I worked for a tech company in the 90′s…and it was awesome. We had a bunch of really bright, creative and fun people running around in shorts and flip flops making things happen. We even had a vending machine that dispersed free cokes (regional note: In Texas we refer to all soft drinks as “cokes”, even those living in Pepsi and Dr. Pepper sections of the state. If you say “pop” we know you’re not from around these parts.)
Then, a horrible event happened – - the late 90′s! Along with the tech bust came massive expense reductions, which included no more free cokes.
You would have thought we’d just asked people to wear suits, closed-toe shoes and take a 50% pay cut given the outrage – - but nope, we’d simply asked them to take their caffeine habits down a notch or pay for their drinks. AND, we only charged 25 cents!!!
It seems the same sense of entitlement is rearing its ugly head once again. But this time, one company is messing with their employee’s BEER. Here’s the low-down regarding the horror going on at New Belgium Brewing Company in Fort Collins, CO.
“There are downsides (to employee ownership). Some workers get sucked into an entitlement mentality, Jordan says, citing a staffer who asked to borrow a company car to go on vaction. (The employee was politely told no.)
The recession has led New Belgium to cut back on some benefits. Annual raises have shrunk from between 7% and 8% to 4%, and limits have been imposed on expensable lunches. And until recently workers were allowed to take a full case of beer home each week. That last cutback was hard to take.
It was a bit of an adjustment, says Orgolini. It’s hard to change what people have gotten used to.”
Seriously? You work for an awesome company that gives employees an ownership stake and a free custom bike after a year of employment. After five years, you can go on an all-expense-paid trip to Belgium. And even with the downturn, you STILL get to take home two free six-packs of beer a week!!!
I get that it is tough to change what people come to expect, but don’t you wonder if the CEO of New Belgium wants to smack anyone that gives her grief over going from 24 to 12 beers?!! I know that I was not overly sympathetic to our employee’s indignation over having to pay 25 cents for their cokes.
You’ve got to admire a company that lives its values and has perks that represent the foundation of the organization. I kind of hope anyone that has given them grief over the loss of free beer is handed their bicycle helmet and sent peddling!
It was once said, and I cannot quote it but it was something like, you need to learn from history or you are doomed to repeat it. Many people do not remember the mid to late 70’s recession, or the mid to late 80’s slow down let alone the .COM bubble burst where this same type of “cost cutting” had to happen. Just like gas lines, housing busts, booming inflation, rising unemployment, and recession, things have to change when times get tough.
The problem with our working society these days (I sound so old) as I see it, is that we have an entitlement mentality that is exasperated by media and the Government so that any type of “give backs” are unacceptable.
I live in a state that has auto plants that were drawn here because we are a “right to work” state and they did not have to become unionized. The state gave all kinds of tax incentives to attract them and even gave the land and built roads and infrastructure to allow the plants to thrive and produce cars that are less expensive, and some luxury cars that are more expensive but they pay good wages and are competative. Now we have towns built up around them, tax revenue, houses built, stores and malls supporting them and they are doing fairly well. Thios my freinds is stimulous.
These companies just had to cut back hours and shifts because of the current economic situation and the workers are saying “at least I still have a job”.
My own company has had to have some layoffs and we are tightening belts in every part of the company but the employees understand that we need to do it to keep our edge.
Too many people who lived through the depression, just like who lived through WWII are passed away and the history books do not emphasize what it took to live back then. If you look back at hard times in the past 100 years, you see real sacrifice. I am sure that everyone in my age group who knew their grandparents saw some really quirky things our Grandparents did because they “had to in the great war” or during “the depression” they had to save, things such as saving aluminum foil, or not buying something unless they had the money first. Wow, what a sacrifice. WOW, what an interesting idea.