Once upon a time, I was a star employee. I won free trips to Hawaii, and all kinds of token awards for my contributions to the company. I thoroughly enjoyed it as I realized that my skills could really make a major impact on this company. Throughout the years as leadership changed, so did policies. The emphasis wasn’t so much on improving aspects of the business, but introducing new concepts, whether they worked or not. Perhaps I was naïve, but I was flabbergasted over how many projects were created merely for the purpose of promoting specific individuals, even though the projects themselves we’re broken by design.
I soon realized and came to the conclusion that leadership was only interested in showing how they add value by creating nothing more than what’s known as busy work. In other words, create a project, retire it, re-create it under a new name. In my opinion, it was a waste of resources, trying to recreate the wheel over and over.
Eventually I found myself stuck in a rut. I would continue to provide solutions to major issues, only to be sidelined, because other groups didn’t have the resources to solve these issues. This was a delaying tactic. For example, see how many paychecks you can rack up during a project or Continually blame lack of resources.
Now, my inspiration and motivation has waned. I soon discovered activities outside of work more inspirational.
I’m in a conundrum. I work for a company but I’m not motivated to work. So, I continue to collect my biweekly paycheck, company, perks, and bonuses.
Thanks WF for showing me, after all my years of exemplary service, that I don’t matter anymore. You’ve made so many policy changes over the years, that you don’t even inspire me to succeed within your organization. You’ve hindered my ability to climb the corporate ladder. I won’t go into details, but you know what you’ve done.
To all the current employees and former employees, Don’t take this company seriously. If all that matters is the paycheck, then you’ve come to the right company. If you want to strive for more, look elsewhere. Why? Because if you join this company now, you won’t recognize it several years later. New leadership and policy has completely changed the company I once knew.
I miss the days when team members were happy to go to work.
Will I still be here when they give the current CEO and leadership the boot, and bring in leadership to re-inspire us once again? That’s why I’m still here. One can always hope.
10 replies (most recent on top)
@2ywx FYI. I’ve been mopping up ever since I joined this fiasco. The problem has and always will be the leadership.
You mean leadership that almost sunk the place? You’re one of the 85% rated consistently exceeds who did nothing to steer the company in the right direction. Trips to Hawaii - who does that but a company who in the past was out of control. Leave. Bye.
Part of me really wishes what happened to FTX happens to WF. I hear common phrases across the company. Dysfunction junction. Analysis paralysis.
I used to think I needed to see a shrink or get some therapy, but I found out that this website really helps. Though, Facetiously, I have to thank WF for introducing ‘apathy’ into my character.
All rings so true as I ponder my existence within Wells Technology this Friday afternoon. This place has become a cluster. There are so many technology, process, tooling and agile efforts happening simultaneously, coming down from the enterprise, its difficult to figure out what is what. Competing priorities and many initiatives that all seem to be the same flavor..
Regardless our teams in my Tech LOB don't have the resources to work on or even scratch the surface on many of these. It's so frustrating and just mind boggling. What ki--s me is all the top leadership blow hards acting like nothing is wrong and so busy with all their strategies and mumbo jumbo talk.
I worked hard for years and had a lot of accolades for things actually getting accomplished. I can't get anything done now as their are so many hurdles and gotchas to contend with. Sigh I give up. :(
Ditto. Very well said. This is where people come to transition to retirement. For once I have to agree with Elizabeth Warren, WF has a management problem and they have had since the Norwest acquisition. My grandfather retired with WF and my grandmother rec'd his pension check until the day she died. My family always banked with WF and in 2008 I tried so hard to get on with WF because I thought them to be a stable, conservative, honest company, one that I would be honored to be associated with and would survive until I retired. That company died long ago. So, like you, I sit here with no work, collect my paycheck and try to train those who have been hired to meet a quota and have no clue and no training to do their job.
We are going the way of Twitter, just in the normal Wells way of slow deployment. How's twitter doing today?
For those not following the Twitter acquisition, Elon came in, fired more then 1/2 the staff, had to rehire key staff, force RTO, terminated all contractors, require 80+ weeks to meet arbitrary deadlines, then made the remaining employees decide to work 80+ hours a week or take severence. He didn't think the remaining employees would take the severence and same day, all of the Twitter offices were closed.
Pretty much echoes my sentiments. Actually of Corporate America as a whole any more.
I moved here from Chase so I knew what was coming when their failed management team started coming. I took steps to protect myself including getting out of the technology sh!thole before it hit the fan. All my former colleagues have been laid off. A lot left before that but others did not and had to scramble for their next gig. Sad to say that area is now a sh!tshow and they deserve what they get.
If I do eventually get laid off, Corporate America can go to he-l. I wouldn’t be surprised as they have added staff in India instead of replacing who leaves here.
Wholeheartedly concur. While I was never sent to Hawaii, I did get to travel to numerous perky and exotic functions in the US over the years. It was a vastly different company back then.
Your experience almost mirrors mine. As does your conclusion.
I consider myself on paid retirement. I often wonder what’s taking them so long to lay me off. I’m just glad I found another opportunity to keep my mind occupied. WF is merely my side hustle, now. Every so often, I just have to laugh at my situation. Still getting paid, still have the company perks, still get the annual bonus, but do very little work. The definition of dysfunction.
Hooray for those who are still new/inspired to the company and haven’t experienced what we have all these years.
Well said - it is exactly how many of us feel. It is no longer a place that inspires me, and makes me feel empowered and that I make a difference. I am merely hanging in there, doing my job, no extras - counting down the last couple of years to retirement.