Theft Without Pockets

Let me begin with a comment on the title.

It might not actually be theft but perhaps a hangover from the so called boom. Prospective employees were begged to go and work for certain companies, with all kinds of promises of workplace Nirvana. Unfortunately, some people missed the memo that there were things that actually needed to get done.

Or maybe it's the pervasive union mentality here in Vancouver, or God forbid, the new reality of the working world. Specifically, I am referring to the seemingly epidemic proportions of employees whom have entitlement mentality and general lack of gratitude towards the workplace.

Theft happens in organizations beyond the typical five or ten dollar bill missing from the cash register or stacks of Post It Notes missing from the stock room. It's not as blatant, but it is far more costly. It begins at the start of the week with 'Oh God it's Monday already' and concludes at the end of the week with the all time classic, 'Thank God It's Friday!'

Yet, when these same people get dismissed for poor or non performance, they become angry, depressed and often vindictive. If the job was that bad, you would think they would be happy! But instead, many of them continue bad mouthing their past employer to anyone who will listen or head straight to the labour board to file a grievance.

And of course the case workers to whom the recently departed are complaining are themselves in jobs that require no accountability nor have any standards of performance to adhere. So they can 'really empathize' with the poor victim and their case against the evil corporation. In the grievance, they ask for money they believe they are owed as opposed to being asked to return back to the ex-employer, the time, energy or toilet paper they have stolen from the people whom were indirectly buying them their iPods and six packs of Molsons.

My little rant in this blog stems from seeing on a regular basis, my clients being held hostage by employees that are dishonest, checked out and have absolutely no perspective on what they have been given with their job: The opportunity to be of service.

Next time, I'll be off the rant and blog about how employers, specifically those in the private sector, can get some buy in and remove the TGIF poison from their culture. Maybe Ayn Rand wasn't so far off.

Kevin