The young professionals who have spent their entire career at Devon are going to be in for a rude awakening. I'm talking about those that interned at Devon and accepted their first job at Devon during the boom years. You are part of the reason why Devon has good assets and a poor cash flow. No more afternoon lattes and gelato for you. You actually have to work now for your $160,000 per year. Those of us that came from other companies know what I'm talking about. Most of the Devon YPs are soft. They don't work on weekends, or past 5-6pm. Most of them have no concept of money and mismanage company resources. Welcome to the real world. Survival of the fittest.
42 replies (most recent on top)
Lots of hate for the YPs, entitled, not hard working, no value, everyone gets a trophy, etc. Guess who raised us? that's right, the old professionals! You reap what you sow!
ain't no body hiring shit and devon people are shit.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/lizryan/2016/01/31/the-truth-about-managing-millennials/#7b6ba330fbe2
It isn't about old or young. There are good workers and bad workers. There maybe different reasons for why performance is poor, but unfortunately if you are a really great kiss ass you can start young and have a long and prosperous career until you are old without having any real skills. There are some younger workers that do work circles around some older workers, but there are also young workers that think they work circles around older workers when all they do is create bullshit busy work for themselves that doesn't really improve anything (if you have to spend 2 months automating a process that takes 30 minutes once per year you are wasting time). As far as entitled there are older workers that feel like since they have managed to keep their jobs for 15 or 20 years whatever they do is the best and there is no reason to improve anything because they are obviously the best. Most likely if you are a lazy young worker you will become a lazy old worker and if you are old and work your ass off you probably worked your ass off when you were young. Unfortunately in the current environment it doesn't matter if you are a good worker or not, lately at Devon it's who you know and who you blow.
No one ever said that they wish they had worked longer hours when on their death bed. You won't. I wont, and I'm a YP.
A lot of bitter old people on here... someones viagra prescriptions clearly ran out.
I Ben seeeing a therapist forrr slowwww speechhh and slurrredd words. I tolddd her I cannnn no longerrrr record MS Excel macrossss and writing complexxx VBA code is takkkking me 10% longgggerr. Sheeee says keeeep coming twiccce per week and weeee willll figure itttt out togetherrrr. Of courseeee that's not on companyyyy time. But nowwww with the diagnosis by 2vxv, I knowwww the problem. Immm dumbbbb and olddd and slowwww. And of courseeee not as goodddd looking as I was 25 yearrrrsss agooo. Thanksss 2vxv ... Youuuu saved me moneyyyy I will need when im a greeeter @ Wall Mart. Lifeeee is gooooood.
I'm insulted.. I've worked overtime every week I was at Devon. I'm a YP, and yes I interned at Devon. During my internship I worked weekends, and plenty of late nights to get my project done, in order to answer some of the pressing issues the company had with their current operations.
The hard work I put in everyday paid off when I was granted a job offer within the company. I'm thankful to have the opportunity to work for Devon, and I work hard everyday. I come into work on time, and I'm often the first one in the office and the last one to leave. The fact that there's seasoned employees pointing the finger at the younger generation sickens me. The older generation is here to guide the younger generation as we begin our careers in the oil and gas business. We need to hear your stories, your experiences, and the techniques you developed to work effectively within this business.
We don't have time to "point the finger" at any working individual. Stereotyping us definitely wont help either. We may look young, but we are educated, and many of us are putting in that second effort each and everyday to help the company succeed this downturn. Please if your a veteran at your job, be a mentor to the younger generation. We need to come together as a workforce. We can't let adversity govern our actions within the office. and we definitely can't let it tear us apart from working as a team to achieve our goals.
You young whipper-snappers unless your daddy's wealthy, more education is coming soon!
Hey about the young ones turn the table that you old folks are useless and slow as hell. Dumb as hell also dont even have common sense, never seen so many dumb old folks like I have at Devon. Maybe we work 40 hours because we are more efficient.
Who gives a shit how many hours you or anybody else works? I get paid a salary, not sure what arrangement you have worked out for your compensation. If I can work 40 hours a week, collect my check, and keep my job, so be it. If you need to work 60+ to accomplish the same thing, congrats. That just means your effective hourly rate is likely that of a local bartender. All you are winning is the pissing contest. Have fun with that. I'll continue to enjoy me evenings and weekends.
I am a YP at Devon. I came from another well known and respected operator who is doing a lot better in this downturn than Devon. I agree with OP. The Devon breed of YPs are generally pretty lazy and work less hours than those at other medium sized oil & gas companies. Most of the people posting on here sound like a bunch of entitled cry babies.
clearly the last post represents the best and brightest...
Lolling so hard @ OP, who posts here trying to puff himself up, bragging about all the time and money he has wasted on companies that would boot him down a flight of stairs at a moment's notice. He has slaved away his whole career all the while the charismatic, better looking younger people around him blow past his senile ass for promotions and bonuses.
Next stop for OP is walmart greeter, where he'll be bitching on Facebook about how he puts in the extra effort to say "hello, welcome to walmart," and those damned self entitled millennials with their participation trophies (btw, what the f--- is a participation trophy?) are just too self important to respond to him.
Such a lot of hate in here. Maybe you all should stop worrying about what hours other people are working and focus on your own work. Amount of time in the office doesn't equate to quality work. I know plenty of people who have worked way past 5, but don't produce anything. I know people who seem like they are always out of the office, and they produce quality work. I don't know where all this hate is coming from, but you people need to chill out and just do your jobs and quit worrying about what the other guy is doing.
@FHqOmAG I am with you bro - you nailed it. Our 9 to 5 boys for 160K plus - who the f--- gives the f--- for your baby and wife at home, I just gave you almost 200K, hard earned money by blood and sweat of folks in the field, 200K that's five years compensation of an average US worker, and you f---er want to go home to be with your baby - give me a break, resign right now and go be a teacher, you'll spend all summer with your baby
Good thing OP isn't in charge of anything. Probably someone who has been working the same position for 20 years and watching everyone else move past them. Do you really want to target YPs when times get tough? Who is going to replace the older generation when you all retire in the next 5 years? You just sealed the coffin on your company and industry if you think that is a good move. You want the YPs to stop getting coffees and messing around on phones? Delegate them more work. We're fast learners. I can't speak for everyone, but each day I'm practically asking for more work or something to do. Honestly it's an organization problem that YPs are so under utilized in a lot of cases. Hate the game not the player.
You folks are awful bitchy over there at Devon! Here at SD we just accept that oil is in the $hitter and move along, waiting for our demise. Quit yer bitchin' friends! Let's go have a drink at your shiny tower bar!
Seriously though, all these first year engineers are getting paid way too much!
1gnn nailed it.
I'm a youngin' as well. OP is right. Most people my age are lazy sacks. "I get my work done in 40 hrs a week" just means you are doing the bare minimum and your bosses will notice. Kiss your lazy asses goodbye! Nobody needs to employ the mediocre at these oil prices.
this sounds more like an internal culture problem. Experience is valuable and so is youthful exuberance. how will that knowledge and experience ever be passed down if the veterans are bitter and resentful, and the younger employees already think they know it all? why should we take time to understand the science if you can write a macro to do the math in seconds. Thats a bad long-term strategy.
Sorry it takes you 60+ hours a week to do your 40 or less hour per week job. It's not YP's fault that they are more time efficient.
"You are a perfect example of the problem". I don't believe you have a clear view of the problem. YP's are not the reason oil is where it is. Also not the reason we are having layoffs. I didnt hear Dave say we are having layoffs because our youmgsters are grossly overpaid and we are bogged down with work. Sounds like a personal problem. If you think others are not pulling their weight I would think this is the opportune time to bubble that up to your boss. Who probably hired the twenty something you think is overpaid. Let them decide if your opinion is valid. Enjoy your 60+ hours a week. I'm sure your kids love it.
If you complain about workin 60 hours a week to make 6-figures, you ain't oilfield.
60 hours per week is absolutely not standard. I've worked for several independents and one integrated and I can tell you for a fact the parking garages in all of them were nearly empty before 7:00 and after 6:00 every single day and that's even with the AWS. Most of the people on here complaining are likely just the bums who were lazy--Young professionals and baby boomers alike. The reason we've had to pay significantly higher salaries to the YPs is due to the fact that they don't want to join such a volatile industry without a much higher incentive. Seems like they were the smart ones who didn't settle.
This post is absolute crap. I come in when I'm supposed to and I leave when I'm supposed to. I answer emails on the weekends, and I don't recall a time when I've had to go to the office on one, however. I'm sure you would perceive me as a lazy (incubated) worker, right? That seems to be fairly common among older employees. The fact of the matter is that I get my work done and have never missed a goal. I have a wife and a newborn at home, and I would like to be a part of their lives; therefore, I leave when it is time to go. Perhaps your kids have grown and moved from home, and you have forgotten what it is like to have a baby around the house? I don't know, and frankly I don't really care. The fact of the matter is that it has been a common trend in any industry that you are not a hard worker if you do not work more than 50 hours a week. Well, times are changing fellas. People actually want to have lives outside of work and these people make it happen. The truth is, I come in and work. I don't spend half the day talking to co-workers. I don't take an hour-and-a-half lunch. I prioritize my time and work so that I work as efficiently as possible and I make sure I'm a part of my child's life. Instead of making broad generalizations about an age group, maybe you should be focusing on your own work and your own insecurities as we move through these tough times.
For the kind of money the YPs are paid, 60 hours a week is nothing! Especially for pulling in $150,000 a year in your twenties! You are a perfect example of the problem. At most "independent" oil companies 60 hour week is standard, if not more.
@FHqOmAG-aqz just nailed it. We have YP's calling out veterans and vice versa. This isn't a generational problem. Some people are better than others at getting their work done in normal hours or are fortunate to not have the workload others are tasked with. Some take asvantage of the situation and leave the work to other team members. Some would rather spend time with their friends and family than put extra hours in for a company that will axe you on the drop of a dime when times are tough. It would be nice to have the ability to cut all the people not working hard when they should be but that's hard to do in an organization this large.
Work your butt off when you have to but don't hang your hat on putting in 60 hours a week when its often times at the expense of your family...and you. Young or old.
Yeah I agree. Only do what they have to,always on their I phones texting friends.Complain if asked to work late.
I'm not sure which department the OP is in, but that is definitely not the case in mine. I'm one of the YP's that came up through the internship program and have done more than my fair share of hard work. I-- and several others that came up with me--get to work around 6:00 a.m. and stay until at least 6:00 p.m. regularly. Not only that, but you know who I see there on the weekends? Other YP's. The whole work smarter not harder thing is also huge for us. I've taken at least three jobs I've been in now from "40 hour" per week jobs to 15-20 hours per week simply by building a few macros and other automated templates not only for myself but others. I can't tell you how many times I watch a seasoned veteran spend 30 minutes to an hour formatting a data pull that they do every week and refuse to automate the process.
That being said, there are some entitled, lazy YP's but I'd say I see just as many veterans taking long lunches, gelato breaks, etc and leaving right at the time they are supposed to be off the clock. Stop generalizing an entire group and causing strife.
If you have ever taken the Generations at Work class that is offered occasionally - though the word entitled is not officially used many of its more politically correct synonyms are used quite frequently when discussing the youngest generation of office workers.
the original poster was not talking about "all young professionals" but rather the ones that came up through the devon training program...
Not all young professionals are slackers and soft. A lot of them I talked to are thankful for the opportunities given to them. A lot of them are willing to put in the work to earn that next internship or full time offer and continue such work ethic into as a new hire. Stop stereotyping young professionals as ungrateful or lazy. They got the offers because they did the work and displayed potential. Slighting or dismissing hard work and sincereity is extremely ignorant.
I have been in the O&G business for 40 years with 29 of that as a supervisor. I'm within a half year of my original target date of retirement. I'm thankful for that many years and no question there's a pinch of luck in that many years I would agree. I supervise a younger group and found they do feel entitled in many ways. They want what it took the older generation years to obtain. Many in my group have much nicer homes, cars, etc. than I do but they have much debt. I have no debt. Showing up to work at 8am and staying past 5 pm is ... What? Out of the question. HR says we must learn times have changed. Ok. I must disagree slightly with one of the posts about the younger ones making that much less. All in my group make at least 80% of my salary and 2 of them make 95% of mine with <8 years experience. Some companies were wrong in paying such high salaries right out of college. Now it's expected. I'm thinking of moving my retirement target closer ... A lot closer. Maybe 30 days now .... I'm afraid this industry is in for a bumpy road and self correction for awhile. I'm proud of my service and thankful too. I was dedicated to the company I worked for the entire way.
@kfj just nailed it. Almost to the point that they might have insider info???
It'll be very interesting to see how many of these young, "entitled" professionals are retained (since they typically make lower salaries than the older folks). My guess is many of them will be. I'm betting the demographics of Devon will, on average, be much younger after the layoffs. There are going to be a lot of "early retirements" and cutting the fat from higher paid, older workers.
You can call the young workers lazy, but the fact is that most young workers make 25-50% less than the senior workers. Virtually no senior worker equates to 25-50% more productivity, so it makes sense to get rid of those older workers.
Hard work doesn't make you immune from layoffs. Plenty of hard working stiffs have been let go, while slackers remain.
Nothing replaces hard work, you can be smarter all you want, but if you're not putting in the hard work you'll find yourself jobless or underemployed.... You young whipper snappers won't be sniffing six figures again for a very long time....
there's not a lot of technical superstars in the group he described and they have very little real experience to contribute. they also seem to be incredibly entitled and overly sensitive. its the "participation trophy" generation. the actual benefit for the company is they statistically drop the average age of employee. old dude might be right. Regardless, its a little late to be bashing anybody right now because the shits about to get real kids.
Work smarter not harder...new concept I know old timer. Sad to see the elderly have a hard time picking this up but we commend your effort.