My question is for those who have been here for a few years: was it ever possible to have a good work-life balance here? When I accepted my job here, I knew I wouldn’t have much time for family anymore but I didn’t believe it would be nearly impossible to achieve work-life balance.
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I don't disagree with what has been said in other comments however I do believe a lot of it has to do with the Manager you have leading the group. If the Manager is willing to stand up and set some guidelines then things can certainly be different, the unfortunate part is that too many of the Managers at Pembina do not have the experience or the knowledge to stand up and back what is right. We have many Managers that have little experience but think they know what is going on. Give your head a shake and truly understand your people before making a decision. Grow a pair and do what is right!
Speaking out at a townhall on microphone with ~900 staff would be the beginning of the end of your career at Pembina. Very different than a townhall with over 3,000 staff in attendance. Many opinions within but no one rocks the boat publicly and the Executive team are smug knowing they oversee a very subservient workforce. One big family we are. Don't question your insecure Dad.
That post is entirely accurate. I laughed with my wife that staff at Pembina are unassertive and meek in front of their masters after attending my first Pembina townhall a few months in. People were too chicken to ask questions via microphone, and there was a clear element of fear in the room and a line with the staff and executive. Family company after all. The upstream I came from routinely had staff roasting execs about various policy and direction in townhalls with the microphone.
My last line wasn't included:
Put your family and yourself first. Put you time in and go live you life. Have your resume updated and engage your professional network engaged.
You certainly can but that is a career limiting move. I'm a former employee who occasionally browses this site out of morbid curiosity. Employed for 8 years and was a top performer who would show up on time and bust my bu-t for the 8.5 hours and leave to enjoy life.... if there was a critical project or request, I never had any objection staying later or working on a weekend to get things done. Funny how I was the only one let go during the 2020 layoffs. I will forever remember the ugly looks I got for leaving at 4:30pm every day and hearing some comments that I wasn't a "real" member of the team.
Can't speak for other business units or teams but my area was all about perception vs. quality of work and results. The types who would routinely waste 1-3 hours every day BSing and turning a 1 hour meeting in to a 90 minute/2 hour meeting were always the ones working 10 hours+ a day and showing up to the office on Saturdays like it was a badge of honor (sending e-mails with a Saturday or Tuesday 8pm time stamp was a gold star). These guys climbed the corporate ladder and it was always spun that they "loved their work". Still maintain that the long hours with these people occurred because (in no order): perception, climbing the ladder, peer pressure, horrible personal time management and disrespectful of others' time, have taken on too much work, don't value time with their families or ___________ (fill in the blank)
The lack of boundaries with work/life time, an unspoken expectation of company first, thousands of hours of unpaid overtime from a largely subservient and passive workforce is a corporations wet dream.