In the interest of Employee/Employer disputation, I listened to a friend monologue about her job/boss/cow-orkers (not a typo). I mean, I like to think I'm a good friend, but all that was required of me was to interject with an "uh-huh" here and a "you've got to be kidding!" there and she thought I was listening. And I did try to listen, but everyone who bitches about their job sounds the same to me. It's not that I don't care, because I don't, but... well, on some level I just like the stories.
Anyway, it got me to thinking about some of the disparity in some businesses, especially family owned businesses. Where my friend works the family and most of the technicians don't work, don't care and the non-family paid employees are expected to take up their slack, and work overtime if needed, but the OT will always be denied as "unapproved". They don't care. You've done the work already and they have no intention of paying you for doing it. My friend gets paid commission on jobs she brings in and she's damned good at that. The owner wrote in one sentence in the commission agreement "subject to change without notice" and ever since, she doesn't get paid her commissions because it is always "changing".
Now, if I were my friend I'd get a bit litigious, however, I am not my friend so I just watch her get boned with no remuneration and see her boss take off on another trip or buy another boat... whatever. I watch as she's in tears as her bills mount up, as she's swimming in debt after taking this job because of the promised commission structure, and I get a bit pissed off. People like this are the reason that unions started. A murderous offense in my book.
Work with me here. If you treat your employees fairly, you will get quality work from them, regardless of salary. It's been proven again and again. Fairness, equity or the appearance thereof are of the utmost importance to Joe Employee. All he cares about is that no one gets more preference than he does. If you jump down the throat of the receptionist for being 10 seconds late clocking in while your son waltzes in at 10 AM and does the e-mail shuffle until leaving for lunch at 11:30 not to return until 4:49 PM and then wants to "go over a few things". (See, I do, too, listen!). What is an employee to do? This is the guy who NEVER shows up for anything on time, never does a damned thing he's told to do, and STILL gets paid overtime because from 5 to 6 PM he wants to get 8 hours of work in while you sit not getting paid AND doing his damned job.
This is my solution, family or not, get rid of the dead weight. If your kid can't earn his own living at 40-something years of age, cut him loose. You've raised him. If he's too stupid and/or rude to keep a job anywhere else, hey, you've tried. Your employees should not be penalized emotionally and financially because you couldn't raise your kids to be decent human beings. It's not their fault you overindulged this piece of crap to the point of idiocy. It's yours, own up to it and kick the deadwood out. Move on with people who are not only willing to do their job, but know you will fire them if they don't. Hey, you fired your own kid!
Meanwhile, I will continue to listen to my friend, commiserate and wonder why on earth it is STILL illegal to kill the lazy f$cks and stupid f$cks we identify in the wild.
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