Hello Antiwork,
Long time lurker, first time poster. Please forgive my terrible use of tense in the following anecdote, and for the obscene length. Allow me set to set the stage:
About a year ago I get hired as a senior manager for a startup in the USA. The offer was decent, and the project sounded fun. My boss, the owner that we’ll call Bob, seemed like a good guy. The location was beautiful, and to top it off Bob also owns a couple private schools for easy admission for my child.
Now we’re an incredibly small company, and the only people on salary are myself and another manager, whom we’ll call Frank. There are a few others on hourly pay, but all other help is 1099 whom are paid out at the end of each day.
I am by far the most experienced one here, with 15+ years in the industry, and having worked on one side of the country to the other. My responsibilities include manufacturing, site design, quality management, SOP development/ implementation/ control, overall project management, and ERP implementation/ management. Due to my technical expertise and experience, I’m the guy people come to when there’s a problem in operations.
Well things progress for half the year and we have product launch. Sales start to move, albeit slowly due to a poorly thought out sales plan on Bob’s part. This is when trouble begins. Frank and I start noticing our paychecks being delayed until the following week. This happens a couple times and Frank and I decide to confront Bob about it. Bob swears it’s simply a bank error and the problem should correct itself. The following checks then return to normal.
Time continues and Frank and I begin noticing bills piling up on Bob’s desk. Then the hourly guys’ pay begins to be inconsistent, similar to how ours were affected previously. Naturally, everyone comes to me for the cause and solution to the problem. Again, we confront Bob about this and he deflects and evades any direct answer, but ensures us everyone will be paid the following week and things are fine. The bills continue to pile. Not being a total moron, I begin planning for the worst and I recommend to Frank to do the same.
Our latest deadline approaches and things finally reach a head. Bob decides to leave for vacation the week before the deadline out of the country, and not return until the week after. Not an issue as Frank and I are more than capable of handling things by ourselves, except for the fact that Bob had neglected to provide payroll for the contract guys we need to pay during his absence. We remind Bob about payroll and he assures us the money will be there.
The week of the deadline arrives, and despite our desperate attempts to communicate the impending problem with Bob, contractor payroll is no where to be seen. Frank and I decide that the ethical thing to do is to cancel all planned contract labor since we’d rather someone not work if we can’t afford it, then to bring people in to work and not be able to pay them. We communicate this to Bob, and he immediately moves money and tell us to have everyone there the next day. We verify the funds that afternoon and schedule everyone for the first day of the week.
The first day goes off without a problem and all contract work is paid out for the day. Now Frank is a worrier, and in his paranoia decides to double check that funds are in the bank early the next morning. Lo and behold the money is no longer there. We immediately notify all contract work not to come in and apologize for the inconvenience. Frank and I coordinate with all the other employees on normal payroll that we will continue to move forward with what limited personnel we have.
It is at this time that Frank confides in me that he had paid the last months utilities out of pocket in order to keep the lights on during the week of the deadline. This sets me over the edge. Immediately I implore him to never repeat that action, as it’s the company’s responsibility to pay the bills and not his. I stress that no employee should ever have to extend their neck for any business. I then decide to call Bob’s phone until he answers to demand answers on what the hell is going on.
Bob answers on the third call. I describe the issue with payroll missing and having to cancel all contract help. I inform him that morale is completely shot amongst all employees due to the issues with pay. That nearly everyone is expecting the company to fail at any time now. I remind him of his responsibility as the owner for the livelihood of the people he has committed to employ. I describe in detail the risk the rest of us are taking, our homes, our families, a stable life for our children, our very lives. I remind him that the vast majority of people don’t have passive sources of income and aren’t financially independent from having to work as he is.
Bob finally concedes the truth and admits to having to pay everyone out of his personal pocket the last three times. He also admits to there being a freeze on company credit. All signs the company is in its death throes. He describes his plan to secure more funding, which does little to rally my spirit. I implore as to why we haven’t been informed of any of this, but the question goes unacknowledged. Not being a quitter, I assure him that we’ll do the best we can with what we have.
Now I’ve been fucked by the man before, and have had the experience of having great and abysmal management in the past. As such, I’ve resounded myself to be a leader and not a boss when put into a position of authority. I will not allow anyone I am responsible for to be screwed over by a situation I am able to prevent. So after the call with Bob, I called a team meeting with all remaining operations employees. I describe the situation in detail to the entire team and welcome anyone that isn’t able to accept the risk, or have a more secure means of income, to leave without fear of consequence.
A couple people walked, but the remaining peopled rallied as I have never seen before. Turns out, employees actually enjoy hearing the truth even when it is hard. People can actually plan their lives around problems if they know about them, and work towards a common goal. The remaining team pulled together and are on track to complete our deadline. I just pray things turn around soon or an opportunity presents itself to me. I’d hate to have to sell my house, remove my child from school and start over because of one rich man’s pride.
TL;DR: The rich can and will gamble with our lives. Be a leader, not a boss.
P.S: Eat the rich. They sure don’t have a problem eating everyone else.