So we have all participated in or read about initiatives GM has taken since the bankruptcy to make our company a "Workplace of Choice". At this point, any goodwill created in the past has been thrown out the window for dragging the threat of layoffs on throughout the Holidays and for months. For those of us that survive, I wonder what may be in place to restore a positive morale. In 31 years, I have never seen it so negative around here--bankruptcy included.
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Most people (especially the younger crowd) know that words like "company culture" and "workplace of choice" are b---s---. We know we're numbers, so we treat the company like a source of a paycheck. Why should we bust our humps making GM better and invest our personal/mental energy into improving things long term, when we know we're expendable at the next downturn? It's not worth it. Most companies behave this way these days. As a result, retention at just about every company is garbage, most people don't spend more than 2-5 years at any given position before moving on, and so on.
In my life time, I've seen several large corps make millions-billions of dollars, and yet every couple years they dump their workforce, and I see the same reactions from people: "How could this happen? I gave them years of my life and they just tossed me!" Taught me a valuable lesson: Get in, get yours, get out, because that's what they're doing. Your company is not like a family, it's not a place to settle in...it's a place for you to do a job, get paid, get the skills to improve, and move on. They'll exploit the f--- out of you, so you exploit the f--- out of them right back. Take what's rightfully yours and nothing more, and leave when YOU want to. Screw team loyalty, screw company culture, and screw anything that doesn't fill your pockets or provide you with valuable resources. You're a number to GM, so treat them in kind.
I think they set themselves back quite a bit. It's not something that is a death blow to moral, never to be repaired, but over the last 3 months they have generated a culture of uncertainty. In the IT centers at least, there are many new college hires, fresh to GM and young in their careers, and this will be something that sticks with many if not all of them. Maybe not forever, but long enough that they wont ever think "I could stay at GM for 20 - 30 years".
For a lot of them it was already "just a paycheck" and I'm sure now there's more. I don't think Drive to Great will work as well in the long term when a sizable portion of people fully intend on leaving after 3 - 4 years.
I hope you find work soon, friend. Wishing you all the best!
The old saying still applies ,Loose lips sink ships , just work hard and smile no matter what , regardless of this very terrible time. There are alot of very good people at GM that just want to do a good job , in the end the others that don't want to do the right things don't really matter anyway. With every negative there has to be a positive , I lost my job Not 29th , I remain hopeful I can find work very soon.
Why? I'm young, able, and have a skill they need. Not just a lip-wagger like 90% of this company.
You should have taken the VSP