Work....*sigh*
I work for a financial institution and it really sucks. This is the second bank I have worked for and it's the same old same ol' all over again. I hate the popularity contest and how my boss threatens to fire you any minute.
For example, we just hired 4 new people and 2 of them are already about to quit. They work thru a temp agency and they came back from lunch late a few times and my boss told them that it was not exceptable and they could be fired for stuff like that, which is complete nonsense! I have no idea why some supervisors feel that threats and job loss is the way to get results. All it ever does is foster a hostile work environment and believe me it is so hostile and tense at my job you could cut the air with a chainsaw and still not get thru. Then she got on the new people about the error's they have gotten. The new people weren't even trained very well. They sat with someone for about a week and they were thrown in the fire and now they are getting chewed out for mistakes they didn't even know about. I feel for them. My boss tried to pull the same stuff with me a few months back, but i explained to her that the more she threatens me the more I want to quit. I'm in college and I juggle so much, the last thing I need is a stressful job situation. I can't handle it. They can't afford to lose me and I know that, so the whole "I will fire you" speech doesn't work with me. I told her if she is gonna punish me then go ahead, write me up, fire me, whatever, but don't threaten to do something and not do it or act like your doing me a favor by not writing me up. I don't care anymore. I go to work and I am very anti-social. Some say I walk around with an attitude, but I have to. I'm not friendly or sociable, which means the boss leaves me alone. I have been applying like crazy for any kind of job in the journalism field, I don't have much experience, but I am one heck of a writing and editor. I am on the college newspaper now and have yet to taken any newswriter classes. I love to read and write. I applied for an paying internship for the city I use to live in. I'm not confident, but I still hold out hope.
Well, I could tell you had an attitude about your employer with the first sentence. And you sound like you feel your attitude is what keeps you afloat and employed at your job. How dare they establih rules to curb employees' freedom! And to think they would go around enforcing them! Don't let them fool you. They can write you up, too. Call it intimidation, call it being picky, but employers do like promptness back from lunch, they feel they are entitled to their employees' time. Some employment matters are shades of grey, but this one is not. It is not work performance in itself, but it is an indicator of what your job means to you, what your dedication level is. Believe me, I've been there too, about employers being too persnickity about such things. But I find the paycheck is always worth the trouble of watching the clock.
The employer and the customers have a right to expect services to be delivered during posted business hours. The customers deserve to be served in a competent and respectful manner.
So the temp employees spent a full week of being trained and still didn't get the concept. Maybe there were flaws in the training system so that they did not get enough practice. One definite flaw in the training system was releasing people onto the floor who were not actually prepared to do the work.
Being a news writer also requires competency and a respectful attitude. If you're interviewing someone and insulting them or showing them through various non-verbal cues that you have low tolerance for them, then you're not a true journalist and you've failed at your calling.
Good spelling, excellent grammar, and stellar command of the English language are also paramount skills of the good writer and journalist. Check yourself. Proofread even blogs.
Re-examine your values. Put yourself in the customer's shoes to determine whether you would want to receive the type of treatment you give to others. If you have to answer in the negative -- WITHOUT MAKING EXCUSES FOR YOUR OWN BEHAVIOR -- then you have some modifications to make before you start making decisions about what you'll do instead of.