After a decade here, I was transferred laterally into a new department. I did not ask for this; I was nominated, and notified after the fact without any say in the situation. The person who suggested I be the one who got moved was my former manager, who quit 3 months ago. Why were they even consulted?! I haven’t had a review in 5 years, and have had one minuscule raise in 6 years. When I made mention to all of this prior to my transfer, I was told “It’s Hard” by upper management. Really? It’s Hard? How is any of what I’ve stated legal and per policy? I don’t know that I will feel comfortable in my new group, however, I am glad to be gone from the previous group, considering their laziness and extreme lack of communication. I am at a total loss as to how to rededicate myself, as a decade here has made me totally numb. I’ve been mailing it in for a while, due to being demotivated by incompetent “management” who is only out for themselves, pretending to be important and occupied. As long as you make them look good, they don’t even bother checking in with you. How long do I give this new situation a chance? Is there any hope at all anywhere within O to be actually valued and appreciated?
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I was moved involuntarily like you. There was no opportunity to get to know or work with the people in the group. They were openly hostile. Working to sabotage what I was working on. Sarcastic when they spoke to me. They gave me things to do and withheld information from me to screw me up.
Also I came here from an acquisition, the manager was friendly to my face, but didn't introduce me to anyone and pretty much left me on my own. There was very little opportunity to make friends, only a couple of people in the group that I could ever work with.
You really can't trust anyone and being nice will often make people you are someone they can manipulate.
The reality is, a lot people at Oracle enjoy attacking people. Any outsider is considered fair game. A lot of a--holes who like treating nice people like sh--. That seems to be what Oracle is all about, a huge game with a bunch of a--holes who enjoy sh--ting on people.
They will try to blame you, like you did something wrong, and deserve their insults, but that's just part of the game. Don't buy into that c-ap from them when you know you did nothing wrong.
You can't trust anyone at Oracle. I mean that sincerely.
On the other hand, if you go in friendly, the people around you may pretend to be friendly back..... but then get information from you they can use to stab you in the back.
You should be really, really careful.
I know this is coming a few days late, but this is my advice: Walk into your new position with enthusiasm and a cheerful, helpful attitude. The best way to figure out what’s really going on is to make friends and people will let their guards down.
You have no desire to hurt anyone else in your new group. You just want to know if you’ve been set up for failure or if your outgoing boss was trying to protect you from a political landmine. Maybe your new boss is a really great guy (assuming ‘guy’ since this is Oracle after all) and if nothing else you may want him as a good future referral or contact. Who knows. Maybe this group is doing some interesting work and will spark life back into you. That won’t happen if you go in assuming the worst.
Meanwhile, brush up your resume and start putting feelers out. Perhaps you’re rusty on some things you should put mental time into relearning or other things the market wants that you don’t know but could learn. If you have the time, use it to your advantage. Make yourself the best and most confident you there is so no matter what else happens, you’re ready for it.
"Sometimes people can't leave."
To clarify, I found a new job in the same company. Yeah, I know, it's not always an option, but at least you have a job for now. If you had been riffed you would probably be forced to retire.
FWIW, I've heard rumors about people being shuffled around in some orgs. Not ideal, but better than being laid off.
It could be a good move, but the fact that you got no reviews from this manager, says to me that it's not likely to be good, if he was the one making the decision. Of course, someone could be lying to you and telling you that the old manager made the decision? In my experience, lies are everywhere.
This happened to me at another company. I was told out of the blue that I had a new role in a new team, and then the new team shut me out and didn't give me anything to do. I got the hint, found a new job and moved on.
Sometimes people can't leave. I had medical problems and had to work from home, the choice for me was stay or resign and retire. Sometimes leaving someone with no options at all, is not a good choice.
I think sometimes it isn't a negative thing - I think sometimes a manager may know a RIF may be coming and may move people they consider talented to another group try and save them from an impending re-org or RIF. Then again I also think sometimes they move a good person to try and "fix" a problem team, which is really hard for the person who is moved. Finally, there are cases where someone will try to offload a difficult employee to another org rather than do what it takes to RIF them. When I was at Oracle we got a few "additions" teams higher up the ladder who turned out to be awful and it seemed like they were just passing the problem child along to not deal with it.
I left Oracle, but I only truly had one manager who was not good, and I worked there a very long time. Most of my managers were good, and several of them were fantastic. I left because I think Oracle has a dim future in the area I was in, not because I had a bad manager. Not every manager at Oracle is bad!
" I was moved like you without being asked anything at all, to a group that considered me to be an outsider. I think the upper level management wanted me there to help in that group, but the people in the group would not let me do anything. "
This happened to me at another company. I was told out of the blue that I had a new role in a new team, and then the new team shut me out and didn't give me anything to do. I got the hint, found a new job and moved on.
I think this section tells it all:
The person who suggested I be the one who got moved was my former manager, who quit 3 months ago. Why were they even consulted?! I haven’t had a review in 5 years, and have had one minuscule raise in 6 years.
Because the manager that left, never gave you a review, I would suspect that the move is a bad thing, since it was his idea. I suspect you are under attack.
This can happen to people who are good at their jobs, speak the truth about what needs to be done, are honest and capable. A lot of the management, in my experience, prefers people who will lie for them or do other things that you are not doing.
The managers like this, don't ask directly for you to do something unethical. They hint.
They put you in a room with some other guys and bring up a subject, like some employee, that you think is OK. Then they make up lies about that person and see if you will join in. They are seeing if you get the hint so all of you can band together to attack that person's character.
If you won't lie with them, then you are out.
Or, you're manager has a guy that did something really sh--ty to someone the manager doesn't like and the manager wants that guy to be rewarded. The guy wants to move to a remote city where he owns a house and work from home on a permanent basis. The manager makes you make the decision about whether this guy can move or not. "It's up to you", he'll say. You know the guy in question does absolutely nothing, so you say "No", thinking that the manager is testing your integrity.
But, really the opposite is true and you are sh-- to this manager from then on.
Hence, no reviews. Manager was then forced out, and he blames you. He has friends and they are going to work you over. Give you stupid projects to waste your time, give you the wrong information, tell you that so-and-so can help you when they are with the manager setting you up.
Think mafia and you will get it. Think back through some of the weird sh-- that has happened to you and you might see where you screwed up, at least in terms of that manager. I suspect you are an honest person like me who didn't know what was going on. You were trying to do real work, when the manager didn't care about that.
You might try seeking out a separate group in another area and trying to move.
But, really, you should get your resume together and get out.
How long do I give this new situation a chance?
I personally think that anyone that can get out of Oracle, should go. I was moved like you without being asked anything at all, to a group that considered me to be an outsider. I think the upper level management wanted me there to help in that group, but the people in the group would not let me do anything. Could also be some mismatch like that.
Is there any hope at all anywhere within O to be actually valued and appreciated?
I believe the answer to this is NO. I worked for different managers over a 10+ year span and they were all the same. Ignore you unless you can do something specific (and usually unethical) for the manager. Real work was not valued as far as I could see.
This decision was likely made well before your former manager quit. That person likely saved you by recommending you to move.
Sounds to me like you are a lawsuit waiting to happen and they know it. So, their strategy is to kick you around from group to group until you leave on your own because you are so miserable.
Would you prefer to have been laid off?
I would suspect one of two possible situations, both assuming that you are good at your job:
They are going to lay off the people in your old group and they have moved you out of the way. That way they can just say they are eliminating and area and delete all of those people.
OR someone has it in for you and you have been moved somewhere to be laid off, or to be sabotaged until you leave.
Depending on the people, you can be the one that's very good at your job and either one of these could be true.