Corporate Relationships: Signs It's Time To Break Up...With Your Company

I received a text last week from a fellow employee which read, "F#$k corporate!  I hate this f#$king place!"

Sound familiar?  Well maybe the language you use isn't so "colorful", and what's funny is this came from a person who doesn't swear very often.  However, she was so incensed with what was happening to her, that she just couldn't hold back her anger.  To me, that means it's time for a change.

Working with any company is like being in a relationship.  Sometimes it's even more intimate than some of your personal relationships, because you might spend a lot of time at work.  Let's face it, a lot of the same problems you deal with in a personal relationship are evident in your own relationship with your company.  And like any relationship, the road to happiness can be arduous and wrought with hardship.  In many cases the relationship can even be abusive, and at that point it's time to break it off, for your own well being.  Here are a few signs that you're in a bad company relationship:

1. They Don't Pay Attention To Your Needs - Corporations have one thing in mind, and one thing only: making profits for their shareholders.  In the past, people were the building blocks of those corporations and it seemed that this was understood by management and it was very important to keep good people.  Not anymore... with the population level rising, and more people to choose from, job hopping is now the norm, and many companies aren't interested in your needs, they're interested in their needs.  It's like having sex with a partner who's more interested in their orgasm than yours. That kind of sex can be messy, there's a lot of crying, and you need to get out of that relationship.  Find some company that cares about what you need to be successful, and is willing to fulfill your needs, not just their own. 
2. Lack Of Communication - When people refer to a man as the "strong and silent type", they could also be referring to some corporations.  The worst company to be with is one that cannot or refuses to communicate with it's employees.  I worked for a company that would only email correspondence with it's employees.  There were no formal conversations, no exit interviews, and in performance reviews the employees were only asked to fill out their portion of the review; without discussing or having an interaction with their manager. I agreed with everything in my performance review but I called my manager to discuss it in the process. His response, "I just need to get this done, it's year end, so fill out your portion and get it back to me ASAP. It's not really a reflection of how I feel about your performance." I felt like yelling into the phone, "Oh it's not? It's a performance review you freaking idiot!" How would you like to be married to someone who only left you post it notes about how they were feeling and didn't even listen to your feedback. I personally couldn't be with that type of person or company, so naturally I left.
3. Abuse - My friend worked for a company that each month would find some reason or another to take away commissions, and expenses from no matter how well he did.  He could be at 110% to quota and they would discover some "error" in reporting which would put him at 101%; just low enough to screw him out of  thousands of dollars.  Now that's really abuse, on a monetary and psychological level.  So he left, and they were surprised.  What a bunch of morons! However, I know people who are still working for that company and putting up with the abuse. I find it amusing when people stay with companies that just abuse them daily.  They bitch and moan about what a horrible company they work for but yet they stay.  Why? Because they don't want to change.  They rationalize their relationship and say, "Well it's not that bad.  I could be out of a job.  At least I'm employed unlike a lot of people nowadays."  I understand when you're being abused you have a tendency to believe that it might be you're fault but trust me, it's not you. It's them! Corporations can be just as abusive as your parents, your partner, or even your spouse.
4. They Don't Listen To You - If you work for a company that doesn't allow you a voice in the workplace then get the hell out of that relationship.  Or perhaps you have a boss that looks at you in a funny way when you try to add some input into the workplace.  Break up with them NOW!  A manager who doesn't listen to his employees is the worst type of leader, and a company that tolerates that kind or leadership isn't worth your time and effort.  In fact, Gallup polled 1 million American workers and the conclusions were obvious:

"People leave managers not companies...in the end, turnover is mostly a manager issue," Gallup wrote in its survey findings. The effect of poor management is widely felt. Gallup also determined that poorly managed work groups are on average 50 percent less productive and 44 percent less profitable than well-managed groups."

So why do poor manager's still exist?  Because companies don't want to listen to their employees and get rid of them.  I received an email from a reader who claimed that her VP had been sued 3 times and yet the CEO continued to keep that person in their leadership role.  My question to that reader was as follows:

"Does your company even have an HR department?  If they don't, they'd better have a team of lawyers!"

Poor management leads to poor results, which may lead to lawsuits.  Regardless of what the Gallup poll shows if your manager sucks, then your company sucks, because they're tolerating poor leadership.

       5. They Never Take You Anywhere - A long time ago, at a company far, far, away, I was the     top sales manager in the Western Region, and how did my company recognize my performance?    They didn't.  That year, because of "profit reduction strategies", they didn't offer me a trip, didn't recognize my performance, and didn't even to send me to Shakey's Pizza for a damn bunch a lunch. Finally, when I mentioned to the VP that I was disappointed they hadn't even recognize how well MY TEAM had done, they threw options at me, to keep me quiet.  WTF? What about recognizing the team? Take us to a nice dinner, or even In-N-Out Burger, but do something!

I was offended that all our hard work had gone unrecognized and believe me it was a lot of hard work.  I had spent 60-70 hours per week at the job, put my marriage in jeopardy, and was stupid enough to think they would reward me for my efforts.  Needless to say, I broke it off with them 6 months later, and I stayed with my spouse.  That was the right decision.

If your company is abusing you, not listening to you, giving you the silent treatment, and not treating you like the "trophy employee" you are, then dump them.  They don't deserve you anyway!

It is best to be in a relationship with some one or some company that appreciates you!

Breaking up is hard to do....but it may be the best thing to do.