Let down at work

[Ava]

Sorry in advance for this post. I know it's a total downer.
But I cannot talk to anyone in real life about this.
I work at a big cafeteria, where I am the head cashier.
These last few weeks the higher-ups have decided to cut costs because they say we are loosing money.
So they send a big shot from another area of the country to monitor everything that happens here.
This guy is on top of everybody all the time controlling, complaining, and making remarks.
He created a new schedule where he cut all hourly employees' hours.
He's on my case because sometimes I leave late. He hasn't cut my hours yet, but he has ordered a new money counting machine that, according to him and my manager, will make my job "easier" , read; less time consuming. I know the ultimate goal is to send me home earlier.
What I cannot understand is how exactly is the company going to save money when they are paying for this guy's weekly airfare, hotel room, food, car, gas, etc. Besides the money they must pay him. They also bring in assorted marketing managers, chefs, district managers for the day.
It makes me feel so bad that they have cut all the kitchen staff hours, and now they are trying to cut mine too.
I have worked there five years.
No, this is not my forever job, and I go to school at night for my undergraduate in accounting.
But it still is difficult for me to understand this kind of behavior.
These people are being very aggressive in their cost-cutting techniques and most of them concern labor.
Meanwhile I sit in the office counting the money and I hear them talk about the boat, the house with the big yard, summer vacations, etc.
It's OK. I know they have bigger responsibilities than me and the rest of the crew, so they get paid better. What I don't understand is the mentality where it's fine for you to get bonuses, raises, etc. while you cut the hourly workforce to the bone. You still need the hourly workforce to cook, serve the meals, etc. A workforce who is tired and feeling let down is not good for business.
We have a union. I'm not a member but I still have to pay my "fair share" since this is not a right to work state. The union's attitude has always been pay and shut up. They've done nothing regarding the cuts. They haven't even shown up to see what's happening.
We have a meeting daily with all the staff and the managers. The management team keeps telling everybody they are doing a great job, we are a team, bla bla bla.
What a crok.
Yes, I know. If you are disappointed look for another job. I need the stable schedule and the steady paycheck to finish school.
Changing jobs at this moment and in this particular area is not a good idea. It would only go against my plan of graduating next year.

[Deleted]

Sorry for your downer day. The important thing is to keep your eye on the bigger prize down the road.

They pick on labor because in general that's where most of the money goes. Phil had a great post on another thread showing how cutting one CEO's $1M salary didn't have the effect that a 10% pay decrease for the rest of the workforce would.

Unfortunately it's a numbers game. Try not to take it personally.

[Jake 48]

Hang in there, you have a plan and won't be there forever

[haapai]

Labor's their major controllable cost. As an accounting major, you have better insight into total compensation costs than most.

I'm not saying that they aren't greedy, short-sighted, smug bastards with a callous attitude toward unskilled labor. They're probably that too.

Use your accounting brain to analyze what they are doing.

Good for you for not venting at work.

[Ava]

Thanks for the responses.
Yes, I am studying and I have a plan. I still feel bad for all of us hourly workers.
It's true that labor is a big cost. But they are micro-managing and making employees feel uncomfortable/unwanted. How smart is that when your business depends so much on customer service?
I have no idea where all these big shots come from, but I am very grateful I started at the bottom of the pole. Makes me feel more human than them.
No, I don't vent at work. I keep a professional demeanor all the time.

[haapai]

You need a place to vent. Other hourly workers will not appreciate your up-marking of labor costs. The big shots are a lost cause.

[domeasingold]

Ava....keep your chin up and your mouth shut. I believe you already know this. What the above posters are saying is all very true. I know it's tough keeping it all contained within. You do have a plan and focus on that for now. You'll get there. If I may I would like to relate a similar story that happened to me a few years ago. I was the General Manager of a local division of a fortune 500 company. For years they left us alone until they brought in a new CFO. He reviewed all the divisions and was on a push to improve profits by some unreal percentage. We were a family run company for many years and did well prior to being bought by this large corporation.
Because we had a union and compared to other areas of the country our labor costs were much higher he wanted to cut back our workforce. We did and improved our production numbers as well. Not good enough. In a couple of months it was announced that they were closing our facility. It was all done legal and the union could do nothing. We all of course were given a severence and sent on our way.
Anyway the corporate office moved our business to a division in Mexico. You can guess the rest of the story. Product quality went down, sales went down and pretty soon 20 million dollars of business went down the tubes. Along with all our jobs.
Moral of the story is that corporations don't always make the right decisions, especially when they let the numbers make decisions.
The good news is that the original owners started a new company doing the same business and have regained many of the old customers and rehired many of the displaced workers except me. I started my own consulting business. My clients include the original owners.
Keep heading towards your goal. As soon as you obtain your degree, certificate or whatever, you will have the last laugh. Good luck.

[formerexpat]

Thanks for the responses.
Yes, I am studying and I have a plan. I still feel bad for all of us hourly workers.
It's true that labor is a big cost. But they are micro-managing and making employees feel uncomfortable/unwanted. How smart is that when your business depends so much on customer service?
I have no idea where all these big shots come from, but I am very grateful I started at the bottom of the pole. Makes me feel more human than them.
No, I don't vent at work. I keep a professional demeanor all the time.

Step back and think for a moment. As you said, you do not know where these "big shots" come from. Perhaps they came from a similar background as you? Perhaps they too started at the bottom.

Once you are finished with your degree and if you work your way up in the accounting field too and into a position of Controller, CFO, etc, you will likely be faced with tough decisions at least once in your career that will be at the detriment of the workers at your company.

Tough decisions aren't easy for the "big shots". They too have a job to do, just like you and are trying their best to accomplish that job with minimal disruptions to business. It might seem like I'm micro managing employees if I'm trying to gain a more in depth understanding of the day to day operations of the cafeteria and trying to determine where efficiencies can be found [i.e. a money counter if it takes you hour(s) to count each day].

How much is this money counter? $500 maybe? How many hours a day do you spend performing this task? How much do you make an hour? Divide $500 / make per hour to find out how many hours it will take them to recoup that money.

Could you add additional value to your company if you didn't spend x hours a day counting money? That's the way I'd want to think about it if I were you. I hate to perform menial tasks. I do them some times just like everyone else but my time spent on that is less time I have to do things that matter. This may be a way for you to step up and show that you're more than just a head cashier / money counter.

[Ava]

I' ve no idea where these people come from. I'm sure at least some of them come from very humble backgrounds like myself.
I know I will never make it to CFO or big manager. First of all, I am an older student, I'm an immigrant, and realistically don't have the time (in years) to have a great career. Second, I don't want to make it to big shot. I don't have it in me to micro manage and play with other people's livelihood.
Could I add additional value to my company? I've tried. Their idea is not for me to add value, they want me out earlier to cut costs.
I have an associate degree in accounting, I've been with them for five years, and I've proved my honesty and reliability throughout the years. They don't care. I've asked time and again to be given more tasks, and they say they don't have anything for me to do. Remember I'm not in an office environment, this is a cafeteria. There's a small office where the manager and assistant manager work, and where I also count the money. Then there's the cafeteria and the kitchen. Anything extra would be being more hours at the register or working in the kitchen. The second possibility won't happen because they are already cutting the kitchen staff hours, they are not going to give them to me.

[8 Bit WWBG]

My Dad is a CEO and has dealt with the same nonsense. He has had to let people go who brought in many times what they cost, because sometimes the board just wants to cut heads. As has been said several times, it is all a numbers game, and when someone with authority wants to cut numbers, numbers get cut.

You said this is not your forever job, so just do your best to get through it and keep your eye on the prize.

[busymom]

Ava, you sound like you work at MY company. But seriously, part of their strategy is hoping that when they cut hours, some people who make a higher hourly pay will quit. And yes, there will be fewer hours for everyone who stays. It's great that you're in school. Stick with the schooling. If you won't be making enough to make ends meet with reduced hours, either start looking around early for a different (or additional) job, and check in with people here who are great at budget slashing.

Best of luck to you. I'm in the middle of the same mess myself right now, and don't mind saying my coworkers are stressed out, and it IS a major PITA.

Vent here anytime!

[Ava]

Thanks so much busymom and lonewolf.
This is a PITA.
And yes, I am learning from this experience.

[haapai]

Could I add additional value to my company? I've tried. Their idea is not for me to add value, they want me out earlier to cut costs.

The day that I discovered the same thing at my job was pretty hard on the soul. My workplace is not set up to develop human talent either. They have absolutely no interest in making me a more valuable worker all they want is lower payroll.

They want serfs. They aren't even trying to improve productivity. They've abandoned the idea of improvement or skill development as the path to a better future and just squeeze labor as hard as they can. Zero-sum fools!

[TheOtherMe]

I find that many workplaces are like this these days.

My cousin worked his way up from a nobody to a manager at a large company. After so many times of having to decide to lay off in his department, he decided he didn't have the stomach for it any more and retired. Lucky for him, he had the years in to do that.

I feel for you, but I learned from him that it isn't always easy for the person doing the cutting either.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

I know I would take all of that very personally. I'm sorry you're having to go through that.

[Ava]

Theotherme, how are you? No news about concerts yet. Believe me, I check every day.

Yes, I know is not easy for some of the managers to cut hours.
The man they sent is not that kind of person. I won't say he likes doing it, he just doesn't mind.
It's just his general attitude of "let so and so go early to take care of our bottom line", "we'll save money if we go from three dishwashers to two", etc. He talks as if he's the owner. He's a manager, a salaried employee.
At the same time, he's costing the company way more than the hours he's cutting.
They are paying for him to come and go by plane every week. He flies business class, he stays at a good hotel, and he gets paid food, car rent and gas. I don't see the savings. This man is not a CEO. He's one of many layers of managers. He's a higher manager, is all.
So I don't see the sense in spending so much in him and cutting hours for people who make between 11 and 12 an hour. How many hours do you have to cut to make it even?
And what about the way your employees feel? I think most people there are pretty discouraged. I am the only one who goes to schoo, though.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

It's probably an "in the long run, we'll save money" issue.
So, even though he's costing $x, he'll make his changes and be on his way. The changes will stay implemented and eventually the savings of the changes will surpass the $x.

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

I go to school at night for my undergraduate in accounting.

Study harder. I can't believe you can't work out the math here.

[haapai]

Sometimes the only way to make the math work is to exclude the cost of the efficiency expert from the calculation.

Cost accounting is a devilish thing. They teach you that on the first day and repeat it on the last.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

As others have said, you need to step back and look at this as the person you WANT to be, not the person you are. Rather than getting upset, use your accounting background to try to figure out where they are coming from. Example....exactly how much time and money will this money counter save the company over a year? It really is simple math, even more so for you as you know how much additional time you spend, at your salary, to count money.

Realize, ultimately this is the job that you're working yourself into. You may not be the face that will be seen by employees, but YOU will be the person running the numbers.

Another thing to consider.....you keep on harping on the travel expenses of this person who is doing the efficiency study. I guarantee you that his travel expenses are not going to come close to what he saves your business in $$ over the next year.

[vacaquilts]

I am an RN at a hospital and we are always watching the budget. It is 'our' budget. We all take turns going home early or taking a day off here or there unpaid to help our budget. We work together as a team. We are all just glad to have a realatively highly paid per-hour job. On the other hand, we also pick up 'on-call' shifts where we have to be available quickly. This job has taught my kids the benefit of being flexible, an asset that I hope they will carry with them into adulthood. Glad that you will be graduating soon .

[Deleted]

I don't have any advice - just a hug for you!

[michelyn8]

you keep on harping on the travel expenses of this person who is doing the efficiency study. I guarantee you that his travel expenses are not going to come close to what he saves your business in $$ over the next year.

You also need to keep in mind that these are "expenses" being incurred by the company in the course of business and can be written off on their taxes at the end of the year.

[gsbrq]

May 26, 2011 9:36:05 GMT -5 michelyn8 said:

you keep on harping on the travel expenses of this person who is doing the efficiency study. I guarantee you that his travel expenses are not going to come close to what he saves your business in $$ over the next year.

You also need to keep in mind that these are "expenses" being incurred by the company in the course of business and can be written off on their taxes at the end of the year.

Payroll is an expense just the same as the manager's travel expenses are, so what is your point?

[gsbrq]

Ava,

I get where you are coming from. The "cost-cutting" process can feel very dehumanizing.

However, if an operation is losing money, it is management's job to either cut expenses, or increase revenues, or both. They will spend money on the front end if it means a profit in the long term, and the cold hard truth is that people in service industry jobs are generally seen as replaceable, so they don't really care if it crushes morale.

If you need this job right now, then you just have to accept the situation and make the best of it. Keep in mind that it is a means to an end, and that someday you will be in a position to have better options.

Good luck.

[maraqxa]

This is a hard thing but it is a business reality. At the end of the day all for profit businesses have to make money and sometimes the solution is to cut hours and let some people go, the alternative is shutting the business all together and then you are all out of a job.
As some have said, the travel expenses of this person are deductible except for some items and he could be traveling business class because he gets upgraded due to his airline status not necesarily because he paid for that higher fare.

That the guy is a jerk, well sometimes they need people like that to get the job done, it's not nice as he could work on his skills but you got to remember that in times like this is hard to keep the labor force engaged while cuts are being made.

All you can do is keep on doing a great job and get your degree as this will give you more options, hopefully this is the last time you go thru this but it's not guaranteed as it could happen again even after you have an accountant job so learn from this and prepare for the future.

[Clever Username]

Cope through this by pretending it's a school assignment.

They've got those cash counters at the bank I frequent. They're pretty freaking fast. Probably more accurate too.
Here's the math I see:

Your hourly rate, I'm guessing $10/hour.
Because they're complaining out you staying late, I'm guessing you're on OT: $15/hr
Lets say you log one late hour per day with this counting = $15/day x 5 days x 52 weeks = $3900/year.
If that machine costs $500, they'll be in the black in month 2. With a more efficient system possibly even reducing shrinkage risk.

I get that you wish you earned that extra $4k.
But the end customer of the cafeteria will get the identical product either way.

You claim he's ragging on everyone over there, so if he cuts $4k per year x 20 people. He's more than paid for his flight, hotel, salary and bonus.

[TheOtherMe]

Ava, I'm truly sorry for you that this is happening. I've had friends lose their jobs because they were sent to India.

Cost Accounting was probably the most difficult for me to understand. I was very careful to never apply for a job as a cost accountant.

My cousin said he knew in the next round of layoffs that he would have to do, he was going to have to lay off probably his best employee, a manager just under him. That person was much younger and had a young family. That was one of the major reasons he took retirement. He and his wife had no children and she is still working. The younger manager was promoted to his position and now is making the decision of who to lay off.

[Opti]

I'm surprised no one mentioned the likely rinse and repeat aspect of this exercise. Odds are this guy is going to do the same thing, but faster in at least a few more locations.

Its highly unpleasant and I feel for you, but the business does need to make bank in order to employ anyone. If you figure out how to cut some time off your hours yourself it may help save your job and minimize the cut to you personally.