question archive Several years ago, working for the city government, we had a city manager who had little or no interest in employee morale
Several years ago, working for the city government, we had a city manager who had little or no interest in employee morale
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Several years ago, working for the city government, we had a city manager who had little or no interest in employee morale. He was only concerned about making the city council happy, to be reelected again and again. During this time, our division was off on Sundays. However, we rotated shifts and worked Monday through Saturday. Everyone worked a Saturday once every six weeks. This allowed employees time off with their families/ reset their batteries, and the city could still provide support for weekend activities. When the new city manager was appointed, we began to work 7 days a week, which meant our schedules were completely changed.
The decision negatively affected our morale, not to mention spending quality time with family. Code enforcement was now working 7 days a week, and our hours had also changed, making things worse. Employee morale dropped, a few staff members left to other cities, and I began to look for work elsewhere as well. Other things changed as well. For instance, the new city manager placed a hold on all promotions, salary increases and freeze employee evaluations. The purpose of this was to save money and meet the budget requirements. I can understand freezing salaries, promotions, but working on Sundays was the big take for me. After working there for several years, I left along with several people. My takeaway from this was, the city manager goofed things up and made bad decisions. Good decision-making is a vital part of good management because decisions determine how the organization solves problems, allocates resources, and accomplishes its goals, Daft (2013). He should have slowly and seamlessly asked employees that changes were on the way and that Sunday and Saturday coverage would be temporary until things simmer down, but instead, the change was all too fast for most folks. I think employees would have understood if he had worked with them and identified problems, but rather, he made nonprogram decisions. Non programmed decisions are made in response to unique situations, are poorly defined and largely unstructured, and have significant consequences for the organization, Daft (2013).
