Once you are out of Apple, you realize that it is possible to have had an abusive relationship with your employer. I took the liberty of borrowing and modifying some questions from "The Abusive Spouse Syndrome" by Judi Lewis. I am certainly not trying to make light of the real physical danger that abused spouses face. I am only trying to highlight some of the mental similarities faced by employees working in a company like Apple that is dedicated to taking advantage of employees, many of whom are addicted to Apple technology. Apple employees do get paid, but certainly live in an environment where the rich get richer and the field employees get the short end of the deal.
So here are the modified questions which I would ask Apple employees to consider.
- Does your company constantly accuse you of not doing your job as well as you could?
- If you spend too long making certain your customers are happy does company press you to get on to the next sale?
- Does management constantly criticize you, even when you really try to avoid this situation?
- Do they anger easily, especially when drunk on iPod sales news?
- Do they humiliate you in front of customers and the world?
- Does your management threaten to fire you? Do they fire people without cause?
And I would add a few more questions
- Do you feel like no one appreciates your efforts?
- Would you just like the company to get out of the way and let you do your job?
- Are you sorry that your job which had some meaning is now just a job?
Of course I could go on, but the important thing is that every Apple employee should know, there is life after Apple. You should also know that outside of the small circle of Apple-interested folks, even with the iPod, Apple isn't really that big of a deal, but it makes good writing material. Sure some of the products are great, but really they are just products, and Bill did win in spite of everything we did.
Of course that gets back to the core issue, if Apple weren't an abusive company, would Microsoft still have such a huge lead on desktop and would Apple still be looking at Linux zooming past.
The tactics used within Apple will one day be a business case study of how not to run a company. It's the truth, if you're an employee at Apple and don't recognize this, you're either new or unconsciously not paying attention to what is happening around you. Apple is not a company built on fairness, employee development, or employee loyalty. Apple is a feudal society built on inequality and is run for the pleasure of Steve and a few close associates. The "iPod Miracle" has enabled stockholders to be rewarded for their patience even as the company has experience some pretty strange "business" practices.
However, Apple is tragically flawed and will not survive as a great company. You can't treat your best people, customers, and partners like Apple does and end up a long term winner. I know of an Apple employee who is tracking unbelievable growth numbers. Customers love and respect this employee, and yet management barely tolerates the employee. It doesn't make any sense, yet it is a normal occurrence at Apple.
Other companies are looking for older employees as Stephen pointed out to me this morning. Not Apple, it's too bad that the government wouldn't do a survey of Apple's hiring and firing practices. I suspect AARP and others would be on Apple's case pretty quickly Not only is the company not exactly racially balanced in sales, but it also finds ever more interesting ways to push older employees out. When you read this quote from the NY Times article, "Older Workers Please Apply," you know that you aren't reading about Apple.
Conventional wisdom has long held that workers become more costly as they grow older, with more medical problems and more missed workdays. But "overall costs are not much different based on the age of employees," said Dan Smith, senior vice president for human resources at the Borders Group. "Training and recruitment costs are much lower than for younger workers. It all evens out."
Mr. Smith said nearly 16 percent of Borders's current 32,000 employees were 50 or older, compared with only 6 percent six years ago.
Well enough lobbing truths at the Apple problem. I just hope the stocks stays up until I get rid of my stock. My next hope is that Linux gets good enough so I will never have to buy another Apple OS or hardware product. It still amazes me that a company with the world's best OS and some of the greatest hardware ever built has managed to not even place in the race.
Comments