Let me preface this by saying that I joined Chevron a year ago, I like my job, I enjoy doing it and I'm good at it. My biggest issue is navigating through all the politics and backstabbing. Honestly, it's exhausting and it eats up all of my energy. Is this something new or has this place always been like this?
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Chevron has less contractors than ever, so the Rome story doesn’t apply. But I do miss our good old Milan office. Now that was a gig!
It doesn't matter what entity you have be it a country, a company, a church, etc if there is not a person in charge with a vision the entity will decline if they are in charge too long. Now look at the CEO. Enough said. The Q is how much damage can he do during his tenure. A visionary inspires people around him/her. It leads to unity. A group that has unity can never be destroyed really. Just look at the USA. and how dis unified it has become!. Ever read the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire I suggest you read it and understand the nonsense about "Barbarians at the Gate".
The empire's were first an economic crisis. A large portion of Rome’s economy was based on slave labor. In fact it is estimated that, at its peak, 25% of Rome’s population were slaves. These slaves were obtained from the soldiers and resistance forces of conquered nations (“Roman Slaves”). Therefore, when Rome was no longer able to conquer, the supply of slaves dried up. Since Rome had relied on human labor for so many years, it had not pursued technological innovation in the field of agriculture (Dutch, “Roman Science and Technology”). Without cheap labor and slaves to work the fields, the economy collapsed (Damen, “The Fall of Rome: Facts and Fictions”). Additionally, the Roman welfare system, which supported the thousands of Romans who were out of work due to the availability of slaves, taxed the Roman coffers and economy heavily. Corruption also helped bring about the economic collapse that plagued the late Roman Empire. An unknown author who lived around 386 A.D. wrote, “…wherewith the arts of [greediness] afflict the provinces, comes the appalling greed of the provincial Governors, which is ruinous to the taxpayers’ interests” (“On Military Matters”). It is clear that this author, as well as many other Romans, must have realized that the opulent lifestyle of the Roman elite was bringing the country to its knees.
The second main reason for Rome’s fall is not the archetypal “barbarians outside the gate” but, instead, “barbarians” (any non-Roman) inside the gates. As the empire grew larger, the native Roman population grew smaller in proportion to the size of the Empire. Rome was forced to hire barbarian mercenaries to defend the borders
Chevron is hiring more and more contractors (Slaves) as it's employees get less and less, see the similarity, Also the governors become more and more corrupt , greedy, just look at the bonus system in Chevron benefitting the higher ups, again similar pattern of decline. I could go on and on , but the same pattern is there case after case
How is this any different than any other company, church, sport team, reality tv, your own family and friends?
There will always be gossip, backstabbing, politics blah blah. It's naturally human to do so.
Grow a thick skin, live in a shell and put your best foot forward.
With flatter organization and bizarre team centric PMP, nobody knows where they stand, how to advance, and who is really making decisions.
Forget about OMBUDS...they claim to be a separate entity but they are all cronies with HR. You will only be FLAGGED as a sour apple. The backstabbing and hideous behaviors started when under qualified managers were promoted by insecure upper management, the younger better looking guy made him look GOOD bit the guy he promoted was a waste of space that hired and promoted people that didnt question his knowledge or authority which leaves a team of baboons that LOOk good and are not productive. They Happy Hour well and have great bu-----t pow wows and have the experienced lower psg, 10+ yr undelings do the grunt work. The grunts rebel and there starts the backstabbing environment that exists today. and upper management doesn't give a SH-T
I would answer the OP. but I have been laid off and moved on, why would I know or care about what's going on over there at a place where I made less? As someone posted, I thought this was a layoff's board, not a company chit–chat site for losers with no life.
The mass layoffs and increasing workloads have really hurt the morale and team work in the company. Its much more cutthroat than it was just a few years back. Im not sure management understands the long term damage being done to their workforce but they probably don't care either. The dividend is the only thing that matters now. Attrition is going up and thats going to make things even worse.
There is nothing new under the sun.
I think the self promotion is much worse now because of social media. It makes me sick to see management and rank and file employees use it to blatantly suck up to their dim witted bosses by praising them and the Chevron "corporate culture". It is nothing more than the old fashioned a$$ kissing that has always gone on but now on steroids because of the reach of corporate sanctioned social media.
If you have to go out of your way to let everyone know how great Chevron is and how proud you are to be part of it then Chevron probably isn't so great and you are very insecure.
you are building human energy pal!
There are a lot of immature managers that gossip and socialize with their underlings which just end up making worse an already a divisive culture.
No, it has not always been like this. All this negativity and nonsense behaviors began almost immediately after the Texaco acquisition. Chevron took on a lot of challenging issues, especially with Black upward mobility and women’s glass ceiling. Then came the Obama era. Everything after that you are experiencing now and to follow is the eminent downfall of American business. I retired from Chevron 5 years ago after almost 31 fantastic years and thank God every Sunday that I’m gone. Enjoying my retirement to the fullest.
duh..... layoffs bring out the insecurity (and subsequent bad behavior like backstabbing) !
I found that backstabbing disappeared when management had leaders with integrity. When we had highly intelligent, ambitious types in charge their social ineptitude resulted in staff bad behavior like rumor mongering, politics and their backstabbing.
how is this related to layoffs?
Yes and it will always be. As you professionals climb over each other to get to that next promotion. Remember you have Omsbud and the Hotline if it gets really bad! Enjoy the next 30 years!
Have a warm cup of cocoa snowflake ...
It has gotten much worse the last few years. Management is actively rewarding self promotion and backslapping.
Depends on what group, what your skill is and how you add value IMO. In my ~30 years, never had an issue with 'backstabbing', mainly because I trusted my work contribution (including helping and how you treat others) would add value and the right people (usually team lead) would recognize that, and the chips would fall in right direction. Overall, it worked for me. But if you have lousy team lead who can't recognize good performers from others, well...
Is this in relation to layoffs or a general question for people who still have a job, and are maybe thinking that they will get cut because of something? Just wondering since this is the layoffs site, no big deal.