The “Water Cooler” is a feature on Claycord.com where we ask you a question or provide a topic, and you talk about it.
The “Water Cooler” will be up Monday-Friday at noon.
Today’s question:
QUESTION: Would you quit your job if your values didn’t match the values of your employer?
Talk about it….
35 comments
I work for a city whose city council is easily influenced by radical extremists who want to dismantle the police. They cut our pay, our budget, and expect us to do more work with less resources.
I would quit if I could financially afford it . So, for now I continue to do my job but I refuse to do anything beyond what I’m required to do as a bare minimum. I’d love to start my own business but extremely difficult to get business loan right now.
Don’t quit.
Grass isn’t greener with your own business. It’s 24/7.
You know what they say about working for the public sector.
“Peter, you don’t know what it’s like to work for the private sector, they expect results.”
-Ghostbusters
I recently quit my job as a can crusher because it was just SODA pressing.
Best comment ever! Well done sir, well done indeed…
Before I started my own business I worked for a bunch of different people who were real jerks. I guess that is not much different. They didn’t share a value of how to treat people. I also worked for a few who were good people.
Yes, Did that Once,…a little coffee house downtown Concord, 25 years ago. Didn’t like the improper food storage & more. Also, the pay check was a month late, plus, not the correct hourly rate of $4.25, instead $3.50. After 6 weeks, I quit, then a 2 months later they shut down, and used my S.S.N. to get cell phone and credit cards. Messed up 2 other employee like that there too.
Oh how disgusting. I hope it turned out to be only a minor PITA, and you were able to escape major headaches, Roz.
Silva~
I was able to get the credit card mess fixed in less than 2 years. But it took 10 years before any cell phone company would let me get a cell phone account in my name. So, I did finally get a cell phone about 5 years ago, but I don’t use the darn thing after all,…LOL!
That sucks, man. Sorry you had to deal with that.
Oh, no. That’s really awful, Roz. I would be SO ticked(😉) off.
It would depend. I am a conservative and retired now, but my last employer, and just about every employee there were Democrats. Most were middle of the road and some were a little more liberal than others. Most of them were aware of my political beliefs as I was of theirs, but we all liked each other and got along well. Sometimes a couple of us would discuss politics in a respectful way, but I will not argue politics because I realize I will never change their mind and they will never change my mind.
I even had one person ask me, “being a conservative, how can you work in such a liberal environment?” I answered, “it’s easy, I leave my personal feelings at home. I have a live and let live, attitude.”
After serving in the military and fighting in a war, I have learned what true American freedom means and the meaning of the old saying, “I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend your right to say it.” With that attitude, I can get along with most people.
Thank You for Your Service and enjoyed Your Post.
Dawg, i agree with you. I don’t count politics as values when it comes to employment, I never discuss politics with clients and customers. With co workers I might, but try to find where they stand before I voice my opinion, unless they say something outrageous or a blatant lie.
A employer that is abusive and lying to employee’s would make me look for another job, also if the lied or mislead customer’s would be a deal breaker. If I could afford to those behavior would make me quit on the spot.
You say it well Mr Dawg.
I’ve worked with a broad variety of Democrat and liberals and found Dawgs comment to be true. For 30+ years. After 50, the social climate started to change. The silent agreement to not offering an opinion changed to, I suspect you don’t agree and therefore must not have favor with the boss. Just the facts ma’am.
That made me laugh out loud! Thank you for your honestly!
Yes I quit my job at infinity dealership when they made best work over Volume. They went out of business in a year!. Goodness I was able to retire
Could you be more specific?
Money and morals do get mixed up and what keeps our society together is enough people put morals first.
Yes, and I have. I understand most people can’t. My understanding is that white city employees in Seattle have to take an anti biased training class of some sort. Black employees do not. I would definitely tell the city of Seattle to blow it out it’s a#s!!! But what do you expect when the mayor of Seattle promotes violence and murder.
My work life and personal life were always kept separate. I enjoyed my work to the end, but didn’t interact with co-workers after leaving the building. Of course when the phone rang at 2 am I wasn’t too happy, but compensation was pretty good.
I did not quit even though my employer had very different values. I worked for a large well known and famously unethical and hated company for a very long time. Do not underestimate the personal and psychological toll it will take on you.
I’ve only quit twice in my working life. First was because I needed more income since I had 2 kids to raise. I was told I had Champagne values on a beer budget. The job I found after that is what I call my former favorite life. 30+ years later it was bought out and most of us let go. Next and last job I call the job from h-e-doulble-ll! That one I quit because they had no values and didn’t even try to live up to them.
I have been working full-time and supporting myself my entire adult life, in various industries. “Values” have nothing to do with my employment. I am 5 years out from retiring with full benefits. Financial stability is my top priority.
I don’t care as long as they don’t attempt to indoctrinate be into their BS worldview. I know techies at Google and Facebook who do not agree with the BS they preach. They keep a low profile and never discuss religion or politics at work, as all professionals should avoid doing.
It’s hard to walk away from a $500K compensation package.
I work for myself.
If I don’t like my bosses values I’m in world of poop!
That was funny and cute.
It ia such a shame that companies feel they have to have political positions on most everything. Whatever happened to just focusing on providing the best good/service you can and being good at what you do? As soon as a company takes a position, they forget that not all their employees share that position and then puts some in a very uncomfortable situation.
If your employer is one that the position on issues is clear (such as a church, Planned Parenthood, a political party, etc.), then you know when you apply what you are getting into. But for a good or service (coffee, sneakers, a sports franchise, airline, etc. etc.) that is not politically based, they should just focus on being good at what they do and not get involved.
Yes. Did many yrs ago. Worked for a dentist who was doing shoddy work. Ended up having to send many clients to a periodontist. He started going back and erasing, rewriting the charts of these clients. Stating they had been warned of poor hygiene habits. Was really upsetting. He was our family dentist and a friend of my fathers.
I worked for an employer who taught me much better values that I had growing up! I loved my job and was able to retire at a younger age than most people I know! There were challenges but you get through it all. I feel Sad for the front line workers now in this pandemic. These are trying times for employees and employers. I guess it is good to have a job regardless of the difference of values.
A simple difference of values is no reason to quit an otherwise good job. Finding out about horrible misdeeds is a different thing entirely.
As Leonard E Reed (if memory serves) pointed out in his essay “I, Pencil”, people who would otherwise hate each other can work together entirely fine, especially if they don’t have to publically position themselves every major issue with every other person that they end up working with, directly or otherwise.
It’s absurd that most every business of any real size must have some (or worse yet, a particular) position on matters that are purely political. Let business be business, it rarely has any need of politics.
I really appreciate your thoughtful comments. You got me thinking too about the work ethics that we must have in order to do a good job. Excellence and perseverance matters. Today people are so offended by differences. Sort of a lack of tolerance and a self righteous attitude. When you are working you must comply to their values and goals. The exception would be illegal activity, fraud etc.
It all depends on what values we’re talking about. The employer I had on my last job which went for five years was a member of the Republican Party and I was a member of the Democratic Party, but he was the kindest most generous employer I’d ever had, and all of our basic core values were the same. I could never quite reconcile his kind nature to the call-in talk show hosts on the radio stations he listened to though.
@ Silva – It’s simply because Republicans don’t necessarily walk in lockstep with their party… like Democrats do. Conservative talk shows offer honest opinions and often disagree with one another. We hear a variety of ideas and opinions. Even FOX News quite often has different viewpoints than Trump has and he gets very vocal & upset with them now & then.
In contrast….
The left wing news networks all offer the same opinions, often using the exact same phrases & buzzwords, and they deliberately omit details of stories to lead viewers left. They never mention anything negative about Democrats or ask the hard questions that put them on the spot… often supplying the questions they are about to ask before they ask them!
There are hundreds of Youtube videos available that can confirm it. See for yourself.
My jib from Hell was for an Open adoption Agency in Pleasant Hill. The boss (who couldn’t have kids) was all for abortion and never shut up about it. ) I only quit because they took away my job as a web designer (because their long time graphic designer was jealous and whiney) and gave me secretarial work. So when a friend offered me a job as a web designer for much more money, I left without giving a two weeks notice. The new company had a great atmosphere full of all kinds of political opinions and races. But we got along and laughed a lot. I only quit that job to be a full time mom. Best job ever!
Ooops job from Hell. A jib from Hell would be on a sailboat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean in a storm.
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