Note to Managers: Employees Talk About Everything

Being my own boss has been a goal of mine for as long as I can remember. In December 2011, after over two years of careful planning and building, the time finally became right for me to leave my longtime job overseeing the adult education division at the 92nd Street Y in New York City, in order to pursue TrivWorks full-time.

Being an entrepreneur is not without its stresses – there’s no more direct deposit every 2 weeks, the IT department isn’t’ there when my computer crashes, and readers of this blog know that my wife and I recently had a baby as well. But there are most certainly upsides to no longer being an employee – and for me, perhaps the biggest perk is the fact that I no longer have a commute.

You see, I actually love the train, because I love reading – yet I hate noise. Absolutely hate it. I’m extremely sensitive to it, and can’t concentrate on what I’m reading if there’s people talking, music playing or public service announcements going off every 10 seconds. For this reason, my commutes have been a real sore spot.

Alas, I do need to get around town, and last night was no exception. Coming back from hosting a trivia event, I found myself in a packed-solid car going from Manhattan back to Brooklyn, where I live. No sooner had I found a seat when the doors opened, and in came not 1, but 3 pairs of talkers – all strategically placed within 1 foot of me. All talking loudly to one another.

Trapped as I was with 3 separate conversations going on around me, I resigned myself to my fate and put my book away. With nothing else to do, I listened.

All 6 people were complaining about their jobs.

One girl was furious that her last two bosses got fired, and she was stuck picking up the slack, in exchange for a crappy raise in pay.

One guy couldn’t believe that the theater he worked at wouldn’t let him hire a temp to lighten the workload, or even bring on an intern to exploit.

One girl was desperately trying to avoid her colleague’s advances, and her boss wasn’t helping.

The other 3 people in these 3 side conversations appeared to be the “active listeners,” and offered their support, counsel and commiseration with their own work situations. But you know, this experience really struck me for some reason, and I couldn’t quite figure it out until my walk home.

You see, I get most of my information about the state of the workplace by asking attendees at our NYC corporate team building activities, both rank-and-file employees and managers who confide in me during discreet conversations after events. To hear this level of complaint about managers on the subway, though, in public – well, not to sound naïve, but I was stunned to hear so much trash talking.

I think a reason I was stunned is that for over 3 years, we have been in the grip of a highly unstable economic environment; people are being asked to do so much more with so much less in return, but the mantra “be lucky you have a job” is still a sharp reminder to keep your head down, plow through, soldier on, it will pass. Right?

Apparently not.

If your staff is unhappy – and, given the situation all companies are facing these days, chances are good that that they are – rest assured that they are NOT keeping it to themselves; they do NOT feel blessed simply to have a job, and are not afraid of rocking the boat.

Kind of a bummer, I know – especially for companies which genuinely do care about the welfare of their employees, but due to economic realities simply cannot do what the know is the right thing – be it through additional compensation, reduced workload, career advancement or professional development.

What do you think your employees are saying about you and your company on their subway ride home?