When you see the wrong people promoted over and over again, when you see good employees shown the door and lazy good-for-nothings still here, how do you stay motivated to still do your job properly and not just phone it in? I'm at the point when I'm starting to wonder if doing my minimum is the way to go at Chevron.
26 replies (most recent on top)
Wow, reading this sounds exactly like Exxon. I was there for a few years and saw some of my coworkers and friends get NSI and asked to leave even though they were smart, hardworking, and accomplished a lot. At the same time, people who were incompetent and did nothing were ranked high because HR told managers they were “protected” based on I&D. So HR discriminates against white males. With that, I saw no reason to stay as it was not a matter of if, but when they would NSI me to “save” a diversity candidate. Even worse, I was assigned the work that the diversity candidate was supposed to do. I looked around and was surprised to discover that there are better places to work in terms of work environment, fair review system, pay, bonus, 401(k), education reimbursement, quality of life, and in a growing rather than a dying industry.
Better jobs for engineers are out there, look around while the timing is good. I talk to some of my former coworkers who are still at Exxon and they say it is even worse now.
The world is your oyster. Don’t waste too much time at Chevron once you have gotten what you need.
How do I stay motivated to avoid being laid off or is this the wrong site? It' seems like most of these threads are complaints from disgruntled butthurt current employees, rather than layoff topics.
Yes, "A couple of people" have also become billionaires. lol Take whatever chance that you want. Many started their own business ventures and have been successful. Many have also failed.
Do you feel lucky?
As long as you advance quickly, stay on board. If you plateau jump ship. Many have done this. A couple people even made it to MD or EVP at Chevron, then bailed out to be CEO elsewhere for ten times the pay and no boss,
@7ovl+1bKFH0AR
That's only true for some, not all. I advanced quite rapidly and stayed at one company. I got to the point where I did not want any more promotions or responsibilities. I, of course, never did simply the "bare minimum" nor did I ever desire to. I enjoyed my career and productivity. I have more than I can spend now, at least within reason. I have no regrets. Moving around can be rewarding as well, but simply to chase another buck is a bit disingenuous and in the long run not self-rewarding as it may seem.
Your career is your motivation, not your company. Be working for your next job, not for Chevron. Your career will advance the fastest by jumping companies every 5-7 years, taking on higher responsibility with each job change. You'll never get that type of career acceleration working for just one company your whole career. If you choose to 'do the minimum', you are guaranteed to become a Chevron lifer (or at least until Green puts you out to pasture by 2035), with virtually nothing to point to as career accomplishments. Just earning money is not a career accomplishment (sorry, Chevron high-pots and management).
To stay motivated, I sometimes head to a stall in the men’s room and spend 45 minutes choking the chicken.
Chevron IS epic
Thank GOD I’m happily retired. I got out of Chevron in the nick of time, after a 30 year career of which the last 10 were taking a toll on my sanity. Free at last!
I've never been this unmotivated at any job I've ever had, and I was a telemarketer in high school for a few summers. The finance function promised an improved employee experience but all I've gotten is garbage work handed off because people good people have left the company.
I am still waiting for the new Epic to be announced: “Find oil and make money”. I assume it will be put forward some day, but after a year of management meeting in CTC I have heard only about diversity and waiting for Microsoft to show us how machines can find oil faster and lower carbon. Maybe Microsoft could start by fixing windows search so I could find where I saved my vita.
@1ewa+1bKFH0AR
True. fair enough in the normal world. At CVX, those in leadership rarely know the difference. As one posted, it’s the perception that matters and other qualities folks are looking for and not how much work and efficiencies you put in or the best of your capabilities. Goes back to staying motivated and why bother going over and beyond.
Doing the "minimum" is a great way to get laid off.
Do your best . . if you want to maximize the chances of staying on a job longer.
It is very sad if Deliver Results is a low priority. If an organization is more process driven than results driven it becomes highly inefficient and bureaucratic. Organizations that have track records of consistently achieving high results are known to have people at the top who are effective motivators.
I try to work with the colleagues and projects that I can respect. The company doesn't motivate me in the least, but I can't bear the thought of leaving a good project in awful hands.
These days we are performing to our lowest denominator. And some days it’s really hard to tell of the pool of mediocrity who that really is.
Right on point @ogy+1bKFH0AR. Chevron has sadly lost its way over the years. It’s not just one department or function. It’s quite evident there has been a corporate shift. Meaningless meetings summarizes the day to day minutia that folks celebrate getting a paycheck over. Do we call it Digital Platform or Digital Factories? apparently it is the hot agenda item for now….let’s focus on efforts on how well we align and inspire and grow capabilities on that front and less about making $$ part or solving technical problems or executing projects in a timely and efficient manner. So many projects and programs over budgeted and no one cares or is held accountable.
@jlu+1bKFH0AR no, it’s not the same as most companies. Worked for a range of majors and independents including chevron and I have never seen anything like the level we have here now. Not saying others were perfect, but business acumen, technical talent and performance were all valued highly and genuinely rewarded. True story…team member get a public recognition on the spot for “one team” behavior. For what? Chasing another team member to answer their phone calls on a project, made contact and finally came up with a plan forward. Friend / co worker was bewildered - thinking “I was JUST DOING MY a JOB. “
Three-fourths of your performance rating is how others perceive you. One-fourth is “Deliver Results.” That tells you Chevron’s priorities, so adjust yours accordingly if you want to be a high performer.
Imagine if Chevron made lean sigma to where you, individually, could pocket 1% of the legit, verifiable money you saved the company. Chevron gets the lion’s share, but you get that 1% (capped at 1x salary, or even no cap). People would operate like Chevron was their own business, streamlining workflows, slashing costs, holding contractors accountable, tightening callouts and schedules. OE moments about hot weather or ”sitting is the new smoking” would be phased out because people would want to put their time on valuable projects that put money into their pockets instead of spending it in meaningless meetings. As it is now, you can do you regular job and get paid the salary you deserve, and Chevron expects nothing more. If you chose to go above and beyond, save the company $10MM, you’ll get rewarded with a relatively insignificant $200 R&A that had to go before a board to get approved. Chevron doesn’t care about rewarding performance that impacts the bottom line. They want people to Align/Inspire, Build Relationships, and Grow Capability. It’s sad that Delivering Results is the last and lowest priority, almost an afterthought.
God's been too good to me to not continue to do my best, even if Chevron at higher management levels doesn't recognize it.
I stopped being motivated once I got to work in the center really close to the big dogs and I realized that they’re just as clueless and flailing as the rest of us. All you see is politics, posturing, narrative creation, and “creative” budgeting / cost explanation. Same as every company I guess.
I get my motivation around the 7th and 21st of each month.
I don’t know, I’m in the same boat. The biggest challenge at work is staying motivated.
I’m used to excelling and operating at the highest performance and standards simply because it was the right way to work and that is how I am wired. Chevron sucked all that out of me and others when all initiatives were focused on non value work (focused on the things that don’t matter) and superseded common sense, they didn’t talk about the things that did matter, did not recognize or reward good performance and continued to make poor decisions at a leadership level that would not lead to any tangible improvements and further more to the root of if all - operated like they were the best when the numbers clearly showed they weren’t but were instead manipulated to tell a different story. Could no longer work for just the paycheck and show up to be a warm body and ended quitting. Stay motivated? Near damn impossible.
I come to The Layoff for the motivation and stay for the laughs.
Doing the minimum is the way to go at any job. We allow these companies to use us and abuse us and exactly what you said happens to good employees. Collect your checks and ride the train until it stops.