sweat shop

I was asked today to sign my name to a memo regarding a new policy that dictated mandatory office hours and punitive penalties for tardiness, regardless of how much overtime is worked (i.e., no overtime pay). We are in the professional services industry which focuses on client service. This usually requires untraditional work hours in order to be responsive to clients. 

However, there are a number of individuals who have not been professional in their work ethic. Because of the passive-aggressive culture of the office, rather than addressing the matter with the specific individuals who abuse the system, leadership has decided to penalize everyone by putting more policies in place. Those with poor work ethics will always find a way to continue their behavior regardless of what policies are executed.

The HR manager who has been supporting me in expanding my team questioned me on one of the individuals I was looking to hire. She believed that the individual was too assertive and aggressive and would be hard to control. Those traits were the exact reason why I wanted to hire her. A successful consulting practice would usually include some combination of aggressive, creative, 'outside of the box'  individuals. She agreed but retorted that the individual would never survive in the company as leadership want people who can be controlled. She laughed when I said that was why I struggle everyday.

My response to the HR director regarding the memo was that if he wanted me to mandate a time to come into the office or penalize staff, then I should also mandate a time to leave or give benefits to staff. Most countries call for overtime pay for sweat shops. People tend to behave based on how they are treated - I am here to help develop professionals. If leadership wanted to issue this policy, then the force(s) behind it should own up to it rather than hide behind and have others do their handiwork. Passive-aggressive coupled with a micro-managing culture is a recipe for disaster for my INTP personality.