I began as a new hire straight from college many years ago and immediately loved the company and its values. Within five years, a dramatic shift began as I went through my first experience with layoffs. I fortunately survived, but it seemed that the loyalty we all shared was replaced by paranoia. The camaraderie vanished and every person felt they were on their own to survive. Then the unspeakable happened. They brought in an experienced outside hire and placed him in a fairly high management position. This was unheard of since Exxon was known for "growing its own" and promoting from within. This action further diluted loyalty and increased paranoia. Then waves of MBAs were hired to focus on the bottom line. The human element was pushed aside for the numbers game.
I ended up leaving the company but came back as a contractor 15 years later because of a dire shortage of experienced people. I was shocked at the state of the company from when I had left. There was hardly any trace of the former company values, although it was still in printed materials. Morale seemed very low, and everyone seemed to be under a lot of pressure and stress. I noticed the groups who once wielded power within the company were mostly sidelined and viewed as necessary irritants. Most workers were contractors, not employees, and we were treated like second class citizens. If we saw something going off course due to incompetency or neglect, our input was not always welcomed as it made the employees look bad. Even though we were right, it was still held against us. This put a damper on speaking up too soon, which was not good for the overall projects we worked on. My attitude became, "Thank God I'm no longer an employee here." It was very bittersweet and unsatisfying to have to say that. I still remain thankful for the first few years I spent there because it was a first-class company and I got to work with some truly first-class people.
Originally posted by @4jqs+17dsQOOP.