Episode 17 - The one about the work revolution

environments. And I've, I've done other episodes about this, you know, I kind of part of me feels like I'm kicking a dead horse. But then another part of me feels like it is such a current topic. It just won't go away. And I love it. I just keep reading a new article every day about people who have just chosen alternative workstyles. There's like a TV show on PBS about it. And I think it's amazing. Because the working class of the world only have so

many options. We're only born with so many options when we're born into a certain social class. And that is okay, it's not something unfair in life, it's just where you are. But I find it amazing that workers are in their own little sort of passive aggressive way saying, You know what, I don't have to live my life in this box that you're trying to shove me into, I don't have to work until five years before I die, work unhappily. And then I get five years of my life to myself, and

I die. And you know, I can't blame anybody. But the employers, I mean, they're always going to be marginal employees, always. But the biggest problem is the employers and how they treat people on the job and think it's okay. I mean, mixed in with the so called Bad employees. I truly believe that if you take almost anyone, and you engage them, and you make them feel necessary and needed and appreciated, you're going to get good work out of that person. They're going to be

enthused about it. But when you dangle carrots in front of people that you never really let them reach. When you create some versiv atmosphere is in the workplace, by I don't know what you want to call it, but I guess it'd be rewarding poor people behavior, and ignoring other people. When you play these little games, you're creating a bad employee, you're and you deserve everything that you get. I mean, I've shared some of the experiences that I've had on jobs, and I'll share more, but I

was reading. I think it's called a BuzzFeed. And they do these little polls of people on different topics. And I read several of them in the last few days, people were talking about toxic work environments and things that they'd had happen on the job. And I mean, I gotta tell you, I thought I'd had some bad ones until I read these. And I realized these people have

been in horrible situations. But there is an overriding theme when I read these, and I think back on the experiences that I've had, and that is people not being treated with proper equality. And I don't mean based on race and sex, I mean, based on performance, there's no team environment, there's no goal. Everybody says that, but it's not true. In almost every company has that one subversive person that taints the entire environment, and yet somehow

they keep a job. Somehow they say they're No one calls them out strongly enough about their behavior. And it's a shame. It really is it ruins otherwise good workplaces, you know what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the person who their life is to be everything to the company. But yet, they go out of their way to make bad employees over one else, either to elevate themselves or just because

they're mean nasty people. You have to understand when you go into a workplace, that you're throwing a group of people together that are from all different backgrounds and demographics, and might otherwise never have been friends or been associated with one another and you're throwing them together for a common task. Now, the odds of all of these people having Common Ground is infinitesimal. All, you have to kind of give them a common ground and the common ground should be the task at hand that

you're paying them to do. But when you allow things to go on, like one person to abuse their superior station, personalities to take over, like we're in high school, but they are the popular employee, and they take it out on other employees that that doesn't fly, and it shouldn't fly. I worked in a place very briefly. I think I don't know if I've mentioned them before or not. But I'm, I'm pretty convinced that they'd either the company existed either as their own little tax shelter or they were

laundering money. I'm not sure which one it was. But the company neither made anything, or had a service that they sold to anyone. There was no product, there was no income coming in period, none zero. It was backed financially primarily by a billionaire who owns a company outside of the United States. He he was from outside of the United States. And he had one guy that was from his home country that he had here, I'm sure to watch the flow of money and keep an eye on his money.

And this guy must have been getting paid pretty well because he and his family lived in an affluent suburb of Detroit. And he drove a nice Ford or Porsche. And he seemed like very amiable guy to begin with. And the only other thing they had was a, a long term professor at a large university from a large university here in Michigan, who had primarily his grad students

working there. And they were all just in these various little labs working on various projects, like they were in college working on projects for their professor. I've mentioned before that I went back to college and finished my degree at 50 in accounting, and I've worked as a you know, a staff, accountant, a controller, APA, you name it, but at any rate, I was hired, and they had one woman who was the accounting manager, and I was hired in to

be second in command to her. But it was the strangest experience, it is the only place I have ever worked in accounting, where I did not have unfettered access to their QuickBooks file. I mean, QuickBooks, you can dig in there, and you can lock things up. And you can make it very difficult for you know, you can set it to where only certain people can see certain things. And that's typically reserved for, you know, accounts payable, accounts receivable, people. Things weren't that broken out

at this company. So this woman, you could not go in and see you were so limited to what you could go in and see in these various company files. And for each project they were working on, they had a separate company, and a separate QuickBooks file. So there were, I don't know, six or seven of them. And this woman just she was nice and everything. But I mean, she was

a complete control freak. She always seemed, you know, overworked and overburdened, and so in need of help, but yet, she wouldn't allow me to help do anything. She would hand out the tasks, piecemeal, and micromanage every step of it. And audit I mentioned, she almost never came into work before 10, or 11 o'clock, even though I was doing it I can't remember was like eight or nine. And she didn't mind coming in and then stain until nine

o'clock at night. I didn't want to work that schedule, nor was I going to be paid for it. I was salaried. If I came in at nine o'clock, if I stay till nine o'clock at night, I'm losing money at that point. So no one seemed to take notice of this. I was constantly reminded that I was there to be second to her and take some of the burden off of her. And I thought, well, I don't know how to tell you, but this woman won't let me take some of the burden off of her.

She won't even let me try. No one is allowed to pay the credit card. But her no one is allowed to talk to the people at Verizon about the cell phones, but her no one is allowed to go in and reconcile an account but her crazy stuff. And yet again, she went around like she was just you know, done in and constant health problems. And I mean, nobody ever said a word to this woman about the fact that she just came in at 10 or 11 o'clock, you know, with one

excuse after another. And I guess they let it go because she was willing to stay till nine o'clock at night and she was willing to let herself be the person that the alarm system called if somebody you know an alarm went off in the middle of the night and this was a huge, huge manufacturing building that they saw subdivided and turned into their little incubator type place. This woman would wander this building at night by herself, making sure every door

was locked in. And I mean, I'm like, I'm thinking to myself, this is just weird. This is totally weird. You guys, don't make yourself anything. You've got some out of the country billionaire who's funneling money into this. I mean, they had the former governor of Michigan, they were paying him $5,000 a month as a consultant. And I never saw the guy in the building in the, I think it was about five months that I worked there never saw any material that he looted to what he was consulting on. It

was very strange. And then, you know, one day, it was in the beginning of COVID. They also broke the rules on that the governor Michigan had said that everything had to be unlocked down, like March 23, of 2020. And that only essential workers and they had on the government website that, you know, office, clerical accounting people they even named specifically, were

not essential employees. So this company suddenly up and decided that, you know, they, they started, you know, the, the tagline was, a, we're converting one of the projects we're working on to where it's so closely related to COVID tests that, you know, to making a COVID testing kit. And I'm like, Okay, well, that's kind of a lie, because you're not really making anything. And they only let us work from home for about

two or three weeks. And then they started getting like this, you can just feel it the energy, like we had done something wrong, you felt like a kid that was in trouble. Because the governor of the state of Michigan locked everybody down, and we had to work from home. I

don't know. But there was a definite feeling and energy that they were beginning to get irritated with me, with other people working from home, because they were continuing to have these grad students come in and work on these projects as essential workers. Now mind you, there was nowhere at the state of Michigan that I knew of that you could call and say, Hey, they're telling me I have to come into work when we're supposed to be on lockdown. But after three weeks, they did make

us come back into work. Put on a dog and pony show. I mean, they had a stupid little signup sheet when you came in, you checked your own temperature with a $20 thermometer from CVS, and wrote it out on this sheet. There was no one there witnessing that or verifying that you told the truth or that you even use it properly. And half the time this stupid thermometer said that my temperature was 93 degrees, which I hope was wrong. Anyway.

So we're working in kind of an unsafe situation at the height of the pandemic, then there's crazy things like, you know, you're the assistant accounting manager, but yet you have to go receive a multitude of deliveries a day, because I didn't pay anybody to be at the front desk. So I would have to go. And I mean, these are big deliveries for all these various little projects that all these little grad students are working

on. I'd have to take a lead down Dolly and pull this thing to a shipping room and become the shipping clerk. I've never had to do that either as an accounting manager anyway. So anyway, one day, they just called me into an office and said, Okay, well, we'll you know, based on it, well, we're firing you. And they gave me severinsen. They never told me why. But I suspect it had to do

with this manager. I think that the way she kept her name clear was by throwing people under the bus because it turned out red flag. I was, I don't know, maybe this sixth or seventh person that had been in that position. And just a few years. The woman that also worked there that did their AP and AR was in a perpetual state of disgruntled us. And one day, she just took a fit and threw papers all over the desk. And she'd been telling me all these things about these people. And I just kind of

listened and ignored. Because I didn't really care that much. But turned out she was right about everything that she told me about the accounting manager never being there, not allowing you to take the initiative to do anything on your own and then behaving as if you weren't doing your job. And I have no doubt that that's what went on behind my back. And you know, I was a good employee that showed up every day, did my job had the ability and was willing to do more. And yet, they kept her and

had an issue with me. And I'm not the only one that these kinds of things happen to. You know, you can't sit around and whine that you don't have employees or you can't find good people when you treat your people like crap. I mean, it is the fault of the Companies, no one police's them, they put out mission statements that claim all these things that nobody

really does. Or they just do it kind of to the letter of the law to check the box and claim they've done it, that sounds all great, and a prospectus or something like that, but it's

not real. But the more important point here is, I'm very happy that a large a notable amount of people are sticking up for themselves and saying, No, for me, for my family, for my kids, my partner, I'm, I'm not gonna live in this kind of situation anymore for the money, if I have to downsize or downsize, if I have to go do something else for a living, I'll figure that out. But I'm

here to live my life. And I'm more than willing to come in and do a great job for you guys, but not if I'm going to be treated like this. I'm not treated like I am a golden asset to this company. I'm treated like I'm a cog in the wheel. And people even glorify that thinking. And I don't believe in it, it's not fair. It's not right. It is, it is a stuff of revolutions. Let's not forget what the Bolsheviks

did. And it caused, you know, at one time, the uprising of labor in this country in the formation of unions, unfortunately, that didn't go well. But I tell you, it's heading in that direction again. But in a different way, I don't really see unions taking off, but I do see a workforce in their own way demanding we want a different work environment. And if you won't give that to us, you know, we're not we're gonna get off the treadmill.

It's not worth it. It's not worth it at the cost of your family, your mental health, your otherwise physical health, no matter what you're paying me to be pushed and pushed and treated like crap. Because I'm telling you people, there's nothing that unique about any of us, don't let anybody make you feel differently. Whatever you are, whatever your quirks are, however goofy you are, there are other people out there just like you and there's somewhere working and you can find them.

And it should not be predicated on pay, everybody isn't going to make a six figure income. And your mental health is worth more than that. So if you're mentally healthier, being a cook on a line, or working on a cruise ship, or working remotely from your treehouse, then do that. As long as you can make a living and it's viable, and you can support yourself. Even if you are the six figure income person

or more. There are environments that you can work in that are better for you that are healthier for you that are more in line with you. Look for them, they're out there. It may not be a law firm with 200 people, it may be a law firm with two people, but they're out there. There are other people like you there are good people, there are people that appreciate their employees. Again, it may not be some big flashy job.

It might be there are some good big companies, I believe, but find a place where you can be mentally healthy and happy. So that you can live a long life. And so that you can have a fruitful life. So that when you go home, at the end of the night, you're not so miserable, that your kids and your partner don't even want to be around you. Because that is not worth you providing them a mansion or whatever else that job may provide. find a job that you can find happiness and contentment.

And if you're not being respected, and you're being treated disdainfully and you have that feeling every day when you walk in, start making tracks to walk out. I have said that before, I'm going to keep saying that. Because obviously you have a skill, you're doing it for this company, go do it for another person that's going to actually appreciate it. But I really again, I really love this whole movement of people who are making this choice that I'm talking about. I'm so excited

about it. And I'm so excited that technology has brought us so many other options of creating an income stream. You know, everybody talks about the side gig jobs and things like that. But I mean, you have things like instacart and grubhub and Uber and Uber Eats and on and on not what a wonderful way for people to work for themselves. It's so gonna have its frustrations and its irritations but it's a way for

people. You know, that's one thing to deal with, but they don't have to deal with, you know, toxic work environments every day. They can get in their car and they can go do some grocery shopping for people where they can pick up some food and deliver it to you or they can pick you up and deliver you somewhere. Have a little bit of peace of mind and still make

some money. The other thing is how people can work remotely, you can do your job, I mean, many jobs can be done anywhere in the world freelance writer, accountant, bookkeeper, taxes, a whole lot of law, you know, it just goes on and on and on Google around, you'll find it. And I'm happy that, that those things are positive thing that technology has brought us. Even social media, which I bash a lot and kind of makes its own bad

image sometimes. But I mean, I mentioned before YouTube, a guy that I follow on there chrisfix. You know, this young man is making a very good living on there. And he's providing relevant content that actually

helps people. And there's many others like him, there are many people on Instagram that aren't just, you know, putting nonsense out there that's, you know, amusing to those with a juvenile mentality, there are people out there putting good quality content, there are all kinds of avenues in social media, you know, podcasting what I'm doing. I mean, I'm not making a living at it yet, but I might one day,

and I'm enjoying it. And in the meantime, and I'm passionate about it, because I'm trying to help you guys with whatever I have to offer. And I think that there is something there, but I have to offer I hope there is.

But podcasting is you know, there's a lot of people out there that have developed really good careers doing this, you know, in anything you choose, there it is work, you You do have to be consistent, you have to be diligent, you have to I think you need to be passionate about it, you think that that flows through and whatever it is you do for a living, whether you sweep the floors, or whether you have the number one podcast in the world. You have to have passion. It can't. There is real

work. Okay. But I believe that all of you understand that. And I believe all of you do you know how to work. And like some of these people, I don't believe that we Americans are lazy, and spoiled. I think that we're an incredibly hardworking country. And I think that we know all about hard work. And we are a very creative country, we come up with all kinds of ingenious ways to make a living. And I think that you guys can do that, too. If you're in an unhappy

situation. What I'm asking you to do is don't sacrifice your mental health don't sacrifice your other, the rest of your physical health, being in an unhappy workplace, or an unhappy anything, really, but not in a workplace. I mean, if you have a dream, you have this life one life, if there's something you want to do, if there's a talent you already have, go do it someplace that appreciate you

that treats you Right. You know, if you if you're a big goofball, alright, then go find a company for big goofballs, and go do your thing and make your living. There's nothing wrong with that. So I don't know, these are my ponderings of this week. And I just had to take a moment and cover this topic again. Because every day in my newsfeed, there's another story. I see some other input about people who are just saying, you know what, I'm not going to do this

anymore. I'm going to find a different way to live my life and make a living and enjoy myself. Because it's not only for the rich, anyone can do that. It may require living at a different level than you currently do. But anyone can do it. And I know you can. I'm doing it. And we're talking about that too, because I'm doing this trying to steer myself into retirement. And I'm not the person that had 40 years in at a company with a guaranteed 401 k because quite honestly, by and large, I think

that that's a fallacy. I think that's a dream. And I'm so happy that millennials have started calling out my generation of baby boomers who told them these lies for so long about give up your whole life, go work for this company, get your fat 401k and retire and be happy because it's just not reality. And it's not what really happens just like we we lied to that poor generation about, you know, oh, go go get a college degree and it's guaranteed you're going to be wealthy. That's not true,

either. And, you know, oh my god, my kid plays this high school sport. I'm going to hire them a personal trainer and a personal coach and they're going to be a billionaire doing this. That's probably not true either. We told a lot of lies to that generation, based on a lot of supposition, and it's unfortunate. Now, I am the baby boomer that I'm not going to take responsibility for having done any of that because I guess I kind of still have what a

millennial mentality. Whatever it is, I knew it was hogwash. began with maybe I like to think that I have the true hippie mentality of free thinking free life. I'm going to do what sounds right to me and what feels good to me, not the status quo, but I'm going to figure out retirement anyway, it can be done. And I'll share some of that with you guys as we go

along. But in the meantime, you know, I'm encouraging you, I'm telling you that you can find something else to do with your life, you can find a different way to make it work. But do not waste your life being unhappy. Do not waste your life everyday going into a workplace that either gives you a false sense of bravado, because you may not really be that amazing, just because you are joining your company and bullying everyone

else. Or that cuts you down and makes you feel less than because you are also not less than you are human being put here for a reason with talents and skills and maybe you haven't found them all yet, but you won't find them until you start exploring life. And if you have found them, you certainly don't need to be doing them where you're not appreciated. So those are my thoughts for this week. I hope you enjoyed listening. I hope it helps. If you feel that someone you know could benefit, please

recommend the show to them. In the meantime, enjoy the rest of your day.