Is this the WORST Sector you can Work in??
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- Опубліковано 28 чер 2024
- This Interview is about one of the worst working cultures there is: a big American Law Firm, where you are worked to the bone, and even taking a day off to see your family brings dire consequences...
This lady was kind enough to share her shocking experiences working in this toxic environment, from insane working hours, to abusive managers, and a PTO disaster.
This truly is a cautionary tale for any young people starting in old-school industries that value output over employee welfare...
#worstboss #toxicworkplace - Розваги
I was an associate attorney at a small law firm. The hours were much less intense, but the same sort of mismanagement from the top down prevailed. The boss was a passive-aggressive, abusive person who withheld constructive feedback in favor of non-stop reprimands. Questions annoyed him, and I was brand new, so we didn't click. I made a mistake and dressed too casually one day during a snowstorm and thought I could get away with it. I was sharply warned not to do it again.... and then this incident was thrown in my face at least once a week for the next 4 months. Any time I annoyed him, he dredged this mistake up again. This firm had a reputation for churning through associates with a really high turnover. I was fired before I could get another job. The firm imploded during the Great Recession.
A friend of mine worked at the law firm on the top floor of our building. They instituted what they called a “Jerk Free” policy because turnover was so high and it was really costing them. That should be Management 101.
You were talking about how American lawyers/execs get so caught up on the office size, etc. I used to work for Coca-Cola and the HQ tower had pretty big floors. The way it was set up, about two thirds of the exterior walls with the floor to celling windows was for senior managers and VPs. Two corners of the floors were sort of open to let light into the whole floor. Then there was a ring of smaller offices on the inside that had glass walls/doors facing the floor. There was a new Jr. Manager that came in and threw a fit that he didn't get one of the outside ring offices with the view and was upset about being given one of these inner offices. HR told him, sorry but we're just all booked up in those, but you're on the list, next retirement or transfer you'll get that, so be patient, maybe 6 M to 1 Y. Well that wasn't good enough, he demanded they extend the offices on the outside to build him a new office. They said we're not going to actually change the layout and block out the light and views for everyone else, so no. He countered, why do those people even have views, they're just support staff. He ended up going over his managers head and demanded a change. The "compromise" they came up with was that if he was stuck in the junior office, no one else could have a view. So in the sections of the floor that were open to the outside with the floor to ceilng windows, they came in and installed panels that covered the bottom half of the windows. So he was happy with that, but then if you were sitting in the cubicle farm you couldnt look out and see a view, you could only really look up at the sky. And it dramatically cut down the light for the whole floor, making it feel like a dungeon. I was always amazed that that could be a solution. That an exec could insist "well if I don't have a view, no one else can either." I always thought that was just the ultimate bratty move. Also surprised the company went along. About six months later I think he got a better office and the panels came down.
How does this not have more likes?! This is so pathological. Wow
Wtaf
I'm surprised he wasn't terminated for his crappy attitude in the workplace.
Amazing that the lawyers are the ones most willing to break the law.
then they go into politics..
I also worked as a Paralegal. At my last PL job, NO staff person had received a pay raise in FIVE YEARS, myself included. The attorney I worked for told me that ALL of us were overpaid, and if we could find a better gig, then take it. So I did.
YOU did but the others didnt - proving his point lmao
@@johnsmith-vz4sk I don't disagree. That's why I'm no longer working as a paralegal. Too much stress and BS. I have my own business now walking dogs and petsitting. Couldn't be happier!
I'm European and it's horrific to hear stories about American workplaces. That could not happen here. We have rather strong labor laws. USA is definitely not a dreamland as they imagine. Moreover, that much work and the pay is that low even to European standards and also New York is an expensive city to live, which makes that wage even lower. This is a modern slavery.
Working outside of big cities is fine.
& only 2 weeks A/L
I am not sure what you are smoking but this happens every day in London - you have never worked for these companies that want you to work 20 hr days
Also, full-time employees in the US are lucky to get just a one-week vacation a year.
@@monicacollins8289 Not sure where you worked in the USA but that couldn't be further from the truth. I had no problems taking two 2-week vacations per year in the USA.
While American law firms are some of the worst cases, most American jobs are toxic. Employees are treated as owned objects, that must "always be available". These laws that are meant to protect workers, are largely side-stepped by using guilt and/or threats, and most Americans cannot afford the legal representation needed to actually have the laws protect them.
💯 agree. My job I retired from would make you feel guilty if you called in sick so some of us would come in sick hacking up along sneezing nasty congestion and then ask why we came. Constant gaslighting. We weren't allowed to have thermoses of water to stay hydrated in our workstations. They even tried telling us where we can spend our money on groceries. We could only have their brands in our break room refrigerator. If not stuff was actually thrown away they are a dumb grocery store. They had most of us convinced that we could not find a job anywhere else that pays any better or doesn't have a toxic work environment. My kids worked at the same store very briefly and got jobs with different companies that actually pay them more than what my ex is making at this dumb grocery store and he's been there 36 years the brainwashing is real
Not only US law firms, I have worked in firms in the UK and Australia. It is the same in law in general. The unwritten rule is you have to bust your guts as a junior to prove your worth. The financial KPIs are hard to reach and you are often raked over the coals for not reaching your targets in front of your whole team. I can tell you many stories that trump this one, unfortunately.
As a lawyer in Toronto I relate to a lot of what is in this story. "Work-Life Balance" is a buzzword term that gets thrown about but I don't think that most lawyers, or certainly the ones running the large firms, understand. I once attended a seminar for lawyers, put on by the Law Society of Ontario, on tips for how to achieve better work life balance. It should have been titled "how to wring more billable hours out of your day". One of the panelists actually said, in all seriousness and without irony, that "I am not a morning person, but sometimes my most productive hours of the day are between 5 and 7 am". That's better work life balance, everyone!
"Work-Life Balance" means that you'll need to suck it up and learn to juggle without getting stressed out. If you want to make a doctor's appt. or attend your child's soccer game, you'll be burning the midnight oil at work to make up the time. Your co-workers will be bragging about how many vacation days they gave back to the company last year because their bosses wouldn't approve their vacation requests. I'm so happy to be retired.
Your show has helped me so much. I'm still healing from my last experience. Thank you. 😊
You should look into how people in catering are treated. Poor pay, non-stop work, you are on your feet from the moment you start until the 20 minute break that you might get after 7 hours work. I've been doing it for over 30 years and it has got worse rather than better. It feels like the industry that modern legislation passed by.
My son worked in catering. He has learning difficulties. The boss constantly told him he was stupid. I made him walk away
@@alibali193 I completely agree and support what you advised your son to do. The older I get the less tolerant I get and have walked off site or refused to go back more in the last five years than in the previous 25. it is 2024 and we are adults, we shouldn't have to put up with being treated badly. Good luck to your son.
There's no way id let someone shout at me. It's abuse unacceptable and unnecessary.
In the uk it’s a lot more reasonable than the USA.people abusing people will always happen in the work place but in the uk the employment laws for employees are on their side.working in the us sounds horrible for younger employees.doubt it gets much better the older u get there
Depends on the setting and people involved. While I get what you are saying. The fact is that some people you ether yell at or you fire them because they wont "get it" via just talking normally because they will then assume it is not a big deal. Obviously you dont yell at fragile people, but they already "get it" when something goes wrong and might even take it too far and you need to tell them it is not the end of the world and such. Point is, people are different.
😂 I'm a female electrician. When I first started out it was crazy. So many men refused to even work or teach me anything and verbal Rude and abusive
I was running a monthly research meeting for the Dept. Chairs of a large hospital. When we arrived, they had changed the numbers to call into the meeting if you couldn’t attend in person. I quick texted out the new numbers to people. One known AH, called in and proceeded to yell at me in front of everyone. I laugh when I’m nervous, so I burst out laughing. He hung up. One of the Chairs said “You handled that beautifully”. Then everyone laughed as well. Sometimes, even in the best organization there are jerks. He was tolerated because he was a brilliant surgeon. He never yelled at me again. The funny thing is, when I was leaving a few years later, he told me I was an amazing employee and he was sad to see me go.
I finance commercial real estate and accepted a job at a smaller exclusive company. The company occupied an entire building and we shared space with the owner's property development firm. The excutive floor was on the 3rd floor and each floor had balonies that opened to the marble floored entry below. The company owner has notorious for waiting for an excutive to be in the entry and then yell/ scream at them from the third floor baloney about some small infraction. It was humiliating for the excutive "victim" of these tirades. At a company Christmas party my first year, the owner walked up to me and started a conversation asking how I like the company and discussing the deals I was working on. Some how the conversation alllowed me an opening to say (without calling him out directly) my husband doesn't yell at me and I'll be damned if I allow anyone I work with to yell at me. He seemed taken aback and asked what I would do. I quickly responded QUIT. I'm approached weekly by headhunters scouting for other companies. He looked me in the eyes for a moment, then excused himself. In the 12 years I worked for him, I was the only executive he never yelled at from the balcony. My eyes must have convinced him I was serious. I brought in tons of business and fees. We both knew my value and I clearly stated a boundary. I don't think anyone, including the very successful professional sports team he owned, had ever addressed his yelling habit.
She has a really sweet voice, and I bet in nature she's sweet as well. A trait that can be exploited by powerful people.
My very thoughts too. I hope her bad experiences don't stop her from keeping strong. 👍🏴
Please can you undertake a segment on health and social care and the culture in the sector its shocking
yep did it for 30 years, its a nightmare.
@@noblestsavage1742 you are a survivor my friend 😇
construction worker here. I've been told I wasn't needed anymore on a job site coincidentally the same day i asked for time off.
PTO means NO WORKING.
At my first job in my home country, I was happy to work on weekends, holidays because I loved my job so much and really liked my colleagues.
Then my first job here in Tokyo and the GM was horrid to me that on holidays and days off -- I would switch off completely.
While I enjoyed the job and working with my colleagues at the time, the GM would criticise me on my work when he didn't even know anything (he joined the company 1 month after me) so I felt like he didn't deserve my hard work (I still worked hard regardless but only for when I'm being paid).
In the UK, my job contracts have been "You may be required to work additional unpaid hours" . You agree to this, or you don't get the job.
So yes, there have been times when I've been forced to work until midnight every night, plus weekends, and no, they're not required to pay overtime, so they don't.
Sounds like the contract goes against basic labor laws.
In the UK, there is a standard limit of 48 hours that the employer can 'ask' you to work (if this is above your contracted hours, then yes, this will be unpaid, and perfectly legal) The employer can 'ask' you to opt out of the limit, where you 'voluntarily' waive this limit, but if you refuse, then don't be surprised when all your salary increases, bonuses etc. cease after this point. The contract will always word this stuff as being at the discretion of the management.
Yes! I was about to say this. Overtime?! Sweet!
@@rakido7388 if your contract states a number of hours, that isn't legal.
Sounds a lot like a salaried management position in the hospitality industry... there is a reason I am now an hourly paid cleaner lol
That's a story that truly has to be shared as a warning! Because at some point I was at similar situation, especially the hiking story gave me such flashbacks, and it wasn't even a law firm! So I was working like this with veery toxic executive woman, thinking that maybe there is something wrong with me, until I changed a job, and found out that corporate culture can be so very different
Thank goodness she got out of that company!! Sounds like it was completely unsustainable
Another horrible sector, depending on your clients, is IT.
It reminds me a lot of my experience in consultancy. Same working hours and dynamics. And it is so true that at the beginning of your career you don't know any better and you may remain in toxic environment for years....I surely did it 😂So happy to be out of it!
Paralegals need a UNION!
Everyone needs a Union!
What no part 2 I have to expend effort having to hunt down through hundreds of shorts.
Awful story but I can't say I'm surprised that this is the culture in an American Law Firm...
Email systems can be managed such that your emails (incoming and outgoing) can be held and reviewed by the supervisor or an agent working for them. They can delete or delay your email to get you into trouble.
Ben I want to know what you think about billable hours at 2000 hours per year. It seems impossible to me that lawyers do that on mass. But that can be the expectation.
Nurse here. Unbelievable. There is often forced overtime
Yikes especially in a law firm where they hold others accountable l, they definitely need to do better.
Accountant and during a AR/Bank rec position I once got a stapler thrown at me for asking the debt collection lady to stop yelling at me, which she was yelling because I asked the other person she was yelling at if she was OK....
My grad role at a non for profit had a room that was called the crying room that the admin staff and other grads would you can probably guess what it was.
Not to mention me walking out on a senior role just before the 6 month mark I would have to give notice of 4 weeks on due to the new toxic manager and culture, the previous person in my position was there for 2 months.
This American work "ethic" is way over the top, especially in law firms. But they are so proud of it. The fact that it harms employees and reduces overall efficiency is never even considered - not for a second. It will never change.
Ben,
I've been following your wonderful content for a while now, and can honestly say the extent to which some of these bosses behave is just honestly shocking, and of course quite entertaining.
I would one single episode where your viewers talk about bosses that did something amazingly well. How they went above and beyond the normal requirements of goodness, bending over backwards to help their employees.
I really think, that this would be a breath of fresh air.
Honestly has this ever happened? I’ve never seen it.
She lost 15lbs in a month.. meh.. ;-P
I once lost 7 to 8 lbs in one night working at UPS.. and that was over a 4 hour shift.
They had me unloading a truck that had been sitting out in 100+°F heat all day. It was basically like an oven or sauna by the time I go into it that evening.
At the mid-shift break, I took my t-shirt off and wrung it out.. it was like I just climbed out of a swimming pool. Just what I rung out left a sweat puddle on the ground about 2' across.
I was so dehydrated by the end of that shift I knew I had to weigh myself at home to see how low I was on fluids. Drank water at break and when I got home and could still barely get out of bed in the morning.
And they only allowed for 4 hours shifts in the warehouse (aside from Supervisors & Managers) because no one could stand to work a full-time shift there on a rough night. I was young and in-shape but I'd have left in an ambulance if I tried to keep that up for 8 hours on that one specific evening.
There was one upside.. on top of decent pay for a college student.. I lost my entire Freshman 20lbs (ok, more like 30lbs) in the few months I worked there.
Small town USA here… the WORST job for invading my family time was when I was employed at a small attorney office for about 3 years. He would call me as I was putting my children to bed and call me in “for just a half hour” (lie). It could have been awesome but the self-righteous attitude was off the charts.
"Sorry dude that place was a salt mine we thought you knew" A thing I got told after the company laid off half the staff and I commented on how easy and low key my new role was. So I get the new grad not knowing what a office was supposed to be like. Been there done that.
US companies do try to ride roughshod on this side of the Atlantic too. I recently had a issue with a US company I'm contracted to in Europe. They'd introduced a security system that required 2 part authentication (a message would be sent to your 'phone and you'd swipe the screen to get access to the IT system. However, I don't have a 'smart' 'phone. So the US office said to my manager that I'd either have to buy a 'smart' 'phone, or be dismissed. My manager told them to get fucked.
But, I'm always having comment's made like 'Why don't you get a 'smart' 'phone?' (I have a Nokia 105) - my answer is quite simple - "I don't want one, and I'll be fucked if I'm paying the guts of a grand to buy a 'phone, or get myself locked into a fucking contract where I have to pay three times what I currently spend monthly on pay as you go (I spend less than 10 Euro per month) for something I don't want and is of no benefit to myself, burning up memory and power (as it's constantly running) only for the next new thing the company comes up with to render that 'phone obsolete.
Funny sitting at my desk at 3 in the morning working on month end accounts and hear Ben mention Insurance.......my heart sank. I work in insurance.
And people are surprised when ex employees go on a shooting spree?
Once they reach a certain level, they DO NOT READ THEIR EMAILS ! Oh well.
My ears perked up when she said she was making 45k. Is that livable in NYC?
I didn’t realise paid overtime was even a thing in those places.
It sure wasn't at the firms I worked with as a Paralegal. They'd say it was a "salaried" position, and I ended up working 60 hours/week.
She really was pleasant to listen to. I wonder what field she chose instead.
The absolute absurdity, that this very prestigious law firm with this very important project is going to fall apart, for the lack of one paralegal. If that’s the case, they really don’t deserve the prestige they have, nor the important project if the entire thing balances on the actions of a single paralegal. Of course, it doesn’t balance on the actions of a single paralegal. This is really just about a gigantic power trip of a group of men with a huge case of imposter syndrome. The only way they can feel as important as everyone is telling them they are is if they shit on those below them.
Honestly kindof wild that my near-minimum wage night security job has better respect for work-life boundaries than jobs that pay four times as much.
EDIT: oh shoot, nvm, this lady barely earns 50% more than me even after the conversion rate
The kicker is, the bet the whole "project" actually wasn't all that objectively important.
45k in a law firm in NYC. The young woman is being underpaid. I worked in a firm in the late 1990s and made 42k as an office receptionist and case filer.
Louis Litt needs his mud baths to stay calm.
There's a certain level of Irony here.
From what little I know of American law, it sounds a lot like this firm, a law firm at that is opening itself up to dozens of lawsuits...
at any major professional services/consulting firm in the US you bring your laptop on vacation and weekends...its expected to advance....After 20+ years in industry I formed my own consultancy is I could control my hours and client base
I've recently discovered your channel, and enjoy the content.
I've noticed you don't engage with the comments. For me it seems to encourage more "likes" and even more comments.
For me, thousands of comments piques my interest in a video.
(BTW, I discovered it through your shorts if it helps you)
Everyone who works in law thinks they want to work for a big firm. I work for a small law firm and love it. Our boss has a philosophy that work shouldn’t get in the way of our family and associate attorneys have been let go if they aren’t treating the rest of the staff respectfully.
Is there any way to contact you with our terrible experiences? I would love to share mine from when I was a part-time graphic designer (Canada) with you.
A paralegal job requires a specific BS degree. To be working at a top law firm in NYC as a paralegal and only making $45k a year seems ridiculous unless this happened to her in the 1990's. In fact, a quick Indeed survey of paralegal jobs in NYC shows that they start at around $65k to a range of $80k to $100k. Even a legal assistant would probably make more than $45k -- especially at a top firm in NYC where the cost of living is so high. I do believe her when she talks about the crazy hours and toxic environment, though, because I've had friends who worked in law firms like she describes.
You can go to community college in California and get paralegal certification or a paralegal degree.
None of what is described in this video surprises me at all. This is why I left my previous law firm and opened my own with my law partner.
Another terrible sector is education/teaching. Bringing work home is an expectation, you get blamed for the actions of children regardless of how things happened, your bosses will throw you under the bus to make the organization look good, taking a day off means extra work and the pay is low.
You can't drop the ball if you're not on the pitch!!
I thought it was The Firm with Tom Cruise!!😂🤣😂
Me and Tom get mixed up all the time
@@Ben-Askins Of course I can see the striking resemblance 😂😂 But seriously thought, your channel is just brilliant!! Some of the stuff that you have mentioned (mostly) is simply outrageous.
Omg I NEED to tell you my story about toxic workplaces! How do I send it to you 😂😂😂😂
Dam, go into civil construction, abusers get their arse chewed off and 8 hour days.
The difference is that he is on the big bucks
I’m a hairdresser I have stories to tell you!
I have records, screenshots and audio recordings! That some salon owners are crayola crayon’s wacko Jackie
Not all law firms are like this. Move to the West coast
You should contact me to discuss the American retail automotive industry. Makes lawyers look well adjusted
Try working in the Printing industry. You meet some very weird bosses with strange demands.
Was the boss named Louis Litt?
Louis Tit
Ben how do I get in touch with you? I have a story for you.
Any lawyer knows American law firms are where you make BANK but lose all your time and social life
the reason why US law firms work like this is that if a lawyer can justify $3000 an hour for a client, the client expects them to work for that $3000 per hour as quickly as possible
No, theere are just some clients that think they are fucking God and the lawyer is their slave.
@@ForgottenKnight1 if I was paying 3000 bucko an hour, I’d expect to get off with murder and to be at my beck and call at a moments notice
She has the most beautiful feminine laugh ever
Is it any coincidence that almost all of these stories are from the USA?
His name is Ben Askins because he has Been Asking the right questions all along.
I suggest they try working in a kitchen sometime.
What she described is child’s play compared to a very busy, upscale restaurant kitchen. 12 hour days, screaming, swearing, drug abuse, alcohol abuse. It’s all common.
I could tell you stories that will make you speechless.
Hello, I understand that working in a kitchen can be awful, but please don't reduce her experience, it is not a competition
Mate, you should try joining the army. Getting shot at, seeing your pals blown up, alcohol abuse, its mental.
And I'm not even in the forces.
See how stupid you sound now?
Cry me a river - those hours are NOT uncommon - have a look at any of the top 4 audit firms - Deloitte etc will make you work 20hr days as a grad