So, for those of you in the know, I quit my job on Tuesday.
It's been a long time coming.
The afternoon before I quit, I was hit with a brutal mixture
of dread and enlightenment. I knew I was not meant to assist people with their
eBay purchases for the rest of my life, I had something more to offer. I had
something more to do.
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| Music Inspector at work. |
Talking to the music inspector than day about my emotional
state, I told him it wasn't because I haven't received a raise in 4 years, it
wasn't because they were taking away our cell phones, MP3 players and drinking
at our desks. It wasn't the lack of respect for things I had done, constantly
giving and giving and receiving nothing but a paycheck in return. It was all of
it combined.
As an employer, you don't have to do anything for your employees except pay them, just as
your employees don't have to do
anymore than the bare minimum to get the job done. Employees don't simply just
work in your building, they also live there for 8 hours at a stretch. Take away
a few creature comforts and there will be a difference, if not in productivity,
then in retention.
Below is a letter to the owner. I'm probably not going to
send it to him, but if by some random chance he stumbles upon this blog, I'll
make sure it's something I won't regret him reading. In any case, he'll
probably never see it.
Dear Seth,
You surprised me, you really did. When I mentioned that I
hadn't had a raise since I started, you seemed stunned! Your facial expression,
your tone of voice, your body language all told me this was a suprise. I
believed that you might actually do something about this.
Shame on me for believing.
See, I've been believing for a few years now that things
were different than they appeared. The idea that because you are a small
business, that there would be some more of a human element to how things were
run.
Shame on me.
In April of 2011, my daughter was hospitalized for
dehydration. She had a stomach bug and couldn't keep anything down so I stayed home
with her for two days, before the doctor told us she would need to be
hospitalized. I stayed by her bedside for two more days. I returned to work
with a doctors notes and recommendations left and right. months later, when my
review came around I was told I took too many days off for illness, that I
should be able to find a sitter for my sick child at the last minute in order
to not miss work. I was told that everyone else finds a way to make it happen,
even though only one other person on the payroll had a child in elementary school.
This was my problem, I needed to find a solution. So my wife she would take all
the sick days from then on. She's a elementary school teacher and her days off
are far more valuable than mine, not just in dollars, but the education of her
students and the time it takes to develop emergency lesson plans. She made that
sacrifice for me, she's awesome like that. I thought the problem was solved.
Shame on me.
When all the new rules were coming down, I asked Michael
(co-president) what was going to be done to help employee morale. I was told
school teachers aren't allowed cell phones in their class rooms and how they
have metal detectors in the Smithsonian for employees. These security measures
are nothing new, they are implemented all over the place. When I countered that
teachers make more than $12/hr and Smithsonian employees have a decent benefit
package, I was told that I don't have to work there. When you take something
away, it's polite to compensate in some way, shape or form. A businessman should
understand that.
What gets me though, what really gets me? I don't think you want this. Seth, I've heard so
much about what this company used to be and what kind of environment you wanted
for your employees. How you want them to enjoy coming to work. Where is that
vision now? You have taken the humanity out of the work environment. Don't
think so? Try this: You and your wife follow ALL of the new rules: No food at
your desk, no beverages, no cell phones, no MP3 players. Eat in the break room.
15 days off a year, including sick days. Working from home is not an option.
If you cannot do this, the very thing you ask of your
employees, then you cannot ask it of them. It's that simple.
Good luck, Seth. Honestly. I think you'll find Best Buy a
much harsher mistress than you bargained for. I hope you can make it work.
