Survivor Style Corporate Culture

When Tribal Council has spoken and the torch is extinguished, reality stars of the hit TV show, Survivor, head back to real life and their 15 minutes of fame.

But what happens when your job represents a real-life Survivor?

The part-time job I've been working at for the past seven months has taken a turn for the worse in recent weeks. Every time I go in for my shift, I hear about the latest firings and I must admit, the work culture is really suffering.

I like everyone I work with and try not to get involved in the office gossip. I know this is a job to pay the rent, but it's frustrating to see what could be a well-run establishment being slowly eroded by poor management and bad hiring/firing practices.

Last weekend we had a staff meeting (since there are so many new staff members) and went over the proper protocol for firing someone. During the first 90 days of employment, either party can terminate employment at any time with no repercussions.

However, after 90 days, there are certain steps that must be followed.
1. Verbal warning
2. Written warning
3. You're gone

Like baseball, employers are expected to follow a "three-strikes-you're-out" approach when dealing with issues. Obviously some infractions (stealing, abusing staff/customers, etc) can result in immediate dismissal.

I completely agree with the steps laid out, and would expect them to be the same in all work environments, but when I got a message on Sunday night from a co-worker saying she'd been fired I was very surprised.

She was a great person to work with, always helpful and willing to take other people's shifts. She had loads of previous experience, and was great with customers.

So what happened? Apparently it's a mystery, even to her. When she asked why she had been fired, the young manager replied that he didn't have to tell her. ??? How does that work? Don't we have labour laws in place to prevent this sort of thing?

At least on Survivor it goes to a vote - this is just a cowardly dictator on a firing spree with little thought about the big picture.

Like the cartoon, it's depressing to go into work and feel undervalued and unappreciated. The stock answer at my job when you make suggestions on ways to improve everyday tasks is: "We all have a choice. If you don't like it here, you have the choice to leave."

Well, duh. But if everyone left every time they experienced a set back we'd still be living in caves, eating raw or charred meat and sporting animal furs.

Things get better because change happens.Change happens because people question. People question because they want things to get better.

It's a cycle. I wish my boss would realize that.