Post by vomisacaasi on May 3, 2017 22:20:50 GMT
I started a new job back in October, packaging soybeans.
We run two lines for packaging with 4 to 5 people on each line.
When I started they talked a lot about teamwork and housekeeping. But what I experienced was limited teamwork and minimal housekeeping.
While each team seemed to do well on their team when it came to helping out the other team it was like they did not even exist.
That is not how I learned how to work. When there is a job to do it does not matter what your specific duties were if someone needed help or you saw an opportunity to pitch in you did.
So I was always jumping in and doing something that needed to be done. It did not matter whether it was something on my line or the other line or even in the warehouse. If it was something I knew how to do it, I did it.
One guy on my team asked me why I was doing something for the other team. I explained to him what I said above. He gave me a look and said good luck with that we pretty much worry about our own stuff.
When it came to housekeeping everyone pretty much just left beans on the floor until end of shift. If they dropped something they would not bother to pick it up.
There ended up being a lot of standing around during the day. If a team was done with one lot of product they would simply wait until the supervisor got back with the information on the next lot.
I have a hard time simply standing around. I prefer to be busy. So I would pick up a broom and start sweeping or restocking supplies that sort of thing. As things went on I found our schedule of lots we needed to do so I would be prepared to roll when the supervisor got back with the paper work.
We would package soybeans in 300 lb boxes. They were fairly easy to move around but again they would wait until a forklift would come around to move these boxes maybe 5 feet. I started pushing these boxes into place.
Eventually as the season wore on the others started doing the same thing. They would jump in and help each other out. There were a couple of exceptions. A couple of the guys that had been there for several years just stood there watching it all go down.
We started at 5:30 in the morning and everyone just sat in the break room waiting for the morning meeting to start. Not saying much and kind of off in their own little world all grumpy and sullen for starting so early.
I am a rather upbeat kind of person so I was always chatting with the others joking around and the like.
As we get close to the end of the season the manager of the plant made mention that we were well ahead of schedule and that we had actually taken on the work of a couple of other plants that were behind. Even though we had lost a few people earlier in the year. He also noted that the morning meetings had gotten livelier and everyone was a bit more engaged. He also commented on the cleanliness of the facility and that he had not seen it like this in quite some time.
In the managers meeting one day he asked the supervisors what had changed. What prompted this increase in productivity. One of the supervisors tried to take credit for it. He said that he had gotten on his people to work harder and faster.
The other two supervisors just laughed at him. One of them piped up and said that everyone just seemed to be working harder and cooperating more and actually doing the teamwork thing.
The other day he called myself and my supervisor into the office. I was a little freaked out since I had not seen him call anyone else into the office like that.
He said that he eventually he took a look at the production records and he noticed that the changed started in November and December and the only thing that had changed at that time was that they had hired me.
He asked me why I thought things had changed. I told him I had no idea. I explained to him that I was simply doing the job they hired me to do the only way I knew how.
He asked my supervisor why things had changed. Little did I know that my supervisor had already discussed this with the plant manager. He went on to explain that I had been doing what ever needed to be done and that he did not have to find me work to do or tell me what was going on next. He also explained my action when I started. How I was jumping in doing what needed to be done. He went on to say that my actions had influenced others to do the same thing.
The plant manager turned to me and thanked me for all the hard work I did and how much he appreciated it. He said that they did not have a supervisors position open right now but the next one that came up it would be mine and in the mean time he was giving me a 1.50$ and hour raise.
I sat there for a bit and and thanked him for the raise and that I would rather not have the promotion. I told him that I was not all that comfortable with that much of a raise as I had learned from others that in general they did not give raises until you had been there a year and it was not never that much. But because I needed the money I would not be too upset with it.
He asked me why I did want the promotion. I explained that I had been in management before and it usually does not end well for me so I decided that I will no longer take such a position when offered. My supervisor and the plant manager did not know what to say to that. They did try and convince me to take it but simply said no.
Now whether this is off topic or not is up to you to decide.
We run two lines for packaging with 4 to 5 people on each line.
When I started they talked a lot about teamwork and housekeeping. But what I experienced was limited teamwork and minimal housekeeping.
While each team seemed to do well on their team when it came to helping out the other team it was like they did not even exist.
That is not how I learned how to work. When there is a job to do it does not matter what your specific duties were if someone needed help or you saw an opportunity to pitch in you did.
So I was always jumping in and doing something that needed to be done. It did not matter whether it was something on my line or the other line or even in the warehouse. If it was something I knew how to do it, I did it.
One guy on my team asked me why I was doing something for the other team. I explained to him what I said above. He gave me a look and said good luck with that we pretty much worry about our own stuff.
When it came to housekeeping everyone pretty much just left beans on the floor until end of shift. If they dropped something they would not bother to pick it up.
There ended up being a lot of standing around during the day. If a team was done with one lot of product they would simply wait until the supervisor got back with the information on the next lot.
I have a hard time simply standing around. I prefer to be busy. So I would pick up a broom and start sweeping or restocking supplies that sort of thing. As things went on I found our schedule of lots we needed to do so I would be prepared to roll when the supervisor got back with the paper work.
We would package soybeans in 300 lb boxes. They were fairly easy to move around but again they would wait until a forklift would come around to move these boxes maybe 5 feet. I started pushing these boxes into place.
Eventually as the season wore on the others started doing the same thing. They would jump in and help each other out. There were a couple of exceptions. A couple of the guys that had been there for several years just stood there watching it all go down.
We started at 5:30 in the morning and everyone just sat in the break room waiting for the morning meeting to start. Not saying much and kind of off in their own little world all grumpy and sullen for starting so early.
I am a rather upbeat kind of person so I was always chatting with the others joking around and the like.
As we get close to the end of the season the manager of the plant made mention that we were well ahead of schedule and that we had actually taken on the work of a couple of other plants that were behind. Even though we had lost a few people earlier in the year. He also noted that the morning meetings had gotten livelier and everyone was a bit more engaged. He also commented on the cleanliness of the facility and that he had not seen it like this in quite some time.
In the managers meeting one day he asked the supervisors what had changed. What prompted this increase in productivity. One of the supervisors tried to take credit for it. He said that he had gotten on his people to work harder and faster.
The other two supervisors just laughed at him. One of them piped up and said that everyone just seemed to be working harder and cooperating more and actually doing the teamwork thing.
The other day he called myself and my supervisor into the office. I was a little freaked out since I had not seen him call anyone else into the office like that.
He said that he eventually he took a look at the production records and he noticed that the changed started in November and December and the only thing that had changed at that time was that they had hired me.
He asked me why I thought things had changed. I told him I had no idea. I explained to him that I was simply doing the job they hired me to do the only way I knew how.
He asked my supervisor why things had changed. Little did I know that my supervisor had already discussed this with the plant manager. He went on to explain that I had been doing what ever needed to be done and that he did not have to find me work to do or tell me what was going on next. He also explained my action when I started. How I was jumping in doing what needed to be done. He went on to say that my actions had influenced others to do the same thing.
The plant manager turned to me and thanked me for all the hard work I did and how much he appreciated it. He said that they did not have a supervisors position open right now but the next one that came up it would be mine and in the mean time he was giving me a 1.50$ and hour raise.
I sat there for a bit and and thanked him for the raise and that I would rather not have the promotion. I told him that I was not all that comfortable with that much of a raise as I had learned from others that in general they did not give raises until you had been there a year and it was not never that much. But because I needed the money I would not be too upset with it.
He asked me why I did want the promotion. I explained that I had been in management before and it usually does not end well for me so I decided that I will no longer take such a position when offered. My supervisor and the plant manager did not know what to say to that. They did try and convince me to take it but simply said no.
Now whether this is off topic or not is up to you to decide.