Life could be worse. Many of our friends and family are out of work. Some have had to take a second job to make ends meet. Do yourself a favor and look at the job market now and what other employers are paying. Even though we have less than we did, we still have more than most people do.So the topic of the post is what do you like about working at LLNL. Among other things I enjoy the freedom to do my job with minimal supervision. My management knows that I know how to do my job and lets me do it. I've had jobs where I've had to give daily and weekly status reports. No fun.
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It now is just a job. The gleam has dulled, the cachet has wafted away.
What do I like about the job? Only 5 more years, if the layoffs don't get me first.
Burnt out!
Perhaps it will be more palatable for LLNL employees when we enter into a depression, yet we manage to hold on to our jobs. That is something for which to give thanks. However, NNSA has made it clear that they wish to see the labs downsized. More layoffs await in the future. Therefore, the fear and anxiety of the work force keeps building and morale continues to plummet.
Even doubts about the LLNL pension are beginning to emerge after the market crash of 2008. Pensions depend on earnings from stocks and bonds. If markets keeps falling then there will be little left of the pension's invested assets. A pension must make an average 8% return per year for long term survival. That will be hard to achieve if the economic downturn continues for several years.
Beyond all this, however, is the key problem that underlies all others. It goes as follows:
There is no trust left in NNSA and there is no trust left in LLNS. They are both seen by many employees as a pack of lying wolves who are out to fool the naive.
To protect the innocent, I was in ME.
Welcome to the real world. They have no choice and there's no time for being budds or coaxing you along. You are on your own in everything you do in life. That's the way of the modern, global economy and the new world order to come. This comes from people who voted it in and made money their God.
and knowing that putrid Piece of C**p Bodman will be known as the worst ever, move over Hazel..
And watching the voters with flying shoes.
And attending the dumbest lecture ever today.
buon natale
Although people might have complained about the University management style, the University made sure we had good benefits and you felt positive about the UC retirement. Now, we work for LLNS with uncertainty about our jobs, benefits, and retirement.
Recently LLNS received a nice incentive bonus; if the NNSA would have put half that amount toward our benefits, including retirement benefits, maybe our benefits would still be significantly like the UC benefits. I am sure the bonuses that are certain to be handed out to ULM are more important to NNSA than providing for the past and present workers.
I have been fortunate to have continued to work as a consultant for other companies that appreciate people, and for the most part, the work I do as a consultant is interesting and fun. Many of us have grown old working most of our lives at the lab; perhaps it is about time we move on to other adventures before we grow too old to work. Perhaps our appreciation of the past makes it hard to accept the present.
I guess one good thing about the lab is the memories of past times and perhaps knowing that one day soon I will leave this place. Despite all that has happened in the recent past, I hope the people at LLNL have a Very Merry Christmas and may God bless them and their family.