable because most cases, supervisors don't have any power to promote. There are many GS-09-11's that have been stagnate for decades because of management thinking like you! After 10 years of that crap... it's not surprising why many older employees have attitudes!


He's retired and living in his kingdom.
 
Why you must be military officer or federal govt management! Your paycheck is your reward? rotf! Do you feel nullified as you drive home from your kingdom each workday that you show up?

It is up to the employER to lay out the expectation plan, NOT the employee butt head! And in this day and age, reality proves that the more a hard working and resourceful employee puts out, the more they are expected... for the same wage. The OP was referring to private contractor...

within the GS ranks it gets even more cloudy and miserable because most cases, supervisors don't have any power to promote. There are many GS-09-11's that have been stagnate for decades because of management thinking like you! After 10 years of that crap... it's not surprising why many older employees have attitudes!

If everybody expects to become a chief who will be the indian?
 

Gilligan

#*! boat!
PREMO Member
within the GS ranks it gets even more cloudy and miserable because most cases, supervisors don't have any power to promote. There are many GS-09-11's that have been stagnate for decades because of management thinking like you! After 10 years of that crap... it's not surprising why many older employees have attitudes!

What's even more surprising is that they make the decision to live with it. As opposed to having the gumption to move on and make more of a better opportunity elsewhere.

Oh wait..the best of them always DO do that.

:coffee:
 

Ken King

A little rusty but not crusty
PREMO Member
Why you must be military officer or federal govt management! Your paycheck is your reward? rotf! Do you feel nullified as you drive home from your kingdom each workday that you show up?

It is up to the employER to lay out the expectation plan, NOT the employee butt head! And in this day and age, reality proves that the more a hard working and resourceful employee puts out, the more they are expected... for the same wage. The OP was referring to private contractor...

within the GS ranks it gets even more cloudy and miserable because most cases, supervisors don't have any power to promote. There are many GS-09-11's that have been stagnate for decades because of management thinking like you! After 10 years of that crap... it's not surprising why many older employees have attitudes!
No butthead, I was never a military officer, though the last position I held when I served was one of only 5 enlisted (at the time) allowed and skilled enough to perform an officers job. I was a interim section head for a while when I was a civil servant, but never carried the GM classification. And you can bet your ass that my paycheck was my reward, other than the self-pride of knowing I was damn good at what I did and routinely tasked or requested for some of the toughest jobs. I expected nothing else. And as you were told by RoseRed I am retired and living in my kingdom. (I like that RR :smoochy:) So no nullification here punk.

Any job candidate with a modicum of intelligence would inquire during their interview process what advancement potential exists along with the employer's expectations. One would be foolish not to. This applies to government, contractors, and any other private employment.

And if there are GS-09/11's that are stagnant it is because they aren't seeking betterment, more than likely they are spending most of their energy just bitching and moaning. When I hired on to the GS ranks it was in a 09-10 ladder but I progressed to a 12 due to my initiative, performance and educational advancement. That is available to any and all GSs out there. I could have gone farther had I decided to take any of the many job opportunities that existed, but I loved the work I did, where I was and wasn't interested in going to the GS pit in DC.
 

Pete

Repete
Why you must be military officer or federal govt management! Your paycheck is your reward? rotf! Do you feel nullified as you drive home from your kingdom each workday that you show up?

It is up to the employER to lay out the expectation plan, NOT the employee butt head! And in this day and age, reality proves that the more a hard working and resourceful employee puts out, the more they are expected... for the same wage. The OP was referring to private contractor...

within the GS ranks it gets even more cloudy and miserable because most cases, supervisors don't have any power to promote. There are many GS-09-11's that have been stagnate for decades because of management thinking like you! After 10 years of that crap... it's not surprising why many older employees have attitudes!
Tisk tisk, such a feeling of entitlement.
 

Pete

Repete
I was thinking of jumping on this discussion but it would likely hurt a lot of feelings.

Oh what the hell

1. Former/retired military have to understand that the military and the private sector are completely polar opposites. Promotion cycles do not exist. Avenues to move up but you don't get them by merely hanging around until you are in zone or achieve time in rate.

2. We in my company do not pay retired military less because they have a retirement check. We pay the going rate for experience and education required for a position. Entry or lower level I will go lower until the person proves their worth because the only thing that pisses me off worse is being stuck with a poor performer is being stuck with a poor performer and overpaying for them. On the first review I have the opportunity to increase salary to the level I deem commensurate with performance.

3. We do not let superstars stagnate in lower paid positions just to please customers. Most service contracts are CPFF and it is retarded to think that I am going to hold my salaries low because I make more on higher salaries.

4. Just because you finish your bachelors does not mean I am goi g to up your salary. I had a person who was working a lower salary warehouse type job, non exempt, who finished his BA and came in to talk about the $10k bump in pay he thought he rated. He was shocked to learn it wasn't happening. Would you pay the guy who cuts your grass $50 and then when he finished his BA he demands $150. Harsh fact is he is cutting grass, he is a grass cutter, an over qualified grass cutter.

5. Almost every company out there has a web site that advertises open positions. If you feel you have gained the experience, certifications, or education to move to a more advanced position you should apply. Most companies give preference to internal hires.

6. In a CPFF contract the field is not always level. Some customers have more funds than others. Not my fault but I deal with it best I can, one person could make 10-20% more for the same position simply because his contract/customer allows it.

7. Many people "think" they are management/promotion material but in actuality they are not. I have found there are 2 types of people, movers and shakers who think they are management/promotion material and strive; and those who think they are and they sit back, gripe and wait for the promotion fairy to hook them up.

8. There are these things called pay bands. You enter at or near the bottom, and progress upward over time. You will eventually top out. It is what it is but there is a max wage for every position. When you reach it you have 2 choices, 1. Get the education,cents and apply for a job in a higher pay band, or 2. Come to accept you have maxed out.

9. Unlike the military that promotes across a force of hundreds of thousands a company is vacancy driven. Unless there is a vacancy there will be no promotion.

10. Trip wires, contract ceilings, customer funding limits, short term positions, loss of coverage, accounting and DCAA audits, all complicate matters and would take days to discuss.
 
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