I hate that I didn't leave earlier. Is it even possible to fix the toxic work culture here anymore or is that the last thing our leadership thinks about?
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Mobil efficiently made themselves the target if an acquisition.
@1tkv+1f7Lz3pa I don't recognise any part of your observations. Is that just America?
I beg to differ. No interest to reopen the debate. The two companies had clearly different cultures.
People disagree on which was best or worse but I know many that would argue that the current system is like Mobil.
The toxic culture is intentional.
Good new is that I see an effort to improve the culture.
It seems impossible to get to the culture and pleasant workplace that Mobil created, but EXxon Management chose to destroy Mobil culture completely as they did not even comprehend how we could all work together helping each other with no sense of competition among employees.
Mobil culture and procedures became taboo to mention.
How many times have you heard in Management meetings “ Let’s do this efficiently like Mobil did”.
Maybe EXxon people learned from that mistake because it seems ok to say “Let’s do this like XTO”.
The culture in EM is not intentional (I.e. someone design it like that). It had evolved to meet the needs of a company with discipline in spending, controls, manage big projects and operate with a long term focus in a stable environment. As a result, there is hierarchy and there is focus on succession plans like the military. It relied and rewarded expertise but also there was a command and control logic and solid work processes that pushes decisions upwards and requires reviews. Obviously this type of culture is difficult to work in and it is not best for a business/industry in transition. But it is not toxic necessarily.
The culture has become toxic gradually probably the last 15 years or so. There is more and more emphasis on short term “business” results (in a business that there is really NO short term) including for technical people. Instead of rewarding and encouraging our technical people to be and stay “nerds” because this was supposedly the strength, everybody was encouraged to think “business”, to have “visibility”, to be “strategic”. Robust (but rigid) work processes of the past have been sabotaged or dismantled to emphasize fake agility. Overall now we have fake alignment meetings, showboating, PowerPoint engineering, wordsmithing toward ambivalent meanings, promotion of good presenters, vague “soft” skills. This situation predated DW but in his time I think became more prevalent, maybe exactly because many in the upper management were promoted on those skills.
Inevitably, in this new culture that was superimposed on the old one (and maintained hierarchy and controls) processes and ranking and skills are vague, based on personal preferences and connections. This is toxic!
Also this “toxicity” predated the changes in the ranking system. But obviously, this additional change made the situation even worse.
No one in senior management will acknowledge any of the things above and (also) they do not need to change them. It does not affect them and frankly it does not affect the financial results which by now is obvious are the outcome of external circumstances (geopolitical, social, the movement of the crude price) and unrelated with anything management can control.
So please don’t have any expectations
We are “racking billions in profit”? Less than two years ago the company went through a near-death experience. What do you think will happen in the next big downturn, specially now that almost the entire experienced workforce has been liquidated?
Higher CL level dominates lower CL levels in daily operation, opinion and decision making. What could go wrong? Haven't you experienced scenarios where your boss tells you both what to do and how to do it? Yet, managers/supervisors do encourage you to speak your mind. For one, I'm not speaking to avoid being on the "black list".
I lost the desire to comment in general. However...
The mistake you make is thinking that management wants the culture changed. I'm convinced that the culture is intentional. Having been outside and having reported to a managing director, I can tell you that narcicists rise to the top, and if you find a company that pays well and is not toxic, you've found something that is really rare. Don't give it up lightly.
The leadership argument might be why change if the company is still racking billions in profit. I don't think changing the culture is the top priority of leadership. It is all about the money...who cares if the work culture is toxic....
The toxic culture at EM is a result of the power structure: inept management perpetually self-reproducing itself and believing more and more that only their class represents any value in the company. To “change the culture” you have to change the way people move up in the company - replace random sponsorship by actual results. However, that would negate the legitimacy of the entire management, from the lowest supervisor to DW, so it’s impossible to do without breaking the company. At EM, preserving the company and changing the culture are two completely contradictory things.
"Fixing the toxic work culture" ? In situation of every men/woman for himself/herself, Darwinism applies - survival the "fittest".
It is very sad that you have been brought to the point of Hate.
That is simply horrible.
That is the last thing anyone in this company or country should have.
Hate the haters, I say. To hades with them all.
Eliminating the forced rank assessment process is the first step to take in changing the culture. If this doesn’t happen, then don’t expect the culture to change.
Yes, it is. All you need is to prepare your cube pic.
Either leaving or following those cringey LTs is fine. Choose one.