I’m trying to better myself in all aspects of life, including my workplace and my career goals. So I’m asking for advice so that I don’t shoot myself in the foot while also standing up for myself
Long story short I’m searching for an engineering job. but a friend referred me to a job that I could work in the meantime. Without giving too much details of the workplace it’s a 24/7 operation job with about 30sites in the city. In order to work at a site you need to be orientated for that site.
A lot of my coworkers have noticed that the individuals with the most amount of shifts and the best shifts are all close friends of the operations manager and they were all brought from out of town. People that went to highschool or played professional sports together.
Whenever I ask said manager for more shifts or orientations he’s always stalling and saying “he’ll keep me in the loop” I just found out that one of his friends flew in recently and he immediately gave him more shifts than I have who has been here for 3months and others who have been here for a year. I’ve repeatedly asked him and now it seems that I’m getting desperate.
You may ask why do I want more shifts here. Turns out that with the amount of back to back shifts including shifts where you get paid to sleep the whole night and all they require is your presence it is a very lucrative gig. And I want to maximize my earning potential
Is there anything that can be done about the ops manager and report him for his favouritism and unprofessionalism. Also keep in mind that the shifts I work here/would what to work here would also fit in with a simultaneous shift if I do get a engineering role as a first job.
I’ve never seen such blatant favouritism and nepotism where a person in power is bringing in his friends from out of town is using his powers as the manager responsible for scheduling to bring an army of friends in while neglecting everyone else. His last message to me was “ For sure I’ll see what I can do man. Keep up the great work ”
His behaviour is giving me anxiety because it’s very discouraging to be overlooked and to be made to have to beg to get the bare minimum
whytehorse2021 2y ago
This happened to my wife. Ultimately she got another job(paying less) and gave her notice citing that she wasn't getting enough hours. Suddenly she was given full time hours with easy clients. Your only power in this situation is to walk away. Just like a relationship with a woman.
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DastardlyCade 2y ago
Thanks for such a great reminder and for making me understand that I can only really control how I act and feel.
In terms of actually making progress in this workplace is it better to just take what I can and not stir the pot or should I actually confront the ops manager directly about his favouritism and lack of professionalism and perhaps get higher ups involved. At the same time I don’t want to lose the gig but maybe this stems from a scarcity mindset and being attached to how much I’m making and future earning potential
Hanscheezburger 2y ago
I would only confront him if I had another job lined up and am fine with losing my current position. Otherwise it's much better to take what you can get and use that time to find something else.
It can be compared to dealing with women. A woman isn't giving you her time and is spending time with other guys. Would you:
A. Confront her about it and demand that she give you what you "deserve"?
B. Continue to fuck her but lower your investment, meanwhile look for other prospects?
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Bozza 2 2y ago
This is a great example of "it's not what you know, it's who you know".
Is it complete bullshit? Absolutely. But as JCantell says, this goes on fucking everywhere. You can't beat them so you might as well join them.
What you have to do is to become well versed in what I call "the art of the blag".
Step 1 is to become popular.
Run social circle game on everyone. Become friends with everyone. Charm like your life depends on it. You'd be surprised how far something as simple as a brief conversation everyday and buying someone a beer can get you. Once you have good rapport, you have connections - connections which can be used to your advantage.
Step 2 is to acquire something - anything - of value.
Value is currency. This can be absolutely anything. Access to people, information, something afforded through your position, a skill. Something that is of value to other people and can be traded. I scratch your back, you scratch mine. When you have something other people want, you have power.
No-Stress-Cat 2y ago
That's life, young brother. Things will play out eventually, and your manager will get busted. Just a matter of time. Sit back, enjoy the ride, and have the popcorn ready for when shit hits the fan.
coolsocks00 1 2y ago
Seen this happen before. That time, the guy was actually taking money under the table from the friends getting the lucrative work.
After that was uncovered it took a little while until there was enough proof for someone to throw him under the bus and get the whole crew fired.
Thats probably not the case with your situation, but who knows.
Either try to befriend and lead upwards the chain of command, through good work and seeing if you can somehow help the guy with his goals too.
You could also find a different job, or a way to remove this guy without going down the drain yourself.