Why I Won’t Work for Jerks Anymore

I had an interesting conversation this week with a prospective employer. Though I avoid writing about individual encounters in this blog — too tedious and boring for me to recount

and for you to read — this one stood out for its sheer audacity.

Let’s backtrack a bit. I applied to ad on CraigsList (yeah, I know, my first clue this was going to be a bad trip) for a part-time copy editor. The ad stated — in bold capital letters — the unnamed company would only accept applicants from Manhattan, the five boroughs and three towns in New Jersey. I’ve seen this ad before, but this time, one of the acceptable towns — lo and behold — happens to be where I live. So I applied. Why not? I have copyediting experience. A part-time job combined with freelance work could net me a livable income.

Soon after, I received an email asking for my hourly salary requirements. Now, here, I admit, is where I screwed up a bit. The ad stated the starting hourly salary was set at between $13-$15 per hour. Not terrible, but typically lower than my base ($20) and what other part-time editing jobs offer. So I replied, $20 per hour.

Bad move on my part, apparently. How dare I try to negotiate my salary? How dare I want a livable wage commensurate with my experience and the rest of the market? No dice, said the HR person, I hadn’t read the ad.

So, I replied that I had read the ad, that $15 was acceptable to me, and could I speak to someone about the position. The HR person said okay, and I sent along my number, thinking that would be the end of it.

The next day, I received a call from a gentleman who only gave his first name. Throughout this process neither the HR person or this guy revealed their full name or the name of the company. Another bad sign.

He then proceeded to rant on me. I was asking for too much money! I hadn’t the read the ad! How tough it was for him to train people only to have them leave for a higher paying job! (Duh!) The atmosphere at his “agency” routinely featured yelling and screaming!

Bingo! Now I understood. This guy was a jerk. A cheap jerk. The worst kind.

And why would he tell a prospective employee his workplace is a screeching hellhole? If someone offered him a new job at the twice the pay, wouldn't he jump at the chance?

People weren’t leaving this job because of the low pay. They left because they could no longer endure a WWF-like office environment. They left because they felt they were being mistreated and harassed — all for pay barely above minimum wage and no benefits. They left because he is a jerk.

Back in the dark days of the Great Recession of 2008-10, employers routinely oppressed workers without any fear of retribution or a mass exodus. There were no jobs, no one was hiring, so where could they go?

Today, the job market isn’t as tight. It’s not great, but workers have a bit more wiggle room now to find another job for higher pay or more pleasant working conditions. Workers are less willing to work for jerks.

What this jerk failed to understand is that workers have free will. We can, if we so choose, take another job for a better salary. If we feel we are being abused, we can decide, “fuck this shit,” and leave.

I actually had the gumption to say to him that if people were leaving it wasn’t solely because of the salary. I added that salary is something that can be negotiated between employer and employer. He agreed, but I don’t think he got my true point. This jerk is obviously stuck in a time warp where bosses have all the power and workers have none. It’s not that way anymore. The power balance has shifted. Not a lot, but enough so that workers are no longer jailed in their cubicles.

He pompously said he might consider me for the job. How big of him! To consider me for a job I have every qualification for. I don’t think I will ever get this job. It’s not a place where I want to work anyway. I spent 16 years abused by a nasty, raging alcoholic and I have no desire to return to that type of an office environment. Ever.

Honestly, I don’t expect to be treated with kid gloves at work. If I screw up, I believe my boss has every right to reprimand me. Outside of those incidences (which I keep at minimum), if I treat my colleagues with courtesy and respect, I expect the same treatment in return.

Of course, it’s his prerogative to hire whomever he chooses and ill treat them if that is how he wants to relate to his underlings. He can pay them whatever he chooses, too. Companies further have the right to fire and layoff workers whenever they deem necessary, no warning or questions asked. As someone who has been laid off twice since late 2009, I think I have a pretty good idea who wields the hammer and who is the nail. I get it. I GET IT!

Yet it is also the worker’s prerogative to choose a more tranquil workplace for a higher salary if such an opportunity arises. It’s not a one-sided equation. Incomprehensibly, managers persist in the belief that workers owe unyielding loyalty to a company while the company owes them no such loyalty in return.

This clueless jerk whined that too many of his hires left for better pay. Yes, that is a risk any company assumes when hiring a new employee. That's why HR departments are so meticulous when assessing candidates. (Don't I know it!) Sometimes, a company and the new hire simply don't mesh. But the new employee also takes a risk — the risk he or she will be fired after a probationary period or laid off when revenues sink. Both employee and employer take a tremendous leap of faith on the first day of employment.

Workers chose to work for a company, stay at a company, or leave a company for many reasons, salary being an important but far from the only factor. How well they are treated by management, the overall stress level within the organization (are they being asked to do too much with little support?), and the actual work duties all contribute to whether a worker remains or bolts.

A worker may leave for better pay. But they could leave because their spouse relocates for a job. Or they want a better work/life balance (whatever that means). Perhaps they want to take their career in an entirely different direction. Guess what Mr. Boss Man? They have every right to do that.

I think this jerk misses the real issue here. It’s not the money, though he could pay them more. The real reason people are leaving is because he has obviously fostered a hostile work environment. He’s putting the blame on the wrong person — the worker who is leaving — rather than himself and his boorish behavior.

Until this jerk understands that, he will continue to watch people walk out the door.