Over time it has become apparent in reading and listening to people within organizations that a sense or lack of manager care is constant in the work place. Management, both executive and supervisory, are pressed with the bottom line offering little consciousness of the impact. Expecting more and demanding more, employees become less and less engaged. They work endless hours to serve “the man” just in the hopes that they will keep their job in the sliding economy. The downward pressure continues to build until the release factor - quitting or getting fired - becomes a reality.

I know in a great amount of the time this is true. Economics on a worldwide stage are brutal, offering little to make one feel comfortable about the future prospects. But is management to blame? Better put, are managers the only ones to blame? Until recently, I would have easily laid the pressure on their shoulders without thinking twice. Mocking them as much as others would be a natural and easy step until most recently. I read the story of a certain professional whose story becomes not so uncommon. And in this, we can all see that management is not alone.

Derrick is an employee currently working in a customer focused environment. He works for a large services company operating in their 2nd level support function bringing customer solutions to people that have purchased products from his employer. Recently, it has been rumored to increase the bottom line and continue growth - the US based call centers will be closing and transferring responsibilities to off-shore call centers in India and Brazil. This has worried a great deal of people including Derrick.

Derrick’s company has been very good about communicating the strategy and not all positions will be moving overseas. The lower level roles will be moving, but all critical care, management, and project management roles will be staying here in the US. Those positions will be filled with professionals in the company already and external people if the talent pool is not present. Derrick, a 5 yr employee, is quite interested in remaining employed and inquires from his manager how he can be involved with one of the company’s remaining positions. His manager offers him a clean strategy of to collect professional reviews, references, and annual evaluations to show that he can handle the new positions increased responsibility. He also was told to break down his current role, inquire from business intelligence on how he stands statistically and bring all of that to the table.

Despite the advice and direction offered by his manager - Derrick decides to “show” his manager what type of person he is. He continues doing the work he is doing, but working extended hours and filling roles where other people are falling short or have quit. He feels that in this manner management will see his efforts and place him into one of the newly created roles. Logically, as Derrick sees it, the actions he is taking make him appear like “management material” and the company will see with sweat and tears that he is a needed part of the team.

Fast forward to the end, Derrick lost his job - not to India but to another professional that came in from outside the company. When he questioned the decision citing his more than 5 yrs of service, management told him that the information available for decisions and moving people into this role did not offer them a clear view that he had done, nor would be capable of the increased responsibility. Therefore they went in a different direction.

WOW. Derrick was floored but to whose fault. He leaves there thinking little of the company and that he never stood a chance in getting the role. But did he do what he could to get the new position. Was he truly listening to the powers at be to place himself in the best seat to take advantage of the changes. In this scenario, he had all of the information he needed to make the jump. He simply did not execute. However, when the picture is less clear, are we helping ourselves or doing more of the same in hopes people see us different?

Manage your job search with advice at LambentPath, written by Jason Monastra