Thread regarding DST Systems layoffs

When people asked where I have worked in the past I omit DST Systems Inc. It has such a bad reputation that I don't want to be associated with it. I was there for years.

I went to HR against the Compliance Officer for being inappropriate. He would follow me to the break room, wait for me by the bathroom doors, and way more. After my then manager and I went to HR. They moved me directly under him!!!! He then starting retaliating towards me. I left the department went to another department outside of compliance. The minute he got promoted somehow now was the time the department I was in needed to be reorganized under him! I filed a complaint, I begged and pleaded they did not listen. It has caused me serious PTSD when it comes to working in general. It wasn’t just se-ual in nature it was demeaning, bullying, intrusive, humiliating and honestly I wasn’t the only one and he knew what he was doing. All the men knew I complained openly about it! they should have a class action lawsuit just on the HR department and lack there of!!!

In a big department, over i counted over 1/3 of the girls there dated a supervisor over the years I was at this company. All were physical relationships. It was embarrasing when the took long lunches together. One girl cam back with her shirt buttoned wrong. I know you cannot legislate morality, but should you let people act like high school kids at a business that serves and is owned by shareholders? What about the work that needed to be done. This was not a public meeting for matchmaking. It was a publically traded company. I was amazed the girls had no sense of shame. The must be married with kids now, but I bet they never tell their family the whole story of working here.

Dst had the worse management. Desperate old men who didnt want their wives anymore. but tooo afraid to divorce. so they came to work to gawk at the young girls and get their jollys

Looks get you everywhere in this company. If your not attractive, no matter how fast you learn and how talented you are, well your not going far. Dst acts like they are choosing weathergurls and newsmen. Not smart people to develop solutions. If your unattractive it means you will also be passed over for harrassement

I got layedoff from Dst. Best thing as it's going downhill. The company with massive blindspots, poor systems, hostile managers and below market pay is almost extinct. Harrassement takes many forms. Sometimes it's just hostility against someone that you don't get along with. So many other places are kinder, gentler and pay a whole lot more money. I was harassed by several people that wanted to date me. And I already have a long term boyfriend. Are people missing something? Like IQ?

I think most of dst staff has left or been layed off. In the old days, on Fridays, all would go to the quaff or John's deck bar and the young gals from dst would go home with different managers each time. It was free love at its height! Kc was always 15 years behind in the free love movement anyway, but now dst staff can legally smoke pot on lunch breaks!

I knew of a girl that got money. Not sure how much it was, she could not say. But she bought a nice house for cash, new car for cash and furnished the home with her proceeds. And I feel she was partly at fault, as in my opinion, based on what I witnessed, she was dating the guy. It just did not pan out. Executives beware!

Layoffs will continue here till 2025. Its never been accepted to date someone at the workplace. Especially your Boss. It was called dipping your pen in the company inkwell back in the 1950's. I call it pr---------n for a raise and promotion.

With the internet its alot easier for layed off workers to find jobs. Its also alot easier to find dates all over the area with internet dating sites. So dating someone in your own company looks pretty negative now. Its not like the 1960's when my parents met each other at work, and that was an accepted way to meet. Now dating within the same company is outlawed at many places.

First, DST layoffs will happen till there is nobody left in Kansas City. We should all understand that. Second, many girls were glad to date guys at work. They dated alot of guys and were involved seeking them out, just like the men looking for girls at work. Some girls dated 5 or 6 different men over their time at DST. even if the guys were married. Some dated more than one guy at once. I can't say I agree with their decisions, but DST had no moral rules to follow. I guess you couldn't really charge money for getting intimate with a guy, but anything else goes! Thats not my style. But the girls that made themselves available to almost any guy, well they can share the responsibility of what happened. Its not all the men's fault. In many cases several women were fighting over the same guy and offered as much as they could to snag him. Not that any really turned out to be good relationships. Even those that married the guys probably have rocky relationships now. There is a whole other world out there besides DST and women should have no problems finding men outside the place to date. They are just too lazy to do it.

@12gwx, thanks for sharing, I appreciate it. After experience like that, not trusting anybody and choosing wording everywhere is understandable.

Saying the company, the leadership and the system which fostered an environment in which things like that can happen and failed to create a mechanism for reporting and sanctioning that kind of behavior suck is not badmouthing, it's a fact.

I flatly turned down some advances by my supervisor. After that he treated me in the most hateful and cruel ways. Every chance he ran me down, bad mouthed me to others, passed me over for good assignments and opportunities. He was unmerciless. All because what - he thought I was his property and didnt do as he pleased? I was told by another that Human Resources would do nothing. So I left. But every chance I have I will not badmouth DST as a whole, its leadership, its systems - everything. Even on here. Before you treat someone like dirt you might stop and ponder how they might react later!

There was alot of human reproductive activities taking place at DST many years before the layoffs were announced. Remember when the saying was "DST will never lay off".

Layoffs included all staff, and that includes women who were "involved" with their superiors. Now I can only offer my opinion, but in some cases it seemed convenient these women were layed off. They could have presented a lawsuit threat, but more often the superior ended up "involved" with another woman at the company. It prevented conflict between women.

One of the previous posters here got it right. Women being promoted was a "benevolent action" and was a last resort to meet EEOC requirements, or keep a girl that dated the boss from getting unhappy and seeking legal action. Most women were promoted into lower positions. One got promoted into a H.R. job to run the cigarette smoking cessation program. I mean what the heck? Then she receive 0% raises for the next few years. Men ran the show at DST, even if rude, unqualified, lazy, critical, petty and careless. Reminded me of the corporate structure and governance of Russian firms during the 1980's and 1990's. I have to place the blame on H.R. as they ran (or didn't run) the show. DST was a joke. Still is.

The company was male driven. Had a machismo aura. Men were sure to be in leadership positions. If a woman got into management it was a only a "generous donation to recognize women", it was not considered a true earned promotion. The whole thing was pitiful and people left often and were even glad when layoffs come and they got a package. If you were an attractive women, then all the wolves were out, you could count on getting ask out by most of the men in management. Even if you were married. The guys were so immature about it. But they would rather ask and get turned down, then wonder if they could have gotten what they wanted. I know plenty of girls that gave in and had several relationships which I think now they regret and make them feel cheap. But its too late for any legal action. Bet they never tell their now grown kids (or hubby) that they dated 5+ men in DST and got magical promotions others only dreamt of. Got nice travel to conferences and bonuses. it was all very disrespectful of women. And we all knew the gals that were over at the manager's houses during the night. No secrets at DST. Not 1 secret was kept at DST!

You can and should never pester someone at work over romance or lust. But at DST people delayed their activities until they went to the quaff bar later, or those big Friday night get togethers for all the singles at the Vista hotel. What were those advertised parties called?

I knew a coworker who dated her way up the corporate ladder. She married a V.P. She was and still is a gold digger. I feel sorry for the guy. She never loved him. The layoffs have mixed things up and the old is gone. The dating around thing is not common now. Due to instability and people leaving. So I think the days of lawsuits over relationships and unwanted attention are pretty much over. The new owners have better policies and faster punishments. Neoptism is no longer accepted. The husband/wife team or boyfriend/girlfriend team is not the power tool it was in the 1970s-2010. That era is gone. Glad its gone too. It was all too fake and materialistic for me to watch. Now people find dates online, not in the same work group.

The problem may not have been real harassment per se. Its the fact there were 25 young girls for each man at DST. And most men stayed there a while. So they were older men. And so they switched around and dated many girls. Some girls who were dropped then turned the affair into harassment. Not realizing its just the churn. It was a great place for a single guy in his 20s and 30s! Data Sys Tance - the dating machine!

I know of one lawsuit that was successful. The problem was, young formative girls right out of college, and DST was their first job, were working with older men, often divorced, who were in mid-life crisis. So the girls got abused. But there is karma in this world. Those abusive managers might end up alone in a trailer house someday. With plenty of time to think. Then they will know where they went wrong!

I was harassed by someone at DST that was my own gender. I was not ever of that pursuasion. HR did nothing about it other than tell the person if they didnt have business on my floor, not to go there all the time. Nobody cared. It sickened me.

I worked under a guy that was In relationships with two of my coworkers. I was too old for his taste, thankfully.

One V.P. hid under his secretary's desk. When she came back and sat down, he waited about 3 minutes, then grabbed her knees. She freaked out, rolled the chair back freaking out. He did it to scare her. That stuff happened all the time

I knew a woman who was impregnanted by her supervisory manager. She left the company. He had to pay child support.

My Boss kept flirting with me. He would never call his wife by her name. He would just call her "the wife" as if she was some kind of dog. Disgusting.

DST managers are of 2 types: those that work hard and accomplish something.

The other type criticizes, gossips, and tries to take advantage of the girls working there.

My friend who was a DST boss, judged everyone on their appearance. He dated a cute girl in his area. She got special treatment. THIS CHAPPED ME. He mostly ignored the older more unattractive women. I asked him on day at a sports bar after a few beers : if all the people in your department looked exactly the same, identical, like perfect clones, no differences at all in appearance or clothes, would you have them in the same positions? He said no. Several of those he (pretty ones) promoted were much less qualified than others in lower jobs. Some in the lower jobs (unattractive ones) vastly out performed all the others and had a much better work ethic too, in spite of being ignored by him. I told him that he was doing a disservice to the DST shareholders worldwide who could care less about looks, never even meet the employees, and wanted stock performance. Told him he was a hindrance to DST with his attitude. That he was a superficial person. That if people could control their birth and be born attractive they would. Looks are out of anyone's control. The next day he didnt even remember our conversation as he drank so much each time we gathered. This however exemplifies they type of manager that DST promoted and valued. If you were rude, crude, superficial and a shallow thinker then you were a perfect manager. He is no longer a friend of mine.

There was a young gal that started "heavily dating" her manager, who was also single, in maybe October. That December at the company xmas party he showed up with a date - s a new girl that just started in his dept days earlier. Out with the old, in with the new! The dumped girl almost filed a lawsuit. But did not.

"Quiet quitting" by DST's standards is doing the exact job you were offered and hired to do, using H.R.'s own job description. If you do "NO MORE" and do not "go over and above" or you take your full entire lunch hour each day - then your a QUIET QUITTER. But other companies would view you as a great employee, fulfilling all the ascpects of your job! DST= sweatshop!

I was a single gal in my 20's when I started. I saw several other women promoted over me after I turned down my supervisor's advances. The others didn't decline his advances. And they told me about it. I believe DST as a whole knew this was going on. But they cared more about nightly processing than people. Companies always say "our associates are our greatest asset". But they really don't believe that as all employees are replaceable. The women of DST were not livestock to be reviewed and abused by their "owners". But in many cases it happened. Everyone from the top down knew it. Never saw a single human resources rule to stop it. It was a man's world then. Many lawsuits could have been filed, but nobody had the guts to come forward and announce what happened. Its all in the past now. Many of the managers from the 1970's and 1980's have passed away. Nobody cares now or then. Sad,

Physical relations were expected from women in the early days of DST. Say 1973 to 1990. A matter of fact, some relations turned into marriage for the wealthy top men!

The person I answered to was a girl that was dating a group vice president. She was unskilled in everything and ruined our department. Should have never been allowed to happen

I dated many gals at DST. All willing participants.

I know of one gal that got a large secret settlement. Just for dating someone. She later had romance remorse and sued

I am not sure about sleeping with someone to get a promotion. But I have seen people who slept at their desks get promoted as if they were very hard workers. And they were not!

My team leader listened to big band jazz at work. It was torture for us to listen to. That alone was audio harrasement! He was a freak, thought that he was a special left handed genius. But he was a colossal failure and left the job

Leaders at DST got respect only by staff "fearing" them. So I am sure alot of women were cooerced into having relations they didnt want that were temporary and humiliating. Seeing that the company was basically run by men, you were pretty much unheard if you were exploited. I know of no managers that ever divorced their wives for the sidechick they dated. And it happened alot. The wives are probably still clueless.

Well the girls "under 30" at DST would notice the men above them would give them extra attention and flirt with them. Then the girls figured out they could "negotiate" and get favored status by acting interested in the men. Then it went further along, and the girls estimated if they dated the men then any promotions are sure to be given to them. It didnt matter them men were married and some had kids in their 30's. The girls were superficial and materialistic. The 30 year old men at DST could not compete with the managers and thus lost out on dating these girls. I guess they were lucky that happened. I bet those girls serial cheat on any husbands they married.

I am a male who worked at DST. I was approached and harassed by another male who worked in the same building, different floor. His unwanted advances were brought to the attention of my supervisor. I do not believe much happened. I gave the guy the cold shoulder and eventually he got the message. But its hard to work when someone can just walk up to your cube at any time and hit on you. There have been many thousands of employees at DST since 1969. You can bet there are many real cases of harassment there happening to men and women. H.R. would like to act like there were none. Now what do you think the truth is? 25,000+ employees over 50 years and NO CASES of harassment? Think thats really true? When job promotions can be traded for "favors" and lots of pretty young college girls work everywhere, with older male supervisors? Face it, there is this type of harassment in every business this size and the fact many young girls were hired make it more prevalent at DST. H.R. is in a dream worlkd of denial.