Jeff Stahler for August 18, 2015

So what else is new? Many corporations, and private businesses look upon “Human Resources” as a necessary evil. People are an expensive part of a company, and until we can be replaced by a computer or automaton, tolerated. How many companies today have a flesh & blood receptionist to greet you? (besides Wal-Mart) When you have a problem, and you telephone a company for help, how many buttons must you choose & push before you reach a real live voice? (IF at all!) How is YOUR workload in your office? Does the implied, or direct threat of replacement hover over your head to reach arbitrarily set goals? Profitability isn’t everything: It’s the ONLY thing! (At whatever Human cost necessary!)

Please see Mac McClellan’s article on Amazon warehouse workers in Mother Jones

High tech jobs are not for everyone. If you care about them you can put up with 7 day work weeks and occasional all night sessions that come with the territory. If you cannot, you leave. http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/career-management/tech-companies-have-highest-turnover-rate/ 

Or on a flight from Honolulu to L.A. with several loose viper snakes.

But, but, but Jeb Bush said Americans aren’t working hard enough!

Funny, just last night I said to a German colleague working in our Barcelona centre, “erm, be glad we don’t for Amazon” and gave him the NYT article to read.(the company we’re working for is on yet another round of redundancies)I don’t think working hard for the sake of working hard and above all else is a virtue. I’ve read what Jeff Bezos thinks, and Elon Musk for that matter: they don’t strike me as very empathetic individuals. They may be the innovators but they treat people like absolute dirt; labour is just a resource afterall. Not sure if treating people like serfs does well in the long run.

By the way, I’m in IT and for years I worked over 3000 hours a year (work it out, take into account I get 30 days paid leave as well).Now I’m far happier working 1950 hours per year thankyouverymuchly. And I moved away from London to Vienna. Ahhhh….