The Rest of the Story

Yesterday, I posted why so many people in our country start their own business venture. Today, I would like to tell “the rest of the story” why so many people start their own small business.

• They can’t stand their co-workers.
• They hate what they do.
• They feel underappreciated.
• They hate the industry they are in.
• Too often they were passed over for a raise.
• Their raises were less than they were supposed to be.
• The company culture was too dependent with others unwilling to do their part.
• They were promised a promotion which never materialized.
• Their job is too physically demanding.
• The entire job atmosphere and job requirements at work drain them emotionally.
• They dislike their customers/clients.
• They were promised a different position but it was filled with one of the VIP’s relatives or friends.
• Every year they were coerced into giving a fairly sizeable percentage of their pay to a company sponsored charity.
• They disliked the VIPs who clearly were not chosen on their merits.
• There were far too many meaningless or unproductive meetings.
• They were forced to work a crazy work schedule.
• They were sick and tired of being “on call” after their normal work hours.
• There were too many mandatory Saturday work days.
• Their “team” had too many incompetent people.
• Their immediate supervisor was rarely available because he or she was “transitioning” to another job or retiring
• During the warmer months, while working hard every Friday afternoon they noticed how certain people in the company went golfing on company time.
• They worked with team members who took the maximum number of sick days, whether they were sick or not.
• Their company had too few policies and procedures for things like sick time, paid leave, employee court duty, maternity leave, drug and alcohol abuse on the job, eating breakfast while at their desk during work hours, smoke breaks, and employee theft.
• The HR department had out-of-date employee policies and procedures.
• Safety procedures were required for the hourly workers but were totally ignored by some of the VIPs.
• They were tired of having supervisors repeatedly show up late to or cancel their scheduled supervision.
• They were tired of the favoritism that was shown by management.
• They were displeased with the rampant incompetence exhibited by coworkers and management.
• They were tired of waiting several days or weeks for the VIPs to authorize payment for some item or piece of equipment that is needed on a daily basis. The result? Important things just didn’t get done or got done in a haphazard manner.
• They were tired of too many “emergencies” that required them to come to the office after hours and on the weekends.
• They were tired of having no one else trained to do their job. As a consequence, when they went on vacation or extended sick leave, their unfinished work simply piled up in their in-basket, causing anything but a pleasant return to work.
• They were tired of the big pot holes and ruts in the company parking lot, some of which caused employees to sprain their ankles or trip and fall.
• They were dissatisfied with working in a very unsafe part of the city.
• They were tired of seeing many employees showing up late for work on a daily basis with no consequences for their tardiness.
• They were tired of management’s inability to fill certain key positions, thus causing others to “pick up the slack” and getting overworked in the process.
• They were tired of the petty complaints made by people throughout the company.
• They were tired of constantly putting out fires that should have been addressed by top management or by HR.
• They feel depressed and defeated at work due to the dreary and unhealthy work environment.
• They feel disrespected for the good work that they do.
• They are tired of the preferential treatment bestowed upon top management at the expense of the hourly workers.
• They are dissatisfied with being required to use a badge to gain access to the building while certain VIPs, including the chief of security, openly violated this policy.
• They are tired of having to walk to the sidewalk in order to smoke. The problem: The sidewalk is located several hundred feet from the main building.
• They are tired of seeing people openly violate company policies on a daily basis with no consequences.
• They are tired of having to drive more than an hour to and an hour from work every day. This becomes especially problematic during the inclement weather.
• They are tired of working for a nonprofit company and getting paid substantially less than others who do exactly the same job while working for companies and organizations that are for profit.
• They are tired of getting dumped on regarding certain tasks and responsibilities that are clearly not part of their job description.
• They are tired of having to deal with various things that top management doesn’t get fixed in a timely manner. Examples include things like getting the elevator fixed, getting several out-of-order toilets in the restrooms repaired, getting the pot holes in the parking lot filled in, getting lights replaced that are burned out or flickering, and replacing old and obsolete computer components and other office equipment.
• They are tired of showing up for work early, creating a “to do” list, and not being able to finish much of anything on their list due to daily problems that arise. What makes matters worse, they realize that these problems happen mainly due to a lack of clearly stated policies and procedures by top management.
• They are tired of top management micro-managing virtually everything they do.
• They are tired of not being able to get the supplies and equipment necessary to do their jobs due to money mismanagement and/or to poor planning by top management.
• They are sick and tired of working for a boss who often seems  to have family issues that adversely affect his or her job performance.
• They are tired of filling in for someone in their department who failed to get a license or permit, or who failed a required exam or test.

Conclusion

These, then, are many of the “real” reasons why so many people in our society decide to start their own business.

What say you?