That was not a real example:
The real example is a manger thinking its appropriate to host a quiz during a redundancy/transformation meeting.
And that is because it made rhe manager seem like they were inconsiderate/uncaring. The effect of a mishandled transformation with an inconsiderate communication during a redundancy process is that staff in my department have been on an effective work to rule for five years . This has crippled productivity. There are some staff who refuse to attend the six monthly away day because there is a quiz during it and it picks at the scab of old wounds
They would honestly be better closing down my whole department and reconstituting it with different staff now because the efforts to stem the anger and morale issues were too late to save morale and short of a leadership change there is always going to be an open hatred of managment in my department
Overall it sounds like incompetent management. Unfortunately parts of the railway are the same - often because management only go into their roles for the wrong reasons. Either because they want an easy life and to get away from shift work, or because they’re on a power trip.
That’s by no means all railway managers, but a reasonable % unfortunately. The industry still has a bit of a public sector mentality in some quarters.
Absolutely agree. I left my training TOC during my PQA period after multiple issues with the toxic working environment, alongside a change in personal circumstances.
I'd been a shunter with them, I felt I'd done my time. I'd decided even before passing out that I was going to leave but just needed to decide the when and how.
Having also run my own business for some years, I don't agree at all with the "trainees owe the TOC something" mentality.
My business was doing guided tours of somewhere that requires lots of certifications, qualifications, and safety rules to follow. Once a guide had these qualifications they were theirs and could easily transfer between tour operators.
A couple of times as a business decision I had to hire trainees instead of poaching. While my preference was always to hire experienced guides from other companies (attracting them with better conditions and a higher salary), sometimes this wasn't possible.
It was me who needed the staff and for whatever reason couldn't attract qualified staff. The trainees had a lower salary and didn't have some of the perks that qualified staff has such as taxis to/from home. That's how I got the money back that I'd paid for their training.
TOCs don't decide out of the kindness of their own heart that they want to give you the opportunity of a lifetime. They have trains to run and need someone to drive them. If they were so concerned about people leaving them some of the TOCs would fix their working environment and the issues drivers there have been dealing with for years.
You are only there to make them money and I can guarantee within 3 months of you leaving, apart from your immediate managers, nobody higher up will even remember your name.
Absolutely, and good for you for leaving. It’s a straightforward commercial decision. TOCs owe you no loyalty and you owe them none. The suggestion otherwise is a strange attitude that simply doesn’t exist in the commercial world outside the railway.
You last paragraph is spot on. If you were to go and ask someone who works in professional services or the financial sector whether they have loyalty to their employer and they’d laugh at the concept!
I know of an ex Eurostar now mainline UK who was desperate to go Southeastern. Doesn't care for the drop in money or worse work , but lives south of London and doesn't want to relocate or travel.
There’s often a backstory in cases like that eg perhaps they’ve previously got on the wrong side someone involved with the recruitment etc.
People don't "join to get the key" at GWR or Greater Anglia or Elizabeth line (there may be exceptions) but an oft-quoted one where they do is Southeastern.
It’s actually hard to train up and leave immediately, because you’ll generally need at least two years’ experience (and a recent record) before other TOCs will look at you.