Forget that I ever existed

Mickey666

Businesses fail for all manner of reasons and everyone can make mistakes.
Some companies or organisations are such baskets cases that the only way to tempt anyone to even attempt to run them is to pay them lots of money.

Oh, and the the reason they sometimes get big payoffs when they are fired is because they've already negotiated their severance package as part of their contract . . . sometimes BECAUSE the job is very likely doomed to fail from the outset.  So they are legally binding payments.  Otherwise, who would ever take on a failing company and try to turn it around?

Things are not always what they seem and prejudices frequently fill in the gaps.  When you've had some experience running a public company and know what you're talking about first hand instead of quoting satirical comics, come back and let us know how you got on

connors07

bartelbe said:
The idea that hard work is rewarded in this country is an utter myth.

Depends on the company and the decision maker at the top of the food chain. Where I work, hard work is rewarded. Sure we have the occasional kiss **** but its not necessary. We tell fellow managers what they need to hear and thankfully despite all the wokeness around these days we believe in honest conflict over dishonest harmony. 

The idea that hard work isn't rewarded in this country is an utter myth.

Simon11

Hard work is rewarded, but there are other factors. For me, I have made lots of sacrifices (long hours and living away from home), built up a reputation for my work, did a lot of job hopping in early stages (little point in staying in junior roles for a long time) and built a large network of contacts which is so important.

The last four roles that I have worked in, I did not apply for anything. It was all through the power of Linkedin and connections. When I returned from the US after working for two years, I had 7 different job opportunities on the table after simply saying I was available to work in the UK.

With 10 years under my belt in the industry, I have managed to land a fairly easy job in a high profile company with around 30-35 hours a week that I enjoy and get paid far too much for. Even after all these years, I have yet to line managed anyone and avoid extra responsibility where possible!

Young people should start at the bottom and quickly move and jump where possible. You may not know what you want to do but should take advantage while you are kid free!

ginger_chocolate

The problem is the idea you should live and breathe your work and be passionate about it.

It's just an idea. You don't have to subscribe to it. In fact, I would hazard a guess that most people don't. 

Some people live and breathe their work and that's OK.

Some people just take the paycheck, do what they're paid to do, and live for their personal life. That is also OK.
You do what works for you. What other people may think about it is not your concern.

Sure, you could be forgiven for thinking, based on career blogs etc that the whole world is obsessed with the concept of finding meaning from work,  but, by their very nature, careers sites attract people who are of that persuasion. If it's not for you, just ignore it.

ginger_chocolate

Yet despite their ability they were overlooked for promotion time and time again. The reason was simple, they told management what they needed to hear, instead of what management wanted to hear. That was in the long terms interests of the business or organisation but they paid the price for doing the right thing.

There's also the issue of when you find someone who is exceptional in an important, but less well renumerated role, managers don't want to promote them out of it and risk having to hire someone less competent.
I've seen this happen with a lot of (usually female, middle aged and non-university educated) admin workers - they were clearly capable of much more, but management liked having an exceptionally intelligent and competent secretary so never offered promotion (and risk having to replace her with some clueless 18 year old), other employers are put off because their employment history shows they are "only" an administrator, and the staff themselves often lack the confidence to see just how invaluable they are and therefore won't ask their bosses for more.

pickledonionspaceraider

Honestly, there is more to life than kissing some bosses behind.

Our time on earth is short and contentment does not come from earning a vast wage.  We only need a certain amount of 'stuff' that money can buy

ginger_chocolate

had a few interviews during my period of unemployment and every one of them talked about passion and excitement of working there. I get they need to be positive, but this was over the top. Some would more or less say you won't have a life outside of work but work is so much fun you won't want one.

Everybody knows that we all want the job for the money, you just have to make the right noises. It's just the game. Like when someone asks "How are you today?" you say "Fine thanks." you don't actually tell them how you are!

You have a point about affordability though: I can't believe we still don't have some form of rent control in this country - the amount some areas expect people to pay for a tiny flat is ridiculous. That said, on an individual level I really think people need to be more open to moving out of those expensive areas, I know sometimes there are good reasons for people staying, but others seem to have convinced themselves that anywhere other than London is some kind of jobless wasteland. Now working remotely is becoming more of a thing, I hope people vote with their feet and leave the over-priced cities in droves.

Simon11

I live and work in London. If you get get on the property market and have a good career, then London is the best place in the UK to be. Within my field, there are hundreds of highly paid roles that I could jump into in London, whereas there may only be a few each in other cities. I could move to Manchester for a good role and move the family, however if I wanted to move after a few years I would be royally screwed and have to move family again.

Standards of living may be slightly higher outside of London but there are just so much more opportunities in London for some sectors.

RMF

jack_pott said:

The problem is that employment has become polarised. There were once jobs in industry for skilled workers, but many of those have gone now, so the opportunities left are divided between professional work like doctors lawyers, engineers etc, and menial work like burger flipping and shelf stacking.
Then along comes Tony Blair who notices that the former earn more than the latter, and so he decides to give everyone a degree, a bit like giving everyone a pair of football boots because you've noticed that footballers earn lots of money. It hasn't increased the number of professionals (or footballers) we need, so we end up with lots of graduates flipping burgers. The question is who's going to be most frustrated, the burger flipper with a degree, or the one without.

This is so true, Blair has a lot to answer for
He managed to devalue the university education by making it so readily available but at the same time devalue the skilled worker with the obsession for academic qualifications and creation of so many useless job roles, great work Tony
I have worked in the construction industry for 30 years and this is evident.
Thank goodness though there is now a big push on apprenticeships again, there may be hope yet !

lincroft1710

ushjr said:

RMF said:

jack_pott said:

The problem is that employment has become polarised. There were once jobs in industry for skilled workers, but many of those have gone now, so the opportunities left are divided between professional work like doctors lawyers, engineers etc, and menial work like burger flipping and shelf stacking.
Then along comes Tony Blair who notices that the former earn more than the latter, and so he decides to give everyone a degree, a bit like giving everyone a pair of football boots because you've noticed that footballers earn lots of money. It hasn't increased the number of professionals (or footballers) we need, so we end up with lots of graduates flipping burgers. The question is who's going to be most frustrated, the burger flipper with a degree, or the one without.

This is so true, Blair has a lot to answer for
He managed to devalue the university education by making it so readily available but at the same time devalue the skilled worker with the obsession for academic qualifications and creation of so many useless job roles, great work Tony
I have worked in the construction industry for 30 years and this is evident.
Thank goodness though there is now a big push on apprenticeships again, there may be hope yet !

I wonder how many people thought when I grow up I'm going to be a Product Owner or a Digital Transformation Manager. 

I wanted to be a "paraffin man" - the guy who delivered paraffin to householders from a small tank in the back of a van. But I was only 5 yrs old at the time!